If you are having trouble managing your money, there are ways to help yourself get out of immediate financial danger. Find out how to get help with rent arrears, one-off payments, and debt.
We also have advice on ways to plan long-term to better manage your money, and how to make ends meet.
We also have an online grant checker – use it to see if you could qualify for financial support.
There are lots of reasons why you may find yourself in debt or struggling with money. Often it is due to reasons beyond your control, such as unexpected events, a drop in income or separating from a partner. Managing on one income can be difficult and you may feel swamped or anxious.
We hope we can help you take control of your situation. We will cover budgeting and how to manage household bills, and will also support you to identify strategies for dealing with debts and give you tips for negotiating with creditors.
Finding yourself in debt can be a stressful time, but the sooner you assess your situation and get advice, the easier it will be to deal with.
Making a list of your debts is an important first step to taking control. Make a list of all unpaid bills including money owed to friends and family.
Also include bills that you may not have fallen behind with yet, but are struggling with, especially if trying to pay them is leaving you short of money for other essential items.
Generally, you are responsible for all bills that are in your name, but there are some exceptions to this. Speak to a debt adviser about the enforceability of a debt if at the time you took it out you were:
You should also seek advice if it is more than six years since you made a payment or wrote to a creditor. This area of law is complicated. To find a debt adviser visit organisations such as StepChange or National Debtline.
If a bill is in more than one name, you and the other named person are jointly responsible for paying it. This means that either one of you can be asked to pay back the full amount owed. If the other person named on the bill cannot, or will not, pay the debt, you can be asked to pay all of it. Give the contact details of the other person to the creditor (the person or company you owe money to) so that they can be asked to make payments too.
There may be debts that you do not consider to be yours, but if you want to keep using the service the debt has been incurred on, you may still have to deal with them. For example, you may need to take full responsibility for rent or mortgage costs if you wish to remain in your home. If the mortgage or rent agreement is in joint names or just in someone else’s name, get housing advice about your right to stay in the property.
For free housing advice, contact organisations such as Shelter and Citizen’s Advice.
You can get a credit history report, which will list all of the credit taken out in your name, including joint debts. Companies that provide credit history reports are:
Putting together a budget can help you see what money you have, where it goes and if you could make any savings. Your budget will also show what money, if any, you have left over to pay debts. You may already know that you have no money left at the end of the week or month, but many creditors will ask for a copy of your budget, often called a financial statement, as part of their negotiations. It is also used by debt advisers to work out your options.
Your budget can be a simple list of your income and household spending each week or month. Be honest with yourself when completing your budget and write down what you really spend. Otherwise, your budget will never work and you will not be able to keep up with any arrangements that you make with creditors. Include regular household bills in your budget, such as gas and electricity. Write down the amount that you should pay each week/month if you were not in arrears. List any arrears or debts separately.
Once you can see your income and expenditure written down, you may be able to think of ways to make savings or reduce debt.
Check that you are receiving all of the benefits and tax credits that you are entitled to, including help with your rent or council tax.
You can also contact the Child Maintenance Service to discuss ways of setting up child maintenance payments if you don’t already receive regular maintenance from your child’s other parent.
If you are thinking of leaving your home because you are behind with your rent or mortgage, get advice first. Your local authority may refuse to provide housing if you leave your home voluntarily. This should not apply if you have to leave your home because it is not safe.
It is almost always necessary for a landlord or mortgage company to get a court order to evict you from a property, unless your landlord lives with you. If you fall behind with rent or mortgage payments, get advice from a debt or housing specialist as soon as possible. Even if you have started to receive letters threatening eviction, it may not be too late to take action.
If you do receive papers from the county court, act quickly. Get advice from organisations such as:
If you have been sent an eviction notice, it should state the date when you have to leave the property. It is possible to ask the court to suspend the eviction, usually on certain conditions such as paying any arrears in instalments.
If you are not able to get advice before the hearing, contact the court to see if an adviser will be available on the day. If so, arrive early and take any paperwork with you, including your household budget and a list of other debts.
Although some debts are treated as a lower priority, they will still need to be dealt with. Lower priority creditors will often contact you to ask for payment. Do not make promises that you can’t keep or feel that you have to answer their phone calls. However, you should continue to open letters from creditors and get advice as soon as you can.
The box below shows some examples of lower priority debts. Although this list gives the worst possible penalty for non-payment, you may be able to avoid this action if you tackle the problem as soon as possible.
If you are a parent and would like to find out more about our Family Grant Scheme please fill in the following form to request a call back.
If you are a parent and would like to find out more about our Student-Parent Grant Scheme please fill in the following form to request a call back.
(01274) 223292
The Work and Kids Project is a not-for-profit social enterprise that is dedicated to helping parents and young families across the UK achieve financial and emotional independence.
