Rising Bills & Pension Fears: How To Save Money
Price increases at the start of the financial year are normal.. But these rises are set to hit most of us especially hard.
' Households could be looking at £360 per year in additional costs. That's when you take into consideration the increase to the energy price cap, higher water bills, higher broadband, mobile phone, TV license and car tax.' - AMY KNIGHT - Personal Finance Expert, NerdWallet UK
Nearly 9 in 10 councils in England have increased their council tax by the maximum permitted 4.99% from the first of April.
Richard Lane is from the debt charity StepChange. They've worked extensively with people who haven't been able to afford to pay their bill and have concerns over the way they are treated.
'There are lots of vulnerable households who are being asked to pay amounts of money that they simply can't afford. We'd ask for a few things. One, the councils start engaging as early as possible when they see signs of financial distress amongst their residents. Secondly, we need to see council tax support payments being put in place more effectively, and that is central government funding being made available for councils to do that.' - RICHARD LANE - Chief Client Officer, StepChange Debt Charity
The Local Government Association told us: 'Councils strive to recover unpaid tax as sympathetically as possible. Local welfare schemes run by councils, including council tax relief and the Household Support Fund, are also available alongside targeted government help. Anyone having trouble paying their council bills should get in touch with their local authority for financial help and advice as soon as possible.'
In April, water bills went up on average 26% across the country. The biggest rise since privatisation of water companies more than 30 years ago. Jo Obsborn is from Waterwise - which helps people save money on their water bills.
A washing machine typically uses around 50 litres of water per load. So cutting out unnecessary laundry is an easy win. You can also save a lot of water in the bathroom.
' If you've got a family of 4 and you leave the tap running when you brush your teeth, you can use a whole bath full of water a day. So it's a really quick, easy way to make sure you save water.' JO OSBORN - Head of Policy and Research, Waterwise
With all of our essential bills on the rise, and the future of the money we've saved uncertain - it seems we all might have to work a bit harder to keep our budgets on track.
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