UK personal finance
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Practical, evidence-based personal finance for the long-term investor.
Why You Feel Poor on a 'Good' Salary
Earn £70k with two kids and a £10,000 raise leaves you £4,631. Nobody voted for a 54% tax band, but you are in one. The £60k-£100k squeeze, costed band by band.
Cash or Invest Your Emergency Fund?
Invest a £15,000 emergency fund and a 2020-style crash turns it into £9,750 the same month your job gets shaky. The lost growth on cash is an insurance premium, not a mistake.
Should You Ever Lend Money to Family?
Lend £5,000 to a relative and you become their creditor at every family dinner until it is repaid. Gift what you can afford or say no. The loan is the option that costs you both.
Should You Tell People Your Salary?
Your employer knows every salary in the building. You know one. That asymmetry is worth thousands at every pay review, and the salary taboo is what keeps it in place.
Mid-Contract Price Rises: The Hike Nobody Agreed To
In April 2023 your broadband bill went up by 14.4% in the middle of a fixed contract, and the small print said you agreed. Ofcom banned the formula. The replacement still stings.
Who Gets Your Service Charge? The Tipping Con
That 12.5% 'service charge' on your bill wasn't legally a tip until October 2024. It was the restaurant's money, and staff often never saw it. The fix took nine years to arrive.
Drip Pricing UK: The Real Price After 'From £19'
That "from £19" flight ends up costing £68. Drip pricing is designed to hook you before you see the real number, and since April 2025 a lot of it is illegal. Here is how to fight back.
Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings Review: Any Good?
I put £100 through Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings to test it. No fees, exactly £100 landed, and the top easy-access rate beat my Trading 212 ISA. Here is the honest verdict.
The Singles Premium: What Living Alone Costs You
Two people split a £1,500 flat and pay £750 each. You pay £1,500. The economy is priced for couples, and living alone can cost thousands more a year. Here is the maths, and the levers.
Financialisation of Housing: When Homes Became Assets
A UK home now costs 7.6 times what a full-time worker earns, up from four times in the 1990s. Your salary did not cause that. Housing stopped being shelter and became an asset class.
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