September money MOT: 9 checks to make now before your bills change this autumn

September money MOT: 9 checks to make now before your bills change this autumn From energy bills and winter help to mortgages, savings and Christmas, there are some very specific money checks worth making now September has always felt more like the beginning of a new year to me than January. Summer is over, routines return and suddenly all those financial jobs we happily ignored in August start looking rather more urgent. But this September there is another reason to do it. There are genuine changes happening this autumn, alongside deadlines and eligibility checks that could affect what you pay or receive over winter. I'm not going to tell you to stop buying coffee or conduct an audit of every biscuit you've eaten since Easter. These are the checks I'd actually make. 1. Check what you're REALLY going to pay for energy from October This should be top of the list because energy costs change again from October 1. Don't look only at the headline Ofgem price cap figure. The cap isn't a maximum annual bill. What matters to your household is the price per unit of gas and electricity and the standing charges. Find your latest bill and write down your electricity unit rate, gas unit rate, both daily standing charges, whether you're fixed or variable, when your deal ends and any exit fee. Then compare those figures with the new October rates. If you're considering a fix, compare the actual unit prices rather than being seduced by an estimated annual saving. Working out whether fixing your energy price is actually worthwhile is much easier once you compare like with like. And if you don't have a working smart meter, take a meter reading around September 30. That gives your supplier an accurate figure as the new pricing period begins. 2. Make sure you actually get the October electricity VAT cut There's another change coming on October 1 which could easily get swallowed up in all the talk about the price cap. VAT on qualifying domestic electricity is being removed. The Government has estimated that this will reduce the annual amount represented in the price cap by around £45 for a typical household. That is useful, but it's roughly £3.75 a month on average, rather than the dramatic bill reduction you might imagine when you hear the words "VAT cut". Your own saving will depend on how much electricity you use. You shouldn't have to apply for it, but I'd still check your first bill after the change. We've worked out how much the electricity VAT cut could actually save households, including why your bill won't necessarily fall by the headline percentage. If you've got a fixed tariff, don't assume you miss out either. Check how your supplier is applying the change. 3. Check whether you're due £150 towards your winter energy bill Next, check the Warm Home Discount. It is worth £150 towards the electricity bill of eligible households and it is completely separate from Winter Fuel Payment. Don't assume you won't qualify because you're not a pensioner. Depending on where you live and your circumstances, people receiving certain means-tested benefits may qualify too. The system also differs between England, Wales and Scotland, so check rather than relying on what happened to somebody else last winter. If money is already tight, don't wait for your account to fall badly behind before acting. There are other things you can do if you can't afford your energy bill, including contacting your supplier about support. 4. Pensioners should circle September 21 to 27 This one has an actual September date attached to it. For the 2026/27 Winter Fuel Payment, the qualifying week is September 21 to September 27, 2026 . Eligible people can receive between £100 and £300, with most payments arriving automatically later in the year. But there is now an important income rule. If your total individual income is above £35,000, HMRC will normally recover the payment through the tax system. It is your individual income rather than your combined household income that matters. Most eligible pensioners won't need to make a claim, but don't assume that means nobody does. If you've deferred your State Pension, haven't received Winter Fuel Payment previously or your circumstances have changed, check. And while you're doing it, have a look at other financial help you could be entitled to. One of the frustrating things about our benefits system is that being eligible for something doesn't always mean the money automatically finds its way to you. 5. If your mortgage deal ends by spring, start looking NOW This is one I wouldn't leave until Christmas. If your fixed mortgage deal ends within the next six months, September is the time to find the exact end date. Many lenders allow existing borrowers to secure a new deal several months before the current one expires. If you're moving to another lender, you'll also need time for affordability checks, valuations and paperwork. Find out what rate your mortgage reverts to when the deal ends. That's the figure you don't want to discover accidentally when a much larger payment suddenly leaves your account. Don't automatically remortgage elsewhere either. Compare a product transfer from your existing lender with deals from other lenders and include arrangement fees, valuation costs and any early repayment charges in your sums. If you're already worried about making the payments, there are steps you can take before you miss a mortgage payment. Speaking to your lender early is considerably better than waiting until you've fallen behind. 