How to clear your credit cards

If you are entitled to tax credits, then tot up how many tax credits you receive; these should be the same each month.

To find out what amount of tax credits you will be eligible for, you can use this online calculator from HM Revenue & Customs.

Check how much you're receiving in benefits and add this to the total.

It's possible that there are other benefits available to you as well, whether or not you're currently in receipt of benefit payments. For example, if you receive Housing Benefit you will also be eligible for Council Tax benefit.

There are other benefits too, such as Jobseeker's Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Incapacity Benefit - in fact, the Government has produced an online service called the Benefits Adviser which will detail whether or not you can access any of these benefits:

To access the benefits adviser service and find out what benefits you might be able to get, and an estimate of how much, go to the DirectGov website.