Managing money and debt

Managing money can be difficult. Most people have some form of debt but if you are having trouble with repayments you should get help with this as soon as possible.

Advice is available about how to set a budget, cut bills and pay off debts. Tools are also available online to help you budget, prioritise your debts and set savings goals.

The Beginners Guide to Managing Money is a resource from the Money Advice Service.

The Citizens Advice website also has information about budgeting and a financial health check.

Multiply

Multiply is a new government-funded programme to help adults improve their numeracy skills. If you are aged 19 and over and don’t have a Maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent), you can access a variety of different FREE courses in your area. Fill out the Expression of Interest form or contact the team at Multiply@lincolnshire.gov.uk and we will be delighted to help you on your exciting numeracy journey!

For other adult skills and family learning opportunities, go to Lincolnshire – 2aspire.

Notts & Lincs Credit Union

The Lincolnshire & Nottingham Credit Union merged with the Nottingham Credit Union on 31^st July 2020. Anyone living or working in Lincolnshire or Nottinghamshire, or working for one of our agreed Payroll Partners can become a member. It is free to join and there are no annual membership fees.

A Credit Union loan saves money, eases the strain on the budget and results in more money being spent in local communities. Nottingham and Lincolnshire Credit Union want to help people break this cycle by encouraging savings and by offering affordable loans when needed.

The Credit Union is not just here to help people with poor credit, we have a range of loans products to suit most pockets and credit profiles. Loans are available from £100 to £15,000 – repayable over 3 months to 5 years. Loans are priced and assessed so that they can offer most residents at an interest rate that is competitive or cheaper than they will be offered elsewhere.

Turn2us

Turn2us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially.

Anyone can be a missed pay-cheque, illness or bereavement away from a real financial crisis, which is why we can help you find the support you need to get back on track.

Support is also available through their helpline.

Money Matters Course

Take control of your finances with Abbey Access Training. A free 8 week course, every Wednesday at Abbey Access training centre.

Create a personalised budget, meet money specialists and gain confidence to create your own financial goals as well as learning lots of money management tips along the way.

To book a place, call 01522 801556

MoneyHelper

The government's MoneyHelper has lots of free information and resources to help you manage your money in uncertain times and how to keep up with essential bills and payments.

If you’re struggling with debt, it can be hard to know where to turn. But with lots of free advice services available across the UK, you can find help in a way that’s best for you.

The Citizens Advice webpage has information about debt and solutions to debt problems.

Free debt advice is available online and via telephone from a number of providers.

StepChange Debt Charity

www.stepchange.org

0800 138 1111

Advice, budget support and solutions to help you manage your debts.

Citizens Advice Web Chat

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Free, independent, confidential and impartial debt advice through their web chat service. There is also an advice line on freephone 0800 1448848.

National Debtline

nationaldebtline.org

0808 808 4000

National Debtline offers free debt advice online through its My Money Steps tool and its web guides, fact sheets and sample letters.

Debt Advice Foundation

www.debtadvicefoundation.org

0800 622 6151

Debt Advice Foundation is a national debt advice and education charity offering free, confidential support and advice to anyone worried about debt.

PayPlan

Debt Advice | Free Debt Help | Debt Solutions | PayPlan

0800 280 2816

PayPlan offer free debt advice and a range of solutions on their freephone service and a range of online services. Chat with debt experts on our online live chat option, over email, via WhatsApp or simply request a call back on our debt help request form. Their website also offers a wealth of online resources and tools.

To find face to face advice, a search facility is available via the Money Advice Service website on the debt advice locator webpage.

Mental health and debt

If you are struggling with your mental health, just summoning the energy to even think about tackling debt can be too hard. Likewise, your mental health could well be adversely affected if you are struggling with debt.

The Money Saving Expert has launched a new booklet aimed at providing debt advice, help, support and info to those people struggling with debt and mental health and the people who care for them.

Written by Martin Lewis, Jenny Keefe and Marianne Curphey, the guide aims to make it easier for those struggling to understand debt and the steps they can take to tackle it.

Useful links

It’s important to get independent financial advice so that you can make balanced and informed decisions about your money or assets.

Looking into care and support and how to pay for it can be difficult and confusing especially if your circumstances are difficult or complex. Independent financial advisers have specialist knowledge and will be able to assess your specific circumstances and give you necessary advice.

For further information try the following web pages:

As the cost of living and energy bills rise, there are resources, support and information from the government and other providers for people who are struggling to pay their bills.

The Fuelbank Foundation work with foodbanks and advice agencies to help people get back on their feet.

Citizens Advice provides information on Grants, benefits and other support, including Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payment.

As it continues to turn colder, more people will begin to worry about their energy bills. The cost-of-living crisis is squeezing household incomes tighter than ever and energy is a growing concern. At Citizens Advice South Lincolnshire, we can offer energy advice. Our Adviser can help with energy savings tips, ensuring people are getting all the help they need from their supplier and identifying any grants or available support. 'To refer someone for an energy advice appointment, please complete the link below

https://www.citizensadvicesouthlincs.org.uk/energy-referral-form/ This is subject to adviser availability. We will keep you updated if demand exceeds resource.

Households are also able to get up to £350 in cash to help with their energy bills this year. For more information and how this could help you, visit Moneysavingexpert.com

The government have also put out a factsheet which include measures to support households with rising energy bills and the cost of living.

The Energy Saving Trust have advice on how to save money on energy bills and access to help to pay energy bills.

The National Energy Action charity are working to end fuel poverty who offer a new Warm and Safe Homes Advice available on webchat on their website or call their helpline 0800 304 7159.

If you are struggling to pay your bills because of Coronavirus, Citizens Advice has useful information to support you with this.

For general advice on household energy bill support, Ofgem have a who to contact if it's difficult paying bills guide.

If you are aged 50 or over and live in Lincoln and South Lincolnshire - Age UK are offering a personalised free home energy check through their Warm & Wise project telephone 03455 564 144.

Further useful resources and information can be found on the Cost of Living Support page upon Connect to Support.

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free and voluntary system that your supplier uses to ensure the correct support is given to its most vulnerable customers. It is designed and overseen by Ofgem for energy and Ofwat for water suppliers, and ensures individuals with special requirements have access to additional support as and when they require it.

Support may vary by supplier and by an individual’s circumstances, but can include:

Advanced notices of planned service interruption
Priority service support during emergencies and unexpected service interruption
Nominee scheme – to nominate someone to receive communications and bills from your supplier
Quarterly meter readings and assistance with billing including large format, Braille and audio letters
Identification and password scheme

You may be eligible to register for free, if you or someone in your household:

Have reached pension age
Have children aged 5 and under
Have a disability or long-term medical condition
Rely on medical equipment that requires a power supply or refrigerated medicines
Would struggle to answer the door to get help in an emergency
Are recovering from an injury and need short term support
Have extra communication needs
Living with dementia

For example, by signing up to Anglian Water's Priority Services Register they will then know you or your loved one's situation, so you won’t need to repeat yourself every time you speak to them, and you may access a range of priority services, including:

Being proactively contacted if there’s a planned interruption to your water supply.
The password scheme - add a password to your account to help protect you against bogus callers (remember, Anglian Water will NEVER say they’re from the “Water Board”).
Help reading your meter, if you find this difficult.
You can communicate in your preferred language, using the translation services. This includes British Sign Language.
Be supported to better understand your bills. Anglian Water can call or visit your property to talk through bills when they’re produced.
“Knock and wait” and “call and wait” so if you need a bit longer to get to your phone or door, Anglian Water will wait.

To sign up to your current supplier's free Priority Services Register and confirm eligibility, we have provided some links below:

anglianwater.co.uk/priority or telephone 0800 232 1951 to find out more

British Gas - Priority Services Register

EDF - Priority Services Register

National Grid - Priority Services Register

Octopus Energy - Priority Services Register

OVO Energy - Priority Services Register

Scottish Power - Priority Services Register

South East Water - Priority Services Register

Tesco are running a scheme called Reconnect until 2023 and it is aimed at vulnerable and disadvantaged people. A phone is supplied to the customer with three months credit.

You submit your request by emailing tescomobile.littlehelps@tesco.com referencing Tesco Mobile Reconnects, how it would benefit the person and what device is needed and they will send one out.

For more on the scheme and the Tesco partnership with Crisis visit tescomobile.com.

How could Universal Credit Help you?

Universal Credit supports you if you are on a low income or out of work. It includes a monthly payment to help with your living costs.

Visit Understanding Universal Credit to help you understand what Universal Credit means for you.

For further impartial advice, Citizens Advice maintain a national 'Help to Claim' service which is accessible via citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0800 144 444 (calls are free and lines open 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday). The Help to Claim advisers can help you with the early stages of your Universal Credit Claim.

Help to Save is a savings scheme for low-income earners. Savers can deposit between £1 and £50 a month into their account and will receive a government bonus– even if money has been withdrawn. Savers will earn a 50 pence bonus for every £1 saved.

Eligible individuals can find out more and how to apply for Help to Save on GOV.UK or via the HMRC app.

HMRC has produced a video on YouTube to help customers find out more about Help to Save.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently confirmed that Help to Save – the government savings scheme for low-income earners, which offers a 50% bonus payment worth up to £1,200 over four years has been extended to April 2025.

Residents across Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland are to benefit from more than £7.2 million of funding to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, which consists of Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council and South Holland District Council, has been awarded this to deliver the next phase of Green Homes Grants awards (known as 'Sustainable Warmth') to private homeowners and landlords across the sub-region.

Funding between £5,000 and £25,000 will be awarded to properties to undertake energy efficiency improvements such as loft, cavity, underfloor, external/internal wall insulation, low-energy lighting upgrades, solar panels, draught-proofing and low-carbon heating measures such as air or ground source heat pumps.

To be eligible for the grant, households must have an Energy Performance Rating of E, F or G and a household income of less than £30k. Once eligible, an independent assessor will survey each property and make recommendations based on its energy performance.

For further information visit South Holland District Council or East Lindsey District Council.

Pension Credit gives you extra money to help people of State Pension age and on a low income with living costs. Pension Credit can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges and is a ‘passport benefit’ which allows access to other support such as free TV license, Warm Homes Discount and NHS dental treatment. £10,000 or less in savings and investments does not affect Pension Credit entitlement.

For more details on eligibility, amounts and how to apply, visit gov.uk or call the Pension Credit claim line 0800 99 1234.

Pension Credit Calculator

Check your eligibility for financial support, and the pension credit calculator is the quickest and easiest way to do this and is to help with the cost of living crisis for pensioners. For further information visit gov.uk.

Household Support Fund

Funding has been made available to County Councils in England to support those most in need to help with significantly rising living costs. Local Authorities have discretion on exactly how this funding is used within the scope set out in the national guidance. It will be used to support households in the most need particularly those including children and pensioners who would otherwise struggle with increasing energy, food and water bills. Visit gov.uk for further details.

Estimate how the National Insurance contributions change will affect you

Use this gov.uk tool to get an estimate of how the changes to National Insurance contributions will affect you.

Government help with the cost of living

See what government help for households is available to you.

Help with school uniform costs

All Government funding relating to school uniform costs in Lincolnshire is delegated to schools rather than being managed by Lincolnshire County Council. If you are struggling with the cost of the uniform, please contact your child's school.

If the school is outside of Lincolnshire you may be able to receive help with the cost of school uniforms from the local council in that area. Find out if your local council can help with the cost of your uniform from Gov.uk.

£650 Cost of Living Payment for those on benefits

More than 8 million households on means tested benefits will receive a payment of £650. This includes all households who receive Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Pension Credit. Department of Work and Pensions will make the payment in two lump sums – the first from July, the second in the autumn. Payments from HMRC for those on Tax Credits only will follow shortly after each to ensure there are no duplicate payments. The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK.

£150 Disability Cost of Living Payment

People with disabilities will receive an extra £150 to help with the particular extra costs they face. These payments will be exempt from tax, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards. The government will make these payments directly to households across the UK.

NHS prescriptions and health costs

Some people are eligible for free NHS prescriptions, dental treatment, eye tests and help with other NHS costs including transport to appointments.

Support paying your water bill

If you need help paying your water bill, Anglian Water have lots of ways to help. It all starts with completing an Extra Care Assessment with their Extra Care Team.

By completing an Extra Care Assessment, Anglian Water’s specially-trained support team can make sure you’re on the best tariff, create personalised payment plans to help you budget, give you some breathing space if you need some extra time to pay, as well as help guide you towards other help and benefits available.

Anglian Water have debt assistance schemes to help you get back on track if you’ve fallen behind with your payments alongside a range of discounted tariffs which may help reduce your payments.

Find out more and complete an Extra Care Assessment at anglianwater.co.uk or call Anglian Water's specially trained Extra Care team on 0800 011 3774.

Council Tax Support

Households on low-income with under £16,000 savings or capital (unless in receipt of Pension Credit) may qualify for a discount from their council tax bill. To find out if they are entitled, the can use the Council Tax Support Calculator and apply online or call 01205 314202. People struggling to pay should contact the Council as soon as possible to discuss payment options or see if they are eligible for discounts.

Housing Advice

If someone is worried about how to pay housing costs they should contact their landlord or mortgage lender as soon as possible. Housing advice teams can offer impartial advice to tenants and landlords and help people at risk of homelessness.

Discretionary Housing Payments

Discretionary Housing Payment can provide extra money to help residents in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of universal Credit with housing costs including:

Rent deposits
Rent in advance
Moving costs
Rent arrears
A shortfall between housing benefit and rent or housing costs included in Universal Credit and rent.

Payments are short term and special circumstances will be considered. To apply, details and application forms are available online or call 01205 314202.

Over a million families in the UK are entitled to some form of government childcare support, but many are missing out because they aren't aware of available support or do not realise that they are eligible.

Your child may be eligible for funded childcare:

For 2 year olds, apply online for 15 hours funded childcare at: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/2yearolds. If eligible, you will be given a code to give to your childcare provider.
For 3- & 4-year-olds, apply directly to the childcare provider of your choice to obtain 15 hours childcare . No code required.
Working parents of 3 and 4 year olds, can apply for 30 hours childcare at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. If eligible, you will be given a code to give to your childcare provider.

You may be able to save up to 20% of your childcare bill for children aged 0-11 (16 if disabled).

Tax Free Childcare supports working families, including the self-employed, with childcare costs.
If a working parent or carer is earning at least the National Minimum Wage for 16 hours a week on average and under £100,000 per annum.
You may be eligible to get £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year per child) towards your childcare costs.
If your child has a disability, you may be eligible for £1,000 every three months (up to £4,000 a year per child)

To find out more visit Tax-Free Childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you have any questions about accessing your early years entitlements in Lincoln, please contact the EYE team: EYE@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

If you need help finding a childcare provider in your area, please visit https://lincolnshire.fsd.org.uk / or call 0800 195 1635

If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We’ll add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.

You can use your card to buy:

plain liquid cow’s milk
fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

You can also use your card to collect:

Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old

Visit the Healthy Start Scheme website for further information.

TV Licensing

There are a range of payment plans available to help customers to spread the cost of a TV licence, these include monthly or quarterly direct debits, or a TV Licensing payment card (which enables customers to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly online, via text or call, on the TVL Pay app, or at any PayPoint outlet.

The Simple Payment Plan also offers flexibility if a payment is missed, as it can be spread across the remainder of the plan instead of having to pay double the amount next time.

Customers are eligible to join the Simple Payment Plan if they:

have been visited by a TV Licensing Enquiry Officer
have previously held a licence that was cancelled within the last six months because of missed payments
are experiencing financial difficulties and are referred by a not-for-profit money advice organisation

For further information visit tvlicensing.co.uk

Social Tariffs

Switching provider or accessing discounted social tariffs can help households save money. Ofcom are raising awareness of social tariffs from broadband and phone packages and how people can access them.

Anglian Water offer tariffs for low-income households that can offer up to 50% discount on water and sewage charges. Residents can call the Extra Care Team on 0800 232 1963 and see if they are able to switch tariff or find if there other ways Anglian Water can help with bills.

Citizens Advice South Lincolnshire has been awarded funding to support clients across Greater Lincolnshire who are struggling to afford fuel and are at risk of self-disconnection from their energy supply.

To ensure fairness, clients will only initially be allowed to apply for two vouchers.

In order to be eligible for the scheme clients must meet the following criteria:

Live in Greater Lincolnshire this includes both the areas covered by Lincolnshire
County Council and North Lincolnshire Council
Receive their energy via a prepayment meter
Liable for the energy bill for the property where they reside, and can provide
evidence of this
Be at risk of self-disconnection from their energy supply
Has not received 3 vouchers from this scheme already

Clients will need to be referred to the scheme from the Google Form linked below, this must not be shared with clients.

Redress Energy Voucher Form - Citizens Advice South Lincolnshire (citizensadvicesouthlincs.org.uk)

Referrals will be processed by the CASL Admin Team. There is likely to be a high demand for vouchers and therefore we can only guarantee that vouchers will be issued within five working days.

For support, call 01775 561014 or email sscsupport@citizensadvicesouthlincs.org.uk

Managing money and debt

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