As the saying goes, "It never rains but it pours".

And while that is definitely true of the weather right now, it seems to be true of household bills too.

Council tax, power prices and mortgage rises are all adding to the ever growing average household cost of living.

Did you know that the normal British family is spending £42 a day even before getting out of bed in the morning?

It's a big enough struggle getting out of bed each day without knowing that isn't it?

It also seems that this figure will increase in April when the new council tax and water bills kick in.

Information reveals that primary bills (such as those for council tax, gas and electricity, water, landline telephones, home insurance and TV licences, have grown to £3,426 a year for the typical UK household.

Chuck in your average mortgage, which costs just under £12,000 a year, and it brings the annual cost to over £15,000; that's just over £40 a day.

So what's been going on?

Although the cost of mortgages have jumped due to 2007's Bank of England rate rises and the impact of the credit crunch, it is the rising cost of other essential bills which is really turning the screw on our hard earned cash.

The above inflation increases in gas and electricity, council tax and water bills, and a rise in home insurance premiums following last summer's floods are all adding to the problem.

In 2007, the same household's bills, including mortgage, would have been on average £73 a month less.

April's extra costs

And as we know, in April bills will rise again:

• Council tax will go up by another 3.9% adding £52 to a Band D (the middle tier) property
• Water bills will rise by an average of 5.8% increasing the typical bill from £312 to £330 a year

Costly car

The price of keeping your car has also gone up, with petrol costing 18p more a litre than this time in 2007 and motor insurance going up on average by 5%.

Evidence is emerging that some households are really struggling said Moira Haynes of the Citizens Advice Bureau:

'Our debt inquiry figures suggest that growing numbers of people are not only finding themselves over-committed on credit cards, loans and overdrafts, but are also struggling to meet their day-to-day living expenses'

The number of you going to Citizens Advice with problems paying for your gas and electricity shot up by a third last year, while council tax debt inquiries went up 25% and telephone debt problems by 19%. In addition, problems with your mortgages and secured loans went up by 11%.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), a debt advice charity, said it is seeing evidence of people on monthly debt management plans missing payments because they are having to put more towards essential living costs.

The CCCS is free and impartial and their helpline is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, on 0800 138 1111.

Credit Action also offer impartial and ethical advice about all things debt related.

If you are already in debt and are having problems keeping up your payments, then you should speak to a debt specialist who can help.

So, while the cost of our bills may be going up, don't let it stress you out too much.

There are things you can do to make things a bit easier:

1 Read The Homeowner's Guide To Surviving The Credit Crunch 2 Switch utility providers and save money 3 Claim back your credit card and mortgage exit fees 4 Claim back your mis sold Payment Protection Insurance