Many families will see a change to their Child Benefit payments over Easter – because of the upcoming Bank Holiday this weekend
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed there will be a change to Child Benefit payment dates for many this week. The change is because of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Easter 2024 falls between 29 March and 1 April this year, giving millions of workers across the UK an extra couple of days off.
Likewise, any families due a payment which would normally fall on Saturday 30 March or Sunday 31 March 2024 will also be paid on Thursday 28 March 2024. However, those who are due a payment before or after the Easter period won’t see a change to their payment dates. The money is paid directly into your bank account every four weeks. If you’re a single parent or receiving certain benefits, you can ask to have it paid weekly instead.From early April 2024, the rates will rise to:See how much Universal Credit YOU will get after April’s increase
Steph, a single mum of four, enrolled on a training course and has been supported back into work by #UniversalCreditChildcare pic.twitter.com/VmuODgk2NdHow much extra Universal Credit will I get? Around 5.5 million families in the UK who claim Universal Credit will be £470 better off a year, or £39 better off a month.
Who is eligible for Universal Credit? You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your living costs. Other benefits set to increase As well as Universal Credit, Child Benefit will also be increasing in April. The supermarket has relaunched its Wine Club and is asking people to apply to trial its new spring summer range, which launches in store on 18 March.
How to apply to be get free wine from Aldi Aldi is looking for 30 reviewers who will be sent three bottles of wine as part go its Wine Club. ‘It helps the buying team shape wine ranges into what they are – great tasting, award-winning, delivering on both quality and price. We look forward to welcoming the next thirty Aldi Wine Club members on board.’
3. Sniff: ‘You don’t really taste wine, you smell wine – so this stage is important,’ says Sam. ‘Take short, sharp sniffs rather than breathing in deeply for a long time.’ What is the bank account switching bonus? The bank account switching bonus involves switching your current account to a new bank – many banks offer sign-up bonuses in the £100s for doing so.
You must then use the Current Account Switch Service , which will close your old account and move all your payees, direct debits and money over to the new bank. I was told the switching bonus cash would come through within 28 days but actually it was more like two or three. This has made life easy – for example, I don’t need to tell my friends or my employer I have new payment details every few months .
So be especially wary if you’re in the process of buying a house or any other big purchase as you’re often asked how long you’ve been with your bank. ‘The government will introduce new passport fees’ Announcing the passport price increase, the Home Office said: ‘The government will introduce new passport fees for all applications on 11 April 2024.’
Passports are usually issued within three weeks but the government advises applying or renewing as early as possible so it comes in time for any summer holidays. The DWP has already paid more than 7.6 million payments to families, out of the 8.2m million total households expecting payments.Millions to receive £299 This round of payments will be sent out to those claiming working tax credit and child tax credit and will land in recipients’ bank accounts any day from this Friday to 22 February.
The payments are given to anyone who claims certain eligible benefits including Universal Credit and tax credits. If you are eligible, you will be paid automatically into the bank account where you receive your benefits. In a written response she said: ‘There are currently no plans to extend the cost of living payments beyond the spring.’
Plus, discover Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis‘s top tips on everything from switching bank accounts, energy bills, unmissable deals and more. Many working parents are diversifying their income and looking for a side-hustle to run alongside their regular job. Fancy generating some extra cash but not sure where to start? Here are some money generating ideas for parents…
Dan adds that if you’re able to dedicate a couple of hours a day to decluttering and selling items, you could start earning a notable amount. ‘The best part about this side hustle is that it’s not just one hit, it’s a regular cash stream that you can turn on and off depending on how busy you are,’ says Dan.
‘You can expect to earn £15 to £30 an hour,’ he continues. ‘These roles are flexible and you can work around the children and other commitments. ‘Searches for online focus groups increased by 184 per cent last year,’ says Dan, ‘and I meet parents up and down the country who find this side hustle fun, and relatively easy to top up their monthly income.’
