Financial Wellbeing

Financial Wellbeing

We all make decisions about money every day, from small ones like choosing which snack to buy to bigger ones like where to find a place to live. Financial wellbeing can be defined as feeling secure and in control of your money, making the most of it in your daily life, dealing with the unanticipated, and heading for a healthy financial future.

Sometimes we can feel our financial wellbeing slipping away. The worry associated with this can have a negative effect on every aspect of our daily lives.

The Staff Wellbeing Team is here to support you, whether that be by sourcing practical information on money savings, or offering advice and guidance on financial and mental resilience. We offer a range of resources to help you save, plan, and educate yourself to help keep your finances in check.

If you have any questions about our financial wellbeing support available, please email us at nuhnt.staffwellbeing@nhs.net.

Click the blue bars below to see what financial support is on offer to you.

Set your financial goals

A financial resolution is the perfect chance for you to come up with some financial goals to give you an idea of what you want to achieve, or end up with by the end of the year. This could be saving for a holiday, a new washing machine, an emergency fund, or your pension. Remember, if you don’t have a destination planned, it can make the journey much harder. You can find examples of financial goals here.

Setting a budget

This can be a tool for managing your finances appropriately, helping you to stick to a spending habit and identify areas where you could save money or put it towards something more worthwhile. We recommend using something to track, whether it’s an app, website, or spreadsheet, so you can keep an eye on it to see how it's working out. You can find a budget planner here.

Saving

Putting aside a portion of your income for savings can help build your wealth over time, whether it be in a savings account or piggy bank. There are minor and major things you can think about if you plan on growing your savings for different things. You can find more examples of savings here.

Check-ins

Put some dates in your diary to check up on how you’re getting along with your resolutions. Try to review this throughout the year so you can plan ahead accordingly. This also gives you the opportunity to see whether you’re sticking to the goals you’ve set.

Further Support

For further details about the financial support you can get at NUH and in the community, take a look at your Financial Wellbeing Toolkit or our dedicated Financial Wellbeing page. These will help you find out about discounts, legal and financial advice, money-saving tips, state support, and much more!

Employee Assistance Programme: Health Assured

Health Assured is an external, confidential helpline that is free for all staff and available 24/7. It can help with almost anything, as they have lots of professional advisors to help with mental health, finances, legal advice, and so much more! Give them a call for free at 0800 028 0199.

Financial Wellbeing Toolkit

Our team has put together a one-stop shop for sources of financial support.  Find information for things like financial and legal advice, loan options, saving options, staff discounts, buy-and-sell Facebook groups, and so much more. Click here to open the Financial Wellbeing Toolkit.

Salary Finance: Affordable Loan Options

NUH has partnered with Salary Finance to bring you options, helping you care for your financial wellbeing. Through Salary Finance, you can get:

Affordable loans that are repaid through your salary 13.9% APR Representative (fixed)

Financial education resources

Salary Finance also provide a range of education resources including a budget planner, a savings cacultator and credit score checking via their website. 

Serve and Protect Credit Union

Similar to our Salary Finance service, with Serve + Protect, you can save and borrow with repayments from your pay. Serve and Protect Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organisation that makes it easy for you to save with deductions from your pay while being available as an option to borrow from (loans subject to affordability and credit checks).

Not sure what a credit union is?

• Financial cooperative
  • This means Serve and Protect are owned and run by their members, operating under the ethos of ‘People Helping People’.
• Exclusive membership
  • Only some people can join Serve and Protect Credit Union. This includes employees of Nottingham University Hospitals.
• Not-for-profit organisation
  • Profits are shared with members in the form of an annual dividend and reinvested back into the credit union.

Here to help you save, there if you need to borrow.

By saving with the credit union, you can play your part in improving the financial resilience of those who serve and protect, including your fellow colleagues!

Start your journey to financial resilience by becoming a member of the Serve and Protect Credit Union today. Learn more via their website below:

• Save  
• Borrow

Serve and Protect also run regular financial webinars.

Travel to Work Discounts

NUH staff have access to greener and cheaper alternatives to driving, including a range of travel to work discounts such as discounted tram, bus, and train travel, as well as a car share scheme. 

Cycle 2 Work Scheme

Our amazing scheme can save you up to 47% off a new bike, allowing you to claim up to £2000. You have the choice of either a 9 or 12-month scheme. To find out when the scheme is next open, visit the Cycle2Work site.

