Money and mental health are tightly linked. Financial problems can take over our lives, creeping into our everyday thoughts and causing a huge degree of stress and anxiety. We can feel uprooted by unexpected costs, and it’s easy to let worries spiral into something much larger.

If this sounds familiar, you don’t have to face it alone. Here, we’re sharing both financial and mental health support services, which are there for you to guide you through decisions and also to be a listening ear when you need it most.

This page signposts you to a range of free resources and tools that cover lots of topics including a mental health and money toolkit, how to handle debts when unwell, making the most of your money, free debt counselling, energy saving tips and much more.

Where to get help if you’re worried about finances

Independent advice: Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice is an independent organisation that specialises in confidential information and advice to help people with legal, debt solutions, consumer, housing, rent arrears and other problems. If you’re not sure about something and need some help figuring it out, or you are struggling with debt, you can contact them online, or by phone:

Adviceline (England): 0800 144 8848
Relay UK (if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say): 18001 then 0800 144 8884

Mental Health and Money Advice

Mental Health and Money Advice offer practical advice and support for people experiencing issues with mental health and money. They also have a variety of online tools such as a Debt Health Check and a Savings Calculator.

Money Helper Service

Money Helper Service (also known as Money and Pensions Service), is a government funded service which is dedicated to offering free and impartial financial wellbeing support to people in the UK. It offers a range of free, expert tools and guidance so you can find your way forward. Whatever your situation, they're here to help. If money problems are affecting your wellbeing, reach out:

Website: www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en
Call: 0800 138 7777
Text via WhatsApp: +44 7701 342 744
Webchat: webchat.moneyadviceservice.org.uk

Money and legal advice for seniors: Age UK

For older citizens experiencing difficulties with finances, Age UK has dedicated support available, with a range of advice on their website. They can also advise on home heating, and general wellbeing support:

Website: ageuk.org.uk
Call: 0800 678 1602

Advice for debt: National Debtline

National Debt Line provide free and independent debt advice over the phone and online. For information specifically on debt and how to deal with it, the National Debtline covers all you need to know. Read advice pieces, or reach out for support:

Website: nationaldebtline.org
Live chat: nationaldebtline.org/contact-us
Call: 0808 808 4000

Advice for debt: Step Change

Step Change offer free online debt advice and their 7 days 7 ways programme helps you take control of your finance and start to deal with any debt and money worries you may be having.

Website: www.stepchange.org
Call: 0800-138-1111 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm)

Useful websites

End Furniture Poverty – Finding Furniture & White Goods - End Furniture Poverty
Find a Food Bank - Find a Food Bank - The Trussell Trust
LEAP – https://applyforleap.org.uk – support for energy arrears.
Money Saving Expert - Money Saving Expert: Energy Help, Credit Cards, Flight Delays, Shopping and more
Mustard Tree – https://mustardtree.org.uk – food bank, food club, cheap household items, they sometimes offer a hardship fund (£70 in credit to help people when starting out to use in the shop) freedom project and they offer courses
Ofgem - Getting help if you can't afford your energy bills | Ofgem
Rainbow Haven – https://rainbowhaven.org.uk – these are a big help with immigration and especially when English is not the first language, they help when people present with no money, documents or somewhere to stay etc they also offer courses
org - Money, benefits and mental health (rethink.org)
Salford Assist and Housing support fund - Household Support Fund • Salford City Council – both online applications via Salford council website – access to whitegoods, food vouchers, energy vouchers etc.
Salford Baby Bank – Salford Baby Bank – these provide nappies, formula, wipes, baby furniture such as moses baskets, buggies etc, clothes from donations (mostly brand new).
Turn2us – https://www.turn2us.org.uk – debt support, benefit calculators etc
The Trussell Trust – https://www.trusselltrust.org - funding
The Biscuit Fund – info@biscuitfund.org – funding for energy supplies and food
Wood Street Mission – https://www.woodstreetmission.org.uk – school uniforms, clothing, general household items such as bedding, curtains etc – Christmas appeal
Groundwork Green Doctors -Green Doctor, helping UK residents stay warm, stay well, and save energy. - Groundwork – free impartial advice to help you save energy
Stop Loan Sharks UK - Home - Stop Loan Sharks
Sheffield Money Support - https://sheffieldmoneysupport.co.uk/
Sheffield Virtual Filing Cabinet - Sheffield Virtual Filing Cabinet (google.com) - developed by Sheffield Adult Social Services
National Energy Action Support - Get Help - National Energy Action (NEA)
Energy Saving Trust - Energy Saving Trust
Yorkshire Water Saving Money Package - Yorkshire Water Products (savewatersavemoney.co.uk)
Everyday Needs Grants - rbl.org.uk/costofliving -Some features of the Armed Forces community result in a greater vulnerability to rising costs. The Everyday Needs Grants Programme is designed to assist those who need help in a quick and easy way with essentials

Energy Saving Tips

Everyone is seeing a rise in energy prices. Although there is currently little you can do regarding the cost of your energy, reducing the amount of gas and electricity you use will help to reduce your bills.

We’ve put together some helpful tips to help you cut down on your energy usage, with many costing nothing to implement.

