Making Sense of Your Money

27/04/2025

The last few years have seen more and more people having to move away from the low mortgage interest rates of the past decade.

About 800,000 fixed-rate mortgages, currently with an interest rate of 3% or below, are expected to expire every year, on average, until the end of 2027.

That’s a lot of major change to outgoings, squeezing disposable income further.

The average rate for a two-year fixed deal is now 5.21%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts. A typical five-year deal has a rate of 5.12%.

There is greater competition among mortgage firms but no guarantee that rates will keep falling, brokers say.

20/01/2025

Born (or have a child born) between September 2002 and January 2011?

Check out the link in the comments, for a way to try and locate a lost Child Trust Fund.

Latonya Skye-Paterson discovers she is one of thousands of people with money to claim on turning 18.

10/07/2024

Saving money regularly helps you sleep, study suggests

A quarter of UK adults have less than £100 tucked away, but a report says a savings habit aids mental wellbeing.

19/05/2024

'I had no choice but to get a 35-year mortgage' https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn3dded32j2o

The choices you have to make today, due to current economic conditions, or your own financial position, don’t have to define the following decades ….

Rates on borrowing can improve, you can start to earn more money, household income and expenditure changes can put you in a better position, the value of your house will continue to increase over time.

Get the right advice, do what’s right for you now, and things could well change and improve over time.

Clearly, over the next 30 years there will also be some more tough times; but a bit of planning can go a long way towards being able to deal with what life throws at you.

With more young homebuyers opting for ultra-long mortgages, we hear from people about their personal experiences.

05/04/2024

National insurance cut to kick in but more pay tax

Tax and benefit changes take effect on Saturday - but the wider outlook for our finances is more complex.

31/03/2024

Seven bills going up and one going down in April

Many households will see their budgets stretched further - but there is some good news.

16/02/2024

Interesting year ahead in the UK. Incumbent government trying to achieve economic growth; and opposition parties claiming they can do a better job. Definite potential for future change ….

A sluggish economy means that some companies and sectors might be finding things tough. That has a knock-on effect in terms of the profits they make, and therefore their ability (and need) to take on more staff, or keep the ones that they already have.

The money-men in government have found themselves in a catch-22 situation now, in terms of Interest Rates.

These have gone up in the past couple of years, to battle skyrocketing Inflation. While it’s worked to a degree, that job isn’t quite done yet - with target inflation still a few percent away.

The ‘catch-22’? That one of the usual methods of stimulating an economy is to reduce interest rates, and make borrowing cheaper. But would that then halt, or even reverse the inflation battle?

What would you rather have, when you can’t necessarily have both? Prices of things stabilising, and not going up as fast as in recent times? Or more money and opportunity available, even as things continue to get costlier faster than normal?

Ultimately, with all these things, you’re in charge of your own ‘personal economy’. Which means that you can influence or control, to varying degrees, what you earn and what you spend. It’s not always easy, but it’s a better option than giving that control to other people and things that are out of your control.

What is a recession and how could it affect me?

A recession means the UK economy has shrunk for two three-month periods - or quarters - in a row.

07/02/2024

“A single person will need £31,300 a year for a moderate income in retirement, according to a pensions industry body”

Sobering information is this, as I was literally reading one of our booklets yesterday that had the same data from 2022 and the figure is quoted as £23,300.

This is the detrimental big-picture effect of the high inflation we have experienced; and remember, now inflation is gradually, ‘falling’ that doesn’t mean that this figure will come down. It just means it won’t keep going up as fast.

It goes on to say “in-depth discussion groups considered that at the moderate level of retirement, people should be able to have a monthly meal out with their loved ones and help their family members financially with a budget of £1,000, such as helping with grandchildren's activities.”

This is why it’s more important than ever to give thought to where your savings are, and at what rate they’re growing. Are they growing at the pace of inflation or above? Or are they being left behind?

Income needed to retire jumps as family costs rise

Experts estimates that a single person needs £31,300 a year for a moderate retirement, up £8,000 on last year.

01/02/2024

Looking for a group to help you to unwind and improve your wellbeing? This 6-week course on a Monday night will allow you to do that, from the comfort of your own home. Great value too!

Check it out 💆🏻‍♂️💆🏼💆🏻‍♀️

Renata Gianquitto

06/01/2024

Happy New Year everyone. A little boost to some pay-packets begin this month.

From 6 January, if your earnings fall between £12,571 and £50,270, your NI rate will now be 10%. This replaces the previous National Insurance (NI) rate of 12%.

To find out your personal saving you can use the calculator below. It may not be much, but every little helps 😊

National Insurance calculator: What will I pay and how is tax changing?

National Insurance rates are falling, but other changes mean many people are paying more tax.

13/10/2023

This is one way to make money …

This kid wins.

21/09/2023

So, the Base Rate hasn’t gone up …. But what does this mean?

📈It means that there seems to finally be some stability setting in, around the Inflation concerns of the past 12-18 months.

📉It means that for those looking to renew or get a Mortgage, there could be better news ahead for available Mortgage rates, than has been the case recently.

✋🏻 It doesn’t necessarily mean that Mortgage rates will return to where they once were. In the grand scheme of things, that period in time was the anomaly, rather than the norm. So don’t be waiting around for 2% Mortgage rates. You could be waiting a very, very long time ….. My advice is to speak to a Mortgage Broker, not your Bank, in search of a good deal.

I don’t do Mortgage’s, but I know a man who can, if you need an intro.

🏦 It’s been an unprecedented time for savings rates being offered by online and high street banks. Remember, that these are linked to the Bank of England base rate. As the base rate went up, so did the savings rates being offered. As the base rate starts to come down, what do you think will happen …? 🤔 So there could be a limited amount of time left to get a savings account deal 🏃🏻‍♂️

📉 The rate freeze is prompted by an unexpected fall in UK inflation again this month. This does not mean that prices are going to go down …. It just means they’re not going up as fast ….

So, while the rather bold Government plan of bringing inflation back down to the 2-3% level by the end of the year (which was being spouted at one stage), was then rehashed to ‘halving it’ by then; it’s still steps in the right direction.

Hang in there people 😊

The Bank of England was expected to raise the base rate to 5.5% - but it stays at 5.25%.