An English mom fears that she will have to tell her kids that Santa Claus is not real as she cannot afford to buy presents for them this Christmas.
In a TikTok video, the Scottish mother-of-four revealed that she has been paying her bills in a ‘bill roulette’ and shopping for Christmas is not possible given her living situation at the moment and the cost of everything, which is sky high.
In her TikTok video, Rachel claimed Universal credit and said going back to work would be too difficult for her as she has been doing the ‘job of ten people’ at home.
“If I had a family to help me, I’d go back to work. People say I’m sitting on my backside all day, but I’ve been a working mum, and now I’m a stay-at-home mum and feel like I’m doing the job of ten people.”
The 30-year-old continued, “At least being at work, I’d be able to have a cup of tea and a sit-down. I used to be a manager for Samsung when I’d had my son, who’s now eight, and worked up the ladder so I could afford nursery fees and have a living wage, but then I got pregnant with my daughter who is now five, and I had every intention of going back, as I loved my job.”
Rachel, whose four kids are under the age of ten, explained that if she goes back to work, she will have to make arrangements for her kids as they will either need a nursery or a daycare facility which is not possible for her to afford given the inflation and the skyrocketing prices of everything.
“When I started looking at nursery places and the cost of nursery and after-school care for two, it was costing around £1,800, which understandably ruined my salary.”
“I could work 50 hours a week and be lucky to have £50 a month left, or I could stay at home and be the one to raise my kids rather than someone else, whilst in the same financial position,” she said in her video.
The young mom-of-four added that she has been trolled by many people online and in real life for having ‘so many children’ and not going to work to earn good money for them.
“People assume I don’t want to work, but I would love to! No one in their right mind would work 50 hours a week for nothing.”
“I feel trapped because my youngest is 19 months old, so he isn’t close to starting school yet.”
While insisting that she only wanted to have one kid with her husband, as they already have two from their previous relationships, she fell pregnant with her second despite taking birth control pills.
“We’re raising four kids on the money given to raise two kids. One is my husband’s child from a previous relationship, and one is mine from a previous relationship and then we had two together and didn’t discuss having any more as I was on the pill when I fell pregnant,” she explained.
“But to be honest, it’s no one’s business about my contraception. I hate the assumption people have telling me I shouldn’t have popped out kids I can’t afford.”
“We’re just surviving! We play roulette with our direct debits, whoever comes to us first can have the money. Will it be the gas and electric or the car finance?”
Rachel said that she wants to enjoy her life with her husband and children while all they have been doing lately is ‘survive’ as the cost of everything has become almost unaffordable.
“I don’t feel like we’re built to just survive and have no enjoyment, I should be able to buy my kids clothes without stressing. I’ve been sewing up the same pair of my own leggings for four years!”
“People, who say they don’t understand and have never been in this position, I tell them, if I got a job, who would look after my kids? I can’t return them or leave them in the house.”
“Someone even said I should work night shifts, but what do I do with my 18-month-old? I wouldn’t survive,” she said. “People want to offer solutions without thinking if it’s even possible. I’ve heard every solution under the sun!”
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Sources: TikTok
