Gingerbread’s tips for managing household bills (From Watford Observer)

Gingerbread’s tips for managing household bills

11:27am Monday 29th June 2009 in Watford CVS

In a Gingerbread survey 79 per cent of single parents said that they had turned down their heating to save money, but many are still finding it hard to make ends meet.

As the economy worsens single parent families are highly vulnerable. Children living with a single parent are twice as likely to be poor as children living with couples.

Turning the thermostat down can save on heating bills, but what if you’ve done that and are still struggling to pay? Gingerbread’s factsheet Managing your household bills – a guide for single parents has everything from tips on saving energy, applying for home improvements, help with water bills and contact details for charitable trusts and energy companies that offer ways of helping customers to pay their bills.

Gingerbread factsheets are available free to single parents who call the Gingerbread Single Parent Helpline on 0800 018 5026 (open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Wednesdays 9am to 8pm) or downloadable from our website www.gingerbread.org.uk. .

Gingerbread is the national charity working with single parent families.

Formed following a merger of the National Council of One Parent Families and Gingerbread, we now provide increased support and a stronger campaigning voice for single parents and their families. It runs the Single Parent Helpline and produces a range of free publications on every aspect of single parent family life.

It also offers a membership scheme and employability programmes for lone parents who want to move back to the job market, working with private, public and other voluntary sector organisations to deliver these.