What you can do to keep costs down
Ways you can reduce your outgoings
Managing your money
Try our budgeting tool to see if you can manage your money better.
There are also services that can help you to look at your budget and work out if you can make your money go further.
Money Advice Hub is a service commissioned by the borough council to help people with income maximisation and debt.
Christians Against Poverty has a range of services, including money advice, through local churches. The website will help you find your nearest service.
Food bills
Our Food for Thought sessions help you to maximise your food budget while still eating healthily.
Reducing energy use at home
You can keep your bills down by making sure you don’t waste energy.
Reduce bills without spending any money:
- Turn off lights when you’re not in a room
- Turn off devices at the plug when you’re not using them
- Keep your thermostat as low as you comfortably can
- Wash clothes at a lower temperature
Our page on energy efficiency gives more information on how to reduce your energy use at home.
The Government runs schemes to help people make their homes more energy efficient by giving grants to pay for measures that will reduce energy use, such as insulation. You can find out about the current schemes running in this area on our website. These schemes are for homeowners, and tenants, and can also help landlords with the cost of improving the efficiency of properties they own.
Help for Households Campaign: Energy-saving advice
The government recently published energy-saving advice as part of the Help for Households Campaign. As the weather turns colder, there are some actions people may not be aware of that could help them save further money on their energy bills. Advice is given for:
- Turning down radiators not in use
- Draught-proofing windows and doors
Further advice on help with energy bills can be found at the link below. Councils are encouraged to share this information as appropriate.
Visit the Help for Households website for Energy saving advice.