Sooner or later it was going to happen - my kids' shoes now cost more than mine.

Just last week I was in a shop and I ended up buying shoes for my one-year-old that were a full five pounds more expensive than mine.

How this happened I have no idea.

It kind of crept up on me I guess and now I am wearing shoes that are cheaper than my kids.

He has no idea how much those cost and probably won't care for another ten years but at the moment I am officially the cheapest guy in the family.

It is tough being at the bottom of the pile but I suppose someone has to. I just didn't think that the boy would overtake me so soon.

To buy these shoes many years ago I would have to do a paper round for a full six weeks.

That paper round was a lifeline for some of us.

It wasn't the best job in the world but I learnt many a thing about life in general.

For instance I learnt that newsagents get up very early in the morning.

And if the paperboy doesn't turn up they have to do the round themselves.

I know this can be quite a pain for newsagents and I remember one guy picking me up at 7am and driving me around and making me post all the papers.

Why he didn't let me have a lie-in for a change and just deliver them himself was beyond me.

In the winter months it took real character to deliver all those papers on time, especially in the mornings.

The Sunday supplements seperated the men from the girls.

The girls delivered the papers and the boys made excuses.

For a morning and the evening paper round I got a grand total of £2.80.

That might not seem a lot...in fact it wasn't a lot at all. I got ripped off pure and simple.

Just £2.80 for a job that took me an hour in the morning and hour in the evening. I must have been mad.

Yet, it did ensure that when I grew older I understood the full value of money.

And when I have to buy shoes that are more expensive than my kids then something out there is not quite right in the world.