Does your town have a credit union?

They are clubs where locals get together to run a savings and loans scheme.

The idea is that people save regularly and, after a qualifying period, are eligible to borrow at very low rates of interest, the interest paying the running costs.

The clubs can release people from debt and focus them as much on saving as spending.

Look at www.nacuw.org.uk to see if there's a credit union near you and co-op-assist.co.uk for a good explanation on how they work.