Don't suffer in silence this Blue Monday
As festive bills start to arrive, Children First is urging families across Scotland not to suffer in silence and get in touch with their support line.
January is one of the busiest times of year for Scotland's national children's charity. The new year can be extremely tough for families who face worries about Christmas spending and increased living costs during the colder weather.
Getting advice early can make a huge difference to families and can help address any issues before they escalate and help them back to financial health.
To get on the front foot for 2025, Children First’s expert support line team have put together some handy hints for healthier finances.
Children First support line is here to help families with budgeting, benefits, debt and energy bills. They work with parents and carers by listening to any worries they may have about their finances and then put a plan in place to navigate their difficulties.
Sinead Haddow, service manager at Children First said, “Talking about your finances can be really daunting and we understand it can cause lots of anxiety for families.
“Our friendly support line team will listen to your worries, free of judgement, and start to help you put together a plan to get back to financial health.
“When families speak to us, it may be the first time they have had a good night’s sleep in months.
“Pick up the phone to our support line today, by calling 08000 28 22 33 from 9am – 9pm, Monday to Friday or 9am – 12 noon Saturday and Sunday.
“If speaking on the phone is daunting, you can also speak to our support line via webchat on our website at https://www.childrenfirst.org.uk/supportline.
“Whatever way families want to contact to us, we’re here to listen.”
Michelle Supple, Director of Fundraising, Children First said: “January can be a tough time for many children and families. Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery the Children First support line can offer free, confidential, support to any family anywhere in Scotland, which many families tell us can feel like a lifeline.”
Last year, Children First helped almost 1,000 families to put £1.9 million back into their pockets through unclaimed benefits, grants and budgeting.
The charity can also provide expert support on debt and helped double the number of families in 2023-2024 to manage over £813,000 in debt.
Children First support line is here to help families across Scotland with whatever challenges they face. From mental health, money worries and online harm to struggles at school the charity's support line can offer free help and advice thanks to funds raised by players of People's Postcode Lottery and awarded by Postcode Children Trust.
Handy hints for healthier finances
- Start saving now for Christmas 2025
Saving little bits now adds up by December 2025. Lots of supermarkets offer Christmas savings schemes and some banks also have savings schemes available. Monzo have recently started the “1p challenge” which can save you hundreds of pounds by the end of the year.
- Keep a close eye on energy bills
Make sure you give your supplier your energy readings regularly. Estimated versus actual readings can cause debt – support line can help with this. Thinking ahead by building credit with suppliers over the warmer months to support increased rates in winter months.
- Avoid buy now pay later schemes
It’s tempting to sign up for schemes like catalogues, Klarna and Clearpay, but if you miss payments, it can really affect your credit rating. Instead, you could try joining your local credit union.