Our lives can be very busy. If we’re not commuting to and from work in a busy city or cramming ourselves into a busy morning train, we’re worrying about our children, arguing with co-workers about work issues, or stressing over what to cook for dinner. There truly aren’t enough hours in a single day to worry about everything we should be worrying about, and there’s plenty of reasons and excuses we can give for neglecting something or simply forgetting about something important.
There are plenty of ways to stay organized. If you feel like you’re getting important tasks and meetings, then there are plenty of smartphone apps that will help you stay organized. However, that’s not the point of this article. What we’re going to talk about today is money. Who doesn’t love money? In fact, we’re so busy each day thinking about money and making money that we sometimes forget that there are places where we can actually collect money, and all you have to do is remember that you have money waiting to be collected.
There are a lot of things you could be entitled to that involve money. For starters, you could be entitled to money if you’re a single parent, and you could be owed money if you didn’t check your tax code properly. You could also be owed money if you’re above a certain age, living on your own, or if you have trouble paying your rent due to your work circumstances. In other words, there are a lot of schemes and aid plans that can help you get a bit of extra money without any major downside.
But what kind of things can you claim? Read on to find out as we explore several different avenues where you can make claims and check what kind of compensation and aid you’re entitled to. Not all of these will count for you and some of them are country-specific, but rest assured that all of these will be able to give you a small boost of cash that’ll lighten the stress on your shoulders.
Benefits and Aid
Not everyone is well-off or even able to support themselves. For example, seniors could suffer from several different medical issues and, as a result, require someone to take care of them. The cost of a carer can be extremely expensive if they are professional and have all the licenses and commendations of a good carer. This means that for a senior to get the best professional care they could get to make their lives easier, they have to fork out a lot of cash in advance to pay for each day or pay regularly.
These costs can mount up and create a huge dent in their shrinking wallets. Most pensions and savings won’t be enough to pay for a carer for a long period of time, but luckily many aid schemes will solve issues like this. If you are a senior and you require aid from a carer, then you could get a sum of money to help you pay for professional care assuming you meet the right conditions. It’s important that if you or someone you know is in a similar situation that you contact the relevant services or search online for help.
You could also get help if you’re having difficulty paying your rent and other utility bills. Housing benefits, for example, can be claimed by individuals who are in low-income jobs or don’t work anymore and need financial aid. These benefits can be claimed as long as you meet certain criteria, and there are even times when exceptions can be made if you have a unique case that isn’t accounted for. This means that, no matter what your situation is, you should always contact the relevant authorities to ensure you are getting all of the benefits and aid that you should be getting to help make your life easier.
Unfortunately, benefits can easily be abused. It’s important that, no matter how tempting it might be, you always ensure that you do not abuse these systems. If you are caught (and you will be, eventually) you’ll have to pay back everything that is owed which will be far more stressful than not claiming the benefits at all. Many people have gone homeless or bankrupt because of their lack of care when claiming benefits. For example, if you claim for unemployment aid then you need to notify the relevant people whenever your circumstances change. If you suddenly find a job but neglect to tell people, then you’re going to be in trouble when they find out you’ve been claiming unemployment benefits and also working at the same time.
Injury Claims and Compensation
Many people don’t claim work injury compensation because they fear it would affect their relationship with their employer. After all, if you sue the company that pays your salary then you might think it will severely harm your chances of staying at your job. Some people think that job security is far more important than a personal injury claim, but here are some things to consider.
First of all, you cannot lose your job for making a claim. Your employer should be carrying out everything they can to ensure that you are safe at your job. They need to take every relevant step and carry out risk assessments to ensure that every single one of their employees has the correct equipment and knows all of the safety measures. If they don’t, then they are failing their duty as an employer and could be sued on the grounds of neglect. For this reason, it’s a good idea to weigh up your options and have chat with their expert lawyers to determine if an accident you had, work-related or not, can be turned into a claim of compensation.
It’s important to remember that if you have suffered an accident that wasn’t your fault, you are entitled to claim compensation to spend on medical bills, repair costs, and other expenses. Even if it was something in the past that you neglected to claim about, it could still be turned into a case assuming that you have the right proof. There are time limits, however. You usually have up to three years to make a claim and speak with a lawyer. Anything after that and you won’t be legally allowed to build a case. This time limit can change. For example, if you had an accident abroad then the time limit will vary depending on the country, and if you had an incident while working in the army then you have up to seven years to make a claim.
Injuries don’t have to be physical either. If you are exposed to harmful chemicals such as asbestos in an old workplace or office, then you could be entitled to claiming compensation due to neglect by your employer if they don’t provide you with the proper safety equipment. You could also claim compensation if you get food poisoning or other types of illnesses that are a result of neglect from your employer. However, the majority of personal injury claims do involve physical injuries to your body, but it’s still good to remember that any type of injury or illness can be turned into an accident claim.
Tax Overpayments
If there’s anything certain in life, it’s death and taxes. However, not everyone pays the correct amount of tax and in the majority of cases, they actually end up paying more than they should. For starters, you could be working on the wrong tax code if, for some reason, you had to switch the tax code while working different jobs or if the tax code was temporarily applied to you for a variety of reasons. You should be keeping a note of all the income you get and the relevant tax codes that you should be following. Once you manage to analyze your income, you’ll be able to determine if you were using the wrong tax code at certain periods of your time working and make a claim based on that.
For self-employed individuals, there are many business expenses that you can write off so that you aren’t taxed on them. For example, if you use electricity in your home when you work from home, you can calculate how much is used for work purposes and count that as a business expense too. If you need to replace something like a tablet or computer that is used for business purposes, you can also claim those as business expenses and make them exempt from tax. It’s a good idea to check what exactly counts as a business expense. For example, any personal purchases like a new sofa or television won’t count as business expenses unless they are specifically for the use of your business, but a computer, office chair, or desk may count depending on the circumstances.
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