Eating on a Budget Seminar

In this seminar led by our Specialist Staff Wellbeing Dietitian, we will look at key factors to consider in relation to food shopping, meals, and planning, including considering options that can be more cost-effective but still nutritious. There will also be a focus on reducing food waste, which can make a significant difference to our consumer costs, as well as to the planet.

There is also a video of the Eating on a Budget seminar available.

Cost-Effective Recipe Book

Our staff well-being specialist dietitian has put together a recipe book that is cost-efficient and nutritious. Lots of these recipes are suitable for batch cooking to help with meal prep before a busy week at work. 

The staff wellbeing team is here for you

If you are experiencing any difficulties, the Staff Wellbeing team is here for you. We have seminars on mental health awareness, nutrition, menopause awareness and support, mindfulness sessions, and courses.

If you would like any information on how to attend these sessions, then please feel free to reach out to us by contacting us at nuhnt.staffwellbeing@nhs.net.

Ask Lion (Nottingham City Council)

Ask Lion is an online service directory designed to help people find information about a whole range of organisations and services. It has information on resources that are available to support Nottingham residents through the cost of living crisis including advice on how to claim benefits you are entitled to and how to find out if you qualify for Council Tax Support.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice provides free and confidential financial advice on several issues, including tax, benefits, debt, discrimination, laws, healthcare, and education.

Notts Help Yourself

The Notts Help Yourself website provides residents of Nottingham with a list of services that are accessible to them. Some are free and can offer advice on several things, including financial help. Visit this web page to find out what financial support you can access in and around Nottingham. 

Money Saving Expert: Financial Calcuators

Money saving Expert has a range of tools and caculators to help you work out if you can reduce the cost of household bills, if you are eligible for loans, how to improve your savings and more.

To make it easier to get a rough idea of how much you'll get paid from benefits, Money Saving Expert has a caculator that give an estimate of your personal increase. They also listed the actual unit rates and standing charges under the cap for each region. 

There is also a calculator, which you can use to check if you are entitled to any benefits.  

Please take note that if you are already receiving benefits, please contact an advisor before you take it any further. If you are not currently receiving any benefits, then please use the advice given.

Nottingham City Council Welfare Rights Service

• Resolve any emergency issues such as bailiffs or court action.
• If you have at least one priority creditor (for example, rent arrears, council tax arrears, court fine), they can advocate on your behalf by contacting your creditors to make repayment arrangements.
• If you have at least one priority creditor, they will complete a financial statement to assess your options and provide budgeting advice where appropriate.
• The council can also provide you with advice and information to help you decide on your best long-term options to resolve your debt problems, for example debt relief orders and bankruptcy, and help you make the applications.

Nottingham City Council has also produced information on how to set a budget, prioritise your bills, check your entitlements to benefits, open new bank accounts, and ways to reduce your expenditure. 

The Company Shop

The company shop is a store where surplus food from supermarkets is redistributed at discounted prices. You need a membership to access this store, which is free to all NHS staff.

The nearest store is Long Eaton, and you must apply for membership for free, and you can take someone with you too. www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/

The Uniform Project Nottingham

The Uniform Project is helping Parents, Schools, and communities in Nottingham to reduce clothing waste by upcycling school uniforms.

“We achieve this by collecting School uniform donations from schools throughout the year and releasing them back to the community for parents to upcycle and save money at the same time”.

The Unform Project was founded by a Nottingham mum called Emma and is supported by Councillor Audrey Dinnall, the Woven Churches, St. John's Church (Carrington), Himmah, and Sharewear to save school uniforms from landfills, helping save the planet. www.facebook.com/NottinghamUniform/

ASDA “Just Essentials” Range

Facing the cost-of-living crisis, Asda has released a “just essentials” range. This aims to give consumers the option of purchasing good-quality products at a lower price than branded products. This is on top of the 10% blue light card discount. https://groceries.asda.com/

Money-help services across Nottingham

Advice Services (help with benefits and debt)

Advice on Nottingham services (please see the website for opening hours and full details, as each service varies):

http://advicenottingham.org.uk/get-help/

• Bestwood Advice: 0115 962 6519
• Citizens Advice: 0300 330 5457
• Clifton Advice: 0115 940 5551
• Nottingham Law Centre: 0115 978 7813
• Meadows Advice: 0115 986 0197
• St Ann’s Advice: 0115 950 6867, or Debt: 0115 908 1530
• Age UK Notts (pension-age benefits): 0115 844 0011

Notts and Lincs Credit Union (for lower-cost loans and for saving)

• Nottingham and Lincs Credit Union: 0115 828 3121
• https://nottsandlincscu.co.uk/

If you are a victim of a loan shark (an illegal money lender):

• Illegal Money Lending Team (national)
• To safely report a loan shark, call 0300 555 2222 (24/7) https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/  (includes resources to download.)

