Caitriona Redmond: My family needs an extra €78 per week to meet rising costs of living

Plus my recipe for a homemade spice bag that is incredibly easy to make

The listing, totting, and calculating of what we can afford is replicated across the country and the first place we are looking to make savings is on the food bill

Finally, all the schools are on holiday; state exams are finished for some and we are free from the tyranny of lunchboxes, uniforms, and homework. I’ve turned off the alarms and reminders in the diary for nine long weeks and I’ve resigned myself to being the early riser while the kids slumber on.

The cost of living increase is not slumbering though.