A single father-of-six has opened up about his struggles and revealed he feels like he’s failing his children because he can’t afford to buy them new stuff.
Gaz Kaye from Cleethorpes, England, has been struggling to make ends meet after the cost of basic necessities went up, greatly affecting his large family.
As the father, who helps run the Warm Space initiative for other people in need, admitted, he now has to count every penny to make sure his children don’t go to bed hungry.
He also feels like he’s “failing” them because he struggles to buy them new clothes, shoes, or anything but essentials.
“There doesn’t seem to be one specific thing that is really hurting me, it’s just everything. Even just a loaf of bread has gone up, I don’t know how people can make it through the day. Everything adds up but running the car is probably the thing that is the biggest issue,” Kaye, who has six children aged from 3 to 12 years, says.
“With a big family, I need a big car but a small engine. I’m not poor by any means in my mind, but with the way things are I feel like I probably am right now, but surely it can’t stay like this?”
He continued: “The last few weeks I’ve realized I’m maybe not as capable of doing what I did. I’m looking at my finances all the time and having to think about every penny I spend.
“When things started to go wrong, we made sure to book in for Christmas and do all the presents in June. It’s the only way we could have done it but sadly some people will still have all that to sort.”
The father also admitted he was left feeling like he’s failing after his son’s teacher asked him to buy new shoes for the child – something he can’t do right away due to his financial situation.
“It’s even come to the point where my child wanted some new trainers and rather than buy them new I had to buy them on Facebook Marketplace,” he explained.
While the family is still able to survive by being very frugal, Kaye worries how things will turn out in the future and how his children will be affected.
“It’s getting worse and worse the longer it goes on – and if it’s this bad now, what will it be like in ten years’ time for my children?” he pondered.
“We’re in a system that isn’t working. I can’t carry on like this but there doesn’t seem to be any change in sight and that is really upsetting.”
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