A nurse has claimed she skips meals to make sure her son does not go hungry after being left with just 44p a month to live off.
Kimberley Davison, 30, works all of the hours she can in a bid to support her family but is still struggling to make ends meet.
The constant budgeting and stress is now taking its toll on her mental health, the mum told Chronicle Live.
"It’s like a fight to survive every month," she said.
“I work all of the hours I can and do everything possible to support my family, but it’s still not enough.”
The nurse, from Hebburn near Gateshead, does not work during the work, instead picking up shifts on weekends when she can.
But even this source of work is unreliable with Kimberley working on a zero hour contract.
The mum-of-one says she cannot afford any extra childcare, mainly because she lost her mum and stepdad to cancer while she was a student.
She said: “It’s difficult to work during the week as I can only work half days and hospitals don’t really want those shifts.”
Childcare is available through the Government, but Kimberley claims this would still not allow her to work a full 12-hour shift as the childcare is only offered between 7am and 6pm.
Kimberley takes on weekend shifts when her son is with his dad, but this earns her on average £950 a month. This is not including the the £45 a week in Child Tax Credit she receives.
Each month her outgoings include £400 rent, £89 council tax and £100 for gas and electricity. She also pays for her Royal College of Nursing union membership, TV licence, phone and credit card payments.
The mum then has to fork out £45 for school meals and £18 for travel to and from work, leaving her with £60 a week to feed her family.
In the past, Kimberly has had to use food banks after surviving a full weekend without sufficient food.
“I especially struggle during the six weeks school holiday, it’s horrendous," she said.
"The cost of food and new school uniform is so expensive.”
Kimberly said she was heartbroken to realise her son had discovered she was struggling financially and watched her skip meals.
She said: “A child shouldn’t need to worry about that. I thought I’d done enough to shield my family from my struggles."
Kimberley has been visiting a ‘Grub Club’, which is ran by Hebburn Helps Community Foodbank during the school holidays, in a bid to relieve some of the financial stress.
‘Grub Club’ is held at St Oswalds Church Hall, from 10am until 3pm outside of term time and provides meals and entertainment for families free of charge.
Kimberley added: “Grub Club is a massive relief during the holidays.
"There’s not much you can do with 44p, so this takes the pressure off me.”
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