If you have lost your job due to a redundancy you will quite often find it tough to get straight back into work and that can mean finance becomes an issue after redundancy.

? Because you are no longer brining in a steady income you must start thinking about how to keep your own ???costs??™ down in a similar way as the company you used to work for has done in making you redundant.

In many ways you should think of your personal finance in the same way a company does during a downturn ??“ look at ways of reducing your costs to keep income and outgoings as balanced as possible.

? On the income side after redundancy one of the first things you should do is visit the local Job Centre. There you will be able to get advice on your situation and find out about any local openings that may fit your skill set. You can also be assigned your own personal job seeker, who will advice you on the best jobs around for you and how to prepare to interview for them.

Another benefit of the Job centre is that you can also seek unemployment benefits, or job seekers allowance ??“ and they will be able to tell you if you quality after redundancy (you should if you have been paying your National Insurance!).

You may also be able to claim Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, free school meals for your children and help with NHS costs. Benefits depend on your circumstances. You should claim benefits as soon as you can - you can make a claim on your first day of unemployment.