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Money, bills and debt support

 Worried about Money?

We understand that everyone is worried about money during the cost-of-living crisis and we want to help you by sharing information that can help you, whether that be additional monies you may be entitled to, ways to save money or budgeting help.

Debt and borrowing advice

We understand our residents may be worrying about their borrowing, that was previously affordable but now making payments may be a struggle. It is important to seek advice as early as possible from advice agencies as finding a solution is much easier in the early stages.

If you are looking for advice with your debts, you can contact the following Advice Agencies who will be able to help:

Citizens Advice Ashfield

Step Change

PayPlan

  • telephone: 0800 280 2816
  • website: PayPlan

Also, always speak to your creditors to see if there is anything they can do to help.

Mental health and money advice

Providing advice and support for anyone experiencing issues with money and their mental health.

Income and budgeting

Budgets are a really good way of keeping track of exactly what is going in and out each month and help you understand what you can afford. You can find help with budgeting from the agencies mentioned in the debt and borrowing advice section, or you can use the budget planner on the Money Helper website.

You may wish to check your banking app, as many banking apps now have built in budgeting tools which tracks your spending directly from your account.

When budgeting, it is a really good idea to have an understanding of your take home pay and how much you are paying in taxes, in national insurance and into your pension.

Money Saving Expert have a calculator to help you understand what your take home pay is, or may be, each month.

You may also wish to look at logging onto your Government Gateway account or creating a Government Gateway account to check your tax code is correct.

Struggling to afford your rent or mortgage payments?

Rent and mortgage payments are important and it’s good to know where you can go for help when you need it.

Mortgages

It is important that you speak to your mortgage provider or landlord as soon as you have trouble as they will be able to provide advice to help you.

If you have a mortgage, speak to your mortgage provider as they will have a team who is dedicated to helping you. Please also see the advice from Citizens Advice website and contact the local office if you need to speak to someone.

If you have a mortgage and are receiving Universal Credit, you may be able to get help, please speak to your work coach who will be able to give your advice and information.

Renting

If you rent and have a change in circumstance that means you may not be able to afford your rent, then you can apply to the council for a Discretionary Housing Payment. These payments are not guaranteed and are paid for a period of 6 months, but if awarded they can help you make your rent payments whilst you improve your circumstances or look for cheaper accommodation.

If you would like advice about your housing or if you are worried about becoming homeless, please contact the Housing Options team and they will be able to provide you with some advice.

If you are an Ashfield District Council tenant, we have our own in house Money Management team who can help you with your rent and managing your finances.

Benefits

If you are struggling due to being on a low income, please use the calculator on the entitled to website, to check if you could be entitled to any benefits or any additional financial help that may be available to you:

You can also speak to Turn 2 Us who can assist you in applying for benefits.

If you are responsible for council tax and you are the single adult in the property, you can apply to the council for a 25% discount on your council tax.

You can also apply for a reduction in your council tax if you are in receipt of benefit income only:

Transport

We understand that fuel prices are at their all-time highest, and this is causing worry to us all who need to travel on a regular basis.

Which? have put together a list of different ways to try and save money on your transport costs:

Other ways to save may be through petrol station apps, for example, Shell Go gives you money back every 10 visits and ESSO and Tesco petrol stations offer Clubcard points when you spend with them. Check other local petrol stations to see if they have a loyalty club too.

If you are an electric vehicle owner or looking to purchase one, you may be eligible for free charging stations to be installed in your home. Please see the gov.uk link for eligibility and how to apply

We offer time-limited free parking at some car parks in the district, so if you want to come to shop or eat in the district, check where you can park for free and how long for:

Trent Barton Buses offer a saver ticket which reduces the cost of buying individual tickets if you do multiple journeys within the area each week:

Stagecoach Buses allow up to 4 children per household, aged under 5, to travel for free, and also offer half price tickets for jobseekers:

If you are travelling within or out of the district by train, it may be worth seeing if you can book your tickets online in advance, as this will likely save you money. East Midlands trains offer group tickets and season passes, so check the website before travelling to see if you could save:

If you want to save money on travel and keep healthy and fit, the government run the Bike2Work scheme which is run through your employer. Please see the link to the information for employees and speak to your employer about the scheme if you are interested.

Government information and support

Help for people on benefits

Did you know that you can apply to have some of your bills paid directly out of your benefits, if you're having difficulties? This includes rent, services charges, fuel or water bills. This is called ‘third party deductions’ and sometimes Fuel Direct.

Energy bills 

The government have a page dedicated to giving advice and information on bills and debt support:

Cost of Living

The Cost of Living payment scheme has also been introduced in addition, to give financial support to eligible persons (persons on a low income or tax credits, people with a health condition or disability and pensioners), to help with extra costs such as energy bills:

  • visit the Government's Simple Energy Advice website to find out more information about the grants available in your area and get specific advice to improve your home.

There are various forms of assistance from the government available during winter for eligible groups of people

Saving energy

We've gathered information on various ways you can save energy and save money on your energy bills:

How we can help you

Affordable Warmth Grant

We offer an Affordable warmth grant to residents who suffer with long term health conditions, which could be made worse by the cold:

Winter energy support

We have information on various sources of advice and assistance on how to keep warm during winter:

 

Computer keyboard and calculator on a desk

Online benefit calculator

Our online benefit calculator allows you to get an instant estimate of how much help you could get towards your rent and Council Tax.