Petrol, showering, or food? The brutal choices forced on young people in cost of living crisis
"It's lots of sleepless nights"- young people open up about the reality of struggling financially.
"You can't afford to have showers every single day. You can't afford to keep clean - and then people make fun of you for not being clean enough."
Those are the words are the reality for 18-year-old Iris, who has spoken to ITV News West Country about the severe impact the cost of living crisis is having on her.
She is one of five young people who have opened up about their experiences and the huge financial pressure they feel every single day.
Earlier this week, ITV News heard from Saskia, a mother who skips breakfast and lunch as she struggles to clothe her toddler, and Chloe, a young business owner who has been left feeling suicidal as she feels she "works endlessly" but still cannot always afford to shower.
Now Iris, Chloe, and Robert - who are being supported by Bristol charity 1625 Independent People - are sharing their stories.
Robert is 22 years old and now has a job - but even with an income, money is always on his mind.
"It's stressful," he said. "It's lots of sleepless nights trying to figure out when you can do this, or when you can do that.
"Even now I am earning money, with [the cost of] food and petrol going up, each month I'm still like 'can I actually afford to do that? Can I afford to put that much petrol in this week?'
"It's mentally draining."
He added: "I can’t save for insurance. I’ve got no money from the bills I’ve got on credit. I’m paying £91 a month on that. Interest is where you lose all your money.
"My advice is if you can’t buy something outright - don’t buy it. That’s what I’ve learnt to go by."
Similarly 18-year-old Iris, who is a care leaver, says budgeting is all-consuming.
She said: "It's hard to budget for things when you're unaware if there's going to be an emergency."
"I spend £35 a week shopping," she added. "But sometimes I need to get like laundry detergent, fabric conditioner, toilet paper, toothpaste - maybe a new toothbrush, some haircare or body stuff.
"Sometimes you have to miss out on certain food aspects - or sometimes you might not be able to have a shower for a few days or not do any laundry.
"I want to see someone high up in the Government live on the money we have because it's not a lot. It's not possible.
“Especially for care leavers like myself as soon as you turn 18 you are dropped. You’re not given much support. you’re not taught anything really.
“No one teaches you how to cook a healthy, balanced meal, how to budget your money properly, how to do laundry, how to do just basic things."
For Chloe, who is 19 and a care leaver, she described it as a "massive struggle". She's trying everything to try and help her situation, including enrolling in courses.
She added: "You have to sacrifice. You have to choose your priorities."
She believes schools should do more to teach people life skills, as 1625 Independent People is doing.
"[Schools] don't teach us life skills," she said. "They don't teach us about credit, they don't teach us about paperwork.
"They don't teach us how to write emails, they don't teach us any of the taxes, vehicles, the list goes on.
“Most of the things I use now I did not learn from school. I asked from asking adults, from organisations like Citizens Advice. These things you wouldn’t know about unless you ask. And then who do you ask?"
She added: "I think an even bigger issue for us as care leavers is trying to learn all the life skills. It makes you [financially] worse off in the end."
1625 Independent People is supporting all the people we've spoken to, but as the cost of living bites it says it is feeling the pressure on its services.
If you'd like to donate to 1625 Independent People, you can find their JustGiving page here and Amazon wishlist here. The number for the charity's head office is 0117 317 8800.
The charity works with those leaving foster care and at risk of homelessness, teaching people life skills such as cooking and helping with housing and emotional support.
Its CEO Dom Wood told said the current situation is about as bad as it gets - particularly in Bristol where the cost of living is so high.
He said: "It's pretty dire. Young people are being hit by financial affects in every direction.
"Bristol particularly is one of the most expensive places to live - in terms of the cost of renting in relation to what you can get from housing benefit if you're in low paid work or unemployed.
"If you combine that with effects on food and utilities - there's a massive effect on young people at the moment.
"They don't see how they'll get out of any kind of financial pressure into the future. The financial burden seems like a never ending source of angst."
The charity helps more than 1,500 people every year, but it says it is struggling to help everybody as the cost of living crisis worsens.
Mr Wood said: "The funding we have from local authorities, there's a hierarchy of needs of who gets through.
"We subsidise that with the funding we have ourselves to meet as many people's needs as we can. But with an increasing number of needs, there are people with lower level needs that aren't getting support and they may be the people that need to call on services at a later stage."
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch