Ignoring money troubles won’t make them go away. The longer you wait, the fewer options you have. Missed payments can lead to late fees, credit score damage, rising debt and even legal action. Before you know it, small struggles can snowball into serious financial stress.

BudgetSmart helps you take action now. Find hidden savings, adjust your spending and get back in control before things spiral. Don’t wait for the next overdue notice.

How does BudgetSmart work?

BudgetSmart is split into categories that will help you to review each element of your household budget.

Simply choose one of the categories for a breakdown of easy actions you can take that may help to cut costs, improving your monthly budget. You can also search for the expense that you’re looking to save money on in the search box.

As an example, if you’re worried about how much your food shopping bill has increased, you can use this category to make small changes to the way you shop, which could add up to big savings over time.

In this category, you’ll find:

• Ways to save money at the supermarket
• Vouchers and free meals may be available to you
• Coupons, cashback, loyalty cards and apps
• Recipe ideas
• And much more

Increase your income with BudgetSmart

Use the Income Maximisation section to check you’re receiving all the income you’re entitled to.

In here, there’s a handy benefits checker, along with information about all the potential benefits you may be able to receive.

Alongside the benefits checker, there’s also tips on other ways to increase your income including:

• Cashback and reward schemes
• Creating a budget and shopping tips
• Discount schemes

Making debt more affordable

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206.   We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.

From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week.

Currently, 15 hours of government-funded childcare is available for all children from the age of nine months. 30 hours of government-funded childcare is available for children aged three to four, if parents are working.

What are funded childcare hours? 

Funded childcare hours are government-subsidised hours of childcare for parents of young children. They’re available to be used in registered childcare settings. The UK government provides these hours to support families by providing their children with early years education in a structured environment.

How do I qualify for these hours?

To qualify, you need to be working or starting a new job, on sick or annual leave, or on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave. The amount you earn must be at or more than the value of the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

You don’t qualify if your adjusted net income is over £100,000 a year. Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any Personal Allowances and certain tax reliefs are deducted such as, trading losses, donations to charities through Gift Aid and pension contributions.

If you’ve been self-employed for less than 12 months and you earn less, you may still qualify. Income that doesn’t count includes dividends, interest, income from property investments or pension payments.

You apply via the Government website to receive your childcare code, which you need to give to your registered provider. When you have your account set up and the code is active, you need to reconfirm your eligibility every three months.

What other financial support is available for parents?

• Tax-free childcare – You can get up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to be used to help with the cost of registered childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every three months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). It can be used in addition to funded childcare hours.
• Child Benefit – You can receive Child Benefit if you’re responsible for raising children under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. From April 2025, rates increased as follows:
  • First or eldest child: From £25.60 a week to £26.05 a week
  • Any additional child: From £16.95 a week to £17.25 a week

What you can do next

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.

If you’re behind on regular payments or falling into debt, BudgetSmart has hundreds of easy actions you can take to improve your monthly budget and bring you back onto the path to clearing your debts.

Serve and Protect Credit Union have launched a Fixed Cash ISA for the 2025/26 tax year giving employees within the Police, Prison, Military, Fire and Health Services the opportunity to earn a guaranteed tax-free return of 4% AER (Annual Equivalent Rate).

• Minimum effort, maximum return: Start depositing from as little as £5 and up to a maximum of £20,000 for the 2025/26 tax year.
• Attractive returns: Enjoy a guaranteed tax-free return of 4% AER, allowing you to earn more from your savings effortlessly.
• Safety assured: Rest easy knowing your savings are protected up to £85,000 by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme). 

For people, not profit.

Serve and Protect Credit Union prides itself on being more than just a financial institution. As a not-for-profit, by opening an account, you can make a real impact to the lives of those who serve and protect our nation. Your support provides crucial funds to help fellow colleagues seeking affordable credit. 

For more information or to apply please visit: https://serveandprotectcu.co.uk/save/cash-isa/

With the availability of private pensions, along with workplace pensions, it can be hard to keep track of the pensions in your name, especially if you’ve moved jobs multiple times.

