• Tips for organising your finances
• If you can’t afford bills or food
• Plan ahead in case you become unwell in the future

Tips for organising your finances

These are some tips you could try to help organise your money:

• Make sure you’re claiming any extra money or support you’re entitled to.
• Put all your important documents in one place so you can find them easily. This could be letters, bank statements, payslips, bills and receipts.
• Check your bank balance at a regular, set time so you know what you’re spending your money on and how much you have left.
• Build money tasks into your daily or weekly routine. You could allocate a set amount of regular time to think about any tasks you need to do around money, for example paying bills. You could plan a relaxing activity for after you’ve finished. You could start by using this money and mental health toolkit from the Mental Health and Money Advice website.
• Make a plan for ways to distract yourself, if you notice changes in your mood that might affect your spending.
• If possible, use cash instead of cards. Take out only the amount of money you can afford to spend, for example for a weekly shop.
• Create a budget. The Money Helper website has budgeting advice for people who are self-employed, on a zero hour contract, or claiming Universal Credit.
• Make a list of all the essential things you need to spend money on every month. This could be things like rent or mortgage payments, energy bills, phone bills and food shops. The Mental Health and Money Advice website has a free budget planner which might help.
• Manage your debts if you can afford to. You could set up a standing order to pay off your debts each month. Or you could use an online debt tool. Use one of the tools on the StepChange website.
• If you’re struggling to pay off your debts, get debt advice. You might find it helpful to contact one of these debt organisations.
• If you’re struggling to pay off your debts, you could ask for a break from paying interest on your debts. This is possible under a Government scheme called breathing space. The National Debtline website has more information about the breathing space scheme.
• Use bank accounts which allow you to put money aside in separate pots. This can stop you spending the money you need for rent or bills. Money Saving Expert has more information about different banking apps.
• Set up direct debits for your bills and other regular payments so they don’t pile up. See our information on what to do if you can’t afford to pay bills.