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Outgoings
Know how to change your budget when your expenses go up or down.
Introduction to 'Outgoings'
It’s often hard to know when your outgoings are likely to change. Some of these changes might leave you with more money. But others may mean you have less to go round.
In this lesson, we’ll explore some of the things that can impact your outgoings. This includes changes that you can control, plus those you can't. There's also plenty of tips on how to manage these and where to find extra help.
What you'll learn
- How to prepare for sudden changes to your outgoings.
- What to do when these changes happen.
- Where to find help and support.
How long it takes
12 minutes
Changes to outgoings
Chapter 1
How long it takes
4 minutes
Your outgoings
Outgoings are things you spend money on regularly.
Your own outgoings may include:
Mortgage or rent
Utility bills
Food and family costs
Phone, TV and internet
Transport costs
Insurance
Leisure costs
Debts
How can your outgoings change?
Your outgoings can go up or down. For example, as fuel prices increase across the world, your gas and electricity bills may rise. When you reach state pension age, some costs may fall or even disappear - like free prescriptions and bus passes.
Let's look at each type of outgoing to find out how they can change:
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When interest rates rise with inflation, your monthly mortgage repayments may increase. For the rental market, if more people need to rent and there are fewer homes available, this can cause rents to rise.
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Our energy bills can change because of factors outside our control. When demand for gas, oil and electricity rises globally, the price of these fuels goes up for everyone. Natural disasters can damage sites where fuel is produced.
There are also times when we use more fuel – in winter, for instance, when we need to heat our homes more.
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The price of food can change for many reasons. For instance, environmental changes can mean there are fewer vegetables, fruit and other crops available. So the price of these goes up.
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This is one area where you may find yourself suddenly needing extra money.Some examples are:
- Marriage or civil partnership – The cost of the wedding or event itself, plus the honeymoon.
- Pregnancy and birth – Equipment and clothing costs, at a time when your income may be reduced.
- Growing families – Childcare costs, school uniforms, plus more spending on food, home and clothes.
- Loss of a partner – Funeral costs, plus taking on the full cost of regular outgoings.
- Ill health of a partner or family member – Care costs, living aids / adaptations, hospital trips.
- Divorce or separation – Legal fees, division of property and assets.
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Many phone providers put up their prices once a year, in line with inflation. So you may hear from them while you're part-way through your contract, to let you know there's an increase coming. If you're still within your contract period, you'll need to pay this increase – or pay a fee to leave the contract early.
Broadband packages often tempt you with cheap prices to start. But you may find you're suddenly paying a lot more, after that initial contract period.
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Sudden changes to the cost of getting around can have a huge impact on your day-to-day life. This could include getting the kids to school, making hospital appointments or your everyday commute.
You may need to think about:
- An increase in your bus fares or train season ticket price.
- Petrol prices going up.
- Your car insurance premiums rising.
- What happens when your car breaks down or needs urgent repairs.
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Insurance is something we pay to cover unexpected costs. For instance, your pet insurance can help with vet fees when your dog is injured. If you're in a car accident, your insurance can pay for repairs. Some will even arrange for a car you can use while yours is being fixed, too. Travel insurance can help if you fall ill on holiday. So in itself, it's something that can help us manage our outgoings.
But you may find your insurance costs suddenly rise, when you renew your policy each year. This can happen for a number of reasons. For example, when there are storms in the UK causing lots of damage, many people will claim on their home insurance. So you may find that your premiums go up next time because there have been so many claims. Travel and health insurance premiums may also rise as you get older.
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When you think of leisure costs, what do these mean to you? Trips to the cinema, meals out, day trips or holidays? We usually plan for these, and make sure we have enough money for them beforehand. For holidays, we may take out travel insurance to cover us, in case something happens either before or during the trip.
Other leisure costs might be regular payments you've signed up for. Things like subscriptions for gym or TV/movie streaming services. These may start off as low-cost, but suddenly rise after a trial period.
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If you have debts that you're paying off, it's important to keep paying on time. Sometimes though, this becomes harder. Debt emergency is what happens when you've stopped paying for a while. What follows may include court action, disconnection or eviction.
Managing these changes
Chapter 2
How long it takes
8 minutes
What you can do
Now you've seen some of the ways outgoings can change, let's look at ideas to manage these.
Mortgage or rent
Struggling to meet your mortgage or rent payments? Get in touch with your mortgage provider or landlord. Explain the situation and ask about options. For mortgages, these may include changing to an interest-only option or extending the mortgage term. For rent, there may be an option for an affordable payment plan or extra time to pay.
The Money Saving Expert site has useful tips on help with mortgage payments.
You can find support on rent payments in the Money Helper site.
Utility bills
If you're finding it hard to keep on top of your bills, talk to your supplier. Ofgem has clear rules that mean the supplier has to help you. This could be an agreed repayment plan.
There may be extra benefits or other support that you can claim to help with these bills. Some energy companies have hardship funds. The government has a range of schemes to help. Your local council may also be able to help.
The Money Saving Expert (MSE) site has more tips and ideas on how to save energy and money.
Food bills
If you're facing an emergency and you need food urgently, your local council's welfare support scheme may be able to help. Some of these offer small cash loans or food vouchers to people are on a low income. Each council’s scheme is different and has its own rules. Find your nearest council.
Food banks may also be able to help with food and other essentials. Find out where your nearest food bank is.
Top tips to cut food bills:
- Shop around to find cheaper prices.
- Swap standard or premium brands to 'value' or own brands.
- Shop at the end of the day – Look for the 'yellow label' items close to their best-before dates.
- Use your loyalty card – Many supermarkets reduce their prices for card holders.
- Buy fruit and veg in season – Better still, grow your own. You can share and swap produce with your neighbours.
