According to money advice service, the anticipation of calls per minute has exceeded throughout the month of January. This was due to expenses made during the seasonal holiday, which was Christmas.
In other words, that equals almost 15 calls for every hour spent as service helplines stay open for almost 230 hours of this month. However, based on reports made by Money Advice Service, a peak on traffic is to be expected on Monday. Hence, the 20th of January perhaps would be a busy day. This is because the credit card bills for the month of December are to come out.
In relation to this, the money advice attended nearly 3500 debt calls around the same time in the previous year. As much as it worries the people in debt about confront money issues or debt issues, it is also crucially important to act on it.
Ways to Reduce Bill!
Reducing bills is not that hard of a task, especially if your financial state is not holding up so well. In that case, you may need to consider some things in order to get your financial situation stable. And here’s how you can reduce bills in the following ways:
Council Tax
You can opt for the reduction of council tax. However, to do so, you may need to abide by a few rules or follow some criteria. I do apply for this option, you can reduce the bill to a good extent, provided if your income is not high.
Rent
You can consider taking rent with a roommate. Or, if you are already living on a rented space, and if the landlord has no restriction with getting you a roommate then do so. In this way, the rent of the space will be divided among the two or you, or three of you, depending on the space.
And not only will you reduce the bills of the space, but you will also reduce other bills of the house.
Water
Get yourself a water meter so that whenever you use water, you’d be able to have a chart of how much of it you’re using. Or you can simply check the amount of water usage with the help of the Consumer Council.
Mortgage
It is needless to say that if you have debts, you should plan out a way to get the payments done. To make this easier, take the help of the Citizens Advice Budgeting Tool or money advice trust. With that help, you’d be able to discuss the option for payment along with the mortgage.
License for TV
Here’s an interesting fact. This means that the bill for TV would be reduced to a lower amount compared to the original budget. For those who get Pension and are at the age of 75, get a free license for TV. However, this has only come to light as changes have been made for the month fo June in 2020.
Ways to Get out of Debt
As previously mentioned, avoiding or not coming in confrontation with money issues can lead to a great issue that would cost you more. It is understandable that you may be worried but you can get the financial state back on track if you follow these few tips below:
1. Consult With People
It is never too late to speak with someone about the issue. Talk to a person you can trust or confide in. Tell them the details of the money issues you’re facing. You can get in touch with Money advice services which offer you free guidance on the issue.
2. Don’t Avoid the Bills
The first and foremost thing you need to do is stop avoiding the bills. You’d have to consider getting this notion out of your head because it can lead to greater problem in the future. If you keep avoiding the bills, you’d have a bigger amount to pay later on.
Make a list and analyze the expenses in comparison with the debt. Keep the due date in check and start managing the amount you need to pay so that you can get free of it soon.
3. Create your Budget
Once you’ve made a list of what the debt is, start making a budget fo expenses. Use the help of Citizens Advice so that you can make a plan on how much money is getting saved for the payment every month.
Once you create a budget, you will be able to save up every month and make a contribution to the debt until its cleared. This will help you create a stable financial state without any strain on it.
4. Check If You have Benefits
As you know, if your income is low, or if you are facing a lot of issues in finance, then you most likely may have benefits entitled to you. These benefits come from places such as Job seeker’s allowance, tax credits, universal credits, etc.
5. Consider DMP
Here’s another option you can opt for. Consider the use of DMP (Debt Management Plans) which allows you to get the debt off your shoulders if you sign an informal agreement. However, the plan is not for everyone to take. Make sure you go through the terms and conditions thoroughly before you opt for it.
6. Get Yourself a Transfer Card
As good as a credit card does, it also has some drawbacks. For starters, if you keep the debt piling up, the interest rises and keeps adding up to the debt. For this reason, the best thing you can do is opt for a transfer card with a 0% balance.
With a balance transfer card, you can get rid of the interest. And this done in an easy way. All you’d have to do is, transfer the balance to another card and then you can for the said amount without having to pay for the interest.
However, it is advisable that you go through the guidelines or contact with money advice service before opting for it.