Create a personal budget to save on cash
Creating a personal budget spreadsheet can do wonders for your spending.
Setting up a simple Excel spreadsheet or keeping an account book can help you manage your outgoings and thus cut down on spending.
You can also get one for free from the likes of MoneyHelper.
When will your licence fee rise?
The BBC licence fee will rise from £159 to £169.50. as of April 1, 2024, an increase of £10.50.
While this is a steep increase, the original proposal called for a £15 rise in the fee.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “This is a fair deal that provides value for money for the licence fee payer while also ensuring that the BBC can continue to produce world-leading content.”
Yorkshire residents could be eligible for £350 cash help
As part of the Household Support Fund, East Riding Council in Yorkshire is offering struggling Brits £350 in cash help.
The funds will be sent automatically to those who meet the following criteria:
- Receive Council Tax support
- Live in a property that has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F, G or H.
- A member of your household is disabled, or you or your partner are aged between 18-24 and you are responsible for paying council tax
Do you qualify for the cost of living payment?
The full list of benefits that qualify people for the payments is:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension credit
What is the Household Support Fund?
The Household Support Fund was first launched in October 2021 to help Brits pay their way through winter amid the cost of living crisis.
Councils up and down the country got a slice of the £500million funding available to dish out to Brits in need.
It was then extended for a second time in the Spring Budget and for a third time in November to help those on the lowest incomes with the rising cost of living.
The DWP has confirmed a fourth extension of the scheme through to March 31, 2024.
The help you can get varies depending on who your local council is, as well as your personal situation.
But you may be able to get free cash and vouchers to help pay for things like heating your home or to cover costs of your weekly grocery shop.
If an applicant is already receiving benefits, these will not be affected by the HSF.
And, you do not need to be getting benefits to receive vouchers or funds from the HSF.
Every council will provide the means they feel best suits their area.
Bromley residents could be eligible for £200 payment
Residents of of Bromley in South East London could be eligible for a £200 payment.
This comes as part of the government’s household support fund, designed to help hard-up Brits.
To qualify for the help, you need to be over the age of 16, living in Bromley and:
- a family with school age children
- a care leaver
- a household with someone with a disability including dementia and mental health
- a domestic abuse survivor
- a carer
- a large family
- a single income family
- a vulnerable household experiencing exceptional financial hardship
