‘I’m independent, I’m not a government leech. It was a huge hit to my ego to have to do this.’
Shara says that, to try to curb her expenditure, she would leave the heater off - to avoid bumping up electricity costs - and routinely go without food to afford formula for her son.
“There is a whole workforce of single mums out there who want to work, but financially it’s better for them to stay at home,” she says.But as he crept closer to six months old, the mum’s savings dwindled.The on-the-road job often involved long hours and, she says, posed lots of problems. When the government announced further increases to the childcare subsidy, Shara says her day care centre increased its daily fee up to $165.means tested, Shara says her earning capacity meant she was receiving less than $50 a week subsidy.Shara began to cut corners where she could, including going without food for herself.
She moved into a unit closer to shops so she could ditch her petrol-guzzling car and walk when she could.She signed up to Airtasker and began supplementing her welfare payments with odd jobs such as cleaning, mystery shopping and even taking people’s parcels to the post office.“You need to get thrifty, there is no doubt about that,” she adds.
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