Money to Live

Benefits and allowances
The eligibility rules for benefits and allowances can be difficult to understand. Ask your Connexions personal adviser for help. It’s important that you receive what you are allowed.
Direct Gov – public services in one place. There are sections for young people, disabled people and those who care for someone.
Information includes:
• rights and responsibilities at work.
• getting a job.
• carers and employment.
• leaving care.
• benefits, tax credits and allowances.

www.direct.gov.uk

Managing your money
Budget Calculator – find out how you spend your money.
www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/tools.aspx?Tool=budget_calculator

Direct Gov – managing your money, debt, saving for the future.
www.direct.gov.uk – go to Young People> Money.

Bank and building society accounts
Banks, building societies and the post office love to sign up new customers. Many offer high interest accounts for young people.

You have a lot of choice as where to put your money. Shop around – see who has the best interest rates and services for you. And don’t forget – it is quite easy to swap to a different bank or building society. So, as your situation changes, you can too!

To open an account you will usually have to:
• prove who you are
• prove where you live
• prove you are a student (if relevant)
• fill in an application form
• have some money to put in the account.

If the account you want allows you to borrow or go overdrawn then a credit check will be run. This will show whether or not you are a reliable customer.

Money Made Clear - basic bank/building society accounts.
www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Moneysupermarket – compare student and young persons’ accounts. www.moneysupermarket.com - go to Money>Current accounts>Student.

Saving and investing
One option with any spare cash is to save or invest it. This will keep it safe and it’ll earn interest if you put it into the right sort of account. You’ll need to decide if you want to save the money for only a short time (saving) or a long time (investment).

Money Made Clear - facts about saving and investing.
www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk – go to Savings.

Pensions
Pensions are a special sort of saving to support you when you retire or reach a certain age. They pay a regular (although not always a large) income for the rest of your life.

There are three main types:

• State – provided by the state. This is dependent on the amount of National Insurance you pay during your working life.

• Occupational – provided by your employer(s). These are set up by employers to provide their employees with a pension when they retire. It’s always worth considering joining a company pension scheme.

• Personal – provided by banks, building societies and life insurance companies who invest the amount you decide to save. It’s a good idea to set up a personal pension early on in your working life.

It is possible to benefit from all three of the above.

Direct Gov - information about all the different types of pensions.
www.directgov.uk - go to Money, tax and benefits>Pensions.

Money Made Clear – step-by-step guides.
www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk - go to Pensions and retirement

Debt
Owing more money than you can afford to pay out is called debt. Getting into debt is a lot easier than getting out of it. And it never goes away by ignoring it. The sooner you seek professional advice the better. There are no quick fixes to sorting a debt problem – but it can be sorted.

Talk to your Connexions personal adviser who will be able to put you in touch with local organisations that can help and advise.

Direct Gov – managing debt
www.direct.gov.uk – go to Money, tax and benefits>Managing debt.

National Debtline – information pack and fact sheets.
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
T: 0808 808 4000

National Youth Agency – help with debt.
www.nya.org.uk/youthinformation-com
- go to Money>Help with debt.