magazine archive
magazine archive
Personal Finance
How the changes to national insurance will affect you
Thursday 30 Nov 2023The changes announced by Jeremy Hunt to national insurance at the Autumn Statement, mean millions of workers will see their pay packets get a little boost next year. But what were the changes, what do they mean for self-employed people as well as employed, and how do your credits for the state...
Warning: these are the reasons why you may soon pay more tax
Thursday 16 Nov 2023The Government has made lots of changes to the tax system that mean millions more people will pay tax this year, through a variety of ways. There are various estimates of how much extra taxpayers will pay, but Resolution Foundation puts it at £40 billion a year by 2027-28 – which is far more than...
Beating the savings tax trap: what are your options?
Thursday 09 Nov 2023For the first time in over a decade, tax on cash interest rates has become a serious problem for savers. The ultra-low interest rates seen in the wake of the financial crisis deprived cash savers of returns, but it meant they didn’t really have to worry about tax, especially after the Personal...
Regular investing 101: what is it and how can I make it work?
Thursday 02 Nov 2023Setting up regular investing is a terrific way to automate your investments and take the day-to-day hassle out of investing. Here we explain how it works, the benefits and the checks you should make to stay on track. What is regular investing? The regular investment service lets you save as little...
The risks of investing in bonds: everything you need to know
Thursday 26 Oct 2023For over a decade following the global financial crisis, bonds offered little in the way of return and carried significant price risk. But the return of inflation and higher interest rates have changed all that. You can now get a 4.5% annual yield on a UK government bond maturing in 10 years’ time...
Everything you need to know before extending your mortgage term
Thursday 19 Oct 2023You’d have to have been hiding under a rock not to know that mortgage rates have risen, meaning that most people coming to the end of their fixed term deal are facing a huge increase in their monthly mortgage costs. Based on UK Finance figures there are around 800,000 homeowners coming to the end...
Why you shouldn't let your pension be a cost-of-living casualty
Thursday 12 Oct 2023The cost-of-living crisis which has engulfed the UK over the last year or so has hit people in different ways. All of us have been hit with much higher energy and food bills, and a significant proportion of the population is now facing a housing cost crunch, whether that’s in the form of higher...
Seven big pension myths busted
Thursday 05 Oct 2023YOU CAN’T PAY INTO A SIPP IF YOU HAVE WORKPLACE PENSION Unlike an ISA you can pay into more than one pension in each tax year. With an ISA you cannot pay into two of the same type. Lots of people will have been auto-enrolled into their company workplace pension but might want to put some extra...
Five levers that can deliver a bigger pension
Thursday 28 Sep 2023Pensions have a reputation for being arcane and complicated, and there are elements of the pension system which can be hard to get your head around. But when you boil it down, a pension is simply a tax efficient investment plan. Here are five levers you can pull to boost your retirement savings. 1...
I want my savings to go green – what are my options?
Thursday 21 Sep 2023Interest rates on cash savings accounts have risen the past couple of years, as the Bank of England’s base rate has been hiked. But some people want their cash to be put to good causes, while also earning them a return on their money. The ‘green’ savings market has emerged in recent years, with...