If you are struggling to make ends meet or your debt is increasing each month then you may need some help to improve your finances.  Asking for help is the best start. Ignoring it will only make it worse.

Debt and Benefits Advice

If you need more help to deal with your debt or benefit problems, then the following agencies provide free advice and support:

• Brent Advice Matters
• StepChange
• National Debtline
• Business Debtline
• PayPlan
• MIND
• Turn2us

Citizens Advice

The team at Brent Citizens Advice provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to people with money, legal and other problems.

You can speak to them over the phone or contact them online.

Money Helper

The Money Helper website provides free and impartial advice, in-depth guides, tools and calculators to help you improve your finances. You can get free confidential advice online by speaking to an adviser via webchat or whatsapp. The main areas of advice covered are:

• Benefits
• Everyday money (includes budgeting and banking)
• Family and care
• Homes
• Money troubles
• Pensions and retirement
• Savings
• Work

They also have a useful budgeting tool to manage your money and identify where you can cut back.

Affordable Credit

Avoid paying too much for loans or using payday lenders, and consider using a Credit Union. Credit Unions operate locally and aim to provide loans at low rates, encourage their members to save regularly and help members in need of financial advice and assistance.

Credit Unions operating in Brent:

• Credit Union services for Brent(Hillingdon Credit Union has extended to anyone who works or lives in the London boroughs of Brent)
• My Community Bank
• London Capital Credit Union