Managing money in the current crisis

You may be worried about a recent loss or reduction in income. This will inevitably lead to concerns about how you are going to pay your bills.

When you are worried that you may not have enough money to pay all of your bills, it is important to focus on your priorities, and take control of your budget. You may have to make some tough decisions, and cut back on non essential costs for a few weeks.

Emergency budget

To help you prioritise your money, you will find a budget template below:

Sit down with your recent bank statements to identify your spending habits, and note the amount of income you expect to have over the next month or so. To begin with make sure you allocate funds for your mortgage, rent, council tax and utilities.  These are your priority bills.

Hire purchase/personal contract purchase – speak to the finance company as soon as you can if you will have difficulties paying.

Other debt:

Once you have your emergency budget completed, you will be able to see how much you have left for creditors – credit/store card, unsecured personal loans, catalogues, payday loans etc.. If you will not be able to make the contractual minimum payments, contact your creditors immediately  and explain that you will struggle to pay.

If you will struggle to pay your essential bills and buy food, then you should not make payments to non priority debts. Contact the creditors and explain the circumstances.

See Citizens Advice Scotland for more information on what help is available to you.

You can get help to maximise your income from the Money Talk Team, call freephone 0800 085 7145.

You can get help to claim Universal Credit on this freephone telephone number – 0800 023 2581.