January can be a difficult month for many after all the excitement of Christmas; it is often not until the credit card statements arrive that the financial hangover kicks in.

For some people this may be a short-term problem but, for others, overspending at Christmas can have a knock-on effect throughout the coming year. Our advice is to be proactive and act quickly.

You need to work out which of your debts are priority debts and deal with them first.  

Priority debts mean you could lose your home, have your energy supply cut off, lose essential goods or go to prison if you don't pay. You must pay these first.

They include things like:

Rent and mortgage

Gas and electricity

Council tax

Court fines

If you’re struggling to pay debts like credit cards, store cards or personal loans you can ask to make lower monthly repayments or consider a formal debt solution. 

Different debt solutions can affect your life in different ways. For example, they might affect your credit rating, mortgage or savings, or restrict the work you can do.

If you need more help understanding the different options and their risks, contact us.

We offer a free, impartial debt advice service in person, online or by phone. Visit northhertscab.org.uk or call the Herts CA AdviceLine on 0800 144 88 48

Check out Citizens Advice North Herts’ top tips for dealing with debt:

Deal with it Now, don’t ignore the problem – the longer you leave it the worse it will get.

Priority Debts – Pay these first.

Work out your budget – We can help with this, you will need it to show your creditors.

Contact all the Creditors – Explain the situation, don’t offer payment straight away.

Don’t give up – Even if creditors are unhelpful, keep trying until you get someone who will listen.

DO NOT borrow money to pay off debts – Additional borrowing can seem like a good idea and may well help in the short-term, but can too often lead to more serious longer-term problems.

Keep a copy of all the correspondence you send or receive.

Get advice– We can help with maximising income, reducing expenditure, budgeting, creating budget plans, financial statements and more.

To help us shape the direction of our future services we’re running a short survey to find out how and when people would like to contact us.

As an advice service our focus is on making sure people are able to access the support they need in a way that works for them and we would value hearing your views.

You can complete the survey online at: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/2023AccessSurveyCitizensAdviceNH/

You can find out more about CANH and keep up to date with our latest news at www.northhertscab.org.uk or follow us on Facebook, Twitter LinkedIn or Instagram.