Georgie Frost

Were you told by your employer to work from home during the pandemic? If so you can apply for tax relief up to £140 per tax year. Some workers will be able to claim for this 2022/23 tax year too, giving them up to £420 in tax relief. The money is to cover extra costs such as higher heating and broadband bills. Don’t worry if you have yet to claim as the HMRC deadline is a couple of years away. In the article, we explain: How does WFH tax relief work? How to claim WFH tax relief W…

The Bank of England has held the UK’s base interest rate at a fifteen-year high of 5.25% for the fifth time running. We explore the major implications this has for your money, affecting everything from savings to mortgages, plus what you can do now to prepare for the next change. Between December 2021 and August 2023, the bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hiked rates 14 times - from an all-time low of 0.1% to today’s level of 5.25%. However, in its five meetings since, the M…

Inflation is how much the cost of goods and services are going up over a certain time and there are two different measures: RPI and CPI. Here we explain how each of them work and why it matters for your money. The CPI measure of inflation was at 3.4% in February, down from 4% the month before. The older RPI measure is currently at 4.5%, down from 4.9% in January. But how do the different measures of inflation impact your finances? In this article we explain: How is inflation measured?…

Rail passengers face another big hike in train ticket prices this year, despite the government stepping into cap the rise below inflation. Here we explain how you can help keep the cost of rail travel down. Regulated train fares and season tickets across England and Wales rise each year based on the previous July’s RPI figure plus 1%. This July, the RPI measure of inflation came in at 9%, meaning that travelers face paying 10% more for their fares. The Department for Transport (DfT) capped…

If you’re looking to escape the UK winter, or if you’re saving your holiday for the height of summer, you may wish to consider travel insurance. We explain what travel insurance is and some of the best policies on the market for your holiday. In 2022, UK residents made 71 million visits abroad. This was over three times the amount made in 2021, when COVID restrictions kept many people at home. So if you’re part of a growing number of people spending time abroad, have you considered travel…

We’ve all heard of the gender pay gap – the chasm between men and women’s earning – but are you aware of the pension gap? According to the Pensions Policy Institute, a girl would need to start saving from three years old to match the pension of a man who began at 22. So how can we close the gap? The average woman in her late 50s has around a third of the retirement savings of an average man. As a result, women are far more likely to struggle financially in retirement or will need to keep work…

You may be entitled to government grants to help with the cost of living crisis, with millions of low-income households receiving a final £299 payment between now and 22 February. Here we explain what is available and how to claim. Financial support worth a total of £1,350 by spring 2024 has been offered to the most vulnerable households. Eight million families will receive a cost of living payment of £900 split into three instalments. The final instalment began to be paid on 6 February 20…

Vinted is one of the most popular online marketplaces in the world, becoming the go-to site to buy and sell your old clothes and accessories. Here we explain how it works, how to get the most out of it and what you need to watch out for. Vinted is most commonly known as a place to flog your second-hand clothes, but there many other things that you can sell on the site too. And it’s a win-win. The stuff you don’t want anymore finds a new, loving home and you can earn a bit of extra money t…

Commuters in England are preparing for more disruption as a result of the latest round of strike action from the train drivers’ union Aslef. Here we explain what strikes are still taking place and when, and what your rights are. Commuters have sadly had to deal with regular disruptions since mid-2022. Disputes over issues such as wages, the planned removal of guards from trains and the closure of ticket offices have been resolved in Scotland and Wales, but remain active across all of England.…

The cost of living has increased at quite a pace over the last few years and so too have rental prices, making saving for a deposit as a first-time buyer that much more difficult. Once you have bought a home, higher interest rates have made mortgages more expensive. So what do you do? For many people, the choice between buying or renting is currently a theoretical debate. Many simply can’t afford to get on the property ladder now or even leave the family home and rent. However some decisi…

The Bank of Mum and Dad is spending records amounts on helping their kids get on the property ladder. But not everyone has that extra financial support, so here we walk you through how to buy your first home, including what government schemes there are to help you afford it. First-time buyers have faced soaring property prices over the past few years, a hike in mortgage rates and a cost of living crisis. Without help from family members, many would not be able save enough for a deposit.…

Commuters in England are preparing for more disruption as a result of the latest round of strike action from the train drivers’ union Aslef. Here we explain what strikes are still taking place and when, and what your rights are. Strike action has affected many areas of our lives from travel to education and healthcare, as hundreds of thousands of workers fight for better pay and conditions during the cost of living crisis. Commuters have sadly had to deal with regular disruptions since mid…

The average household energy bill is set to fall by around £238 from April 1. Fixed deals are beginning to make a return to the market, but should you get one? Energy regulator Ofgem has announced the new price cap for April to June 2024. During that time, the average household can expect to pay £1,690 a year under the new cap, down from £1,928 now. Fixed energy deals are slowly returning to the market but the energy regulator has warned households to think before they fix. “Prices are…

Pension drawdown lets you take a regular income from your pension pot while the rest of your fund continues to grow. We explain how pension drawdown works and outline our top pick of providers below. What is pension drawdown? Who are the top pension drawdown providers? How do we rate pension drawdown providers? Read more: Best ready-made personal pensions This article may contain affiliate links that can earn us revenue* What is pension drawdown? Pension freedom rules…

Energy bills went up at the start of January by an average of £94 over the course of the year or just under £8 a month extra. Here we outline ways you can save money on your energy bill. The energy price cap went up on January 1 to £1,928 a year for the average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight forecasts that bills won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of the decade. The average energy bill is still almost £1,000 more than it w…

In response to soaring gas and electricity prices, the government introduced an energy price guarantee in autumn 2022. It froze the average household’s annual bill to £2,500 a year - below Ofgem’s energy price cap level. Here we explain the difference between the two. An energy price cap has been in operation since January 2019, aimed at preventing customers on a supplier’s default tariffs from being ripped off by big bill hikes. When calculating the cap, the regulator Ofgem takes into ac…

Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasing in popularity, but with the purchase price so high, not to mention the cost of electricity, are motorists paying the price of going green? Here we explain what to consider before trading up to an electric car. By 2035, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is to be banned in the UK. More than one in six cars sold is now a pure electric vehicle, with pure petrol and diesel cars accounting for less than half of cars sold this year according to the SMMT.…

Capital gains tax is the amount you pay on any profit you make when you come to sell an asset, such as a second home, shares or a piece of artwork. How much you can earn before paying capital gains tax changed on 6 April 2023. The government cut the threshold from £12,300 to £6,000. The allowance will be cut again to £3,000 in April 2024. If you have profits that exceed this amount will be taxed. The amount you’re taxed depends on what you are selling and the income tax bracket you fall in…

A financial detox can be a way to break bad money habits and create healthier new ones so that you can grow your money, save more and pay off any debt. Here we explain how to get started. Think of a financial detox in the same way as a cleanse diet; the aim is to cut out the bad stuff you consume for a short period of time to kick start a new healthy eating habit. It can enable you to become more mindful over what you put into your body in the future. The difference with a financial detox…

Want to know what the highest-paying jobs in the UK are? We list them here including roles you don’t need a degree for. The number of job vacancies in the UK has fallen by almost 300,00 since the record high seen in May 2022, according to the latest official figures. Despite the drop there are still around 1 million jobs being advertised. Logistics, legal and retail saw the biggest increases in vacancies in July, while teaching and IT are the largest recruiters, according to the latest dat…