Simple, no-cost actions you can take to reduce your energy consumption  

Here’s a list of simple, free things you can do to help cut your energy usage: 

Turn off appliances at the socket, rather than having them on standby  
Use the right-sized hob when using a saucepan. Using a lid will also allow you to have it on a lower heat 
Turn lights off when they’re not in use 
Only turn the heating on in rooms that you’re using. If you have thermostatic radiator valves, set these to ‘3’ 
Wash your clothes at full load and use a 30-degree cycle. Avoid tumble drying, if possible 
Reduce your heating by one degree – it’s likely you won’t feel a difference  
Only boil the kettle for the amount of water you need 
Check your appliance manuals to see if you can make use of more economical settings 
Open curtains to heat a room during the day, and close them in the evenings to keep the heat in

Did you know that on average, tumble driers use 2.5 kWh of energy per cycle? if your unit rate is 25p per kWh, that’s 62.5p per cycle. Using it 3 times a week will cost you £98 for the year. In the warmer months, hang your clothes out to dry instead.

Low-cost actions 

Spending a little bit of cash upfront can lead to longer-term savings on your bills. Here are some low-cost actions that you could consider: 

Switch to LED light bulbs 
Install thermostat radiator valves 
Put tin foil behind radiators on external walls to reflect heat back into the room 
If you have an older boiler with a hot water tank put a thermal jacket on it 
Put pipe covers on exposed hot water pipework 
Fit an aerator on your kitchen tap to reduce water usage 
Use draft excluders on your doors 
Insulate your loft

Draught-proofing around windows and doors could save around £30 a year, and an unused chimney could see you make an additional saving of £20.

Cycle to Work

If you’ve got some extra cash to spare 

If your budget is a little higher, you might want to think about some of these medium-cost options for energy saving: 

Install heating controls, such as a programmer or timer to avoid heating or hot water being used when it’s not needed  
Insulate your cavity walls – you should be able to make the installation cost back in savings in five years or less  
Make sure all your windows are double-glazed

Heat is lost through single-lazed windows twice as fast as standard double glazing. The energy efficiency of a window is represented using an energy-rating scale from A++ to E, with A++ being the best-in-class. By installing A-rated double glazing, you could save £95 per year.

For more energy-saving tips and advice visit the Energy Saving Trust and be sure to check out the videos below:

Green Doctor Energy Efficiency Guides and Tips - YouTube

how to put foil behind radiators - Google Search

Draught proofing to save money and keep warm - YouTube

Using programmers and thermostats to make sure you aren't wasting heat - YouTube

Saving money by setting your hot water temperature - YouTube

Green Doctor's guide to saving money by switching to a new energy company - YouTube

Myth busting energy efficient lights - YouTube

Top five most energy hungry appliances in your home - YouTube

Six tips to save £60 - YouTube

How to install double-glazing plastic on your windows - YouTube

How to Repair a Double Glazing Window Hinge - YouTube

Watch our previous Financial Wellbeing lunch and learns

You can watch the recording of the Energy Saving Lunch and Learn facilitated by the Green Doctors in March 2022: Energy Saving Lunch and Learn - Green Doctors - YouTube. The session, facilitated by one of the Groundwork energy efficiency experts provides information on everyday energy-saving behaviours. It is also designed to support low-income families with their bills, so this would be beneficial to advisors who work with clients in that category.

In March 2022, we held a Financial Wellbeing Lunch and Learn Webinar: Financial Wellbeing Lunch and Learn (16 March 2022) - YouTube which included practical insights into:

Budgeting and saving tools
Signposting to impartial debt advice
Where to find additional support and resources
Q&A

Further reading

Additional resources include:

Articles

Apps

(Which) Best Budgeting Apps
(Money Saving Expert) Automatic Savings Apps
Too Good To Go. The app that lets customers rescue unsold food from shops and restaurants to save it from going to waste.

Blog

A blogwritten by a fashionista on a budget

Books

The Joyful Frugalista: Grow your cash, be savvy with your money and live abundantly
The 30-Day Money Cleanse: Take control of your finances, manage your spending, and de-stress your money for good

Budgeting tools

Best Budgeting Apps in the UK (note: a blog piece from Koody, a provider of a Finance app aimed at under 35s)
Budget planners: Money Health & Money Advice
Budget Planner: how to manage your money - MoneySavingExpert
Budget planners: Step change- ideal for those with problem debt
Budget planners: Google sheets
Savings calculator -work out how much you need to save and over how long to pay back debts or to save for the things you want to buy
Universal Credit Money Manager. Money Manager is designed just for people on Universal Credit. You can use it whether you’re making a new claim or moving to Universal Credit from existing benefits. It will help you make the most of your money:
- When you’re waiting for your first Universal Credit payment
- When you’re getting regular monthly payments.

Conversation starter guides

Guides

How-to-deal-with-debt.pdf (nationaldebtline.org)

Podcasts

Toolkits

Mental Health and Money Advice Toolkit

Don’t Forget…

There are lots of employee savings to be made via the Hive available via the image below or the Apps page. Simply download the Smart Spending App and you can have easy access to a wide range of discounts, cash back, reloadable cards on the Hive portal: