Aussie mum with THIRTEEN children reveals how the family is surviving on one income – and the question she wishes people would stop asking

An Aussie couple with 13 children are considering taking their children out of school due to the rising cost of living.

Malinda Lange and husband Erik, a window salesman, survive on his income to provide for their super-sized family.

The couple from Dandenong, in Melbourne’s south-east, know their finances are tight and have tried just about everything to make ends meet, but things are getting desperate.

With nine of their children still in school, one in kindergarten and one still at home, the decision to end traditional education is not taken lightly.

“Things are getting super tight as costs rise and we’ve pulled out everything we can and even sold some things to make it work,” Malinda told Daily Mail Australia.

“Their tuition is currently about $38,000 a year, so we considered homeschooling.”

While the couple managed to tighten their belts just enough to afford a short-term education, Malinda is now terrified of the unexpected.

“We are just coming out of the hole we dug when Covid and I got sick after kidney failure,” she said.

The family sold as much as they could this year to pay school fees

‘Medical costs worry me the most. It becomes a joke, and we also pay a fortune in taxes.’

The family, who live in a rented house, are used to sharing everything, especially the four bedrooms.

‘I think it’s annoying that we currently have so many bedrooms, but we want to improve our financial position and travel more. I haven’t seen my brother since before Covid hit,” Malinda said, adding that five of her sons currently share one bedroom.

“Cooper, Lachlan and Tyler would rather not have Joel and Harry in their room, but the girls are quite young so they don’t mind sharing.”

Malinda said she is managing to keep rising bills under control with careful planning.

‘We always make a meal plan and then go shopping at the fruit and vegetable store Aldi and Woolies. It takes a lot of time, but it keeps costs a lot lower and we usually spend about $500 a week,” she said.

Nine out of thirteen children currently attend school, costing approximately $38,000 in tuition per year

The family also gives $500 a year for each child for Christmas and birthday gifts

‘There is no such thing as a cheap meal that everyone likes, but most do like spaghetti or tuna pasta and are therefore regularly on the menu.’

Malinda, who talks about what it is like to raise such a large family on @yestheyarealloursadmitted that designer clothing is her weakness, but it was one of the first things she cut back on when costs skyrocketed.

‘We rarely take the kids out and can’t afford the movies, theme parks or vacations. We are going to free things in the community, but even those are being held less and less,” she said.

But as stressful as the financial crisis is for the couple, they have no regrets about their larger-than-life family — even if that wasn’t always the plan.

‘I wanted four or six because I hate odd numbers, and Erik wanted eight. We don’t come from large families ourselves,” she says.

And while there’s no denying that such a large family turns heads when they’re out in public, there’s one comment that gets them fed up.

“People tell us we need a TV and they think they’re so funny and they’re the first to say it,” Malinda said.

“But the fact is, I probably heard it several times that day.”