Can we get any help? — Scope | Disability forum
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Can we get any help?

Coz
Coz Community member Posts: 1 Listener
Hi everyone...I'm Coz and on DWP.I am 46, I suffer with Anxiety and depression.Also I have 5 slipped discs and siatacita all on my right side,which is very painful...I had a car from DWP but as my husband works full time,also looks after me,we have been told we can't claim anything else.My husband has 2 children from a previous relationship which takes most of his money for child maintenance.We are finding it very hard to keep our heads above water..Is there anything else we could do???Thank you.

Comments

  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Coz

    Good morning & welcome to our community !!!!!

    Sorry but is it “pip” that you were assessed for ????

    Have you appealed ????

    We have got a “benefit calculator” on our website.

    This will let you know if there’s anything else you can potentially be able to receive ??????

    I have posted the link below for you:

    https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/calculate-benefits
  • Geoark
    Geoark Community member Posts: 1,463 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello @Coz and welcome to the community.

    If you are not entitled to anything else, but please follow @steve51 and check if there is anything else you are entitled to, there may be a number of ways of reducing your living costs.

    If you are getting regular prescriptions it may be worth consider getting a prescription payment certificate. More information can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/PPC.aspx

    If you have not done so it is also worth going on a price comparison site to see if you can reduce some of  your bills, gas, electricity, insurances, mobile phones etc.

    Assuming you don't work, have you called the taxman to transfer some of your tax allowance to your husband? This can reduce what your husband pays in taxes and give you extra money. https://www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance

    If it is just you and your husband living in your home you might want to consider switching to a water meter to pay for your water if you can as it could be a lot cheaper. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2111127/Should-I-install-water-meter-save-money-bills.html

    One trick I learned when I was unemployed was that some of the local shops reduced the prices of some of the products after a certain time, so it was possible to reduce our food costs and continue to eat well. As we have a chest freezer it also meant that on some products we could buy several and put them in the freezer for another day. Just keep an eye on the use by date. Some can be bought and frozen to extend the use by date, some will last another day or two.

    There are a lot of sites which offer money saving tips and often a few small changes can save a lot of money over the year. It doesn't have to impact on your current life style and could improve things for you.

    To give an example, I suffer from sciatica and live in London and was paying £181.70 for a monthly oyster card. Because of extra expenses a couple of months ago I opted to change the station I got on and reduced it to around £105 per month. Saving over £900 per year. As the new station is better covered by busses the journey is quicker and less stressful.

    When my wife's mobile phone contract came up for renewal we cancelled it. I bought her a new smartphone for £50 and changed to giffgaff sim card for £20 per month, giving her unlimited calls and texts plus far more data then she was getting. Cheaper than what she was paying previously due to a number of add ons. One was deezer, music, so the following month subscribed to the family subscription for Deezer. This allowed the whole family access to Deezer for about £14 per month compared to what she was paying, £9 per month. We are still saving £552 per year but have a much better deal, if not the latest model mobile. She can still do everything she did on her previousl mobile, but doesn't have to worry about data usage. Those two changes save us over £1400 per year and we are getting a better deal than previously.

    There are usualy something that we can change to help reduce costs and make life a little more comfortable.

    Sorry did not intend to do such a large post, but hope it gives you some ideas.

    As an individual I stood alone.
    As a member of a group I did things.
    As part of a community I helped to create change!

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Coz, and welcome! Just to add to the great advice above, here is the online benefits calculator for checking that you're claiming everything you may be eligible for.

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