(Training and awareness sessions are also available for staff and community groups.)

Affordable warmth and energy

• Nottingham Energy Partnership: 0115 985 9057

           https://nottenergy.com/our-services/

• Nottingham City Homes
  • Energy bills advice Nottingham City Council Housing Services - Nottingham City Council (ncchousing.org.uk)
• Fuel debt advice is available at Bestwood Advice; Nottingham Law Centre; Meadows Advice, St Ann’s Advice. 

Financial Capability and Learning About Money: Websites

• Money and Pension Services https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en
• Citizens Advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
• Money Saving Expert: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
• Most mainstream bank websites have tools for managing money.

Cheap Food projects:

FoodPrint

Foodprint are a social supermarket and redistribution network in Sneinton, Nottingham City who sell surplus food that would otherwise go to landfill, at discount prices. Everyone is welcome to shop at FoodPrint and no referral is necessary. 

https://www.foodprint.io/ 

101 Sneinton Road, Nottingham, NG2 4QL
Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 09:30-17:00

Hygiene/period products:

The Hygiene Bank (in city and county)

https://thehygienebank.com/give-products/nottinghamshire/

Blue Light Card

The Blue Light Card is available to all NHS staff. It provides a range of discounts across areas such as food and drink, health and beauty, fashion, homeware, electronics, holidays and travel and more. If you sign up you can use the Blue Light app on your phone and you will recieve a physical card, both of which you can use in store or online depending on the specific discount.

Positives

• Provides a range of discounts from small and large companies across the UK.

• You can use thousands of discounts online.

• You can use discounts in store too with your card.

• A free app for better accessibility.

Negatives

• £4.99 set-up fee

Health Service Discounts

The Health Service Discounts website offers hundreds of NHS discounts, codes & deals on fashion, travel, essentials, mobiles & more. Free to join & free to use.

Headspace

Mindfulness and meditation app Headspace is offering free three-month  Headspace Plus subscriptions to NHS staff who sign up using their NHS email account (see more info for which accounts are included). This offer is until March 2025.

If you've already signed up previously for a free three months, Headspace says you should be able to sign up again.

Unmind

Get unlimited access to Unmind which includes amazing wellbeing resources until December 31, 2025. If you haven’t signed up already, use your NHS email account. 

Too Good to Go

Too Good to Go is an app that aims to combat food waste. You are able to search by location for restaurants, supermarkets, and other local stores that are taking part, and you are able to purchase a ‘magic bag’ for a discounted price. 

Positives

• Cheap: sometimes you can get a whole'magic bag’ for around £3.

• A lot of stores use the app.

• Easy and free to download

You can add your favourite places so they are easy to access.

You can turn on notifications to find out when places near you are giving away food.

Negatives

• It can be a bit of a lottery, as you will not know in advance what is in the bag. Places may not always have food to give away, so it isn’t a reliable option, and you do have to pay in advance via the app.

• The food is usually approaching its sell-by date on the day that you buy it; however, it will still be in good condition.

NUH Buy, Sell or Give Away Group

We have a Facebook group where you can list items you no longer want. To buy, sell or give away items you will need to log into your Facebook account and then sign up to the group using your NHS email address.

Vinted

Vinted is an online platform where you can buy or sell second-hand clothing. You can list clothing for free at whatever price you would like, and you can also shop safely and securely. It is a free app that is easy to install on your phone, and you can also access it via the internet.

Positives

• No bots: with other second-hand online platforms, it’s difficult to tell if what you’re buying is genuine. This platform is used only by individuals.

• No bidding: you can negotiate a price with the seller; however, there are no bidding wars with other shoppers! You can also ask the seller a question via a direct message.

Bundles: if you buy more than one thing from the seller’s page, you can usually get a good discount on the whole order.

• Buyer protection: raise a dispute via the team if anything goes wrong.

Negatives

• Some sellers may take a bit longer to post your items.

Depop

Like Vinted, Depop is an online platform where individuals can list their clothes for other people to buy.

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find preloved clothing and furniture that is being sold in your area. You can choose to collect it, or the individual who is selling it may deliver it to you.

Positives:

• It is free to set up and use alongside your Facebook account.
• Toggle the location and other filters.

Negatives

• You do have to create a Facebook account to use this.