Mouths to feed
JOANNE and Tommy O’rourke are facing a real cost of living squeeze.
They are looking after their ELEVEN kids – aged two to 19 – in a house with just four bedrooms.
Energy costs have more than doubled in a year to almost £800 a quarter.
And the weekly grocery shop – which includes 15 loaves of bread, 42 pints of milk and a kilo of pasta – has rocketed by nearly 50% to £760 a month.
Joanne, 39, said: “We are trying to put what we can away now as we know inflation will rise.”
Forklift driver Tommy, 41, added: “It‘s a terrible time for everybody and we find it stressful. There should be more support for families.”
He and Joanne have Mitchell, 19, Lauren, 17, Joe, 15, Ryley, 13, Tommy, 12, Regan, also 12, Ashlee-dean, 10, Freddie, eight, Danny, six, Neave, four, and two-year-old Brodie.
The couple, who both work full time, have imposed rules to stretch their combined monthly income of just over £2,000 at their rented home in North London.
TV and lights are only on in the evening.
Joanne, a therapist, has cut the use of the washing machine from four cycles a day to three by doing bigger loads.
They have strict meal plans and swap days out for cheaper activities at home, like camping in the garden.
The couple have been sharing their tips with 50,000 online.
They swapped a £7-perhead trip to a swimming pool for a one-time purchase of a 12ft paddling pool. Joanne kept the younger kids entertained for an afternoon for just £2 after buying biscuits and icing sugar so they could decorate them. Son Tommy’s 12th birthday was celebrated by recreating a Harvester restaurant at home, complete with a “salad bar” – costing less than £50 rather than a meal out for £150.
For Ashlee-dean’s 10th they bought pizza bases costing 66p for him and his friends to build their own version.
They pick up cut-price gifts all-year round to avoid a big hit at Christmas.
Joanne added: “We are in a more fortunate position than some so we want to do what we can to help other families keep ticking over. We get a lot of people messaging asking for advice.”
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