A Slice of Life Special: Carer James talks surviving on £1.55 a day and making sacrifices for his son
" Let's go for a nice meal together as a family, it’s 40 quid. It's either that or prioritising eating for the next two weeks. You can't have a holiday. I've got to have petrol or feed my child. What do I do? I'm obviously going to feed my child. No petrol for the next week.”
“I lived off beans so my son could eat”: James’s story shows how working no longer shields families from tough times.
Our Slice of Life campaign is calling on the Government to make life more affordable for working households. As part of this, we’re highlighting stories from families across the UK who are working hard but still struggling to keep their heads above water. Families just like James’s. Our latest piece of research shows that employment no longer guarantees financial security.
James, 26, is a support worker from Crewe, who has spent the last nine years caring for adults with autism and learning disabilities. It’s something he feels passionately about due to his own experience of being autistic. He was amongst the key workers who kept the care sector running during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, often working 14 to 15-hour shifts for weeks at a time.
When working full-time isn’t enough
Today, James lives with his partner, Diana who also works in care, and their four year old son, Tristan. But despite their dedication and hard work, life is a daily financial balancing act. “We budget everything,” James says. “But there are months when I’ve eaten nothing but beans so my little boy could eat properly.”
Their household bills have risen by more than 60% in recent years, from around £800 to over £1,300 per month. Food budgets have been stripped back to just £140 a month to feed a family of three. That’s £1.55 per person per day.
They’ve cut almost all non-essentials. Treats, days out, even the occasional takeaway have become rare luxuries. The couple are saving meticulously for their first family holiday in five years but it’s taken months of planning and sacrifice.
Passing ships
The situation is made even harder with how expensive nursery fees are, even with the free hours. Diana works part-time because working more hours would mean paying more for childcare than she would earn.
The pair juggle their shifts to avoid nursery costs, rarely spending time together as a couple or as a family. James explains further, “Diana struggles herself with her mental health. She wasn't able to work that much and we were able to get by but everything has skyrocketed and we can't cope. Now we both work endless hours. We barely see each other as a couple. We barely get around as a family because every day I'm off, she's working, every day she's off, I'm working. And that's how it is.”
James is quick to point out that whilst they’re not in crisis, they are constantly under pressure. "I do consider us poor, even with my partner working. If she worked full time, we then have to pay for them extra hours for my son to be in nursery would still be worse off than we are now, and that's a false economy.”
When his car broke down recently, he had no choice but to ask his parents for help, which felt like a personal setback. “I pay him back, obviously, but for me to ask that, means that I've not managed to prioritise. I want to stand on your own two feet.”
Enough is enough
James’s story is a powerful example of the broken system our Slice of Life campaign seeks to expose. He and his partner are working in roles society depends on. They are budgeting carefully, living modestly, and still struggling.
Like many of the 10,000+ members we surveyed, James doesn’t describe himself as being "in crisis." But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in difficulty. Poverty is no longer something that only affects the unemployed. It affects working people, quietly, consistently, and exhaustingly. And it’s time we listened.
Listen to James’s Slice of Life special podcast right here.