If you’ve worked in any roles where you earned over £10,000 per year, were over 22 years old, were classed as a worker, and lived in the UK, then you’ll most likely have been enrolled in a workplace pension scheme.

With planning for the future and retirement at the forefront of many people’s minds, finding all your pension pots will help you to understand the approximate value of your retirement fund and can help you make educated decisions about the additional amount you need to save.

How can I find my lost pension pots? 

Check through your paperwork and emails

Have a look through your letters and emails, most pension providers send a yearly statement that shows the value of your plan and estimated retirement value. You may have employment paperwork detailing your pension scheme too. If you paid into a private pension, you should be able to see your provider name on previous bank statements.

Reach out to your previous employers

If you’re struggling to find any statements, you can reach out to your previous employers to ask for details of the pension scheme you were enrolled in. To save time, make sure you have your employment details ready, including the dates you worked for the business and your National Insurance number.

Contact your pension provider

If you know your pension provider but don’t have any details of your plan, you can contact them directly to get access to your account. You’ll most likely need to provide them with two forms of ID, your date of birth and an idea of when you think you enrolled in the plan for them to be able to access your details.

Use the Pension Tracing Service

The Pension Tracing Service will help you find pension contact details on GOV.UK or you can contact them by phone or post.

What are the next steps after finding my pension pots?

Once you’ve located your pension pots, you’ll have a much better idea of how much is currently in your retirement fund and what your potential retirement fund will be.

We recommend ensuring all your contact details are up-to-date with each provider and storing the details for each one safely and securely for future reference.

You may choose to consolidate your pensions. We recommend speaking to a financial advisor to make an informed decision about what would be best for you

What you can do next

While thinking about your pension pots and retirement, you may be worried about debts and their impact on your future. Our team is available to offer free debt advice

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.

Helping children learn about money is one of the most valuable life skills you can give them. Understanding how to manage money from an early age can set them up for a strong start in life, building habits that lead to financial stability in the future.

Below we’re sharing some practical tips you can use when teaching your children about money:

1. Start early

It’s never too early to start! Even young children can grasp basic concepts like saving, spending, and sharing. Use play money, toys, or games to introduce them to these ideas.

2. Set a good example

Children learn by watching and getting involved. Let them see you handling money. If you budget, save and make wise spending choices, they’re likely to follow in your footsteps.

3. Use pocket money to teach budgeting skills

Giving your children a small amount of pocket money can teach them the skills to manage it. Teach them to divide it into categories such as saving, spending and giving. By encouraging them to save a portion for future occasions, you’ll be setting a good foundation.

4. Make saving fun

Set a savings goal and reward your children for reaching milestones. You could use saving envelopes where they can tick off once they’ve filled each envelope. You could also open a savings account for them and, if there’s an app available, check it together to track their progress and celebrate growth.

5. Talk about needs vs. wants

Explore the difference between needs (things such as food, housing and clothes) and wants (things such as toys, games and days out). Learning how to prioritise needs before wants is a vital life skill and will help them make better financial decisions as they grow.

6. Teach the value of earning

Encouraging your children to take on small jobs to earn money, such as household chores or helping family and friends, is a great way to teach responsibility and the link between effort and reward.

7. Talk about money

Let your children ask you questions about money and offer simple answers using the opportunity to teach where appropriate. Money can be a cause of stress for many, especially if you’re struggling with debt, and talking about it can be hard. However, children learn very little about money during school, so it’s important to equip them with the skills they need at home. When they’re old enough to understand, opening up about debt and how hard some people struggle can be beneficial. By helping children as they get older learn how to manage credit and how easy it can be to fall into debt, if they take out more credit than they can repay. You can teach them how easy it can be to fall into financial trouble, especially when they take on more credit than they can repay. As they grow older, showing them how to manage credit responsibly helps them make smarter financial choices and avoid common pitfalls.

Teaching children the basics of money management early on equips children with a skill that will serve them throughout their lifetime and encourage them to pass those skills on to the next generation.

What you can do next

If you are struggling with debts call us on 0800 072 1206. We’re open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.

Alternatively, you can visit our www.payplan.com/police to speak to us via live chat or for more information.