|
After the festive period many are struggling with money.
The expensive time of the year, followed by the freezing temperatures meaning higher energy costs, are impacting everyone.
Your normal cost of living newsletter is below, as well as a reminder on some of our most used webpages with tips and advice.
Reminder on advice and tips
We have guides for your situation to take you through help options step by step:
And here are some of the most useful options to help you, based on advice and services other residents have used:
 Reduce your Council Tax costs
Did you know you could claim a Council Tax Reduction if you have a lower income and small or no savings. This means you could pay less Council Tax depending on your situation.
You could save between 20 per cent and 78 per cent on your Council Tax (up to 100 per cent if you’re pension age). You can see how much you could save on our website.
This means you could potentially have hundreds of extra pounds in your pocket this year if you’re eligible and your situation doesn’t change. If it does you should update us on your situation.
If you’re working age
Some of the key criteria for people of working age are:
- Less than £4,000 in savings and investments
- Only paid up to Band D Council Tax properties. If your property is higher than Band D, you’ll only get reduction up to the Band D level
- Some income does not count towards Council Tax Reduction claims, including money from:
- Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, Armed Forces Independence Payments and War Disablement Payments
- Child Benefit and Child Maintenance payments
- If you are working, we will disregard £7.50 per week from any take home pay
- If you are a Carer, we will disregard any Carer's Allowance you receive
- There are also additional deductions if you have adults living with you who are:
- Receiving Universal Credit, Income Related Employment Support Allowance, Income based Job seekers Allowance or Guaranteed Pension Credit
- Of state pension age
- Not working
- Working (deduction depends on weekly earnings)
If you’re pension age
Check if you’re State Pension age using the gov.uk checker. Some of the key criteria for people of pension age are:
- If you have less than £16,000 in savings
- Have a low income
You could be eligible for a Second Adult Rebate instead of Council Tax Reduction. This applies when:
- You are state pension age
- You are the only person liable for Council Tax at your address
- You share your home with one or more adults over 18 who are on a low income and are not your partner
- If your partner is disregarded for Council Tax purposes
- You can’t claim if anyone pays you rent to live in your house
How to apply
This is what you should prepare before applying:
- National Insurance number for you (and your partner, if applicable)
- Income and capital for you (and your partner, if applicable)
- Income for other people that live with you (if applicable)
- Your Council Tax Account number, if you have one
You’ll need to evidence to support your application:
- Proof of ID and National Insurance number if not in receipt of Universal Credit
- Proof of income - such as two recent payslips and private pension letters
- Proof of benefits - such as full copy of recent Universal Credit award, showing all deduction, earnings and total award paid
You’ll have to provide details on our online portal, but you can save as you go and do it in stages.
How much of a reduction you will get
The amount depends on:
- Money you and your partner (if applicable) have coming in. This includes earnings, benefits, tax credits and pensions
- Your and your partner’s capital, savings and investments
- Your circumstances, such as age, who lives in the household, ages of children, whether anyone is disabled
You can see how much you could save on our website.
 How your local community bank can help you
Have you heard of BOOM Community Bank? It's Berkshire's credit union, a not-for-profit service which helps local people control their finances.
It's open to everyone living or working in the area. BOOM is cooperative owned and controlled by its customers, who are its members. It provide ethical financial services not available elsewhere.
This includes:
-
Open a current account with no credit checks
- Offers Access Loans to offer credit to those with a low income or an imperfect credit history
-
Family Loans - easy-to-manage repayments made directly from your Child Benefit
-
Consolidation Loans - combine your existing debts from various lenders into a single, manageable monthly repayment over a set period
-
Savings - you can open a savings account, and your savings will support local people while being 100 per cent secure
All services are accessed online or through an app.
If you take out a loan, you pay interest but have other significant advantages, including:
- Repayments are more reasonable because a 'not for profit' structure means focus is on affordability and not excessive profits
- There are no arrangement or service fees
- Borrowers save as they repay their loans. When the loan is paid off, the accumulated savings become available to spend or to keep adding to
- There are no penalties for repaying all or some of the loan early
 Jobs fair in Woodley later this month
A jobs fair to help those looking for work takes place in Woodley later this month.
It runs from 10am to 1.30pm at The Oakwood Centre, Headley Road, Woodley (RG5 4JZ). No need to book, just turn up on the day.
If you’re looking for a new role or to get back into work, local employers will be on hand to talk about opportunities.
We successfully helped more than 150 people looking for jobs at a similar event late last year.
Other support for jobseekers
 Repair café fixes broken items and keeps costs down
There are repair cafés across the borough which could help you make broken items last longer.
These have all launched in the last year or so to help people repair their household items.
We have three active repair cafes in the borough to support our residents in reducing waste and reusing what we already have, as well as saving on buying new things.
Your options
 Advice on loan sharks
The cost of living crisis continues to impact on finances, with more people are having to borrow money to meet their basic financial demands such as housing, food and utility bills.
It means you may be more likely to be exposed to loan sharks. This is someone who lends money without legal approval to do so.
They are illegal lenders who often target people with lower incomes or are desperate for help. They often also target people at more expensive times of the year, like Christmas.
Our partners the Public Protection Partnership have put together advice on spotting loan sharks and where to go for confidential help.
Confidential help and support can be sought from the England Illegal Money Lending Team via telephoning 0300 555 2222, emailing reportloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk or live chat on the Stop Loan Sharks website (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
|
