Citizens Advice: Support if you are struggling with living costs

Are you struggling to pay your bills and put food on the table? KCALC can offer support and advice.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Written by Kirklees Citizens Advice & Law Centre chief executive, Nick Whittingham

“We’re a family with two young children.

We’re already struggling to stay on top of household bills; the weekly food shop isn’t stretching as far any more and now my energy bill is going up too.

tough times: Don’t struggle alone, Citizens Advice can help. Photo: Adobetough times: Don’t struggle alone, Citizens Advice can help. Photo: Adobe
tough times: Don’t struggle alone, Citizens Advice can help. Photo: Adobe
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We don’t know how we’re going to afford all of these price rises.

What can we do to stop our finances spiralling out of control?”

Firstly, it’s always worth checking if there are benefits you don’t know about that you might be eligible for.

Including support with your energy costs and living costs.

On the Citizens Advice website - http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk - there’s a benefits calculator.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

You will also find advice on how to reduce living costs and information on other ways to increase your income.

There’s also advice and information on emergency support that you may have access to.

This includes food bank vouchers or fuel vouchers – we can help you with this.

Or you can contact organisations such as Kirklees Council to get some more information.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you’re struggling to stay on top of bills, it’s important to understand what money you have coming in and going out each month.

Citizens Advice has a budgeting tool on its website that can help with this.

But you can call us if you need more support with your finances.

If you’re already behind on bills, prioritise paying your rent or mortgage, energy bills and council tax first.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

These are priority bills, and not paying these bills has the most serious consequences.

If you do owe money, you should try and speak to the person or company you owe money to.

See if they can help you repay your bills sustainably.

We can help talk you through how to do this.

And there is lots of information available on the Citizens Advice website.

We know that times are incredibly tough.

In the last year we have seen a 30 per cent increase in clients coming to speak to us about debt, with a 19 per cent increase in clients with fuel debt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Remember that you don’t have to face this alone – Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre are here to help you find a way forward.

If you would like to speak to us, you can call us on 0808 2787896 (freephone), where Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre helps thousands of people each year.

With the current cost of living crisis, you may be coming to us for the first time.

We can help with issues such as employment, asylum, debt, benefits, budgeting and much more.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

See our website at http://www.kcalc.org.uk for more information about the range of services that we provide as well as some self-help information.

* Do you want make a difference to people in your community?

If you do, we’re recruiting for volunteers!

Visit the Get Involved page on our website http://www.kcalc.org.uk to see all of the roles that are available and how to apply.