If you have been overwhelmed by your finances and you have not been able to keep on top of your bills, please do not think there is nowhere to turn. First speak to your creditors and explain the difficulties you are having, if this is something you cannot tackle on your own, please contact our Financial Wellbeing Officer for support.
Maxie can also complete a full benefit check to help you maximise your income. There may be benefits that you are missing out on, or you may have been awarded a rate that is too low for your circumstances.
When you have maximised your income, you will be in a better position to organise your finances and tackle any debts. However, if you are currently unable to deal with any debt, especially priority debts please seek advice straight away.
Grants
You may be able to apply for a one-off grant to help with debts, a holiday or items around the home.
Budgeting
You can download this helpful income and expenditure form to identify areas that can possibly be changed. Sometimes just looking into your expenses can help identify subscriptions etc that you have forgotten about or are no longer using.
Shop around for cheaper deals for things like broadband, energy and insurances. Many renewals are more expensive, some providers are happy to haggle or you can look on comparison websites for a better deal.
The Money Saving Expert has lots of tips on how to save money on household bills. Our benefits help lists *other things you may be able to get if you are on certain benefits that can also reduce your bills.
Debt
There are certain household expenses that are classed as priorities. These are where there is a risk that you could lose your home, have your utilities turned off or having court action taken against you:
Priority debts include:
- Rent or Mortgage
- Any secured loans you may have
- Council Tax
- Gas and Electricity
- TV Licence
- Service charges
- Higher purchases
- Decrees/court fines
- Child maintenance
If you find that you have arears in these payments, talk to your landlord/mortgage company/provider. They may be happy to set up a payment plan that will stop any serious action being taken; remember not to make promises of payments you cannot afford, use our budgeting sheet to look at what you may be able to afford. This may give you time to get your finances in order and start paying off some of your debts.
Energy Providers may have grants to pay off debts with them so contact directly to see if they can help.
Always seek help from a debt adviser if you feel that you are not going to be able to deal with your debts or that you are in no position to pay them back. A debt adviser can talk you through the different options available to you. The sooner you seek this advice the less likely serious action will be taken against you. If you do need to attend court etc these costs will be added to any debt already accrued.
Mygovscot lists different options for you to seek advice regarding your debt.
Infected Blood Compensation
As we learn more about the payments being made to infected and affected victims, we will provide updates on our website to our members. The latest information from the Compensation Authority can be found here.
Things to consider currently are that accounts over £85, 000 in one bank account may not be fully protected through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme FSCS, however they do offer protection to temporarily high account to £1 million for six months.
The Government has promised that funding will be provided for legal and financial advice to all applicants in receipt of compensation.
If you have any questions about the above, please get in touch with our Financial Wellbeing Officer
- Maxie Cobern-Burke
- E-mail: fwo@haemophilia.scot
- Call/Text/WhatsApp: 07746 255 225