Financial problems? What you can do to help yourself

The Warwick district branch, which held its annual meeting on Tuesday, saw 5,500 new clients during the year 2010-2011, with seven out of every ten problems being to do with these two issues.

But the CAB believes help is at hand. The branch has its own financial capability officer, Charlie Adams, who runs free one-to-one and group sessions to help people learn how to manage their money more efficiently, plan ahead, save and gain a better understanding of financial issues.

Speaking at the meeting on Tuesday, Ms Adams said: “According to a study carried out at Bristol University in 2006, people are alarmingly bad at financial capability.

“People generally don’t know how much money they have or owe and are bad at planning ahead. People are also bad at buying products and tend to stick with the same suppliers they have always had.

“I am here to provide people with help on things like budgeting, saving money, managing a bank account, choosing credit wisely and how to manage debt.”

Ms Adams has so far run sessions at children’s centres and at community centres around Warwick district and is starting to work at Kenilworth School.

She said: “The sooner people can get help, the better. If it goes well, I am really hoping to roll it out to other schools.”

Figures from the Warwick CAB for the last year also show that, of more than 2,000 employment problems, 30 per cent involved dismissal or redundancy. More han 800 clients had mortgage or rent arrears. The age of clients ranged from 16 to 94 and they were of 61 different nationalities.

Ninety-five per cent of respondents in a satisfaction exercise said they were satisfied with the service provided by the branch.

Ms Adams said: “Financial capability training boosts confidence, self-esteem, health and well-being. It’s the sort of thing many people could benefit from.

“I am always trying to look for people to come to courses. I am hoping to get some courses up and running in the bureau if we can get CAB volunteers willing to train up so it is not just me who can deliver them.”

Anyone interested in arranging a group or one-to-one session with Charlie should email [email protected]

The Warwick CAB’s office is in Hamilton Terrace, where staff and trained volunteers offer advice and practical information on debt, benefits, housing, legal, discrimination, employment, immigration, consumer and other problems.

The branch also recently began to work with Macmillan Cancer Support to enable it to offer cancer patients and their families support that relates to issues arising from the illness.

Drop-in advice sessions take place on Mondays from 1pm to 7pm and on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm, while advice is also available over the phone or by arranging an appointment during the week.

For further details, call 0844 855 2322 or visit www.cableamington.org.uk

Become a money-saving expert

• Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry

• Make a shopping list and stick to it

• Try a cheaper supermarket

• Shop late in the evening or at night to find discounts

• Look at the ‘reduced’ section

• Buy what you can in bulk

• Use loyalty cards

• Look at changing your utility supplier

• Choose the best way to pay, such as direct debit or pre-payment

• Save energy where you can around the house

• Get advice if you are in debt

• Get a Skype phone to make free calls

• Join the Freecycle network to obtain free goods and get rid of your own unwanted items