Manage your money

The government’s Help for Households campaign covers a wide range of support available, including cost of living payments and financial help if you are disabled or have a health condition. There’s also a tool so you can check what benefits and financial help you can get.

As part of Cost of living help, Dorset Council is working with Citizens Advice to offer free, confidential and impartial support in a range of areas, including:

• money worries
• accessing affordable food
• housing and employment rights
• looking after your mental health

It's important to make sure that you get all the financial help that you're entitled to. Citizens Advice offers  information on benefits and tax credits if you are working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. There is also information about Council Tax and housing costs, national insurance, payment of benefits and problems with benefits.

Age UK’s Benefits Calculator can help you find out which benefits you could be entitled to. It's free to use and the details you provide are kept anonymous. Based on the information you provide – such as where you live, whether you're single or in a couple or if you care for someone – Age UK can tell you if you're potentially entitled to claim extra money.

Learning to budget can help you stay on top of your bills and may save you £1,000s each year. The government’s money and pensions service offers a beginner’s guide to managing your money. It will show you how to set up a budget and get it back on track if you currently have more money going out than coming in.

If you have a pension question the money and pensions service offers impartial help and you can Get in touch online or over the phone on 0800 011 3797

If you have missed more than one debt payment then a confidential conversation with a trained and experienced debt adviser could help you find the best way forward. A debt adviser can:

• give you advice on better ways of managing your money
• check to see if there are any benefits or entitlements you might be able to claim
• tell you about the ways of dealing with debts that are open to you
• get you out of debt faster.

The government’s money and pensions service will find a free debt adviser you can connect with online or on the phone.

If you are behind with paying your energy bills Citizens Advice offers some specific advice about negotiating with your suppliers.

It’s easy to lose touch with one or more of your accounts. Perhaps you have moved addresses or you may have had an account opened for you as a child that you have forgotten about. Age UK say that in the UK millions of pounds lie unclaimed in inactive accounts. It's free and easy to check if you have any dormant bank accounts, insurance policies, pensions or premium bonds, so if you think you may have a lost account Age UK can take you through the steps to reclaim the money.