Salvation Army captain Emma Johnson said that this time of year was a big struggle for families with back-to-school costs eating at stretched budgets.

Ms Johnson said one way to reduce costs was to contact schools, or St Vincent de Paul’s or Salvation Army shops about second-hand uniforms.

Other ideas included asking schools if they sold book packs, sending children to school with packed lunches, and buying lunch box products in bulk rather than pre-proportioned packets.

And people who were struggling to pay bills should try talking to the relevant authorities to set up payment schedules for smaller amounts until the debt is paid off.

Seventh Day Adventist pastor John Cunning-ham said people should use an exercise book to work out a budget.

He said people should start by ruling a vertical column for each weekly, monthly, and annually recurring expense; and then give each column a name such as food, rent, electricity, insurance and car registration.

Next, write down in each column the money to be set aside out of each pay to meet future bills as they occur.

“This exercise itself will reveal where you need to reduce unnecessary expenses,” he said.

“If there is insufficient income to cover expenses, decide what luxury/unnecessary items can be done without.

“You may have to eliminate some wants in order to afford your needs.”

A St Vincent de Paul handbook on preparing a family budget advises people to buy out-of-season clothes and store them away for the following winter as one way to reduce expenditure.

People should also look at which cooking appliances cost more to run and also look at trying to cook several items together, such as casseroles or baked dinners.