Mortgage expert's urgent advice to anyone struggling to pay their household bills

The cost of living crisis is continuing to take hold of homeowners in the UK with the soaring cost of food, energy and fuel prices. Earlier this month the Bank of England announced they were increasing interest rates by 0.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent - which was the biggest rise in 27 years.

The interest rate hike is yet another blow for households who are being crippled by rising bills, with interest rates expected to increase monthly mortgage repayments for millions of homeowners who are on variable rate deals and other forms of borrowing.

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK workers have also suffered the biggest drop in their spending power in more than 20 years. Real wages, which reflect the power of employee pay after accounting for inflation, fell by an annual 3% in the last quarter, and the total pay in July including bonuses fell by 2.5%, reports The Mirror.

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With many homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and household bills, property repossession experts at TIC Finance have put together their best advice to help you keep on top of your finances during this time of uncertainty.

Whilst it may seem self-explanatory, many people forget to pay their mortgage on time. This can damage your credit score and have a detrimental effect on your finances later on. In some cases, doing so can cause people to acquire even more interest.

Putting your mortgage payments on a direct debit is the easiest way to avoid this and can stop you from becoming overdrawn or in arrears.

If you are near the end of a fixed-rate mortgage, you should start shopping around for a new one now. Interest rates have already