Most people will come under financial pressure at some point. Some causes are outside anyone's control, such as rising living costs, losing a job or illness. Others are one-off shocks, like a leak at home or a car breakdown.

In a 2025 survey for its Money Mindsets study, investment and savings app Moneybox found that over 20% of respondents weren't optimistic about their finances improving in 2025. The most common reasons people gave for feeling stressed about money were:

• Struggling to manage rising living costs – 42%

• Not earning enough to save or invest – 39%

• Worried about the economy – 33%

• Income is unlikely to increase – 28%

• Unexpected expenses keep setting me back – 26%

Looking back over 2024, 38% said they found it hard to save regularly and 21% said they were living payday to payday. Moneybox doesn't publish the sample size or fieldwork dates for the study.

Below are six approaches that money experts told us about, and how they work.

1. Learning about money

Financial know-how builds up over time. Accountant Peter Tran told NimbleFins: "Knowledge plays a significant role here, too. I always encourage clients to spend a bit of time each week learning—there are podcasts, free online courses, and personal finance blogs that can change how you think about money. The more you understand, the less scary things feel."

He added: "You can't control the economy, but you can control your habits. You can learn, adjust, and keep taking small, steady steps."

Free guidance on budgeting, debt, pensions and more is available from MoneyHelper.

2. Managing debt

Based on ClearScore's analysis of Bank of England and ONS data, average UK household debt excluding mortgages was around £18,392 at the end of 2025. Of this, £8,304 was consumer credit (£2,601 in credit card balances and £5,703 in personal loans and similar), and £10,088 was student loans. Read more on average household debt in the UK.

Priority debts come first

Some debts have more serious consequences if you fall behind, so they’re known as priority debts. They include:

• rent or mortgage arrears, which can lead to eviction or your home being repossessed

• council tax arrears, which can lead to enforcement action, including bailiffs

• gas and electricity arrears, which can lead to a prepayment meter being fitted

• court fines, Child Maintenance arrears and unpaid tax owed to HMRC

• hire purchase or conditional sale agreements for goods you need, such as a car you use for work, because the goods can be taken back

Credit cards, overdrafts, unsecured personal loans, store cards and buy now, pay later are non-priority debts. Missing payments on them still has consequences, including late fees, extra interest and damage to your credit score, but these debts do not normally put your home or energy supply at immediate risk. (However, creditors can take court action, and further enforcement or bankruptcy can put a homeowner’s property at risk.)

If you’re struggling, it usually makes sense to cover your essential living costs and priority debts first, then work out what’s left for everything else.

Paying off non-priority debts

Once essential costs and priority debts are covered, two common ways to repay non-priority debts with whatever money is left are:

• Avalanche method: paying extra towards the debt with the highest interest rate first, while making the minimum payments on everything else. This usually minimises the total interest you pay.

• Snowball method: paying extra towards the smallest balance first, while making the minimum payments on everything else, then moving on to the next smallest. Some people find that clearing individual debts sooner helps them stay motivated, although it can mean paying more interest overall.

Student loans work differently. Repayments are based on your income and are usually taken automatically through your pay, so they aren’t normally part of either method.

Free debt advice

If you’re finding it hard to keep up with payments, free, confidential advice is available from MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice, StepChange and National Debtline. They can help you work out which debts to prioritise and talk to the people you owe for you.

Adding a note to your credit file. You can add a Notice of Correction of up to 200 words to your credit report. Some people use it to say that they don't want to be given new credit, for example to help manage gambling or overspending. You need to add a separate notice with each of the three main credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Lenders have to read the notice and take it into account before deciding on an application, and it means the application is reviewed by a person. It doesn't automatically stop a lender from approving credit, though.

Getting help. You can get free, confidential advice from a trained debt adviser through MoneyHelper's debt advice locator. Advisers can check whether you're missing out on benefits and go through debt options with you.

3. Focusing on one goal at a time

Saving, paying down debt and planning ahead can all compete for the same money. Some people find it easier to focus on one priority at a time, for example clearing a particular debt before raising regular savings, rather than spreading small amounts across everything at once.

4. Setting limits on social spending

Vix Leyton, consumer finance expert at thinkmoney and co-host of the Spendology podcast, points to unplanned social costs as a common source of pressure. Examples include hen and stag dos, splitting bills equally and gift-giving in groups of friends or family. Ways to manage these include telling the organiser your budget up front, or suggesting spending limits on gifts.

She told us: "A lot of additional financial pressure often comes from the social spending you don't typically plan for, and odds are there is at least one other person in your circle that will be secretly thanking you for doing that."

She also suggests contacting your providers as soon as payments start to feel difficult, so you can find out what options they offer, such as payment plans or payment breaks.

5. Weighing convenience against cost

Buying something straight away, whether from a nearby convenience shop or online with fast delivery, can cost more than waiting for a planned shop. Ms Leyton said: "It is very easy to go straight there when looking for something you have just realised you need but you can risk paying an immediacy premium. If it can wait, it's worth shopping around locally."

6. Planning for unexpected costs

Family lawyer Joanna Smykowski told us: "Financial resilience starts with treating uncertainty as just another line item: if you expect it, you can plan for it."

Approaches she described include:

• Listing "known unknowns", such as car repairs, school trips or dental work, and setting aside small monthly amounts for each.

• After a life change such as a new job or a separation, checking whether you're entitled to benefits such as Universal Credit or Child Benefit. GOV.UK lists free, independent benefits calculators. (Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025.)

• Drafting a lean-month budget that shows how you'd cover essentials if your income fell by 20%.

• If you share costs with a partner, writing down who pays what and when.

• Paying a regular amount into a separate savings account, even a small one. £10 a week adds up to £520 over a year before interest.

Regular savings accounts often advertise higher headline rates than other savings accounts, but they usually cap how much you can pay in each month and may come with other restrictions. Based on rates published on Moneyfactscompare.co.uk as of 2 September 2026, the top regular savings accounts were paying up to around 8% AER. This reflects providers listed on that site and may not capture the whole market. Rates change often, so check current terms before opening an account. See our Best Savings Accounts Guide for how the different account types work.

Providers and organisations named in this article are included for information only. This article doesn't cover the whole market, and other products or services not mentioned here may suit some people better.

Read more:

• Average household debt UK

• How to save money on your energy bills

• Subscription traps: how they work and how to avoid one

• Average UK household cost of food

• Average UK household budget