‘There are millions of spaces up and down the country that could be rented out and can earn you, on average, £200 a month.’ says Dan. ‘The benefits are that it is quick and easy. The time it takes to set up is minimal, especially if you have regular long-term renters. We’re looking for parents – and parents-to-be – to try everything from air fryers and beauty products to toys and household gadgets.
Martin advised: ‘So if you were just about to make a mortgage application or do something really important, credit wise, I wouldn’t do this in the three to six months before that. ‘But the whole point is right now there are four banks who are willing to pay you, bribe you legally if you like, to switch, so if you feel just my bank is neither good nor bad, then you may as well get paid to switch you may as well make money from it.’
Calling it a ‘pretty seamless process’, Martin added that the CASS ‘move your balance over for you. They move standing orders over for you’. Martin advises: ‘So NatWest RBS is the top pay – it gives you £200 pounds to switch so £200 quid in your hand, which will be very useful for many people. Low-income families could be in line for an extra cash boost they may not even know they can apply for – worth up to £812. The Department for Work and Pensions makes one-off payments to certain households who are struggling to pay for essentials, through a one-off interest-free loan.
Instead, people on Universal Credit can apply for a Budgeting Advance – we’ve explained the difference below. It’s interest-free, which means you’ll only have to pay back what you borrow. You’ll normally have to repay the loan within two years. The Budgeting Advance is an interest-free loan you can apply for if you’re getting Universal Credit, rather than for anyone on the above benefits.The amounts you’ll get are the same as the Budgeting Loan and will be repaid via your Universal Credit benefit.
‘To help make such loans more affordable, I’ve decided to increase the repayment period from 12 months to 24 months.’Martin Lewis’ 3 step guide that could save hundreds on your phone bill But when is the best time to go yellow sticker shopping? Well… yellow stickers are available nearly all day every day in its designated sections, but the amount it’s reduced goes up the closer it gets to the end of the day.
For example, if you’re looking for cotton buds, both the beauty aisle and baby aisle have them, despite them being the same item. The world foods aisle item works out at 8.5p per 10g. The Schwartz item works out at 54p per 10g – a huge 6x more expensive gram for gram! This can happen for a number of reasons, but most likely, because supermarket discounts and sales are so random, it means that smaller sizes can be reduced in price, while the ‘value packs’ are still at full price.
Those trusty ‘price per 100g’ stickers have absolutely no meaning too, when supermarkets decide to price some loose items for each one you buy, rather than by weight. So it’s important to have a look at the pricing of both loose and pre packaged fruit and vegetables to find the best deal. Once downloaded and signed up, you’ll get a QR code, that you can scan in airports in many major holiday destinations, and the UK.
Some council’s still have money left from the current round of funding, while others are waiting to see how much they will be allocated in the extended round. What help can I get? Bromley Council is to give out £200 in the form of a virtual payment card to eligible applicants, which can be used for online or over-the-phone payments.
Those who have previously received help through the council since June 2023 will not be eligible for help this time round, but anyone who benefitted from the support before 1 April 2023 can apply for the help, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.Am I eligible?You’ll also need to be experiencing one or more of the following :
It was initially introduced in 2021, with the DWP allocating £842 million of help to local councils this tax year. Other councils will be waiting to see how much of the £500m funding they will receive, before announcing how they will help their residents between now and September.If your local council is not here, check with your local authority to see what help might be available to you.
If there are ways to save money on family days out, we are all ears, so when we saw one mum sharing a cinema trip money-saving hack, we got excited. Casey Major-Bunce, who posts on Intagram and TikTok as Major Mum Hacks, revealed a genius way to stop her children nagging her to buy them hot food at the cinema.
‘Add a sprinkle of normal cheddar cheese or Red Leicester, mix together, then add in the microwave for a further 15 seconds,’ she advises, before adding that she puts the cheese sauce into a food thermos flask to keep warm. But some weren’t keen, with one person saying, ‘I’m all for taking in my own bag of minstrels but hotdog?! What’s next? Roast dinner?’
In a three-step guide, the financial journalist told viewers how to switch phone network providers before prices rise, to keep your prices low while sticking to a speedy network.
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