A mum-of-five with a £62k household income has resorted to using Klarna to afford her food shop - due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Laura Caine, 40, struggles to cover her family's monthly outgoings using her £1k-a-month universal credit payment and her husband Martin's £50k games programmer salary.
The couple have five children - aged 18 to nine - and say feeding the brood three meals a day gets expensive so they have had to use the buy-now-pay-later service.
In recent months Laura says she had to use Klarna to afford groceries as she "can't afford" to pay for a big shop upfront.
Laura claims both she and Martin have both maxed out their credit cards after their energy bill shot up to £450-a-month from £200.
Some people find paying debt off interest-free over a short period is helpful, lots of the schemes charge a fee if payments are missed.
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.
She said: “The last shop I did I spent £1,050 and am paying £350 back each month.
“The same shop used to be £500 pre-covid which just shows how much costs have gone up – but it will last me a month and a half, which is not bad for a family of seven."
The food shop she does is usually comprised of fresh fruit and veg.
"I'll get 10 packets of carrots at 65p a bag and prep them and put in the freezer," Laura said.
"Potatoes I'll get 10 bags and keep them in our cellar.
"I buy fresh meat and freeze it as well as flour and butter as I make giant tray bake cakes in the big tray for the oven, I also get crisps and squash."
Prior to using Klarna, Laura also had to rely on food banks while she also frequents wholesalers to buy bulk essentials like toilet rolls and flour to make bread.
Laura said: "Last year my benefits switched to universal credit - whereas before I was on tax credits and it has given me a cash flow problem.
“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."
Laura was desperate to avoid frequent visits to food banks.
"When money eventually came in, I decided how can I make sure that we don’t go to food banks anymore –
Laura Caine, 40, struggles to cover her family's monthly outgoings using her £1k-a-month universal credit payment and her husband Martin's £50k games programmer salary.
The couple have five children - aged 18 to nine - and say feeding the brood three meals a day gets expensive so they have had to use the buy-now-pay-later service.
In recent months Laura says she had to use Klarna to afford groceries as she "can't afford" to pay for a big shop upfront.
Laura claims both she and Martin have both maxed out their credit cards after their energy bill shot up to £450-a-month from £200.
Some people find paying debt off interest-free over a short period is helpful, lots of the schemes charge a fee if payments are missed.
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.
She said: “The last shop I did I spent £1,050 and am paying £350 back each month.
“The same shop used to be £500 pre-covid which just shows how much costs have gone up – but it will last me a month and a half, which is not bad for a family of seven."
The food shop she does is usually comprised of fresh fruit and veg.
"I'll get 10 packets of carrots at 65p a bag and prep them and put in the freezer," Laura said.
"Potatoes I'll get 10 bags and keep them in our cellar.
"I buy fresh meat and freeze it as well as flour and butter as I make giant tray bake cakes in the big tray for the oven, I also get crisps and squash."
Prior to using Klarna, Laura also had to rely on food banks while she also frequents wholesalers to buy bulk essentials like toilet rolls and flour to make bread.
Laura said: "Last year my benefits switched to universal credit - whereas before I was on tax credits and it has given me a cash flow problem.
“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."
Laura was desperate to avoid frequent visits to food banks.
"When money eventually came in, I decided how can I make sure that we don’t go to food banks anymore –
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:30You