The Salary Calculator

Changes to Universal Credit and how to access alternative financial assistance

by Madaline Dunn

As part of the government’s Covid-19 support plan, back in 2020, it introduced a £20 boost to those receiving Universal Credit. However, this financial intervention was only temporary and officially ended on 6 October 2021, despite a considerable amount of backlash from across the board.

Of course, the announcement of the scheme’s end is not good news for many, and it’s understandable to be concerned about how this will affect you and your family financially. After all, the cut means that around six million unemployed and low-paid workers will face a £1,040 cut to their yearly incomes.

Speaking about what the cuts will mean for many families, Morgan Wild, Head of Policy at Citizens Advice, said: “More than half a million people have come to Citizens Advice for support with Universal Credit since the pandemic. We know the extra £20 a week has often meant the difference between empty cupboards and food on the table.”

That said, there are a number of different forms of alternative financial assistance that can help support you in this difficult and turbulent time.

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll guide you through some of the different types of financial assistance available, including:

• Help with essential costs
• A reduction in council tax
• Assistance with paying rent
• Free prescriptions
• How to check what financial aid you’re eligible for

Essential costs

If you and your family are finding it hard to keep up with the cost of essentials, whether that’s food or clothes, you can reach out to your local council and ask if you’re eligible for a hardship fund. To find out what your local council is and reach out for more information, head over here.

Equally, for those struggling to pay for food costs, you can try food bank vouchers. To access these vouchers, you can ask an organisation that’s supporting you, whether that’s a charity, school or Citizen’s advice, for a referral.

If you have children who are attending school and you receive governmental financial support, they might be eligible for free school meals.

Those who receive the following are eligible:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on
• Universal Credit

For more information, visit the government website.

Reducing council tax

If you’re finding it hard to make ends meet following the Universal Credit cut, you can apply to have your council tax bill reduced. In some cases, applicants can get their bill reduced by 100%, but this will be determined by a number of different factors, including where you live, your circumstances and income and whether you have other adults or children living with you.

Help with paying rent

Rent is getting more and more expensive all the time, and with the added financial strain caused by the Universal Credit cut, it can be really difficult to find enough money to pay for life’s expenses. To help with this, you can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) through your local council.

To be eligible for this, you must already claim housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

Prescriptions

Little costs add up, and prescriptions for medication can sometimes end up costing you a bomb. Luckily, if you are a receiver of any of the following, you may be entitled to free prescriptions:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• Universal Credit

If you’re not too sure whether you’re eligible, you can double-check with the NHS’s eligibility checker.

How to check what you’re entitled to

It’s not always clear what financial assistance you are entitled to, but a great way to keep up-to-date and ensure that you don’t miss out is to carry out a benefit check. You can do this by using an online benefits calculator or by reaching out to your local Citizen’s Advice Office.

Tags: coronavirus, Financial assistance, unemployment, Universal credit

UK expenses: From grocery shopping and travel to days out

by Madaline Dunn

When it comes to day-to-day expenses, prices can vary widely depending on where you’re located in the UK. The North-South price divide is indeed true, too, and the further you go up North, typically, the cheaper things get.

At The Salary Calculator, we’ll walk you through the sort of prices you can expect to pay across the country at supermarkets, restaurants and pubs and where you can go for a cheap day out. We’ll cover:

• A comparison of UK supermarket prices
• Dining out across the UK
• Price differences for activities
• Travel costs contrasts

The UK Supermarket comparison

Across the UK, the price of your groceries will change depending on which supermarket you decide to shop at. There’s a pretty wide range to choose from, too.

Nimblefins analysis of ONS data also reveals that, on average, a UK household spends £3,312 on groceries a year, but where can you find the cheapest trolley?

Which? found Lidl is the cheapest supermarket in the UK. For 23 essential items, a Lidl shopping trolley comes in at £24.11, while not far behind, an Aldi trolley comes in at £24.54. The location with the most Lidls is London, which has a whopping 72 supermarkets. Elsewhere, Sheffield, London, Cardiff and Liverpool are the cities with the most Aldi stores.

Meanwhile, Asda sits at third place, with a trolley of 23 essential items costing £25.22. Fourth is Morrisons, where 23 essential items cost £27.14.

That said, a new supermarket chain, Mere, is set to launch in the UK, and founders claim that it could be up to 30% cheaper than competitors Lidl and Aldi.

Contrastingly, the most expensive supermarket in the UK is Waitrose, where a trolley with 23 items is priced at £32.20, over £8 more expensive than Lidl. Ocado, the online supermarket, is the second most costly at £30.33.

London is also home to the most Waitrose stores in the UK, with a total of 54 stores.

Dining out and drinks across the UK

In the UK, the average household spends £1,716 on restaurants and takeaways each year. That said, UK inflation recently saw its biggest increase on record in August 2021, meaning food and drink are getting even pricier. So, where can you find the cheapest places to eat out and buy drinks?

Sheffield is the most affordable city to buy a pint, according to research from Numbeo, costing £3.36. Liverpool and Leicester offer similar prices, with a pint costing £3.47 and £3.66 respectively.

Unsurprisingly, some of the most expensive pints can be found in London, where a pint will see you part with nearly £6 (£5.60). Meanwhile, Bristol pints cost £4.76 on average, and you’ll pay around £4.72 a pint in Norwich.

If you’re looking for a cheap bite to eat, on average, the most affordable place to buy a 12’’ Margherita pizza is Belfast, costing just £5.99. London, again, is the most expensive place comparatively, costing £10.99.

Meanwhile, for those looking to taste the finer things in life on a budget, the Michelin Cornerstone in Hackney, London, will set you back just £21.50 pp, and outside of London, the Coach in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which cost you £23 pp.

Dundee offers the cheapest night out for those hitting the town, costing around just £25.35 on average. Cardiff and Swansea are also cheap options at just £27.33 and £27.35 per night, respectively. London and Oxford are much more expensive, ​​at £49.66 and £42.30 on average a night.

The cost of activities

It may be confusing to understand why there’s such a difference in price for activities like going to the cinema or joining a gym depending on where you live, but typically these price differences are due to rent and running costs varying regionally.

If you’re a fitness enthusiast trying to review where the cheapest places to workout are, up north in Newcastle, you can find a gym membership for just £16. This jumps up considerably the further you move down south.

Cinema prices vary widely, too. In Bradford, an adult ticket costs just £6.74, but this doubles if you move further south. In Wandsworth, for example, an adult ticket soars to £13.74.

Travel expenses

Travelling across the UK can be pretty expensive, especially if you choose to travel by train. These days, choosing the train costs 50% more than flying by plane!

According to Nimblefins, on average, a UK household spends around £1,100 a year (£94 a month) on public transport.

Here, London again tops the list of the most expensive places regarding public transport. Deutsche Bank’s 2019 survey found that transportation costs £150 a month for a travel card for zones 1-3. However, London prices are lower for buses, and a single hopper ticket will cost just £1.55. Elsewhere in the UK, a single ticket for a 20-minute journey from Middleton to Manchester city centre will set you back £4.50.

Tags: 2021, Economy, savings, The Salary Calculator, Travel