How might rising interest rates affect your mortgage?
The Bank of England has raised interest rates which means bigger mortgage bills for some homeowners. Since December 2021 the Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.1% to 1.25% to combat soaring inflation. This move will have a knock-on effect as mortgage lenders...
A difficult patch for the global economy
Financial markets were unsettled in May as the effects of the war in Ukraine along with concerns over inflation and growth dominated investor sentiment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautioned global finance leaders to expect multiple inflationary shocks in...
What is a standard variable rate mortgage?
What is an SVR mortgage and why might you end up with one? Sarah has never overstretched herself when it comes to money. After paying her monthly bills, she’s always had a bit left over. So, when her mortgage lender wrote to her to remind her that her five-year...
The value of financial advice
Financial advice isn’t just for the super-rich with complex tax situations and offshore bank accounts. It can be invaluable for anyone with financial goals. Whether you're saving for your future, buying your first home, remortgaging or want to protect your home and...
Why Cohabiting Couples Should Make a Will
When Tom and Pete bought their first property together, life couldn’t have been better. They both had good jobs pulling in decent salaries and were excited about spending the rest of their lives together. They chatted about making a will a few times, but somehow life...
Key Dates For Your Finances 2022
Now’s a good time to make sure your fully prepared for the financial year ahead. To make it easy we’ve summarised the key dates and facts and figures below. 1 April National Living Wage (for age 23+) rises from £8.91 to £9.50 National Minimum Wage rises to £9.18 (for...
Spring Clean Your Finances
There’s plenty of advice and ‘life hacks’ on how to make spring-cleaning less of a chore. A quick Google search will throw up hundreds of random tips – like using cola to clean the toilet, lemon to clean the taps and vinegar to clean just about anything! When you’ve...
Online trading – what you need to know
Although online trading has become more accessible, is it best to leave things to the experts? Not so long ago, if you wanted to invest you’d have to go through a stockbroker or a financial adviser. Now, investors can use a DIY investing platform to trade from the...
Investment Update – A Volatile Period for Markets
High inflation, disappointing earnings results from some tech companies and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine caused turbulence for the financial markets. The reality of armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushed down leading stock market indices during February....
Junior ISA
In the Autumn Budget in 2021, it was revealed that the Junior ISA spending limits would remain at £9,000 for the 2022/2023 tax year. The JISA limit was last changed in early 2020, when it was doubled from £4,500 to its current level. JISA and CTFs both benefitJISAs...
Are you making the most of your ISA allowance?
In the Financial Lives 2020 survey from the FCA, it has been found that older adults were more likely to hold a savings account of any type, than younger adults. For example, 83% of those aged 55+ did, compared with 63% of 18–24-year-olds. So, how could an ISA help...
Can your pension sustain your retirement?
Working out how long your pension pot will need to last – as life expectancy rises – is worth thinking about sooner than later. The lockdown caused many people to reassess their lifestyles, which for some meant choosing early retirement. But what retirees have found...
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