Run a benefits check
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Official benefits checkers estimate what help your household might be able to claim, which is hard to work out from the rules alone. GOV.UK lists free, anonymous calculators for the UK, and USAGov has a benefit finder that covers twelve categories of US government help; both are general information, not a decision on a claim.
GentleFreeAn afternoonIndoorsOn your ownUK and US
How to start
- Open the GOV.UK benefits calculators page, or the USAGov benefit finder.
- Gather details of your savings, income, existing benefits and pensions, outgoings and Council Tax bill, which GOV.UK says its calculators need.
- Complete one calculator or the finder and keep a copy of the result.
Where to go
We opened these links on 8 October 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
This is general information, not financial or business advice for your own circumstances.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Projects run over months and stall without a rhythm, so the plan sets milestones you can see.
Read next
Living well on less: budgeting on a fixed income, the free help, and where the money leaks
How to budget on a fixed income using MoneyHelper's free planner, where the free help is (MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice, Age UK, AARP), which benefits to check (Pension Credit in the UK; SNAP, Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help in the US), and the household bills where money most often leaks. General information, not financial advice.