Quids in! 46 - Spring 2020

YOUR

FREE

GUIDE TO SMARTER MONEY SAVING

Quids in!

SPRING 2020 / WWW.QUIDSINMAGAZINE.COM

“Saving around £4,000 a year on food is worth the time and effort”

WIN

£50

SUPER MPLE A S COOPER THE SCOT WITH A LOT ON HER PLATE...

in!

The Quids mp o C ry Cooke

MONEY IN MONEY OUT

WEIGHING UP Balancing the bu dget

DIG DEEP

Grow your own

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EXPERT ADVICE ON: ✔SPENDING ✔SAVING ✔BORROWING ✔INCOME

D THE N I H E B S WHAT’

S W E N Welcome Our third Quids In Centre has opened in East London, joining Bath and Gloucestershire.

It’s been a time to reflect on what we’re doing: Helping people on more modest incomes to be better off.

Our national reach through this magazine and our money emails takes us into homes in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and all corners of England. Our guides to Universal Credit, balancing a budget and taking on a new tenancy also play a part. And this year we expect to have contact with a quarter of a million of you.

We launched a new programme in 2018 for people wanting tips and guidance. We created day events to bring people together to share ideas. After 12 months, people reported being on average £580 better off.

Our goals are simple. Give more people the means to be better off.

And help them become more and more better off.

If we’re in your area, come and see us. If we’re not yet, just keep reading!

"All benefits affected will rise by 1.7% each year"

E L P T M A he ‘freeze’ on benefits that has kept them at the same rate since 2016 is coming to an end in April. This means that all benefits affected will rise by 1.7% each year (in line with inflation).

This includes Universal Credit (UC), employment and support allowance, income support, housing benefit, tax credits and child benefit.

It’s good news but many are saying it’s still not enough. Adam Corlett, economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation told the BBC: “The benefit freeze was always due to end this year. The government’s confirmation that workingage benefits will only keep pace with rising prices means

In this issue…

Balancing Books:

Magic Money Tree:

Mealtime Magic:

Keeping things simple Page 4

Grow your own… savings Page 7

Conjuring up meals on a budget Page 8

Quids in! magazine

◆ Address 24 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT Tel 0845 646 0469 ◆ Editor Jeff Mitchell Email editor@quidsinmagazine.com ◆ Staff reporter Joe Cohen Evans Email joe@cleanslateltd.co.uk ◆ Comms Officer Dan Fineman Email dan@ socialpublishingproject.com ◆ Advertising Opportunities Lisa Woodman Email lisa@ socialpublishingproject.com ◆ Copy Sales Lisa Woodman Email lisa@ socialpublishingproject.com ◆ Design Joe Burt

© This magazine may not be reproduced in part or full without prior written permission Quids in! makes every effort to ensure content is correct at the time of going to print. Readers should take specialist advice where necessary. Quids in! has no political allegiances, and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. Any relationship with advertisers or sponsors is always on the understanding that we retain our editorial independence.

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there will be no increase in living standards. Those in need of extra support will continue to be left behind.”

Other benefits that hadn’t been affected by the freeze, like disability benefits and carer’s allowance, will also go up by 1.7%.

For UC claimants, the work allowance will be increased to £512 (from £503) a month for people who don’t claim housing benefit. It goes up to £292 for those receiving help with rent. The work allowance is the amount parents and some other workers can earn before losing 63p for every pound they earn.

Other changes campaigners had hoped for, like lifting the two child limit aspect of Universal Credit and tax credits, have not come about.

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editor@quidsinmagazine.com

MELTING?

● Welfare finally receives a boost but is it enough?

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Jeff, Editor

BENEFITS FREEZE

OUR PURPOSE Quids in! magazine is designed to help people understand and manage their money better. It is published quarterly by the Social Publishing Project, a social enterprise.

Quids in! is not for profit but all about creating a better life for each of us. Honest, trusted and independent, we make money easier to understand and offer practical advice to people on lower incomes. We believe we should all be considered in decisions that affect us and we oppose how it costs more to be poor.

NEWS

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WHITE STUFF time and money. It’s also quicker, easier and cheaper to wash clothes at home compared to using the launderette.

Dawn Jackson, Head of Grants at turn2us.org.uk, told Quids in! how using their website could benefit thousands: “You can check if you’re eligible for support from over 1,500 grant-giving charities. These include charities who offer help with the cost of white goods.

