Managing Your Money
Managing your money can help you plan financially for unexpected events and expenses.
While the idea of money management may seem difficult, it's really not. You have to work out a plan to pay your most important bills first i.e. your rent, food etc. Then allocate the rest of your income to other bills and debts. If you have money left consider putting this into a savings account to be used for Christmas and birthdays and those unexpected expenses.
The best way to manage your money is to prepare an Income and Expenditure Account for yourself. The lists below give you an idea of the items you need to consider:
| INCOME | EXPENDITURE |
|---|---|
| Salary | Rent |
| Working Tax Credit | Council Tax |
| Child Tax Credit | Gas |
| Child Benefit | Electricity |
| Housing Benefit | Child Care |
| Child Maintenance | Food |
| Child Support | Insurance |
| Other Income | Clothing |
| Other Income | Travel |
| Telephone | |
| Loans | |
| Credit Cards | |
| Television (Sky, etc) | |
| Income TOTAL £ | Expenditure TOTAL £ |
You may wish to download and complete an Income and Expenditure Form [pdf] 134KB to help you.
If your income total is higher than your expenditure you will then have money to use for leisure and savings.
If however your expenditure is higher than your income, you should seek help from a debt counselling service. If you do not have enough money coming in you will quickly find you get behind with rent payments and other bills.
The Income and Expenditure list above is not in priority order. If you feel unable to make the decision yourself which are the most important please click here to see links to websites giving advice.
If you are in arrears with your rent the Income Officer will check your income and expenditure before making any agreement to repay this debt. This ensures that the rent arrears are paid off, over a suitable period of time and you keep your home.