Free stuff if on UC or PIP or money saving advice?

How strange, as council tax is not income based or means tested. Council tax in UK is based on where you live and what band your house falls into

I know that, I was giving general feedback indicators.
Not all councils require you to have adaptations, sometimes just a separate bedroom & bathroom

I think you need to get back to basics which means look at every outgoing and see if you can do it cheaper. Batch cook, hone your yellow sticker radar. Set a financially responsible budget for Christmas and stick to it, don’t feel pressured about ‘experiences’ and expensive hype. Your goal is saving money and setting money aside for broken washing machine type emergencies.

@Zeborah being in receipt of PIP does not, on its own, usually qualify you for a reduction in council tax. Most councils offer a reduction if a room has been adapted specifically for the use of the disabled person (e.g. adapted bathroom) or if the disabled person has severe and enduring mental illness SMI (e.g. dementia).

If you don't live in London and have a disabled persons railcard and have an oyster card you can add your railcard to your oyster card and get a discount

Each council is different. Our local council is one of the few in the country that now takes PIP as income so people pay more council tax. You could only get a council tax disregard if you have a severe mental impairment or house adaptions due to disability.

On PIP you can get a reduction on your council tax. Exemption from road charges if you live in London or Greater London . Concession tickets to theatre shows & concerts. Be listed as vulnerable with gas, electricity & water suppliers. A Blue badge, possibly, so sometimes free parking

TFL have a discount on travel in London for certain benefits.

London Zoo have a UC discount.

Yep, agree, for most people it would only be helpful in limited circumstances in the short term.

Anyone on UC or other means tested benefit needs to be careful if selling on Vinted, EBay, or any of the other selling platforms. Generally if you are just clearing out your old stuff and selling it for less than you paid for it, you’re fine, but if you make a profit, you need to report it to UC. If you reach a certain threshold (around £1750) or exceed thirty sales in a year, the selling platform will report the data they hold on you to HMRC.

Yes but as you say its a loan and only covers the interest after the waiting period.

People with mortgages who fall on hard times are stuffed basically.

If the claim for UC is successful OP could potentially claim Support for Mortgage Interest on up to £200,000 of the mortgage capital. It’s not a benefit but a loan that has to be repaid at some point, but could temporarily reduce mortgage payments until they sort themselves out. SMI doesn’t affect other benefits and is paid by DWP directly to the mortgage provider, but household earned income is taken into account and may reduce the amount payable.

I hope some of the excellent suggestions are helpful to OP but l think it’s important to point out for others who may be looking for similar support that not all of these things are available purely via PIP eligibility. Things like the warm home discount, capped water rates, many social tariffs, will only be available to those on means tested benefits.

Similarly with respite care - it’s means tested on the income of the person going into care and many councils take the PIP daily living component into account after 28 days. Also important to note is the fact that after 28 days in residential respite DWP will stop the daily living component of PIP unless the person is self funding. Linking rules mean that multiple shorter stays within 28 days of each other will be treated as consecutive. This has implications for those claiming carers allowance and carers element of UC, because they would no longer be eligible once PIP stops.

A poster upthread suggested carers allowance for OP and ESA for DH. There are no new claims being taken for means tested ESA as its now part of UC, and for UC the carers allowance will be fully deducted as income, and a carers premium will be paid as part of UC. DH could potentially claim New Style ESA but that would depend on the last two years NI contributions, but this would be deducted in full from any UC claim as they would be treated as a couple.

I think the priority is keeping a roof over your heads.

If you've run out of savings can you survive on £1200 a month for the standard UC as a family of 4?. It took a over a year for my friend to be assessed for additional elements and she lost her home.

Do you have a mortgage?

Word of caution, the government 'help to save' accounts count against benefits. Even though the government want people to save up and improve their financial stability and the money is out of reach. I think Martin Lewis has been highlighting this lately.

School can help, we help with uniform, and food bags during the holidays. If you are eligible for pupil premium you can HAF vouchers and food tokens.

We work with the Salvation Army who donate Christmas presents to our families, you school may do the same, and a charity for helping with trip money.
Your children do not need to miss out on anything school related, but you do have to ask and let them know so they can help.

You can all apply for cheaper water bills and internet.

Vinted is great, but often the price of postage can cancel out the savings.

There is also £1 tickets for certain places, but they are very limited so book in advance.

Chatsworth house do tickers for £1 for UC and discounted cafe

I think some train tickets are cheaper. I've never remembered to check though.

There are some really good suggestions that have been mentioned. There is help available, you just have to know about what's available, and that is where some people lose out, by not knowing what help they can access.

If you have a car then with mobility on PIP you can register car as disabled so with a standard award it is 50% , enhanced award the car is exempt from road tax - just reminded myself I need to claim refund on my new car

I am physically disabled & we own our home. Our local council helped with adaptions due to disability & because we get UC, it was grant funded (free). We got a hand rail out/inside at the stairs + a wet room

I am sure some of these suggestions will have been mentioned already but I am too tired to look (long day!). So, have a look at the following:
Access card
Council tax discount for disabled occupant if they have a room dedicated to their needs
Disabled facilities grant from your local authority if home needs adapting
Watersure
Vulnerability register with gas and electric supplier
ECO4 energy grants
Carers allowance for you. Employment support allowance for your husband.
Register as a carer with your GP and the council carer team (if there is one). Sometimes there are on-off grants or respite schemes.
Free prescriptions
VAT deducted from any medical equipment purchased
Ask for a carers assessment (either through local authority or GP clinic) as that might signpost other help
The local authority may run schemes for furniture or white goods for benefit recipients (ours does)
Do a check on entitled to which is a website for benefits assessment. It may flag up further entitlement.
Social tariff broadband and mobile.
Use your local library a lot as lots of support groups, books and other entertainment may be on offer.
The council leisure centres may offer a sports membership for families affected by disability (ours does).

Your water company might do a reduced bill if you are receiving benefits. Its an online application.

check local library some run events and a reggular habbit of this can be great for a love of books.

Your children are quite young, so I wouldn't worry about Christmas being too extravagant and perhaps stay off social media and the photos of people with piles of presents as that I think is where people get made to feel guilty. I know I used to worry what I had wasn't enough but especially when young children don't care.

At that age my children had a lot of second hand presents. We used to buy things from charity shops - there are some specific children's ones near me which are usually reasonably priced for toys and games.
It's probably easier these days to buy things cheaper by going on vinted. Also my overall saving money tip is don't buy things no one wants just to make it look more. Limit yourself. I know lots of people do the want, need, read idea.
I would also suggest looking at who you buy for - do a Martin Lewis and stop buying unnecessary gifts. Or if your family don't like that idea, can you do a secret Santa and each person only buys for one individual in the family.

There are also a few charities/organisations in my local area that offer support and advice - check your local area. Our community centre offers free hot meals on certain days and there is more than one community fridge in our local area where anyone can help themselves.

Days out again don't have to be expensive. I live no where near London but at that age mine would be happy going to the free museum, the library and the local toy shop who run activities during holidays, so I am certain London will have a lot more opportunities. Make the most of these free and less exciting options now and avoid doing too many big days out, even if discounted, so that it isn't expected to always be doing something. Do you have different parks you can visit? Go feed the ducks?

All the things I have suggested are what anyone can access.