The big squeeze is starting to affect just about every household. Budgets are being stretched and belts tightened across the country as the credit crunch and rising costs hit home.

So today, the Telegraph & Argus launches its Beat the Squeeze campaign to help readers through these tough times.

Few, if any, will have failed to notice a difference with food costs, mortgages and domestic fuel costs all rising.

After all, these are the essentials we cannot do without. And then there’s the price of petrol or diesel, which makes filling up the family car a heart-stopping experience.

But while the cost of everything we need on a day-to-day basis heads one way, most people’s income is fixed, and that can only mean leaner times ahead.

Beat the Squeeze cannot wave a magic want and make everything all right. We wish it could. But what it can do is give you practical advice which can help make your budget go further.

We will be offering money-saving ideas every day. Our top tips will be designed to really help to make your cash go that bit further, whether on travel, domestic bills, or your weekly shop. But that is not all.

As part of Beat the Squeeze, we are determined to bring you fantastic money-saving offers. And these will be on everyday items that most of us buy, such as food, household goods or toiletries – in short, practical help, whatever your budget.

Our top tips will be tackling ways of cutting your travel costs, reducing the financial burden of credit charges, steering clear of pressure to impulse buy in the supermarket and diluting your water bills.

Beat the Squeeze is, quite literally, the campaign you can’t afford to miss.