Unlike loans, you don’t have to pay a penny back. Last year we awarded a total of £3.4 million in grants to over 2,500 recipients.”

One person responded to the #LivingWithout report saying: “It’s emotionally upsetting that I cannot provide adequately for my son. It makes me feel so depressed that I work but still cannot afford basic essentials for my home.”

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urn2Us, whose website guides users to benefits and grants they could claim,launched the #LivingWithout campaign in February. It highlights how many of us are living without basic white goods like fridges, freezers and ovens.

There are 4.8 million households in the UK without access to a cooker, washing machine or a freezer. While it’s cheaper and healthier to cook food from scratch, around one in six homes don’t have the basic means to do so.

Being able to cook in bulk, and freeze a few portions for another time, saves

Quids in! says None of us deserve to live without basic white goods. It’s another way that it costs more to be poor as we have to depend on more expensive options. As well as using the brilliant Turn2us website, there are other options to try out. Check out the Freecycle and Gumtree websites.

Often people there have treated themselves to an upgrade and need people to take their old kit off their hands. For free. Landlords sometimes have cheap schemes available too.

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hen things went wrong for husband John, Val felt alone. She had to dig deep and demand the help they were due. Now she’s blogging for Quids in! to give hope to others John had been ill for a while.

Finally, the devastating news was given. John had Parkinson’s.

I know my way around the internet to find advice, even at 73. I am also determined but it’s hard not to go straight to the “Why me?” and become depressed. But something was saying that I was the one who had to do something.

The first thing you think about is how to make things easier for your partner… and the cost that involves. He couldn’t walk upstairs without assistance, so a stair lift, wheelchair and walking stick were my first thoughts. I knew financial help must be out there. I just had to find the right place.

It turns out it helps a great deal, when you eventually reach that right place by telephone, to ask for their name and cry. Yes… cry!

Read Val’s full story: qimag.uk/ valformoney

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION… MIND THE FINE When my partner died, I had to decide on some money-saving measures. One was scrapping my TV license as I did not get time to watch much television.

I found out I was still allowed to use my set to watch DVDs and could access YouTube and other sites, which gave me a better choice (for my tastes) than terrestrial channels.

Received via quidsinmagazine.com

VAL FOR MONEY

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● Benefits specialists launch campaign to increase access to home essentials

Quids in! says: We need to be very careful. The TV Licensing website says we could face a fine if we: Watch or record programmes live on any channel on any device; watch programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Now TV,); download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer.” DVDs are fine and YouTube, if we’re not streaming live.

Have you got something you want to tell us, or a moneysaving hint or tip to share?

Each issue we’ll send £50 to our best letter writer, emailer or tweeter! Don’t forget to include your name and address.

WIN £50

POST The Editor, Quids In! 24 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT EMAIL editor@quidsinmagazine.com TWEET @quidsinmagazine

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S G N I M O CND A

GOINGS E L P M A S

MONEY IN

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QUESTION 1: Do we know

exactly how much money goes out each month and how much our monthly rent payments are?

ANSWER: When every penny counts, we have to count every penny. Some of what goes out is the same each month, so we only need to worry about what’s left. As a

MONEY OUT

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eaders at Quids in! money events often tell us how hard it can seem to check our finances are in balance. So, to get started, we’ve simplified the process with three basic questions. Asking them helps us find ways to stretch our budget just about as far as it will go.

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Budgeting sounds like a headache but all we’re doing is making sure more is coming in than going out. Breaking things down into bite-size chunks can help.

rough guide look at the past three months’ statements and list the regular stuff: Rent, bills (on average), motor costs, and so on.

Start with the big ones and work down.

There are online calculators to help, like one from the Money Advice Service (visit qimag.uk/futureproofbudgeting). Once we include our average monthly income too, we can see how close we are to any possible trouble. (It’s a big red flag if more is going out than coming in.) Now, we can plan properly.

Many of us forget that if Housing Benefit is paid direct to our landlord, it is still income. We just don’t see it. On Universal Credit, it will come to us, so it’s important to know how much we’re due to receive and then pay out. When budgeting, include rent even if it’s paid direct to the landlord – add it to the income list as well as the costs.

We have to ask for help, if we need it.

