Coronavirus Advice Hub - Improving Your Budget

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled to and can any of them be backdated?
Do you or any member of your household have ill-health or a disability that might be eligible for a disability benefit?
Are you entitled to a disability blue badge?
Are you a carer entitled to a carer’s allowance or are you in receipt of a disability benefit that qualifies someone looking after you?
Are you entitled to a charitable grant or benevolent fund?
Can you get any help with health costs, such as prescriptions, dental and eyesight?
Are you entitled to help with school costs, such as travel, uniform and books?
Can anyone living with you contribute to the household?
Could you raise any cash by selling unwanted goods online (Ebay, CEX, Freeads) or at a car boot sale?
If you are over 55, can you release any money from a pension pot or look into equity release from a property?*
Do you have a spare room that you could rent out via the rent a room scheme?**
Can you claim any tax allowances or a tax refund?***
If you are self-employed, can you reduce your tax bill with help?***
Are you being paid at least the minimum or living wage?
Can you find paid work, increase your hours or fit a 2nd job in?
Can you sell an asset of value to raise money and downgrade to a cheaper one, such as a car?
Are you on a low income and eligible for government help savings schemes?
Can you make any compensation claims for personal injury, negligence or mis-selling?
Have you thought about being as Mystery Shopper?

Remember to check how any changes made to your income affect any income related benefits you receive.

*You should seek expert advice from an independent financial adviser before making any contractual commitment involving a regulated financial product.

**You should look into the legal aspects of any contractual arrangements first before committing to them.

***You should speak with an independent tax adviser or accountant.

Check the COVID-19 Welfare Benefit Measures

In these difficult times, many people will suffer a sudden drop in income. The government has introduced a range of measures to help.

Check Your Benefit entitlement

You can check to see if you are entitled to additional welfare benefits by using free, independent online calulators.

You can check:

what benefits you could get
how to claim
how your benefits will be affected if you start work

Online calculators:

Turn2us - for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours
Policy in Practice - for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit, how these are calculated and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours
entitledto - for information on income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit and how your benefits will be affected if you start work

Before you start

You will need accurate information about your:

savings
income, including your partner’s (from payslips, for example)
existing benefits and pensions (including anyone living with you)
outgoings (such as rent, mortgage, childcare payments)
council tax bill

Who cannot use them

You cannot use the calculators if you are under 18. They will not give accurate results if you are:

a prisoner
a student
not a British or Irish citizen
on strike
living outside the UK
living permanently in residential care or a nursing home

Reducing Your Spending

Housing Costs

Are you able to apply for government help with mortgage costs?
Could you change the due date of your payment, extend the term of your mortgage or fix to a better interest rate?*
Is a re-mortgage possible?*
Can you change from a repayment mortgage to an interest only one?*
Can you apply for help with your rental housing costs?
Are you entitled to council tax discounts or reductions?
Could you extend your council tax payments over 12 months or change the due date of your regular payment?

Utilities - Gas, electricity and water

Have you checked comparison sites, are you on the best energy deal?
Could you claim any grants or discounts, such as warm home discount?
Would you save any money switching to a smart meter?
Is your home energy efficient, could you get help with energy efficiency equipment and/or tips?
Are you entitled to receive extra support from your energy supplier?
Are you able to save money by installing a water meter?
Do you qualify for a reduced/light water tariff?
Does your provider give temporary credit for a prepayment meter?
Do you check your bills and meter readings regularly to make sure they are not over-estimated?
When you replace white goods, do you check their energy efficiency rating before buying to save money on future bills?

Insurance

Do you shop around to get the best insurance quotes?
Do you adjust the excess (deductible) amount and check any premiums added to the quotes given to you to compare quotes?
Are you over-insuring, do you need all the policies you have? Duplication can sometimes invalidate insurance policies.
Are you using your no claims discount to get a discounted quote?
Have you thought about protecting your no claims bonus?