Family expenses
It's good to plan for family events, and saving money should be part of that plan. Some events can happen unexpectedly, though. That's why having an emergency fund is important.
When you set out your budget, think about how much you can put aside for these life events and other unexpected costs.
Our Create a budget and Plan for an emergency lessons can help you get started.
Phone and internet
Not sure whether your phone bill will rise this year? Check the terms of your contract. These should state clearly whether they can raise your monthly payment while you're in contract. Not all phone companies increase your payments – some guarantee no price rises.
Once a contract has ended, you can change to a different one with that provider, or go elsewhere if you find one that's cheaper.
Are you on a cheap 'trial contract' broadband deal? Check how long you get the lower prices for, and what the costs will be after this time. You may be able to get a cheaper deal either with your current provider or another one.
Top tips to manage phone and broadband costs:
- See if you can get a social tariff – These low-cost phone and broadband packages are for people on certain benefits. The Ofcom site can tell you more.
- Out of contract? Shop around – Use an Ofcom-approved comparison site to find the right deal for you.
- Don't be scared to switch – It's easier than you think. You can keep your phone number and for broadband, 'One Touch Switch' is designed to be quick and easy.
Be aware
Struggling to keep up with your monthly phone or broadband payments? Get in touch with the provider. Don't wait until your service is disconnected - the fees to reconnect will just add to your debt. Ofcom has more advice on what to do if you can't pay your bill.
Transport costs
Depending on your situation, you may be able to get help with some of these costs. In England, you may be able to claim free bus travel if you're disabled or have reached state pension age. In some areas, these cards give you free train travel, too.
Looking for cheaper rail travel? The National Rail site is a good place to start.
Idea
Do you need help covering the costs of travelling to hospital appointments? You may be able to claim through the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.
Top tips to manage your travel costs:
- Think about how you travel – If you drive or use the bus, could you walk or cycle instead?
- Shop around each year for car insurance – You could get a better deal. Use comparison sites and always check what's included for the price, to make sure the policy is right for you.
- Check fuel prices locally – These can vary, so it's worth looking at sites like Petrolmap and Confused.com to find the cheapest way to fill up in your area.
- Drive to reduce your fuel usage – Whether your car is petrol, diesel or electric, the Energy Saving Trust has top tips on driving to save fuel and money.
- Can you travel at a different time? – Many public transport services cost less if you travel 'off-peak', outside the main rush hours. Some taxi services also charge less at times where there's lower demand.
Insurance
It's good to shop around for the best insurance deal. Comparison sites like Compare the Market, Money Supermarket and Confused.com can help here. When you compare deals, look carefully at what you get for the price. What looks like the cheapest option may end up being more expensive if you need to pay extra when you claim, or for certain features that you need.
Always contact your insurer if you can't keep up the payments. It's illegal to drive without car insurance, and being without other types of insurance can become much more costly if something happens.
Has your insurance company refused a claim, or are they only paying part of the costs? Citizens Advice have a handy guide to help.
Leisure
If you're struggling with monthly subscription payments, you can:
- See if you can freeze/pause or transfer your gym subscription – If this is available, it should be in your contract. Ask your gym if you're not sure.
- Look at your gym's cancellation terms – These do vary. Again, it's worth just asking your gym and explaining your circumstances (it could be easier to cancel than you think).
- Check if you can share your TV and movie streaming costs – Some streaming services let you share with others. Do check the rules to see what yours allow, especially around multiple households.
- Choose to watch 'with ads' – Check to see if your streaming service has a cheaper 'with ads' option.
- Review your viewing – Do you watch all the channels in your TV package? How many different streaming subscriptions do you need? Ditch the subscriptions you don't need and consider Freeview as a free alternative to paid TV options.
Debts
If you're struggling to make these payments, contact the organisations you owe money to. Let them know your situation and they’ll be able to explain the options open to you.
It's always better to speak up early and tell them what has happened. Unless you speak to them, they won’t know until they see something wrong with your payments.
Idea
Would you benefit from a debt repayment holiday? This is when you don't need to make payments for an agreed period. You’ll still owe the money and have to make these payments later but it can give you a useful break from payments. A debt advisor can help you work out if this is a good option for you.
Don’t leave it too late to get help.
You may need to seek help if:
- You're relying on credit to cover your living costs.
- You don't open bills when they arrive.
- Your money worries are keeping you awake at night.
- You're hiding your debts or purchases from your partner.
- Money worries are causing arguments in your household.
Be aware
If you're struggling with your debts or have missed more than one payment, speak to your bank or provider. Once they know your situation, they can start to help.
There are also things you can do yourself.
You can:
- Write a list of your debts – Include who you owe, how much you owe and what the monthly payment is.
- Prioritise them – Priority debts are those where the consequences are worse. For example, the loss of your home or your gas being cut off.
- Plan your approach – You may decide to start by paying off the lowest amount, or the one with the highest interest. Don't forget to keep up the minimum repayments on the others.
Next steps
In this lesson, you've seen different ways that your outgoings can change. We've given you ideas on how to manage these changes, plus where to go for help.
Creating a budget (and keeping it up-to-date) is a good start. This will help give you more control of your finances. We have more info on budgeting and money management in our other lessons.
Want to learn more?
Budget
Related lessons
Budget tools
Tools and steps to help reduce your costs
Pay and manage bills
Subscriptions
Support with repaying
Lloyds Bank Academy is committed to providing information in a way that is accessible and useful for our users. This information, however, is not in any way intended to amount to authority or advice on which reliance should be placed. You should seek professional advice as appropriate and required. Any sites, products or services named in this module are just examples of what's available. Lloyds Bank does not endorse the services they provide. The information in this module was last updated on 4th December 2025.