Landlords, when we rent from the council or a housing association, may offer support or would know who does. If we’re claiming benefits, ask at the Job Centre.

Or there’s always Citizens Advice or a debt charity, on hand if ever we feel we’re sinking. (See Useful Numbers, on page 6.)

Quids in! says: Try an online budgeting tool. (See qimag.uk/ futureproofbudgeting). Any expenses you don’t know, find out. If a lot is going out in cash, make sure there is a record of where it’s gone. Use a notebook as a spending diary for a couple of weeks. Write down what you bought, what it cost and when you bought it.

QUESTION 2: Do you feel

certain your money will last until you next get paid?

ANSWER: It’s pretty depressing when we don’t have the money to do all we want in the last few days before payday. Worse, if we don’t stop when we run out of cash... debt crisis lies ahead.

We have to know how much is coming in and how much is going out each month to be sure it’s going to last. Yes, online calculators can help us see why we end up short but it’s down to us to pull back to make what we have last.

On the other hand, are there ways to top up our income? There is a staggering £17.6 billion of unclaimed benefits out there, as Varun Kanish, Campaigns Manager at Turn2us explains: “People struggling financially are advised that cutting back on their expenses is the only fix. Though making savings is part of lifting your head out the water, people are missing out on thousands of pounds every year. The online benefits calculator at turn2us. org.uk enables people to check their entitlements.”

Benefits are not all we can do at the ‘top up’ end. Selling old gear, making stuff to sell online or even selling The Big Issue are all options. Then, of course, for those of us who can, it might be time to bite the bullet and find an extra shift, better-

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plan ahead money-wise for holidays, birthdays, Christmas or other religious holidays?

ANSWER: Annual expenses can hit us in the wallet even though we go through the same pain every year.

Thousands of people get into Christmas debt, for example, when it would cause far fewer grey hairs if we knuckled down and saved up in advance. In a survey conducted by the charity Mind, roughly two in five people (41%) said their mental health suffered at Christmas because of debt. And according to research, the average Brit

Calling all couch potatoes.

How about trying to join the cast of GoggleBox?

Quids in! says: There are loads of ways to boost our incomes if we need to. It’s true, though, that many of us have fallen out of the habit of trying to make a little extra.

Often, it’s about turning a hobby into a jobbie.

Even couch potatoes could be picking up extra for filling out surveys… or trying to join the cast of GoggleBox. Go to qimag.uk/ futureproofincome for Quids In’s top tips on all this

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QUESTION 3: Do you

paid work or some part-time employment to make up the shortfall. We just have to get real.

If we’ve tried both topping up and cutting back and we still can’t make ends meet, we need help. We’re talking about falling deep into debt and that can become a downward spiral very quickly. For people struggling with debt, there’s quite a bit on offer and it should be free. Never go to a debt company or you’ll end up paying them too. (See Useful Numbers on page 6.)

Using direct debits gives us peace of mind that the bills we can’t avoid are covered. It’s best to organise them to go out a short while after payday, so we know the money will be there. Circle the dates when direct debit payments go out of our account on a calendar. We don’t want to slip into overdraft or have the payment refused, which could both trigger charges.

overspends by £153 at what many people call the most wonderful time of the year.

List all the annual things that bite us in the backside and work out in advance what budget we’re going to give each one. Now divide by 52 if we’re going to save weekly, or twelve for monthly, and get started. It might be best to keep a separate savings pot for each one, or use a savings account and save it all together.

Even the best budgeters can forget the yearly outgoings, so it pays to plan ahead.

“List all the annual things that bite us in the backside”

Quids in! says: While some people are struggling badly month to month, many could be saving just a little. There are loads of things to try that will create a buffer when the one-offs come around. For tech-savvy people, banking apps can offer to round up our spending, putting the extra into savings. For people who want to watch things grow, try the Penny-A-Day Challenge and watch the pot grow in a jar. Others could just set up a direct debit so enough gets stashed away each month to ward off debt later. For more on savings, visit quidsinmagazine.com and search for ‘savings’

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WIN A

ENTER THE Quids in! £10 SHOPPING CHALLENGE

£50 PRIZE!

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Make a shopping list for £10 or under for your chance to win a £50 Prize!

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he average person spends around £25 on their weekly food shop.

At Quids In! we’re challenging people to get that down to a tenner.

