Advice Direct Scotland - Consumer Spending & Financial Awareness 2022 (#simplifyspending)
Monday 4th - Friday 8th April 2020
Citizens across Scotland have seen a jump in the cost of living recently, with further increases expected in the coming months, and more worryingly again before the end of 2022.
The price of energy has increased dramatically, with many households being forced to choose between heating and eating.
In his Spring Statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced plans to increase the threshold for National Insurance Contributions by £3,000 to £12,570 from July. However, this has come against a backdrop of inflation (CPI) rising to 6.2 per cent in the year to February, with fuel, energy and food prices surging.
Although the traditional practical ways of saving money on household costs, such as avoiding leaving electrical gadgets on ‘standby’ and turning heating down on washing can help, the situation we find ourselves in now means that these efforts often don’t even put a dent in the deficit we face.
As a result of this, many of us now need to seek additional support when it comes to living costs and getting by.
On top of this, recent research by the Literacy Trust, working with Octopus Energy (2021), highlighted that more than one in five 18- to 24-year-olds responsible for paying energy bills said that they sometimes avoided reading their bills because of the language used (this figure was 3.1% in over 75s).
Only 1 in 11 of the people surveyed in this age group were able to identify the correct definitions of six terms commonly used on bills.
Throughout Advice Direct Scotland’s Consumer Spending and Financial Awareness Campaign, we will be looking at ways Scottish citizens can save money and the sources of support that are out there that can help.
Over the course of the week, we will look at how we can de-mystify the jargon to help simplify our spending.
Thursday 7th April 2022 - energyadvice.scot
energyadvice.scot provide free, practical advice and information on energy-related matters to the citizens of Scotland.
“With all the recent news about energy increases, price hikes, and everything else that is going on in the world, it’s easy to get bogged down and confused by the jargon being used. When it comes to how we spend our money, being in the know and understanding where it is going is more important now than ever.“ – Energy Bills – Demystifying the Jargon & Sources of Support – Consumeradvice
Wednesday 6th April 2022 - moneyadvice.scot
moneyadvice.scot provide free information and support on a wide range of debt-related issues. Our specialist debt advisers can work with you to assess your current situation, look at your income and outgoings, and consider what to do next.
“The purse strings are a lot tighter now than they were at this time last year. From increases at the tills, to skyrocketing bills, we are all feeling the pinch. With increased living costs, comes the potential for us to fall behind, looking at short-term solutions to long-term problems, such as credit and store cards, potentially falling into a cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul.” – Debt & Money: moneyadvice.scot advisers are on-hand to support Scottish Citizens – advice.scot
Tuesday 5th April 2022 - advice.scot
advice.scot provide advice and information on a range of topics, including –
- Employment
- Housing
- Benefits
- The practical aspects of family and relationships
- Neighbourhood issues
“Living life, affording to pay all our bills, whilst continuing to put food on the table has become quite the juggling task for many of us recently. Increases to the cost of living, with soaring energy prices, and the prices of other essential goods and services jumping up as a result has been challenging.” – Cost of Living Crisis – How can advice.scot help? – advice.scot