6. Work out how much savings interest you'll earn by April This is a calculation I think far more people need to make. For the 2026/27 tax year, the Personal Savings Allowance means basic-rate taxpayers can generally receive £1,000 of savings interest before tax is due, while higher-rate taxpayers have a £500 allowance. That is interest , not the amount you've got sitting in the bank. Add up what you expect to earn across all your taxable savings accounts between April 6, 2026 and April 5, 2027. Interest earned inside an ISA doesn't count towards your Personal Savings Allowance. And while you've got the accounts open, look at the rates. Some savers are still leaving thousands of pounds in old accounts paying miserable rates when substantially better deals are available. MoneyMagpie keeps a regularly updated list of the best savings accounts and Cash ISA rates available, so you can at least see how your existing account compares. It can make a surprisingly big difference. £10,000 earning 1% produces £100 of interest over a year. The same £10,000 earning 4% produces £400. That's £300 for moving the same money rather than saving another penny. 7. Parents should recheck childcare AND free school meals Don't assume the help you received last school year is identical to what you're entitled to this year. The expansion of free school meal eligibility in England for the 2026/27 school year means families receiving Universal Credit should check again, particularly if their children didn't qualify previously. Working parents should also log into their childcare account rather than assuming everything simply rolls over. Eligible families may be able to use funded childcare alongside Tax-Free Childcare for additional eligible costs. If your income, working hours or family circumstances have changed, check again. There is financial help available with childcare and the costs of raising children, and changes in circumstances can affect what you can receive. 8. I'm afraid we need to talk about Christmas Yes, I know it's September. But this is the point at which Christmas maths becomes genuinely useful rather than ridiculously premature. If you want £600 available for Christmas and you've got three monthly paydays before December, you need £200 from each pay packet. If you just read that and thought "absolutely not", good. You've discovered the problem in September rather than on December 20. Reduce the target. A £300 Christmas pot spread over roughly 13 weeks is around £23 a week. £500 is about £38.50 a week. Set up a separate pot and automate the transfer just after payday. There are also ways of building up a Christmas fund without taking the whole cost from December's salary, including cashback and regular small savings. The important bit is setting the maximum spend now. 9. Spend five minutes looking for the bills that are about to change Finally, open your bank account and look at what is due between now and Christmas. I'm not suggesting you cancel everything remotely enjoyable. I'm looking for dates. Check when your car and home insurance renew. Check when your broadband and mobile minimum terms end. Look for introductory credit card rates expiring, savings bonuses disappearing, annual subscriptions renewing, fixed energy deals ending and mortgages approaching the end of their fixed period. Put the important dates in your phone now with a reminder several weeks beforehand. Then think about what has changed in your household. Has your income fallen? Have childcare costs risen? Has somebody moved in or out? Have you become a carer? Have you retired or reduced your hours? Changes like these can affect what you're entitled to, so doing a quick check of the financial support you could claim belongs in the September MOT too. Finally, work out your winter number After doing all of that, there's one figure I'd write down. What will your household actually need each month between October and January? Use your real mortgage or rent. Your new energy costs. Food. Transport. Childcare. Debt repayments. Christmas saving. Insurance renewals. Then subtract your income and any support you're entitled to. If the numbers don't work, finding that out in September gives you time to change something. That's why I like a September money MOT. It isn't about becoming a perfect budgeter or denying yourself anything remotely enjoyable. It's about spotting the expensive stuff while you still have time to do something about it. Vicky Parry is a consumer money specialist and editor at MoneyMagpie. Information is correct at the time of writing. Eligibility for benefits and financial support depends on individual circumstances and rules can differ across the UK.