I was financially stable until I was made redundant in 2014, at which point I fell into debt.

Whatever your reason for falling into debt, there is a way out of it and you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to save the ££’s on every day life to go towards paying off your debt.

I have lots of tips, tricks and ideas to help you save money over on my website which you can find easily, such as making simple changes to your grocery shopping to save over £700 a year – How to save over £700 on your grocery shop in a year.

However, it helps to go even further and by following these simple tips, we can get you on the road to clearing your debt in 2016.

By shopping around for car insurance you could save yourself a fortune. A price comparison website is the perfect place to start.

I have now launched my own comparison pages on my website, where we try to make sure we offer fair, impartial comparison and always find the best deal for you along with advice and tips to make sure you can get that debt down!

The same goes for your home insurance. Last year I got a renewal price of £62 per month – I decided to see what i could find by shopping around and got myself a home insurance quote for just £11.50 per month!

One thing to note though is to make sure you are realistic with your excess, the last thing you need is something to happen in your property and you set your excess too high so you can’t afford it.

If you can afford to, always pay off your credit card debt in full every month. Easier said than done if your balance is pretty high on it, however, it will help you avoid paying interest (some as high as 30% a year), and keep your credit report looking clean each month.

If you can’t afford to pay off your credit card balance in full every month, a 0% balance transfer may be for you. You can move some or all the debt to a new 0% interest credit card. This is the equivalent to taking out an interest-free loan and will remove interest so your monthly payments will actually start to reduce your debt and start to clear off your credit card balance.

I know from past experience it is scary being in debt and you would love to just clear it all over night, unfortunately there is no quick fix, but consolidating your debt into a loan may be the way to go. Rather than paying different creditors certain amounts each month (often with massively different interest rates), you could take out a single, low interest loan which you can use to pay back all of your debts,  leaving you paying one manageable amount each month to only one creditor.

Depending on your credit rating, you may only be able to get a loan with a high APR rate or a guarantor loan. I wouldn’t recommend these as you may end up paying more than you would originally or if you can’t keep up the repayments, the debt would then be passed on to your guarantor. Similarly i would advise against ‘pay day’ loans which often come with incredibly high interest rates which will leave you spiralling into more debt if you don’t manage to pay them back fast.

When it comes to rebuilding your credit file, it may help to use a credit builder and repair credit card. This will give you the chance to show that you are now on top of your finances.

If you are experiencing money worries, are in debt and would like some help and advice, Citizens Advice will be able to help. You can contact them in England on 03444 111 444 or in wales on 03444 77 20 20