Lincoln anti-poverty partnership offer budgeting advice for the festive period

‘Remember, remember to budget this November’ – that’s the first message of a three-month campaign to encourage people to plan their spending carefully in the run-up to the festive season.

The ‘Sometimes we all need a helping hand’ project is the follow-up to last year’s nationally-recognised ‘Say no to high cost borrowing’ campaign and is being run as part of the Lincoln Anti-Poverty Strategy, led by a partnership of organisations, including City of Lincoln Council.

The aim of ‘helping hands’ is to show where people can get advice and support with budgeting at a time when there’s extra pressure on household budgets.

Posters will be displayed throughout the month at various locations throughout the city and leaflets will be given out by a number of sources, including schools and food banks.

November’s poster encourages people to contact Lincolnshire Credit Union – a financial co-operative owned and controlled by its members – for savings support.

The organisation can offer loans, subject to approval, at significantly lower rates than pay day loans and high interest lenders and can also create savings accounts for people to help them put money away for the festive season.

John Eames, from Lincolnshire Credit Union, said: “We all want to be generous at Christmas, but if we haven’t saved this can stretch our budgets and possibly cause problems for the future.

“It’s important to set a spending budget that is realistic and keep within it. A credit union loan can help to ease the pressure this year, but making an early New Year resolution to open a Christmas Saver account with the credit union in 2016 is a great idea.”

Councillor Rosanne Kirk, Portfolio Holder for Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion, added: “We know that Christmas and the new year can put extra pressure on people financially, which is why we want to make everyone aware that there’s help out there if they need it.

“Lincoln is fortunate to have a number of agencies, including Lincolnshire Credit Union, that can help with budgeting and money advice.

“We know that last year’s ‘Say no to high cost borrowing’ campaign really helped people and I really hope that this year’s ‘Sometimes we all need a helping hand’ project will prove just as helpful.”

Other organisations that can help with budgeting advice include:

Christians Against Poverty – 0800 328 0006
Citizens Advice Bureau – 03444 111 444
City of Lincoln Council – 01522 881188

Helping Hands campaign materials can be downloaded online here.