How to manage your money to make sure you can pay your rent

A house next to a hand with a lot of money in it

Rent is the money that you pay to your landlord to live in your home.

A man in a baseball hat is holding up some house keys next to a front door

Your landlord is the person who owns the place where you live.

A woman thinking about her housing benefit payment and seeing that she still doesn't have enough money in her purse to pay

Rent sometimes costs a lot.

You can run out of money to pay for it.

A man in a suit is pointing to a checklist which has green ticks on it

But you can make a plan to help you understand how much you spend and what you spend it on.

1. Check how much money you get each month

Use a calculator to add up how much money you get each month from:

A man shrugging his shoulders in front of lots of different leaflets on different types of benefits like Carers Allowance, and Personal Independence Payment

benefits like Universal Credit

A woman is typing on a laptop in front of a clock which says 9am and another clock which says 5pm. Next to her is a hand giving her money

any paid work you do

An open purse showing pound notes and coins going into it.

and any other things you often get money from.

A birthday card with money inside it. The money has a red cross over it

Do not include money that you only get on special occasions like on your birthday.

A month in a calendar next to a hand using a calculator next to some money

The total will be the money you get each month.

A woman in a red beanie hat is writing something down at a desk

Write the total down.

A man sitting at a desk ready to write down the answer to his question about how much change you would get

If you get your money each week, instead of each month, ask your support worker or someone you trust to help you work out how much money you get each month.

2. Write down what you spend your money on each month

Start with the most important things you pay for like:

A pile of money, a tenancy agreement and pen, and a house

rent

The amount of money you pay in rent should be in your tenancy agreement.

A plumber mending and outside tap, a plasterer plastering a wall and a maintenance garden worker next to a pile of money

service charges

Service charges are paid by some people for keeping things like shared gardens and buildings safe, clean and tidy.

bills like gas, electricity, water and mobile phones

council tax

A man carrying a shopping basket is looking a packet of food next to a table full of different foods

food

Two people standing next to a train, about to take a journey.

important travel like a train, taxi or bus to see your doctor

any medicines that you take

A television set next to a TV licence bill

a TV licence if you need one.

If you need help to find out how much money you spend each month, ask your support worker or a person you trust.

3. Add your list of important monthly payments together

When you have added your list of important payments together, write the total number down.

A hand writing down their monthly payments on lined paper

For example:

Chris gets £850 a month.

He has written down that he spends £500 a month for rent and £300 a month for other important things like: food, clothes, medicine, electricity bills and taxis to see his doctor.

When he adds those important things together, he finds out he spends a total of £800 a month.

This means that he will have £50 left to pay for other things after he has paid the £800 for his important things.

So, if Chris gets less than £850 or spends more than £50, he won’t have enough to pay for important things.

A woman is holding her purse upside down looking for money but there is no money left

What to do if you do not have enough money to pay for everything

You may need help if the total money that you pay for rent and other things is more than the amount of money you get each month.

There could be things you could do to get more money.

For example:

a webpage saying Click, a post box and an application form

apply for benefits if you don't already get them

A woman sits at a desk on the telephone, smiling.

ask your social worker or support worker to help you get extra money from places like the council

A woman in a wheelchair has her hand up asking for financial advice

ask for money advice.

Money advice is help to see if there are ways you could spend less money.

A woman on the phone calling her doctor who is in a blue circle behind her

Call the Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 to find out more about managing your money and paying your rent.