Managing your money and benefits

Each year, millions of people miss out on claiming benefits that they’re entitled to.

You can use our free and confidential benefits calculator, supplied by national charity group Turn2Us, to help you find out what benefits you can claim. It's easy to use and typically only takes a few minutes.

 You can also find help and advice on managing your money or making a benefits claim on the Turn2Us website.

Sit down with a pen and paper and add up what you’re spending each month. Think about how much you spend on things like:

• rent
• gas and electricity
• council tax
• food
• going out and socialising
• travel
• smoking
• anything else?

You could try using a budgeting tool such as the one offered by Citizens Advice, to help you understand what you’re earning and spending and where you might be able to cut costs.

If you need some extra money to get you by, then you could set up a Credit Union account where you can save and get a loan. Find your nearest Credit Union.

It’s very important to avoid loan sharks – they’re illegal and charge the highest rates. You can find out more about loan sharks and how to report them here. 

If you’re looking for help and advice to manage your debt and finances, the Citizens Advice and Step Change both offer lots of free and useful information.

You can also use a grant search to find out about the hardship grants that could be available in your area. This grants search is supplied by Turn2us, a national charity that helps people in financial hardship to access welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services.

If you are the only adult in the property, you can get a 25% discount on your council tax payments.

You could also consider comparing your Council Tax band to other homes in your postcode area to check you’re paying the same amount. If you’re paying more then you can ask your local council to consider re-banding your property. Contact your local Council for help with this.

There are also a range of benefits to support you with Council Tax depending on your circumstances. You can use our benefits calculator to check you’re receiving what you’re entitled it.

If you're worried about falling behind in your rent payments, we can offer you practical help and support based on your personal circumstances. Please don't put off speaking to us if you have any concerns - contact us as soon as you can for advice and guidance.

There are things you can do to reduce your debt. We’ always recommend you start dealing with your debt, rather than ignore it.

If you are in financial hardship or need advice to help you work out your debts and how you might pay them, contact a debt advisor. You can get free, impartial and non-judgemental advice from:

·       Citizens Advice

·       MoneyHelper

·       National Debtline

·       Step Change Debt Charity