Friday's question: Can you give me some advice on renting vs buying? Is it a bad time to take on the financial responsibility of a mortgage or does the money I would save on rent offset the risk?
If you are considering your housing we can suggest a few things to consider.
Buying: How secure is your employment? What can you really afford to pay? This is not the same as what are institutions prepared to lend you, so think carefully.
Will your budget allow you to increase your payments when interest rates begin to climb, as they inevitably will?
Have you got the will power or organisational strength to put that potential increase away so that you do not commit to other expenditure?
If you decide to buy shop around there are some great deals out there and prices are low.
Renting: How secure is your income? How much can you afford to pay now and what would happen if your income decreased? How secure is the tenancy? Many private tenants are being evicted at the moment due to landlords not making mortgage payments. They will credit check you but you are not able to check them. Go to Shelter online for guidance on tenancies.
Shared ownership: This could be the best option at the moment. Housing associations in your area may run shared ownership schemes where by you part rent and part buy your property increasing the amount you are buying according to what you can afford. The Shelter website has information on how this operates and your local authority should be able to tell you which housing associations operate in your area.
Thursday's question: I recently moved flat and, although I passed the estate agent's credit check, I only just scraped through on their ratings system. I was talking with friends and said that over the years I had paid some credit card bills a few days late, leading to late payment fees. They say this would massively knock my credit rating. Is this true? How can I repair it? I'm worried that I will struggle to get a mortgage in future – especially in the current borrowing climate.
This is interesting as it's not an issue that we come across too often at Action for Children. The families and young people we support tend not to have a credit history.
Many of the people we work with borrow from doorstep lenders and they do not share their credit scores with other lenders. This often leads to them never developing a credit history, rather than having a bad credit rating.
However, there are steps you can take to repair your credit history.
The first thing you need to do is get hold of the information held on your credit record and there are number of places you can go for this. A simple web search will throw up various companies and services that could find the data for you.
Those companies should also be able to work on improving your rating in the areas that need attention. Your bank should also be able to give you an idea of your credit standing. It's worth talking to them and your local Citizens Advice Bureau if you need further guidance.
Wednesday's question: I work in the city and have a reasonably well-paid job – but I can't seem to save any money. I keep getting into the same spiral where I spend slightly more money each month than I earn. I live in my overdraft and I have about £1K on my credit card. I'm not massively in debt (I've borrowed £10K over the last few years and am paying loans back) – but each time I borrow I end up in the same situation somewhere down the line. I'm 26 and don't want to give up going out, seeing friends and keeping my interests up. I don't want to borrow any more money. What can I do?
Whether we earn lots or a little, knowing where our money goes is the most important part of money management.
Estimate what you would spend in a week and on what. To make this easier, go through your day and identify times when you may spend money: going to the shop to buy a paper and some mints. If you break a £10 note, what happens to the change? What do you spend that on? What happens at Lunch time?
Try keeping a spending diary for a week and add up all the little amounts that you spend. To make this easier leave your cards at home and only take out the cash that you think you will need for the week. Look at the diary and repeat for the next week, making savings where possible.
Setting clear affordable budgets for your different types of expenditure will help you to get more from your money as less will trickle away on things you do not really want.
Another thing to try is grocery shopping online. Produce a menu for the coming week and shop to that. This cuts out a lot of impulse spending and food waste. It sounds boring but it will release an amazing amount of time and reduces the chances of nipping out for a take away.
Finally look at your utility bills and use one of the online comparison sites to see what savings can be made. When you identify savings put that money aside in a savings account so that you do not fritter it away.
Like anything else, taking control is the most important first step.
Tuesday's question: I am 18 and my landlord is trying to evict me because I'm behind on my rent. The bailiffs are coming round all the time but I've got nowhere to go – what can I do?
There are three things you need to here and they are all equally important. The first thing to do is to contact your local Shelter or housing advice project to check if any plans your landlord has to evict you are legal.
You can contact Shelter on their national helpline – 0808 800 4444 – for advice or to find your local project for support.
Once you have done this, follow their advice and contact your landlord and explain why you are in arrears and what you are planning to about it.
If you are dealing with bailiffs you need to contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and check the information available to you there. They produce a range of fact sheets, one of which is specifically about dealing with bailiffs.
To help yourself get to grips with your money you need to know where your money goes. Write a list of the money you have coming in and a list of all the money you spend. And not just the money that goes out to big organizations – everything you spend should be noted, even if it is at the local shop.
You will need this information when talking the CAB, who will help you to come to an arrangement with your landlord or the bailiffs.
Above all, do not panic and make payments that you cannot afford to the first person who asks you for money.
Monday's question: I think my sister is getting herself into lots of debt and is spending more money than she earns. What could I do to help her stop? Should I intervene?
Talking to people about how they handle their money can be very awkward. The most important thing to do is to be sensitive.
If you are not sure that she is in debt or isn't handling her money well, try something out: suggest to her that you go out for a night out together with friends.
Whilst talking about planning your night, explain to her that you can only afford 'x' amount because that's all your budget will stretch to. This can then lead to you talking about how she plans her nights out – which could be the first step to her looking at managing her money effectively.
There is a website called credit action where you can download a free "spendometer" to your mobile phone. The spendometer helps you manage your budget on a day-to-day basis by allowing you to set spending limits and easily keep an eye on them. If you both did this you could have a competition: who can stick closest to their budget? This could get you talking about money issues in a natural, unforced way.
Those first chats about money are very important as they can lead to people looking at money management for the first time.
Action for Children helps nearly 170,000 children, young people and their families through nearly 450 projects across the UK.
They also promote social justice by lobbying and campaigning for change.
Staff all over the UK help and support the most vulnerable children. They work in children's centres, in schools for disabled children, help children in care and in many other areas. They have been helping and supporting children and young people for the last 140 years, giving them a huge breadth and depth of experience.
A small team of Action for Children staff, working in the relevant fields, are available to answer any questions you might have on the topics that are being covered each week.
Got a question? Email Action for Children's experts
