4 things to do in August or risk losing money

Put these tasks on your ‘to do’ list right now to avoid a money nightmare.

It’s boring, but we all need to make sure we are up to date with our life admin.

These are often simple things that can cost us if we put them off for too long.

To help avoid a money nightmare, these are some of the tasks to tick off sooner rather than later.

Let HMRC know your kids’ plans

As millions of children across the country find out how they did in their GCSEs, HMRC is reminding parents to update their details or risk a money nightmare.

Parents with children that are planning to continue in full-time education or are undertaking an apprenticeship need to inform HMRC by the end of August or their Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit payments will stop.

While parents with children that are leaving education or training also need to report the changes straight away or risk building up overpayments that will have to be paid back.

You can use your Personal Tax Account to update both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit details online.

If you are using the service for the first time you will just need your National Insurance number, a recent payslip or P60 and a phone to receive a security access code.

For more, take a look at our guide to Child Tax Credits, which explains whether you're eligible, how to claim and how to renew.

Update your driving licence address details

New research shows that one in three people (35%) are unaware that an outdated address on their driving licence could land them with a hefty fine.

Drivers that fail to register their driving licence to their current address could be hit with a penalty of up to £1,000 from the DVLA.

In the UK, it is illegal for a driver to be incorrectly registered at an address, as current residential information is essential should the licence-holder be involved in an accident.

One price comparison site, comparethemarket.com, reckons 1.5 million people currently have the wrong details on their licence, and if the DVLA were to catch them it could rake in £1.5 billion worth of penalties.

Drivers who change their address on their licence must also do the same on their vehicle log book and vehicle tax Direct Debit.

Updating your address is free of charge and you can still drive while waiting for a new licence to come through the post.

You can change the address on your driving licence online or apply by post.

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Tell your home insurer about moving

Moving home? You should tell your home insurer before you pack up your things and leave.

August is a popular time to move home, but many leave admin tasks like telling their home insurer about the change until after they have settled in.

The average family will transport £14,000-worth of goods when moving from one property to another. But failing to let your home insurer know before you hit the road, could cost you.

The problem is home insurance policies with contents cover typically only protect your possessions whilst they are at home – not when you are in transit.

So, this means if you were to get a dodgy driver that steals your goods or your items were involved in an accident your insurer would not have to legally pay out.

Research from MoneySupermarket, another price comparison site, found that nearly half (42%) of Brits fell into this insurance trap during their last move. For more insurance mistakes to avoid, take a look at our piece on the surprising mistakes that could invalidate your insurance.

Respond to your household enquiry form

Millions of homes will be receiving the annual Household Enquiry Form. It looks like a dull piece of junk mail but ignoring it will cost you a fortune.

The Household Enquiry Form is sent to each home across the country between July and November each year.

The form lists current eligible voters in your household and asks for you to check and update the details.

If you fail to respond – even to say that all the details are the correct – you could get a criminal record and a fine of up to £1,000.

For more take a look at this piece Household Enquiry Form: reply to this letter or face £1,000 fine.

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