'We have a £62,000 income but are forced to use Klarna to do weekly food shop'

A mum-of-five has resorted to using Klarna to afford her food shop - due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Despite Laura Caine and her husband Martin having a combined household income of £62k, they still struggle to cover their family's monthly outgoings. The couple have five children - aged 18 to nine - and Laura says she has to use Klarna to afford groceries as she "can't afford" to pay for a big shop upfront.

Laura, originally from Fife, Scotland, but living in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said: "I've seen the struggles of so many families - I've been to food banks with mums and dads with their kids, waiting and wondering what they will be getting, it's awful. The way I shop now, if I have £35 to spend for the week, I could get a £105 shop using Klarna and that's £105 worth of food in your cupboards and pay £35 per month back for three months.

"If I do it this way it means I can take my kids to places once a month like museums or a train ride somewhere." Laura says she has been left with no choice but to use Klarna for her food shop due to her circumstances - but wouldn't encourage others to do the same.

Prior to using Klarna, Laura had to rely on food banks and would buy bulk essentials like toilet rolls and flour to make bread. Last year Laura's benefits were switched from tax credits to universal credit causing her cash flow problems.

She said: "Instead of getting paid once per week I got paid once per month, which made things even more challenging, which is why I've had to start using Klarna. It just means if an emergency pops up like having to pay for an MOT or gas bill - even though it is more money, in the long run it allows me to make ends meet."

Growing up Laura's mum struggled to make ends meet and they had to "live off sugar sandwiches and chips" but Laura says she doesn't recommend Klarna to people who can't afford it.

Laura home cooks all her kids' meals from scratch and claims most people don't appreciate just how much food is required to feed a big family.

"With seven people in the house having three meals a day that's 588 meals a month," she said. Laura says something needs to be done about the costs-of-living crisis which is still hurting families "every bit as badly". "It's our next generation - we need to feed them, they're going to be tired, they need to step up, kids need to be fed and the older generation is also struggling," she said.

"People need to be helped out much more by the government." Laura also helps out her local community by collecting food being thrown away at supermarkets. "If there's a small Tesco with food going off reduced stickers you can take it from there," she said. "I will knock on the older people's doors who are also struggling to get food. It's hell right now not just for my family but for many other families as well."