A baby, as we all know, costs a lot of money. It can sometimes be difficult to manage both baby and bills. You want to buy everything you can for your child, but when you are on a low income this can be difficult.

I am 21 years old and have two children aged five and two. I'm a single parent. I live with my children in a rented house. I'm at college and I don't work.

I do find it difficult to manage my bills from time to time. I find it hard because the boys want things that they see, and it is sometimes hard to say no. I'm no different from them. I also see things I want. I enjoy going out with friends, like any other 21 year old. To do this I need to save money, which can be difficult.

I find it harder at the boys' birthdays and Christmas. Both birthdays are just before Christmas, so leading up to this time I start saving for presents.

I do this by making a list of what bills need paying and how much. I then put down how much I need to keep for college for the week. I then take away this amount from the total amount I have. I find that this helps me to control how much I spend and it also makes sure that all my bills are paid.

I pay as many bills as I can at the Post Office when I get my money. I prefer to pay with cash rather than through the bank, so I know what I am paying and when.

After I have paid my bills, I do my food shopping. I try to stick to a list, but it doesn't always work when I take the two boys.

I usually do my shopping on the weekend as I have little time during the week with college. When shopping for clothes, I tend to look around to see what sales are on. Other than that I get most of the boys' clothes from George at Asda.

Now and again, when I need things I know I cannot afford, I have had a loan from 'the social'. When you have a loan from Social Security, it's not like other loans. You only have to pay back what you have borrowed and they take it out of your weekly money automatically.

I have also ordered from catalogues, like at Christmas. I found that although the re-payments are not very high every week, you could instead save up in the home or put away in an account and then buy more cheaply in the shops.

Though it seems I am always saving for things, the boys never go without what they want. It's really nice to say yes.