Money advice co-ordinator Joyce Cameron has helped those struggling on benefits, others with credit card debt and some who have lost well-paid jobs.

Although she has dealt with these problems throughout her time at the CAB, Mrs Cameron said the situation has become more serious.

"Nothing has really changed – it's just got worse in the last six months," she said. "People just live on credit and don't think anything is wrong until it all goes pear-shaped and they can't meet the payments."

Here are her top tips for how to stay in control during the credit crunch.

1 Do a budget:

People need to be sorting out the essential stuff – what they have to pay.

If they have no idea how to go about it, then they should head to the CAB.

Here we look at all income from all sources – wages, benefits, contributions from adult kids.

Then we look at expenditure – the roof over your head, the utility bills, travel costs for work, clothing for kids, housekeepinng.

It excludes things like credit card payments and loan payments.

It's a case of what is left over at the end of the week or month.

If people are going to come to the CAB to work out their budget, it's better if they have done a bit of prep work and bring letters and bills with them – wage slips, benefit letters etc.

2 Prepare for winter:

As we run into the colder weather and the central heating goes on, people are going to see big increases in gas and electricity.

People need to think now about how they are going to budget for these increases.

Christmas is looming and it can fill people with dread.

Even just putting away small, weekly amounts is better than putting it all on the credit card in December.

If people don't want to use the high street banks to save, they can use the new community bank in Diss.

The warning has to go out that having Christmas on the credit cards is not the best idea.

3 Cut back on credit cards:

Some people have an awful lot of credit cards.

I can see the benefit of having one, for example if you get stranded somewhere, but you have got to be careful.

If you are paying for things on a debit card, that's better – it's your money in your bank account.

But there is no real relationship between hard cash and a bit of plastic.

4 Save where you can:

The idea of saving up for something seems to have gone out of the window.