Money Advice 16+

The comic strip about 'Sid can so Sid will' comes from the following short video about Learning to use money, made by Wiltshire Centre For Independent Living (opens new window) with one of their Young Pioneers families, discussing their experience.

Watch: Learning to use money (opens new window)

Wiltshire has a wide range of great independent bodies and council funded programmes designed to help in a range of life situations. If you are not finding the guidance you require from the below services we would love to hear about it at localoffer@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window), we may be able to help signpost you or your feedback might help us develop improvements for everyone.

Having a child with additional needs can impact on a family's finances. It costs more to raise a young person with additional needs and it can be difficult to combine paid work and caring.

Worrying about money can cause lots of stress.

Sudden changes to the income of a family can add pressures which impact on your wellbeing. Working out a budget is a really good way to keep on top of your finances. It allows you to work out if you have enough money to do the things you need or would like to do. You can find more information on budgeting on this Citizens Advice: Work out your budget (opens new window) page.

There are also different sources of financial help and benefits that might be claimed. The related pages on benefits and grants can help you to understand this.

Benefits and grants

From the age of 11 it is legal for young people to open a bank account when supervised by a parent or guardian, if you would like to learn more about opening an account please visit the following page:

Opening a bank account

When you have a bank account you will need to start learning how to manage your money. For more information please visit:

Managing money

One of the toughest parts of growing up and living independently is paying your bills. It can be daunting but it does not need to prevent you from working towards the kind of life you want.

For more information please visit: 

Understanding and managing bills

Carers providing unpaid support to a family member, partner, friend or neighbour may be entitled to financial support in the form of Carers allowance. To find out more please visit the following page:

Carers Allowance

A direct payment is a sum of money paid to a family instead of a provided service. The advantage of a direct payment is that a family can choose how to spend the money and can provide a more specific service for their young person. For more information please visit the following page:

Using direct payment

Many independent organisations offer support to help you understand what is available to you and how to access it, please visit the following page to find out more:

Advice and support