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Stop unexpected expenses or larger than expected bills becoming a major financial headache by paying regular attention to everyday money matters.  If you also face a major life change like ill health, redundancy, a separation, divorce, or bereavement, your finances will need a re-think.  So here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you look after your money matters.

Do think about insurances like home contents and building insurance because accidents do happen
Do think about credit cards and store cards – can you really afford the repayments that they need
Do budget wisely – know what money you have coming in and what money is going out
Do save a little amount each week – if your income is low or limited credit unions are good place to start

Don’t ignore bills and mounting debt - open each bill when it arrives and read it through 
Don’t stash away unopened bills and letters from your creditors for another day 
Don’t go it alone – help is available from the Citizens Advice Bureau and other agencies to help to
Make sense of your money problems

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A growing number of households worry about rising gas and electricity bills, especially those where household income is low or limited. However there are ways to keep your fuel costs down and impartial energy advice to help take you through which options would work best for you.  To get you started here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you reduce your fuel bills.

Do check your home is properly insulated and your heating system is running efficiently.
Do shop around to make sure you are on the best fuel tariff for you.
Do ask about a new social tariff that could save you 20% on your fuel bills if you are paying more than 10% of your income on fuel bills.

Don’t ignore the fuel bills when they come in - if you have a problem paying them get help straight away. 
Don’t leave lights on when you leave a room or leave electrical devices on standby – they cost much more than you think and can mount up.
Don’t struggle with old and broken down heating system or electrical appliances – they will cost you more money to run and you could get help to replace them.

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Everyone experiences life changes like becoming ill, being made redundant, or splitting up with your partner which can throw our finances into a spin and take some time to get back on track. If you are worried about getting into debt or face mounting debts the best way forward is to seek free money advice straightaway. Make a start on getting the help you need to get your finances into the black with these do’s and don’ts.

Do seek out debt advice as soon as it is clear that you can’t manage to meet your debt – the longer you leave it the worse it gets 
Do make sure that the advice is free and will not add more debt to the situation 
Do gather up all the relevant paperwork on your debts and take it with you when you meet your chosen advisor.

Don’t panic – there are solutions to help you                                                
Don’t bury your head in the sand by ignoring letters from your debtors             
Don’t try and juggle your finances by “robbing Peter to pay Paul”            
Don’t take on more new debt.

• UK Households pay an average of £3,400 annual interest on their debt. 
Source: Credit Action                                                    
                                                                                                                 
• Almost 6 million people in the UK have a serious debt problem 
Source: Bank of England                                                                
                                                                                                             
• Three out of four British couples find money the hardest subject to talk about with their partners                                                                                  
• One in four couples regularly argue over money matters
• One in three British couples can’t sleep at night because of money worries 
                                                                                                              
Source: Financial Services Authority/Credit Action

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When you provide support to a family member, friend or neighbour which they couldn’t manage without you are most likely and unpaid carer. Being an unpaid carer, a young carer or having a disability often means a loss of income for the household. Many unpaid carers and disabled people are unsure or do not know what help they are entitled to or where they can get help. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help find out more.

D0’s
Do get a full benefits check including pension credits if you are over sixty as there extra premiums applied to your claim if you or your partner are a carer or are severely disabled.

Do check out benefits for your disabled children and the check out Family Fund which helps parents with the costs of special equipment or even driving lessons.

Do put in a claim for a carers allowance - even if you cant get the money from carers allowance the claim may qualify you for extra money on another benefit.

Don’t’s
Don’t assume you are getting everything you are entitled to - more and more people are discovering that they do qualify for help and assistance than before.

Don’t assume that all benefits are means tested. Disability benefits and many others are not means tested

Don’t get yourself in a muddle about form filling. There is help available even is English is not your first language

Don’t feel that you are alone in your situation. You are not.


Pull Quote: 
One in five carers give up full-time work to become a carer 
Source: Carers UK 

Agency Contacts:
Specialist Carers and Disability advice is available from the Princess Royal Trust for Carers Dundee drop in centre

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With an extensive and ever changing range of Benefits and Tax Credits it is well worth checking if you would be eligible for extra help especially if you have a low income in or out of work, are a carer, are living with disability, or a pensioner. Dundee has several expert advice agencies who can help you to find out more. Here are some steps to get you started. 

Do’s 
Do contact local agencies for help and advice since it is free and confidential - in some cases home visits can be arranged too. 

Do ask about help to fill in benefit and tax credit forms - a well complete form can save you time and difficulty later on

Do pick up the phone and speak to your local advice agency

Don’ts
Don’t think that you won’t qualify for benefit because you have too much money or savings. This is not always the case.