Can you get enough food in to make 21 meals for £10? That’s breakfast, lunch and dinner for 7 days. We think it can be done. We’re running a competition to find the best weekly £10 shop, and the best sample recipe.

The winner will receive a £50 shopping voucher. We’ll also publish a selection of the best shopping lists and recipes on the Quids In! website. Anything goes, from your mum’s famous goat curry to a vegan feast or a leftovers potroast. Just make it tasty!

The competition closes on 31st March 2020.

Good luck!

How to Enter:

1. Make a shopping list for £10 or under. To do thi s go to any of the big supermarket we bsites (or mysupermark et.co.uk) and add items to your tro lley up to a total of £10.

2. Pop all of the items, and how much they cost, int o the Quids In! form at: link htt ps://qimag.uk/challeng e 3. List the meals the foo d will make (and how ma ny por tions) on the form, e.g.: ‘Sheph erd’s Pie x 4 portions’ 4. Write out one sample recipe that the groceries will make, listing ingredients and me thod, on the form.

5. Once the entry form is complete press 'Subm it'.

The first prize winner will be randomly drawn from all submissions received Check competition web by 31st March. page for news of future draw dates.

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✆ QUIDS IN! USEFUL NUMBERS

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LOAN SHARKS The Illegal Money Lending Team tackles loan sharks. Call anonymously on ✆ 0300 555 2222, text LOAN SHARK and your details to 60003 or email them at reportaloanshar k @stoploanshark s.gov.uk .

In Wales call ✆ 0300 123 3311 or email imlu@cardiff.gov.uk.

Scotland: ✆ 0141 2876 655, or email loansharks@glasgow.gov.uk CREDIT UNIONS Credit unions are not-for-profit organisations that provide bank accounts, loans and savings. They may help people the banks won’t. To find your local credit union call ✆ 0161 832 3694 or visit www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk.

BENEFITS • People with disabilities or carers should contact the Disabilit y Benefits Centre (✆ 0345 605 6055) and for Child Benefit and tax credits call Inland Revenue (✆ 0845 300 3900).

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• Council Tax and Housing Benefit is dealt with by your local council.

• Benefits calculator www.entitledto.co.uk • Pensions Service: ✆ 0800 99 12340

DEBT ADVICE For free debt advice and help, contact any of the organisations below.

• National Debtline ✆ 0808 808 4000 www.nationaldebtline.org • StepChange Debt Charity ✆ 0800 138 1111 www.stepchange.org • Citizens Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

In Wales call ✆ 08444 77 20 20 England call ✆ 08444 111 444 • Citizens Advice Scotland www.cas.org.uk. ✆ 0808 800 9060 • Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) ✆ 0300 200 2770 www.dasscotland.gov.uk Government-backed scheme to pay debts.

Quids in!

Readers Club Pleased to receive your free Quids in! every three months? Now you can stay in touch all the time with our new Readers Club. Join the growing crowd of money-saving, savvy-shopping, debt-beating, cash-boosting Club members and receive freebies and top tips throughout the year.

Sign up here: qimag.uk/QIClubReg

MAGIC MONEY TREES?

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They say money doesn’t grow on trees but savings do, and on bushes, and in the ground if we grow our own fruit and veg. With people struggling to keep food on the table, harvesting our own means eating something fresh and free

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rowing our own veggies is back in vogue. Having an allotment is one way to go, but even without a plot of land, there are other money-saving hacks.

There are around 300,000 allotment plots in the UK, and another 100,000 people on the waiting list. At one point, during the second world war, there was an estimated 1.4 million plots. With food prices going up, there’s never been a better time to grow your own…

group NCVO has a how-to guide to all the steps needed to do exactly that. It includes everything from finding the land and what we’d need on-site, to finding a grant to get us started. Visit qimag.uk/ plotyourpath

HEALTHY AND WEALTHY? There are loads of health benefits of growing our own fruit and veg. Gardening is physical, and all that digging and planting, weeding and watering gives us a healthy workout. People have even argued that gardening should be offered on the NHS. (Yes, really!)

where people spent time gardening and growing to try and help their mental health. 7 out of 10 of the people involved said the programme gave them a ‘significant increase’ in wellbeing. Of the unemployed people involved, 254 got back into full-time employment afterwards.

CHEAP AND CHEERFUL? Is it really cheaper to grow your own fruit and veg? Which? Magazine found that for things that are expensive in the shops, like soft fruit, (raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, etc), yes, it’s cheaper.

