All this doom and gloom about money is enough to give anyone the credit crunch blues. It should be the season to be jolly, yet the global financial crisis has turned it into a season of losing lolly.

That’s why it is our pleasure today to launch Quids In, a campaign to help readers through these tough times.

Over the coming months, we will bring you money-off vouchers and expert advice on everything from heating your home to switching credit cards or getting a new job. We will also be flagging up top deals you might have missed and highlighting benefits to which you might not know you are entitled.

Western Daily Press editor Andy Wright said: “Quids In is all about putting pounds in your pocket and making those pounds stretch that little bit further.

“Most families will spend £1,000 more on food and energy this year than in 2007. Meanwhile, rising numbers face the tragedy of losing their homes. Alarming figures show a 12 per cent increase in mortgage possession orders issued in courts in the region between July and August this year, compared to the same period in 2007.

We want to bring some good news

“Those are pretty grim statistics to be reading in the Daily Press in the run-up to Christmas. Now we want to bring you some good news, and the Quids In campaign is it.

“Look in the Daily Press every Thursday for some fantastic money-off coupons.

“And please get involved in the campaign. Perhaps you are a business with a discount to offer our readers, an organisation eager to help traders or a money-wise reader with a hot financial tip to share. We are eager to hear from you.”

Supporting Quids In is Kath Kelly, author of How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day. The Bristol teacher knows more than most about how to stretch out those pounds and has promised to share her nuggets of wisdom with us throughout the campaign.

Already, councils across the West have been doing their bit to beat the crunch.

Market traders in a corner of Somerset are being offered pitches at half price if they set up new stalls at Ilminster, Crewkerne and Chard. The introductory offer is South Somerset District Council’s bid to revitalise the weekly markets in this area that have suffered a bit of a slump because of disruption over the past year.

Elsewhere in Somerset, Sedgemoor District Council is about to rubber stamp an economic masterplan to beat the credit crunch. It has secured investment for a regeneration masterplan for Bridgwater to bring new shops, jobs and services into the market town, and is thinking through how the potential new nuclear facilities at Hinkley could create new opportunities for local people and businesses.

In Gloucestershire, civic leaders are doing everything they can to boost trade in the run-up to Christmas. If you live in the Cotswolds, you will be able to park for free every Saturday at car parks run by the district council. And Christmas shoppers heading to Gloucester can save cash by buying their gifts on a Sunday or Thursday night. For the first time the city council has agreed to slash car parking rates in an effort to help local businesses. You can now park for £1 an hour, £2.50 for the whole day or £1 after 4pm on Thursdays.

One of the most proactive authorities in the West is Salisbury District Council in Wiltshire. Thanks to the council, Will Rolt Solicitors is offering free legal advice to people who face losing their homes through repossession.

Salisbury hit the national headlines recently when it was revealed this area had seen the country’s single biggest rise in repossession orders from mortgage lenders – an increase of 95 per cent. The council responded by funding a special “court desk” at the county court on repossession hearing days so people who had received possession claims from either a mortgage lender or landlord could receive free advice before their hearing began.

Along with Weymouth and Sedgemoor district councils, Salisbury is also being fast-tracked on to the Government’s Mortgage Rescue Scheme. When the scheme is up and running by early next year, eligible home owners will be offered two options. There will be the opportunity to own their homes on a shared equity basis, with a share of the house being sold to a housing association.

This would mean cheaper monthly repayments for the house owner.

The other option to homeowners is to sell their home entirely to a housing association but remain in the home paying an affordable, below market-level rent.

Millions of pounds’ worth of tax credits, benefits and heating grants go unclaimed in the West Country each year.

North Somerset MP Dan Norris has been trying to tackle this by holding events across his constituency where people can get impartial advice about such things as heating and insulation grants as well as pension credit, income-based Jobseeker Allowance, child tax credit and other benefits. He said: “When I have arranged these sessions, many thousands of pounds in unclaimed benefits, tax credits and heating grants have been claimed by local people, many of whom had not realised they would be entitled to claim.”.

In fact, many had been convinced they would not be entitled to anything, but found that they were.

“The American-led credit crunch and rising global prices have made budgeting the toughest for many years. So it is more important than ever that people across the West don’t miss out.”

Send your feedback to Quids In, Mimi Bior, Western Daily Press, Temple Way, Bristol, BS4 2HB or email them through to r.wood@bepp.co.uk.