Don’t accept a decision as automatically correct, as in many cases it can be reviewed or appealed

Don’t be embarrassed about coming to an advice agency

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The key to making the right start with a new tenancy lies in thinking ahead about all the extra costs you will face. Moving into your first home can be very expensive as you may need to furnish it and will have to budget for new financial commitments like gas and electricity, council tax, insurance etc. If you are on a low or limited income you may be eligible for some assistance so it is worth checking out before these costs mount up. Here are a few steps to help you get started.

Do’s
Do open a bank account if you don’t already have one - this will help you pay bills more easily and help you start saving towards your new home.
Do check out your income and any extra benefits or in work tax credits that you may be entitled to Do work out a budget to cover the extra things that your new home will need and to pay for future bills

Don’ts
Dont add the cost of moving home to an existing debt problem Don't let moving into your new home stress you out - there is help available to work out budgets, check out benefits and tax credits etc Don't wait to the last minute to sort things out - plan ahead so that every thing you need is in place and the move goes smoothly

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Affordable Credit Saving a few pounds on a regular basis for unexpected expenses or a special occasion soon adds up and when your savings are with a credit union or the kind of savings and loans schemes run for housing association tenants there are other benefits too. Unlike traditional banks and money lenders credit unions and savings and loans schemes are able to offer savers relatively small loans for very low interest rates. The Discovery Credit Union is open to residents in Dundee and the city’s local Savings and Loans scheme is open to Dundee tenants of Angus, Servite, Sanctuary Scotland, Home Scotland and Hillcrest Housing Associations. If you are on a low income and want to save regularly or borrow at very low interest rates here are some things to think about. Do save what you can - even a couple of pounds saved regularly adds up. Do check out credit unions and savings and loans accounts for their low rates of interest Don’t get yourself into debt by paying more in interest than you need to Don’t get caught out by high interest rates on overdrafts and bank loans for small sums below £500

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Dundee has a number of communities whose first language isn’t English. We can give advice to clients in their own language. 

If you are struggling to make ends meet, want to manage mounting debt problems, or simply start getting to grips with your financial commitments, Finance for Life will show you how. 

For free and confidential advice on your money matters in your language contact Dundee, City Council Welfare Rights Team on Dundee 431167, Citizens Advice Bureau on Dundee 307494,or the Princess Royal Trust for Carers on Dundee 200422.

‘Jeżeli borykasz się z zamknięciem miesiąca, chciałbyś/ chciałabyś poradzić sobie z narastającymi problemami związanymi z długami lub po prostu zająć się swoimi zobowiązaniami finansowymi, ‘Finanse na Całe Życie’ pokarzą Ci jak to zrobić. W sprawie uzyskania bezpłatnych i w pełni poufnych porad dotyczących spraw finansowych (w Twoim języku ojczystym), należy kontaktować się z: Dział Opieki Społecznej Urzędu Miasta Dundee (City Council Welfare Rights Team on Dundee, tel. 431167; Biuro Porad dla Mieszkańców (Citizens Advice Bureau Dundee), tel. 307494; Towarzystwo ‘Princess Royal Trust for Carers’, tel. 200422.’ 

(Dundee City Council Welfare Rights Team 431167
Citizens Advice Bureau 307494
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers 200422

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The first thing that most people will feel is just a sense of panic - everything starts to overwhelm them
And people will come into us to get advice mainly on financial issues because that is the main thing that is at the front of people’s lives - how are they going to manage

We would sit with them and go through various stages like whether the selection for redundancy is fair - because every employer must have clear procedures as to how they have selected for redundancy 

If someone may have been selected unfairly there could be a potential claim for unfair dismissal 
The other thing we would look at as well is what level of redundancy pay they would be getting

There is a set level set down by government of statutory redundancy pay that every one is entitled to 
Depending upon how long they have worked for their employer and their age - so we would work with that 

There may also be something in their contract that entitles them to some more financial assistance so we would take to consider that 

What we would caution people against initially is that some people may think that it is worth their while going for voluntary redundancy but they should make sure that that wont affect any insurance policies they have for payment protection on things like their mortgage, any credit cards debts they have or loans

When someone has been made redundant one of the things they will want to know is what benefits they may be entitled to and that’s exactly the type of thing we can go through with them as well.

Do take time to sit back and take time to think things through on a step by step basis

So that’s almost saying 

Don't Panic! 
Don’t let it all swamp you at once
Don’t take it personally its not your fault that you have been selected for redundancy that’s unfortunately just the way of the world today

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