5 last-minute money checks YOU need to make before end of summer holidays – including free childcare worth £7.5k a year

ALTHOUGH summer is quickly coming to an end, there is still time to make several key money checks that could save you thousands of pounds. Summer is an expensive time, with parents forking out an average of £1,662 per child over the six week break, including childcare, food, activities and transport, according to Confused.com. The summer is an expensive time but our tips can help you get your finances back on track Credit: Alamy The tips take just a few minutes and can help you to save thousands of pounds Credit: PA But don’t worry if your finances have drifted into the red. These five quick checks will help you get your money back on track – and some take just five minutes or less. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Apply for free childcare hours It’s important to act now to claim thousands of pounds worth of free childcare hours Credit: Getty Don’t miss out on £7,500-worth of free childcare this autumn. If your child is aged between nine months and four years and you’re thinking of going back to work before Christmas then now is the time to check if you’re entitled to funded childcare. Read more on money saving Many working families can get up to 30 hours of funded childcare a week, which can help you cut childcare costs. But to start claiming the hours in the autumn you need to apply and get your eligibility code by August 31. If you miss the deadline, then you may need to wait until January before you can start to claim the free hours. To check if you are eligible visit childcare.beststartinlife.gov.uk/support/schemes#main-content. Most read in Money To apply visit GOV.UK. Get a new credit card to cut your bill A new credit card can help you cut the cost of your debt Credit: PA If you can’t afford to pay off your credit card bill after a summer of fun then don’t panic. A 0% balance transfer card can give you more time to pay back the money you owe without interest building up. These cards allow you to move debt on your existing credit card to a new card interest free. This means your repayments reduce the actual debt, rather than just covering the interest, so you get debt free quicker. The cards usually have a one-time charge of between 1% and 5%, which is added directly to your new card balance. If you owed £3,000 on a credit card with a 21.9% APR and repaid £150 a month then you would pay £678 in interest and it would take you 25 months to clear the debt. But if you moved the balance to a 0% balance transfer card then you would save £591, according to Go.Compare. HSBC is offering the longest 0% balance transfer card, giving you a definite 36 months to get back into the green. The card has a 3.09% fee. Meanwhile, the Virgin Money 0% balance transfer card has the same 36 month period and has a fee of 3.1%. If you think you can pay off your balance sooner then you could be better off with the Virgin Money 0% card, which has a 12 month term and is fee-free. Before you apply it’s a good idea to use an eligibility calculator, which shows you the likelihood that your application for a card will be approved. This reduces the chance that your application is rejected, which can leave a black mark on your credit file. Lock into a fixed energy deal now Energy bills are set to rise so now could be a good time to lock in a fixed deal Credit: PA It’s a good idea to lock into a fixed energy deal now as bills are expected to rise this autumn. Energy prices are currently unstable due to the conflict in the Middle East. Prices are already higher than at the beginning of the year, while the July price cap pushed up costs by 13%. The energy price cap for October 1 to December 31 is set to be announced tomorrow. It is forecast to increase by around 3.7%, pushing up bills for millions of people. But you could save by locking into a fixed deal now. These deals lock in the price you pay for every unit of gas and electricity you use for a set period of time. But it’s important to act fast as these deals could disappear from the market at any moment, depending on the conflict in the Middle East. The cheapest deal currently on offer is the Fair Variable Dual tariff from Home Energy, which costs £1,499 a year. This is £164 cheaper than the current energy price cap. Use a comparison website such as MoneySuperMarket or Uswitch to see what deals are on offer and how much you could save. Extend your child benefit claim If you have a teenager then you need to act now or risk losing out on £1,407 a year Credit: Alamy Millions of parents need to act now to extend their child benefit claim or risk losing out on £1,407 a year. Child benefit is paid to anyone who is responsible for raising a child to help with the cost of doing so. If you’re a parent to a 16 to 19-year-old, then you have less than a week to let HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) know that your child is continuing in education or training. If you fail to do so then you could lose your child benefit payments. The deadline to extend your claim is August 31, so there’s only a handful of days left to take action. Child benefit is worth up to £1,406.60 a year for the eldest or only child, and up to £930.80 a year for each additional child. You need to let HMRC know if your child has just turned 16 and is staying in full time education, starting approved training or being home educated. You can extend your claim using the HMRC app or by visiting the GOV.UK website. If you receive a letter from HMRC then you can also scan the QR code, which will take you straight to the digital service. If you don’t respond by the deadline then your payments will stop. Swap bank account to earn free cash You could earn hundreds of pounds of free cash by swapping your bank account Credit: Alamy The end of the summer could be the perfect time to break up with your bank and earn a healthy switching bonus. Several banks are offering switching bonuses, including HSBC, which will give you £220. To get the cash you need to pay £2,000 into the account and spend £500 on the debit card in the first 60 days. The account also gives you access to HSBC’s regular saver, which pays 5% interest on up to £250 a month for one year. Meanwhile, Barclays is offering £200 for savers who move their cash to its bank account. But you’ll need to be quick as to get the bonus you’ll need to apply and start the switch by August 27. To be eligible you need to open a sole account through the Barclays app. You then need to pay in at least £2,000 within the first 30 days. Next start the switch from an account with two direct debits by August 27 and complete the switch within 30 days. The £200 will be paid within 28 working days. The account also comes with a few perks including an optional £5 a month fee to join its Blue Rewards scheme to get half price Apple TV. To get this deal you’ll need to pay in £800 a month and register for digital banking. Comment now