When you are short of money, bills are the last thing you want to find in the letterbox. Bills will never go away completely, but you can plan for them and there are a few ways to reduce them. Below are some handy tips that may help you:
- You should always pay important bills like rent, electricity and gas first. Read the budgetting section for advice about planning your budget to make sure you always have enough aside to pay your bills.
- It is often cheaper to pay bills by direct debit. You can now apply for a basic bank account even if you haven't been able to have a bank account in the past.
- You can reduce your bills by using less energy in your home, websites such as My Home Energy Switch will give you useful information and advice.
- Compare prices to find the best deals for electricity, gas and phone by using websites that compare prices such as Money Saving Expert and uSwitch. Try to get electricity and gas from the same supplier as part of a 'duel fuel' plan.
- Save in advance for Christmas so you don't start the new year in debt.
Advice and support is available if you can't afford to repay a debt, phone the Income Management Team on 0151 224 0201 who may be able to help.
