Cost of Living payment updates — DWP’s latest update on £300 winter boost as Martin Lewis issues warning on insurance

Top tips to save money on your heating

You may not be aware that by using “vampire settings” you could save £850 on your energy bills.

Here are some different ways to save:

• Thermostat – £380 Reducing your thermostat by one degree can reduce your fuel bill by 10%, according to Energy Saving Trust
• Dishwasher – £143 Running your dishwasher at a lower temperature such as 45ºC to 50ºC can save you more that £100
• Boiler – £112 Changing the flow temperatures on , according to charity, Nesta means you can save an average of £112 per year
• Radiator – £75 The average household can save up to £75 every year if they have thermostatic radiator valves fitted on all their radiators, according to British Gas
• Tumble Dryer – £53 Tumble dryers can cost around 67p per cycle but most models come with an eco-mode that can be used to save the environment – and some cash
• Fridge Freezer – £50 The Food Standards Agency recommend that the temperature of fridges be set to 5°C and freezers should be at -18°C. Having it set at the optimum temperature is also better for your wallet
• Washing Machines – £37 Most models of washing machine come with an eco-mode that can be used to save some money

How do I apply for the cold weather payment?

You do not need to apply to the scheme, as cash is automatically sent within a two working weeks to anyone eligible.

If you don’t receive a payment but believe you’re eligible, contact your  or .

Alternatively, call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.

If you’re getting Universal Credit, you can also sign in to your account and add a note to your journal.

When temperatures plummet, you can check if your area is due a cold weather payment by typing your postcode into the government’s tool on its website.

What age does child benefit stop?

Child benefit payments stop on August 31, on or after your child’s 16th birthday, if they leave education or training.

If this is the case, your teen will get their own registered National Insurance Number.

You are still entitled to cash after they turn 16 and choose to stay in “approved” education or training.

Once your child has reached their final year of secondary school, the Child Benefit Office will send you a letter.

How much am I paying to run my dishwasher?

Research by the Energy Saving Trust has previously found dishwashers contribute 8% to overall electricity bills.

But how much your's costs to run depends on its wattage.

Will Ashton Smith, director of sustainability at Domestic and General, said under the current Ofgem price cap, a 1.6kWh model would cost around 43p an hour to run.

He explained: "If you are charged 27p per kWh of energy you use, and you have your 1600 wattage dishwasher on for three hours a day, you will be charged £1.30 per day for this."

Even if that seems cheap, you might still want to cut costs - here are some ways you can do that.

What temperature to run your washing machine at to save money

To save on your energy bills, experts suggest lowering the temperature at which you wash clothes.

You’ll still be getting fresh and clean clothes if you switch from a 40C wash to a 30C one and it could save you £12 a year on average, according to Energy Saving Trust.

If you use your washing machine a lot, you’ll save even more if you lower the temperature.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen previously told The Sun: “Use a cold water or 30C cycle where possible. It’s only for particularly dirty clothes, bad stains or underwear that you are likely to need warmer temperatures.”

How much can you get in pension credit?

There are two parts to the benefit and pensioners can be eligible for one or both parts – here are the current rates for the tax year:

• Guarantee credit – tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level. This is £201.05 a week if you’re single and £306.85 a week for married couples.
• Savings credit – provides extra money if you’ve saved money towards retirement. You can get an extra £15.94 a week for a single person or £17.84 a week for a married couple.

You may also get additional pension credit if you are disabled, have caring responsibilities or have to pay certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments.

What is the £900 cost of living payment?

The £900 cost of living payment is a support payment paid to households in the UK that are struggling the most.

The payment is part of a £26billion package announced by the government to help people during the cost of living crisis.

How do I apply for the cold weather payment?

You do not need to apply to the scheme, as cash is automatically sent within a two working weeks to anyone eligible.

If you don’t receive a payment but believe you’re eligible, contact your  or .

Alternatively, call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.

If you’re getting Universal Credit, you can also sign in to your account and add a note to your journal.

When temperatures plummet, you can check if your area is due a cold weather payment by typing your postcode into the government’s tool on its website.

What support is available if you're struggling?

There's a range of support on offer to help cover the cost of bills.

There are still two instalments of the £900 payment either being paid, or set to come.

The payments are being made to anyone on the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Pension Credit

If you're not on one of the above benefits yet, it's worth seeing if you qualify.

Not only will you start receiving money from the benefit, it could make you eligible for the second and third instalments of the £900 cost of living payment, worth £300 and £299.

Meanwhile, you might be able to get help via the Household Support Fund, which is available to thousands of people across England.

How can I slash my water bills at home?

Moving to a water meter can help some households save some extra cash.

However, if you use a lot of water then this makes no sense as it could see your water bills go up.

The Consumer Council for Water offers a free water meter calculator that’ll tell you if you can save by fitting a water meter.

There are also changes that you can make to your daily habits that could help to cut back on your water usage, including reducing the time you spend in the shower and not leaving the water running while brushing your teeth or washing dishes.

Small appliances that could be leaving you out of pocket

There may be some appliances around your home that are costing you more than you thought if you leave them plugged in.

Just having your computer on standby could be setting you back £95 a year, with your TV costing £24.

Despite using your Wi-Fi the majority of the time, when you aren’t, the router could be costing £19.

Microwaves are costing households an average of £16 per year when plugged in and game consoles cost £12 when left on standby.

Meanwhile, your printer can cost £20 so make sure you are unplugging any appliances when you aren’t using them.

