Silly pet selfie
The cost-of-living crisis must be getting bad if even The Dark Lord has noticed rampant inflation.
Feeling the squeeze on her pocket money, the teenager discovered at the weekend that her pocket money doesn’t go very far any more.
Visiting friends in London, she came back raging at having to pay £9.50 for a takeaway wrap and a drink. “It’s a total rip-off,” she declared, then said, “Can we have extra bread at home and I’ll just make my own Marmite sandwich before I go out anywhere?”
There’s never been a more important time for her to learn how to budget. She’s also realised that if she travels before midday on trains to see her mates, her child ticket goes up by a third.
“I’ll just be late to everything,” she decided, which made me strangely proud.
It’s not just The Dark Lord who’s feeling the pinch. Her school lunches have gone up by almost a third!
Every month I transfer money to the SCOPAY app on my phone, but I’ve noticed the cash has not been going very far and I have to keep topping it up before the end of the month.
I first suspected it was The Dark Lord at her six-Capri-Suns-for-lunch trick again but on Sunday evening, when I totted up what she’s been spending, it worked out at a fiver a day.
When I pointed this outrageous sum out to her, she said, “I know! And it’s just a panini and drink. I don’t even like the paninis either – they have bits in them.”
“Yeah that’s called salad. You’re supposed to eat that so you don’t get scurvy,” I sighed.
School meals are supposed to be cheap and nutritious, but that’s not the case any more. So I’ve dug out our old green lunchbox from the toddler years and The Dark Lord is now on packed lunches and a water bottle.
I handed them to her Monday morning, and she smiled, “Awww, reminds me of being little. Do I get grapes and carrot batons too?”
She does, and the best bit is her lunch now costs £1.50 a day. Take that, pesky inflation!
Email me at siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk or write to Community Corner, PO Box 791, Winchester SO23 3RP. “This is our bulldog Eddy chilling out at the caravan in Derbyshire,” says Alan Hepworth in Stoke-on-Trent.
“Eddy was a rescue dog when he and his brother were left in the kennels by their owner. We’ve had him for six years now and he will be eight in November.
“Eddy loves all the cuddles he gets, especially when the grandchildren come to visit.”
Is your pet a star? Email your snaps in to siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk