This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
If you're on a low income, struggling to make ends meet or are in debt, there are plenty of ways to get extra help.
On the following pages, we look at some of the things you can do to make sure you've got all the money coming in you're entitled to and earn extra cash. This includes making sure:
You may be able to claim benefits or tax credits. Depending on your circumstances, some benefits and tax credits which you may be able to claim include:
For more information about which benefits and tax credits you may be able to claim, see our Benefits section.
If you're over 60, you might be able to get some extra help with the costs of living. These include:
For more information about benefits you may be able to get if you're over 60, see Benefits for people over sixty, Benefits for people who are sick or disabled and Public transport.
Are there any other adults living in your household? If so, think about ways in which they could affect how much money you have coming in.
For example, is there someone else in your household who is earning and could contribute more of their wages?
On the other hand, are you getting less benefit or missing out on a benefit altogether because of someone else living in your household who doesn't need to? For example, the amount of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit you get can be affected if you have another adult sharing your home.
In England, Wales and Scotland, for more information about Housing Benefit, see Help with your rent – Housing Benefit.
For more information about Council Tax Benefit in England, Wales and Scotland, see Help with your council tax – Council Tax Benefit.
In Northern Ireland, see Help with your rent – Housing Benefit and Help with rates.
Have you thought about letting out a room in your home to a boarder or lodger? If you own your property and you pay income tax, you could get up to £4,250 tax-free under the rent a room scheme.
You may need to think about whether increasing your income in this way would affect your entitlement to benefits. You may also need to get permission from your landlord or mortgage lender and update your household insurance.
There are other advantages and disadvantages to the scheme that you may need to think about. For more information, in England, Wales and Scotland visit the Directgov website at: www.direct.gov.uk.
In Northern Ireland visit NIDirect website at: www.nidirect.gov.uk.
There are various government schemes which provide grants to help with the costs of home insulation and improve energy efficiency for certain groups of people including those on low incomes. Installing insulation and improving energy efficiency can help cut down on fuel costs.
For more information about grants to help with energy efficiency, see Fuel costs and saving money.
In England, Wales and Scotland, some energy suppliers have set up independent charitable trusts which give grants to some of their customers to help them pay for fuel arrears. You may also be able to get grants to pay for other household bills, such as water.
To find out if you can get help, visit:
Or contact your energy or water supplier direct.
You may be able to get help through the Social Fund through a community care grant, crisis loan or budgeting loan.
For more information about Social Fund grants, see Help for people on a low income – the Social Fund.
There are several useful websites that list organisations which give grants to people in need. For example, some charities give grants to help people pay their bills or buy essential items. You can alsosearch for charitieswhich help people who are members, or ex-members of certain professions. Try these websites:
Some trade unions also give financial help to past and present members and their families. To find out if you can get help, contact your union.
If you have school-age children, you may be able to get financial help for things like school meals, clothing and travel costs. This will depend on your financial circumstances.
For more information about help with school costs, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland see Help with school costs and in Scotland, see Help with school costs.
If you live apart from the other parent of your child, you should check you're getting all the child support and maintenance you're entitled to.
For more information about child support and maintenance, see Child maintenance.
Financial support is available for some young people, for example, to:
Young people continuing in education after the age of 16 may be entitled to an education maintenance allowance to help pay for books, travel and materials.
In England, for more information about financial support for young people, see Financial help for students aged 16-19. In Wales, see Student finance Wales. In Scotland, see Scottish Government guide to helping you meet the costs of learning. In Northern Ireland, see Financial support for higher education students.
You can also find information about financial support for higher education students on the Directgov website at: www.direct.gov.uk.
You may be able to get some help with the costs of working if:
Some kinds of help will depend on how long you have been unemployed, and some kinds of help are only for people on certain government schemes or training programmes.
For more information about help with the costs of working, see Benefits and tax credits for people in work, or ask at your Jobcentre Plus.
If you are working, you are entitled by law to be paid the National Minimum Wage, regardless of what you do or who you work for. The amount varies depending on how old you are.
For more information about the National Minimum Wage, see Rights to pay.
You may also have other rights to pay, for example if you can't work because you are off sick or away from work on maternity leave.
For more information about what pay you're entitled to, see Basic rights at work.
Make sure you're paying the right amount of tax and national insurance.
For more information about whether you're paying the right amount of tax, see Tax codes.
For more information about national insurance, see National insurance – contributions and benefits.
You can get help to check whether you're paying the right tax or national insurance from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To find your nearest CAB, including those which can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You can get information about how to claim a refund of any income tax you've overpaid from HM Revenue and Income website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk.
As well as tax and national insurance, your employer may be deducting other money from your wages. You should check to make sure the right amount is being deducted.
Other deductions your employer might make include:
For more information about contacting your local tax office and how to get help with tax problems, see Help with tax problems.
You might be able to take on a second job to help you over a difficult patch in your finances.
You'll need to think about the effects that having more than one job might have on your health.
You'll also need to think about any possible effects on any in-work benefits you may be claiming. You might want to get advice about this from an experienced adviser.
You can find an experienced adviser at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To find your nearest CAB, including those which can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you've been unfairly dismissed by your employer or your employer has gone bust, you might be able to claim compensation or unpaid wages. Your union or an advice agency may be able to help you with this. You should also check to see whether your household insurance includes free legal advice cover which you could use to get help with claiming compensation.
If you're self employed, you will have to send a self-assessment tax return to HM Revenue and Customs every year. If you have any problems with tax you should contact your local tax office.
For more information about self-assessment, see Self-assessment.
For more information about contacting your local tax office and how to get help with tax problems, see Help with tax problems.
If you're struggling to make ends meet, you may need to get professional advice about your business, for example, from an accountant. In England, Wales and Scotland, you can also get free advice from Business Debtline at: www.bdl.org.uk or phone 0800 197 6026.
If you're self-employed, you can claim most of the same benefits as employed people. However, there is one exception. You may not be entitled to claim contribution– based Jobseeker's Allowance.
For more information about Jobseeker's Allowance and claiming benefits if you're unemployed, see Benefits for people looking for work.
Interest on savings is usually taxed. Some people don’t have to pay tax. If you are one of them, you should ask your bank or building society for form R85, which you can complete and return to your branch. This avoids the need to pay tax on your savings. You may also be able to claim back tax you have already paid.
To find out more about how to get tax-free interest on savings and who can get it, go to HM Revenue and customs website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk.
Make sure you're getting the best interest rate on your savings. Read any terms and conditions carefully to make sure they're what you are looking for. If you're not sure about anything, ask the savings provider or get independent financial advice.
You may be able to get helpful information from the Money Advice Service helpline on 0300 500 5000. For more information about the helpline, go to their website at: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk.
You can also use the Money Advice Service savings and investments comparison tables to shop around for the best savings and investment deals. Go to: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk.
Check any insurance policies you have to see if you can make a claim. For example, if you're struggling to pay off a loan, store card or mortgage, you might be covered by Payment Protection Insurance. However, you should remember that making a claim can affect how much you pay for your insurance in the future.
For more information about making an insurance claim, see Insurance.
For more information about Payment Protection Insurance, see Payment Protection Insurance in Borrowing fact sheets.
If you get poor service, suffer an injury or are inconvenienced in some way, you may be able to claim compensation or a refund. An advice agency may be able to help you send a letter of complaint, make a claim, or put you in touch with someone else who can help.
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help you. For details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You may be able to borrow money to get you through a rough patch. If you're going to borrow money, you need to do it sensibly. This means that, before you sign up to anything, you should shop around to find the cheapest deal and make sure you can afford the repayments.
Make a list of your household income and expenses to check how much you can afford to repay each month. Don’t take out a loan which will cost you more than this.
You can use our Budget sheet to help you work out how much you've got coming in and going out of your household. See Budgeting.
For more advice about how to borrow money sensibly, go to the Money Advice Service website at: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk.
If you are on a low income or benefits, you may be able to get a Social Fund loan or borrow safely from a credit union.
For more information about the Social Fund, see Help for people on a low income – the Social Fund.
A credit union is a self-help co-operative whose members pool their savings to provide each other with credit at a low interest rate. For more information about credit unions, go to the website of the Association of British Credit Unions at: www.abcul.org.
In Northern Ireland, go to either the website of the Irish league of credit unions at: www.creditunion.ie, or the Ulster federation of credit unions at: www.ufcu.co.uk.
If you live in an area where parking is a problem, you may be able to rent out your garage or parking space. Remember, you may have to pay tax on any income you get from this and it may have an effect on any benefits you are claiming.
If you own anything you don't want anymore, you could sell it to raise money. Places where you could do this include:
When you give a description of the item you're selling, it must be accurate. You should read any terms and conditions and be especially careful if you're selling over the internet.
For more information about selling things privately, in England and Wales, see Private sales and car boot sales in Consumer fact sheets.
For more information about selling and buying from internet auctions sites, see Buying on internet auction sites.
You can get more help from your local Citizens Advice Bureau to look for ways of increasing your income, including how to claim benefits and tax credits. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
If you're struggling to make ends meet, there are lots of ways to cut down on your spending and save money. For some useful money-saving ideas, see How to spend less.
If you're in debt and need some help to sort it out, see Help with debt.
An independent financial adviser may be able to help you get more out of your money or save on costs. For example, they may be able to give you advice about how to get the best deal on your savings or mortgage. The following organisations can help you find an independent financial adviser:
Independent Financial Promotions (IFAP)
Website: www.unbiased.co.uk
Institute of Financial Planning (IFP)
Tel: 0117 945 2470
E-mail: enquiries@financialplanning.org.uk
Website: www.financialplanning.org.uk
Personal Finance Society (PFS)
E-mail: customer.serv@thepfs.org
Website: www.findanadviser.org
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