ACROSS the country millions are trying to manage their budgets, with more changes hitting your finances next month.
From energy to food, households have been stung by eye-watering bill hikes.
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This month will bring even more money changes – but some could mean you’ll be better off.
We explain all the key dates you need to circle in your diary below.
£150 cost of living payment
Millions of disabled people will get a one-off £150 cost of living payment paid straight into their bank accounts.
The payment is meant to help with the extra costs disabled people in particular often face, such as care and mobility needs.
More than six million people will get the tax-free cash between June 20 and July 4, the Department for Work and Pensions said.
You’ll be able to spot when the free cash lands as it will come with a special code.
You’ll be able to see when the money has landed in your bank account by looking for the words: DWP COL along with your National Insurance number.
You have to be receiving certain benefits to qualify for the £150 cost of living payment. These are:
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- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Scottish Disability Benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
We’ve explained all the exact dates for cost of living payments worth up to £1,350 will be paid this year- and you’ll want to make a note of them.
Mortgage rate changes
Earlier this month, the central bank increased its base rate from 4.25% to 4.5% – the 12th increase in a row.
The rate is used by high street banks and lenders to set the rates it offers customers on mortgages, loans and savings.
The next Bank of England meeting that will decide any further interest rate hikes will take place on June 22.
A rate rise is generally good news for savers, especially after a long stretch of getting very low returns.
Usually, the BoE rise would mean a blanket increase in the cost of borrowing for households too – depending on what loan you have.
If you have a tracker mortgage that follows the base rate, you can expect your interest payments to rise.
That’s because it’s directly linked to the base rate.
Moving to a fixed rate mortgage can give you certainty over your repayments for a set period – and you’ll be protected from forthcoming rate hikes.
Shop around for the best deal or speak to a mortgage broker who can scour the market for you.
If you’re on a standard variable rate, it’s like you could see your monthly repayments drop if you get a new deal too.
£400 energy bill help
Households with traditional prepayment meters need to claim their energy bill vouchers by the end of June.
Energy customers have been urged to avoid missing out on the £400 by June 30, with £130 million still available to be claimed.
All households were eligible for the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme, which paid in six instalments of £66 or £67 over the winter.
Prepayment customers were paid in vouchers and millions remain unclaimed.
Some customers didn’t get them at all, while others struggled to redeem them.
Households need to visit a post office or PayPoint with their vouchers and ID before the end of the month.
Any lost, missing or expired vouchers can be reissued as long as they are redeemed by June 30.
Those on a traditional prepayment meter who haven’t received the vouchers, are unsure how to redeem them or need a voucher to be reissued should contact their supplier.
Households using prepayment meters who use alternative fuels such as LPG, heating oil or biomass as the main way they heat their homes also have until June 30 to use vouchers worth up to £200.
Customers will have received these vouchers in the post from their supplier and should contact them if they have any questions.
£100 for Nationwide customers
Around 3.4million Nationwide Building Society members will be entitled to a share of the £340million cash post.
The mutual lender has launched the Nationwide Fairer Share – a new reward for millions of its members who meet certain eligibility criteria.
To be eligible, members will need to hold a qualifying current account, plus either a qualifying saving or mortgage product.
Payments will be sent out automatically to account holders between June 13 and June 30.
But you will need to have held the account on March 31 to be eligible and still have the account open in June.
Nationwide has now informed all eligible members about the payment.
To find out of you’re eligible, you can check out out full guide to everything we know about the payment.
Universal Credit childcare changes
Hundreds of thousands of parents on Universal Credit will get a major £522 boost to childcare payments from June 28.
The same families will also benefit from a change which will see all childcare costs paid upfront.
In a huge win for The Sun’s Make Universal Credit Work campaign, it means they won’t have to pay hundreds of pounds only to claim it back later.
At the moment, parents on Universal Credit can claim back 85% of their childcare costs – but they have to pay upfront first.
It means mums and dads have had to find more than £1,000 for a month’s nursery care in advance before getting any support.
But from Wednesday, June 28 all payments will be made upfront and families will benefit from a payment boost.
The maximum amount of cash parents can claim will also go up from £646 to £951 for one child, and from £1,108 to £1,630 for two – an increase of just under 50%.
Tax credits
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has already started sending 1.5million households tax credit renewal packs.
The letters will be issued up until Thursday, June 15.
Each year a claim for tax credits must be renewed, otherwise the benefit could be stopped, and you could even have to pay money back.
Once customers receive their annual renewal pack they will have until July 31 to check the information is correct and notify HMRC of any changes to their circumstances which may affect their claim.
There are two types of tax credits – working tax and child tax credit.
They’re given to people who are on low incomes, are registered as disabled or have children that are dependent on them.
Universal Credit has replaced tax credits for new claimants, but many have not yet made the switch over to the newer benefit.
Everyone will be transitioned over to receiving Universal Credit eventually and by 2024, the government has said.
But if you already claimed tax credits in the previous financial year you’re able to renew them once you’ve received your renewal pack.
Tesco Clubcard changes
Tesco shoppers will want to make a note of these two changes to the supermarket’s Clubcard coming in June.
The retailer is reducing the value of Clubcard vouchers spent with reward partners.
Customers can currently exchange and triple the value of these vouchers at various reward partners including Pizza Express and Zizzi.
But from June 14, Clubcard vouchers will only be worth double their value if exchanged at any of Tesco’s 100 reward partners.
The move will mean that their value won’t go as far as it used to on things like family days out at Alton Towers Resort, meals at PizzaExpress, sunny getaways with Hotels.com and much more.
Customers wishing to avoid the points devaluation for as long as possible can do so by ordering partner codes before June 14.
These codes will still be worth the current rate and shoppers will have 12 months from their issue to redeem them.
Drivers using Clubcards can currently get one point for every £2 of fuel they buy.
From June 14, you will collect one point for every two litres instead.
The current average cost of a litre of unleaded in the UK is 146.40p as of April 3, according to the RAC, so two litres cost almost £2.93.
That means the majority of people will be getting less Clubcard value from buying fuel.
The change excludes Esso filling stations with a Tesco Express store.
For Tesco Bank customers, the number of points you collect will also depend on whether you use your card to collect points for fuel, to pay for fuel, or both.
Energy price guarantee comes to an end
The Government’s energy price guarantee (EPG) has frozen average bills at £2,500 a year for millions of households.
However, the guarantee is set to finish at the end of June and it means energy prices will fall.
Although you could pay more or less depending on your usage.
The Ofgem price cap will fall by £1,206 from £3,280 to £2,074 a year from July 1 and it will cover the period to October 1.
The lower cap will replace the EPG and means the average household will see their annual bill drop by £426.
Amazon price rises
Amazon Prime customers will soon need to spend more in order to get free Morrisons delivery within two hours.
Prime members can currently spend a minimum of £40 and qualify to get their supermarket shopping within two hours for free.
But from June 19, Morrisons customers will have to spend at least £60 to be eligible – that’s an extra £20.
If shoppers spend between then they’ll need to spend £2 to get the two-hour offer.
The service first started selling through Amazon four years ago and last year added five extra cities to its list, bringing the total to nine.
The service is only available for people who pay for Amazon Prime and it’s included for no extra cost in the basic membership.
Shoppers can do a full Morrisons shop which is picked at their local store and delivered on the same day during a two-hour delivery window between 8am and midnight.
Morrisons is the only major supermarket to offer deliveries through Amazon Prime.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
