Cost of Living: 'Sometimes the meter is running on empty'
Christine Taaffe's children will always be fed - but then the meter runs empty and the bills do not get paid.
The mum-of two has also had to stop taking her kids on day trips.
She said Splash Sure Start's play group in Lurgan, County Armagh, is one of the few opportunities her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lexie has to socialise.
BBC News NI speaks to Christine and other mums at the play group who are being forced to cut back on essentials due to the rising cost of living.