Please be aware of the effect that the 2008 tax changes may have on you. This especially applies to people on lower wages. The higher your earnings the less effected you are. The lower your earnings the more, in percentage terms, you will pay in tax.
(Please remember that your personal allowance is free of tax)

2007-2008

Those who earned £10,000 last year would have paid £783 in tax. That was because £2230 was taxed at 10% and the balance up to £ 34,600 taxed at 22%.

2008-2009

Those who will earn £10,000 this year will pay £913 in tax. This is because  the 10% band has been withdrawn and everything above the personal tax allowance of £ 5435 is being taxed at 20%.

The extra tax on a £10,000 income is £130 which is approximately a 16% increase

To put these figures into perspective, a family on minimum wage for a 35 hour week will bring in approximately £10,000 per year.

All our bills are going up, utility bills in particular are increasing. People on lower incomes are going to have to put a lot more effort into saving money and managing their finances in order to stay out of trouble!

Please check the tax situation on your particular circumstances so that you can manage your family finances the best you can.

(calculations are approximate, minimum wage rate taken as £5.52,  personal allowance is taken as £5,500 per year.)