Budget
Making the most of earnings by understanding pay, benefits and other income.

Making sure your earnings add up by understanding other ways of maximising your income.

• Kirklees Benefits Advice Service – Support to maximise your income through the benefit system by providing comprehensive benefit checks, assisting with making benefit claims and dealing with complex benefit issues, including disputes and appeals. Referrals can be made by completing the following form or through Kirklees Citizens Advice by calling 0808 278 7896. Download: Referral form.doc

• Financial Support And Debt Advice – Food shopping can be one of the biggest bills and it’s becoming harder to afford the essentials as prices increase. Regular meals are important to keep yourself and your family healthy so it’s important you don’t go without. Checking you’re claiming all you’re entitled to could help to maximise your income and ease the burden. The link above includes free online tools that you can use to check your income.

• ICAFS Money Advice: Dalton Ward Residents – Need FREE, confidential money advice. If you’re living in the Dalton ward and are aged 16+ (E.g. Universal Credit/Benefits, Housing Benefits, Household Heating Grants) and lots more. Download: ICAFS flyer.pdf

• Yorkshire Building Society (Money Minds) – Everybody’s future matters, especially when it comes to money, work and careers. So it’s important to talk about it. Money Minds has advice, guidance and learning waiting for you.

• Local Welfare Provision Scheme (LWP) – Helping people in short-term crisis with food and essential items including food parcels, fuel vouchers and advice around benefits, debt, budgeting, employment and housing.

• Barclays Life Skills – LifeSkills created with Barclays is a free, financial capability and employability programme that offers educators modules, tips and advice to support residents and communities improve their financial skills.

• BetterOff Kirklees – A service for people who live in Kirklees. BetterOff will show you the benefits you are entitled to and will help you apply for them online. BetterOff also provides information on how to find and apply for jobs.

• Kirklees Citizens Advice – Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre could help you save money on your energy bills with advice about switching energy tariffs and suppliers, fuel debt, benefit checks and application support. Tel: Freephone 0808 278 7896

• Free Mortgage Advice Clinic – Independent mortgage advice to residents which will be operating out of the Beaumont Arms in Kirkheaton every Saturday, starting 2nd of April from 10am to 1pm.

• Daily Mail Airfryer Recipes – Five air fryer recipes that you can cook in as little as FIVE minutes – from crispy cauliflower nuggets to Japanese fried chicken!

• Dalton Together Cook Your Own Project: Low cost, one pot recipes

Rainy day
Saving for future goals such as Christmas, a holiday, new appliances.

Figure out a formula to save for the things that are important to you by monitoring money and controlling a savings account.

• The Bread and Butter Thing – Save over £20 on your weekly shopping. TBBT runs out of the Dalton/Rawthorpe Library every Monday. To register please follow the instructions located on the flyer HERE. This is available for all residents living within the Dalton Ward!

• The Welcome Centre – Telephone referral-based service and food bank providing essential support to people in South Kirklees who are in financial crisis. Download: ReferralLeaflet1.pdf, ReferralLeaflet2.pdf.

• Dalton Together Food Pantry Pilot – (Currently closed, emergency foodbank referrals still available HERE).

• Martin Lewis Money Saving Tips – More than 60 tips on coping as cost of living soars.

• Cost of Living Survival Kit – 90 ways to save from MSE and Moneysavers.

• Yorkshire Water – If you’re struggling to play for your water bill there’s immediate short term and longer-term schemes you can apply for.

• CCW Water Meter Calculator – Depending on how much water you use, you may be better off with a meter. General rule of thumb from MoneySavingExpert: If there are more bedrooms in your home than people, or the same number, it might be cheaper to get a meter. The Consumer Council for Water has a free water meter calculator that tells you if you could save. 

Avoid arrears
Borrowing can enable essential purchases, but needs to be affordable and right.

Solve ways of borrowing the right amount of money that will allow you to make important purchases without getting into difficulty.

• GamCare: National Gambling Support – Free specialist advice, support and treatment for gambling harms. GamCare offers forums, chat rooms, live chat and more. If you require support around Gambling please call The National Gambling Helpline at 08088 020133 (Lines open 24/7).

• Krysallis – Request FREE GamCare Support for gambling harms. If you are a Health and Social care professional please use this referral form for GamCare Support.

• Dalton Together, GamCare and Krysallis: Understanding Gambling Harms Webinar – In case you missed our webinar or were unable to attend, you can download the PowerPoint Presentation here.

Spend
Be sure you are getting good value with everyday and big purchases.

Calculate your spending by bringing a budget into the equation and learning how to buy things of equal value for a fraction of the price.

• Kirklees Cost of Living Support – Financial support and debt advice, keeping your house warm and reducing energy bills and support with the cost of food. Download Flyer: RiseInCostOfLiving.pdf

• Help For Households – See what support is available to help with the cost of living and find out how to save money with energy saving tips.

• Kirklees Council Keeping Your House Warm and Reducing Energy Bills – Advice and support on energy schemes.

• Help To Buy Healthy Food And Milk – if you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four, you may be entitled to Healthy Start vouchers.

• MoneyHelper – Part of the Money and Pension Scheme and is here to make your money and pension choices clearer. Open to everyone, MoneyHelper is helping people to clear their debts, reduce spending and make the most of their income. MoneyHelper can explain what you need to do and how you can do it. You can access information online or over the phone and face-to-face.

• BBC: Cost of Living Tips – Need help saving money on your energy bills? From heating to eating, BBC consumer affairs correspondent Colletta Smith has picked out some of the best ways to cut costs in your home.

• Free Energy & Money Saving: Green Doctor service – Groundwork’s Green Doctor can help Kirklees households to stay warm, save money on bills and reduce carbon emissions. For more information visit: www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/green-doctor

• Affordable Warmth Leaflet 2021/22 – Ways to stay warm and be energy smart in winter. For more information visit: www.kirklees.gov.uk/warmerhomes

• Safety In The Home Service – If you live in Kirklees and have a child under 2 years old you could be entitled to FREE home safety equipment supplied and fitted in your property, as well as been provided with home safety information and advice. Provided by the Yorkshire Children’s Centre a partner of Thriving Kirklees partnership, working with West Yorkshire Fire And Rescue Service.

• SCOPE: Disability Energy Support – Free energy advice to disabled people, helping to manage energy needs including energy efficient, switching suppliers, changing your meter and energy debt.

• MoneyOnYourMind Resource by S2R – Find independent financial advice and mental health support that’s local to you.

• Christmas Money Saving Tips

Security
Taking away risk in your financial situation, emergency saving and insurance.

Take away the risks surrounding finance by working out how much you’ve got and how to prepare for a money emergency.

• Free School Meals – If you receive certain benefits your child could get free school meals.

• Uniform Exchange Free School Uniforms – Requests can be made by parents, schools, social workers and other agencies to receive clean, passed on recycled uniform items. Paper forms available HERE but online forms are preferred if possible.

• Uniform Exchange Donation Points – Donation points for school uniforms, there are also boxes in schools in Moldgreen, Kirkheaton, St Joseph’s and all three phases of Netherhall.

• Uniform Exchange Recycling Partner – Information on how to get set up as a recycling partner.

• Stop the Loan Sharks: Community Fund and Awareness

• Dalton Together Christmas Magic Appeal – Avoid borrowing from loan sharks.