Martin Lewis offers insurance advice

Martin Lewis returned last night on his Money Show Live, to share useful information on how to avoid nasty charges when it comes to insurance.

He urged Brits hoping to save cash to ensure they shop around and regularly compare quotes for insurance.

And he urged Brits to ask for a quote at least three weeks before their insurance renewal date.

The MSE took into account 18 million quotes and found on average there was a “sweet spot” that could see your bills dramatically slashed.

“If you are near your renewal, getting quotes three weeks before may half the cost,” Martin explained.

“It bottoms out on average at day 23, and then the prices just start to rise and rise and rise.”

“Everyone needs to get in their diary that 23 days before renewal because that’s the sweet spot.”

Recession fears increase

The UK economy could be heading for recession after new statistics revealed it flatlined between July and September.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed no growth across the three months.

A healthy economy is one where GDP is growing but if it stalls or is falling, it's bad news for businesses and consumers.

Plumbing expert’s hack to make your house more efficient this winter

A plumbing expert has shared a simple hack to make your house warmer this winter.

If you have found your radiators aren’t giving off much heat or they feel cold on the top half and warm on the bottom half then you may need to bleed your radiators.

This is relatively simple and can be done yourself with a radiator key and cloth.

You need to check if you have a sealed or opened system and ensure the heating is turned off before opening all the radiator valves including thermostatic radiator valves.

Using your radiator key, put it into the valve and twist it until you feel any air or water coming out.

Lynn Beattie, aka @mrsmummypenny on Instagram said: “If air comes out, keep it open until water starts coming out. Then shut it by tightening it. All air should be removed from the radiator now. “

You can then repeat this process on all radiators in your house before turning on the heating and allowing the system to heat up.

Which benefits are means-tested?

The means-tested benefits are:

• Universal Credit
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Income support
• Pension credit
• Tax credits (child tax credit and working tax credit)
• Housing benefit
• Council tax support
• Social fund (sure start maternity grant, funeral payment, cold weather payment)

To be eligible to receive any of these benefits, you must be able to demonstrate that your total capital is less than a certain amount.

How do you log in to Universal Credit?

Universal Credit claimants can see their online account by logging in via the gov.uk website.

You’ll need your username and password – which are the same ones you had to set up when you first applied for benefits.

If you have forgotten your login details, you can put in a request to reset your username or password by entering your email address.

If you have an online Universal Credit account, you can also sign in via gov.uk verify.

In a worse case scenario, you can always try calling the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644 (Textphone: 0800 328 1344).

You can also get in contact via NGT text relay on 18001 then 0800 328 5644.

There’s a Welsh language helpline available on 0800 328 1744 too.

Free debt advice

If you’re in debt there are plenty of services you can take advantage of and they offer free advice on how to manage debt.

Most of them can offer you free guidance and help in person, over the telephone or online.

•  – 0800 138 7777
•  – 0808 800 9060
• – 0800 138 1111
•  – 0808 808 4000

How much is Universal Credit?

Universal Credit payments are made up of a standard allowance and then various additional payments that depend on your circumstances.

This is how much you will get as your standard allowance each month:

• Single, under 25 – £292.11
• Single, 25 or over – £368.74
• Couple, joint claimants both under 25  –  £458.51 (for both)
• Couple, joint claimants, one or both 25 or over – £578.82 (for both)

You may also get additional payments depending on your circumstances.

Martin Lewis reveals how you can get paid for turning off appliances

Households can get paid to turn off their appliances this winter and save over £50.

Martin Lewis revealed during his Money Show on Tuesday night that the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) allows households to use less electricity than they normally do during certain hours and get paid for the difference.

It was first launched last year and designed to take pressure off the network during peak times. It has been relaunched for this winter.

Martin said it’s worth signing up if you can, as it could save you over £50 overall.

“It’s to balance supply and peak demand, so that they can not fire up fossil fuel plants as often as possible in peaks,” he said.

“To do it you need a smart meter and it needs to take readings every 30 minutes. Most of them will do that.

“All the big firms are doing it.”

Martin went on to reveal a survey he did on 3,000 customers who used the scheme last winter found the vast majority only saved between £5 and £20.

What is the winter fuel allowence?

The winter fuel payment is an annual tax-free benefit designed to help with heating costs through the colder months.

Most people who are eligible get it automatically like if you receive the state pension or benefits.

However, you won’t necessarily qualify just because you claim housing benefit, council tax reduction, child benefit or Universal Credit.

More cost of living payments hitting bank accounts tomorrow

Almost one million more people will start receiving the £300 cost of living payment from tomorrow.

Roughly 840,000 households on tax credits are set to receive the payment from HMRC.

All payments should be made between November 10 and November 19.

The full list of benefits that qualify people for the payment is:

• Universal Credit
• Income-based jobseekers allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Income support
• Working tax credit
• Child tax credit
• Pension credit

Grocery inflation continues to fall

Grocery inflation has fallen to single digits for the first time since July last year.

Prices fell to 9.7 per cent higher than a year ago over the four weeks to October 29, down from 11 per cent in the previous month, according to Kantar analysts. 

It continues a recent trend of decline since the 17.5 per cent peak in March.

Reduce heating bill by 10% by turning it down by one degree

You can reduce your overall heating bill by 10% by turning it down by just one degree, according to Energy Saving Trust.

If you are able to brave the cold a bit more – you can shave more than £380 off your energy bills if you turn your thermostat down by three degrees from 23°c to 20°c.

The World Health Organisation suggests that most healthy people should heat their homes to 18°C, so you could save even more by reducing it even further.