Home Phone, TV, internet and mobiles

Could you check a comparison site to switch your telephone, TV, internet or mobile provider for a better deal?
Can you reduce your media package to reduce costs?
Have you checked your mobile data and call usage recently to make sure you are on the cheapest contract deal and not overpaying?
Are you able to switch from a contract mobile to a pay as you go cheaper deal?
Does your provider allow you to share data with family members?
Have any of your contracts ended, could you contact your provider to see if they can offer you a cheaper Sim only customer retention deal?
Could you check a comparison site to switch your telephone, TV, internet or mobile provider for a better deal?
Can you reduce your media package to reduce costs?
Have you checked your mobile data and call usage recently to make sure you are on the cheapest contract deal and not overpaying?
Are you able to switch from a contract mobile to a pay as you go cheaper deal?
Does your provider allow you to share data with family members?
Have any of your contracts ended, could you contact your provider to see if they can offer you a cheaper Sim only customer retention deal?
Rather than upgrade at the end of a contract, could you stick with the mobile device you now own and switch to a Sim deal?
Could you raise any cash for an old handset?

Travel and Parking

Are you eligible for a concessionary bus pass, i.e. older persons, Jobcentre Plus discount?
Can you split your train ticket to save money?
Could you benefit from getting a railcard or a refund for a cancelled or late train?
Are you eligible for discounted travel due to a disability?
Is there a car share scheme in your area or could you share with a colleague?
Could you use a cheaper type of transport, e.g. walk, bicycle?
Do you have the correct change on you for a car park machine?
Are you making use of free parking zones? You could try the free appyparking website.
Do you search for the cheapest car parks? You could try Parkopedia.
Could you rent someone’s drive space? You could try www.justpark.com.
Is there a park and ride in the area?

Banking

Could you change the date for any of your regular payments to give you extra time to pay?
Do any of your regular bills offer discounts to switch to a direct debit plan?
Are you paying for a bank account fee, could you change to a free basic bank account?
Does your bank account provide any inclusive financial products that you might be duplicating, such as travel insurance and/or mobile phone insurance?
Could you switch to online banking to save on travel costs to your local bank?
Are you running an unmanageable overdraft, could you switch to a safe, basic bank account?

Food and Household Shopping

Could you plan for a cheaper food spending week to reduce pressure on your budget just before you get paid?
Is it possible to start shopping at cheaper supermarkets, such as Aldi or Lidl?
Are you able to save on expensive cleaning products by using bicarbonate of soda and/or white vinegar?
Are you able to buy essential products that you need in bulk to save money?
Have you tried working out when your local supermarket slashes the process of near their sell by date products?
Do you look out for voucher savings and use reward and loyalty cards?
Perhaps you could try non-branded products to see if you like them to reduce what you spend?
Do you make a list before going shopping, this can prevent you from getting distracted and getting tempted to buy more than you need?
Can you reduce the amount of takeaways that you buy?
Are you shopping on an empty stomach? Try not to as this can influence what you buy.
If you are experiencing food poverty, could you obtain a food voucher?

*You should seek expert advice from an independent financial adviser before making any contractual commitment involving a regulated financial product.

Budgeting Tips & Habits

Do you check your bank statements and/or online transactions regularly?
Can you save a little bit each month for emergencies and/or future costs like birthdays and Christmas?
Are you able to set a reminder notification to shop around before a renewal date, such as car insurance or switching energy provider?
Would keeping a spending diary in your pocket or bag help you keep track of your spending?
Could a free budgeting app help you organise your finances?
Have you thought about signing up for open banking to have single access to all of your bank accounts?
Have you looked into Jam Jar budgeting?
Do you speak with friends and family about ways to save money? This can help you find out about local deals and savings to be made.
If you are a student, are you using your student discounts?
Can you make do and mend? Not everything has to be new or replaced.
Can you trade your unwanted goods for something second-hand? Car boot sales can be great to meet new people and buy bargains with your own profits.
When you are skint, can you suggest a present freeze or limit to family and friends? Surprisingly, this can be welcomed by many, it saves hassle and money.
Have you tried discount sites like Groupon and Hot Deals UK?
Could you use cash back sites for shopping, such as TopCashBack?