Four ways you can get extra money now and reduce your bills this winter | The Sun
MILLIONS of households across the UK are battling with a higher cost of living.
Food, fuel and energy is costing more than usual and increased interest rates are heaping pressure on mortgage owners.
But there are ways to help you financially through the winter, be that through special broadband deals, benefits and grants and more.
Below, we break down the four different ways you can get extra money and help reduce your bills over the coming months.
Social broadband tariffs
Social broadband tariffs are available to people on certain benefits, including Universal Credit – they can cut bills by hundreds of pounds a year.
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But you'll have to get in touch with your provider to go onto one. If your provider doesn't offer one you can switch companies.
This month, figures revealed by Ofcom showed that the number of households on social broadband tariffs had risen from 55,000 to 136,000 since January.
It means millions are still missing out on the tariffs – which could cut bills by £230 a year.
In August, Sun Money called on the government, regulator Ofcom and suppliers to do more to support struggling customers.
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We launched a tool with cost of living champions Nous to help highlight how much customers could save.
We also called on firms to make it easier for customers to switch to tariffs.
How you apply for one will vary depending on your provider as each one will have its own rules on eligibility.
Prices vary as well so it's worth checking out different providers by using price comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket.com or Uswitch.
Finding lost pensions
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has estimated around £19.4 billion is going unclaimed in workplace pensions.
That works out at a staggering £13,000 average pot per person.
We previously reported on a worker who tracked down an old pension pot to find it had multiplied in size.
So it's definitely worth going through old workplace pension pots to see what you're entitled to and it shouldn't take more than an hour.
To find your old pensions, you can use the government's pension tracing service.
Benefits and grants
Millions receive benefits from the government, but there's also plenty who are eligible and miss out.
It's always worth checking with the benefits office to see what you could be in line for.
But before that point, you can always use a benefits calculator.
Citizens Advice also has a comprehensive list of all the benefits you can claim on its website.
One benefit thousands are entitled to but don't claim is attendance allowance.
An estimated £230 million has gone underpaid to claimants in the last year, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
This means attendance allowance is the benefit with the highest rate of underpayment.
On top of benefits, there are a number of grant schemes set up by companies and the government to help households.
The government is divvying out a number of cost of living payments to millions.
For the full list, you can read our guide here.
Plus, there's the Household Support Fund, council tax support and targeted council support.
Energy companies often hand out grants to struggling customers as well.
For a full list of companies doing this, you can read our article here.
Choosing the right savings accounts
Banks have raised their interest rates after the Bank of England raised the base rate multiples times this year.
They've been battling it out in recent weeks to offer customers the best savings rates.
It's led some experts to suggest savings rates could reach 5% within months. That's good news for people looking to save money.
Atom is one bank offering customers a competitive savings accounts.
It's currently offering savers 4.11% returns on savings of £50 or more in a one-year fix.
That means if a customer saves £1,000 across the year they would expect to make £41.10 on top during that period.
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Again, it's worth shopping around for the best deal by using price comparison sites.
Because interest rates are changing so often, there's no need to rush into buying a savings account, especially with rates predicted to go higher.
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