The average allotment plot is 250 square meters. The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners say the average plot yields £1,362 of fruit and veg a year. It’s a chance to make a few quid too. For smaller plots, like a garden bed of two square meters, we’ll only get enough veg for a couple of meals a week. But, as they say, every little helps.

But there are still some types of veg that we can save money growing that are also easy to cultivate. As Sarah Brown, spokesperson for the charity Garden Organic told moneywise magazine recently: “Runner beans are a great money saver,” she said, with a packet of twenty-five beans costing £1, enough to grow about four kilos of fresh runners.

Asparagus plants, too, she explained, cost 75p per crown and can last up to twenty-five years in a well prepared bed!

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PLOT YOUR PATH Most of us don’t have our own allotment and the waiting lists are long. But that doesn’t have to stop us growing our own.

A single bed in a garden can be used, and we can even grow our own in a window box. Lettuce, spinach, radishes and even carrots can be grown in a window box.

More community gardens are also cropping up where fruit and veg is often grown. The social farms and gardens website lists these all over the UK, (see: qimag.uk/ findafarm).

Feeling bolder?

We can set up our own community garden. The voluntary action

75 years on and still relevant to the war on hunger

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“The average plot yields £1,362 of fruit and veg a year.”

Dr William Bird, an NHS GP, told the Royal Horticultural Society: “We could see benefits of at least £5 health benefit for every £1 spent. Since about £60 billion is spent on long term conditions, 80% of which could be prevented by a healthier lifestyle, there is a significant incentive to develop a programme that includes horticulture.”

That’s not all, the mental health charity MIND ran a project called ‘Eco Therapy’

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COOPER’S R E W O P R E P SU

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cookbook that came out in January, she’s becoming a household name. The cookbook, called ‘Feed Your Family for £20 a Week: 100 Delicious Budget-Friendly Meals You’ll All Enjoy’, has been a huge success.

It currently sits just outside the Top 100 books on Amazon’s bestseller list.

orna Cooper has a super power.

The mother of three (and stepmother of one) doesn’t wear a mask or a cape. She doesn’t have to. Her superpower is being able to cook all the meals for a family of six for under £20 a week. That’s just over £3 per head, for an entire week’s food. When the average weekly food bill for one person in the UK is just over £25, you realise how amazing feeding SIX for £20 really is. So how does she do it?

“People always thinks it’s impossible to feed the six of us on just £20 a week,” Cooper told the Daily Mirror. “But once you’ve bought your staples like rice and pasta, meat and spices to flavour things, then the rest can come in pretty cheap.”

Lorna Cooper performs miracles feeding a family of six for around twenty quid a week. It takes a bit of work but she’s happy to share what she’s learned... from learning how to store food so it doesn’t go off, to buying cheap herbs from Asian supermarkets.

Sometimes, the best food bargains are found in surprising places. When Lorna worked out that meat was taking up a quarter of her previous food shop bill, she took action. By looking for the best deals, she came across a body building site selling meat in bulk for bargain prices. Sites like www.musclefood.com provide protein in bulk for people looking to pump up their abs and pecks. By using the site, Lorna slashed her meat bill from £25 to £10.

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TIPS AND TRICKS

Lorna’s tips take in a whole range of things we need to do to cut our food bill down: From buying, to cooking, to storage. She’s obviously thought the whole thing through.

She was recently on the BBC, and gave them eight tips on how to save the cash and eat well. These included everything

≠ Read more at: https://qimag.uk/meals

LIFELINE At a time when foodbanks report distributing record numbers of emergency food parcels, feeding the family for less is a big priority. Lorna’s approach to putting food on the table for a fraction of the usual cost provides a lifeline for the least well-off.

Shopping around for the best deals, buying and cooking in bulk are just some of the tips she shares on her website. It can be done, but as Lorna says herself, it takes a bit of commitment.

“It can be time consuming. I do shop around for the best deals, trawl websites looking for offers and shop in discount retailers and Asian supermarkets for the best buys. But to save around £4,000 a year just on food is worth the time and effort.”

Lorna’s incredible money saving food habits have made her a celebrity. With a Facebook page that has over 500,000 fans and a

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ks “People always thineed it’s impossible to f st the six of us on ju £20 a week” 8 | Quids in!