UK personal finance
Articles
Practical, evidence-based personal finance for the long-term investor.
What Is a NEET? The UK Definition and the Real Cost
The state loses £244,000 per NEET. The young person loses up to £300,000. Only one of those numbers gets quoted.
Investing in Gilts UK: Is It Time to Buy?
UK 30-year gilt yields are the highest since 1998. Everyone is calling it a buying opportunity. The number you should actually be comparing them against is your own savings account.
The Shadow Banking System: A Risk to Your Pension
Non-bank finance holds $256 trillion, over half the world's money and barely regulated. It nearly took UK pensions down in 2022, now bigger than in 2008.
How Is Council Tax Band Calculated? The 1991 Catch
Your council tax band is frozen to a 1991 valuation your home has long outgrown. A Band H house pays just 3x a Band A flat, but it is worth 8x more. Here is how the band maths really works.
UK Income Tax History: How It Ate Your Payslip
In 1900 the UK ran on beer and baccy tax. Income tax was almost a rounding error. Watch how the whole bill quietly moved onto your payslip instead.
Can You Switch Water Supplier? Why the Answer's No
You can't switch your water company. One set of pipes runs to your street and one firm owns it, which is exactly why the bill only ever moves one way. Here's what that monopoly costs you.
Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century Review
Piketty spent years proving one uncomfortable thing: money made from owning grows faster than money made from working. Here is what r > g means for your payslip.
Foreign Aid: How Much the UK Spends and Why
Foreign aid isn't charity. It's the cheapest foreign policy a country can buy: leverage, votes, and the odd signature, priced in pounds. Here's what the UK's billions really purchase, and what gets surrendered when the tap is turned off.
Is the Economy a Zero Sum Game?
The economy is not zero-sum. But housing, active trading and status spending are. The winning move is to stop playing the games where your gain needs someone else's loss.
Geopolitical Risk: The One Threat to Your Portfolio You Can't Hedge
In 1979 the Warsaw Pact planned to nuke West Germany, Belgium and Denmark, but not Britain or France. The lesson for your portfolio: the risk you can't hedge is the one that should never make you sell.
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