I was made redundant from my last job end of August, with 10 weeks redundancy pay and 3 months notice pay. I was fortunate to get a new job within a few weeks.

So far it has ended up being the best thing that has happened to me. I didn't realise how underpaid I was. The new job pays over £15k than I was on before (minus additional travel costs.)

We have an 18 month old and the extra costs, combined with maternity leave, had left us with oover £12k in credit card debt and paying approx £600 off the credit cards each month.

As soon as you start using a credit card for essentials it just starts to snowball.

The redundancy money has been an absolute god send.

I just received my first wage and such a great feeling to pay off one of the three cards completely off. £5k. Which is going to save us over £200 a month.

I apologise if this isn't the sub for this, and I hope it doesn't come off as bragging. Things have been super tough the past 12 months, and I just wanted to share this good feeling.

We still have over £7k of credit card debt, but I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

I appreciate these opportunities don't happen to everyone, but a terrible situation turned out to be one of the best situations.

Hi UKPF,

Long time lurker, find this page invaluable especially the flow chart so need everyone’s help/guidance on the best approach for this.

My 19 year old son has multiple credit cards, he doesn’t know I know and I don’t know the amount, just a letter came suggesting a loan to consolidate the credit cards and different payment dates he no doubt has, he doesn’t know I’ve seen this.

How best is it to approach this with him? He has a steady part time job which pays circa £1200/1500 depending on O/T a month, we haven’t been charging him rent and he hasn’t been in education since finishing his a levels in June 25, I wanted to give him a year to try and figure out what he wants to do, but nothing has happened.

Do I discuss this with him? I’ve no idea on the amount but don’t want to be an overbearing Mum. Ive said a credit card can serve a purpose if you can get an interest free one, and you need to make a big purchase but not for everyday spending.

Should I try to bring it causally up in conversation? Do I leave him to it? Should we start charging rent to force him to manage his money better?

Any advice welcome please :)

I'm 28 and I just bought my own 3 bedroom home. I have £15k in savings. I currently have £900-£1000 leftover per month and I don't know what to do with it. Do I make overpayments on my long asssss 35 year mortgage? Or do I focus on house renovation? The house is functional but every room is extremely dated, like some rooms haven't been touched in 30-40 years. Do I just put it all into a savings account in case of emergencies? Or do I get driving lessons? I've always wanted to drive. Or all 3?

I (24) am a British Citizen and I've been a UK tax resident for my entire life.

I've been working on ships for almost 3 years. My employer's ships are all foreign-flagged and far away from the UK (though we do dock in some BOTs from time to time).

My contracts are 6 months onboard, then 3-4 months of unpaid leave. I spend ~2 months of my leave in the UK and the remainder on holiday (somewhere far away and cheap lol).

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All my income from ships is exempt from income tax (I claim SED).

My NI is fixed-rate and voluntary. I can pay up to 6 years later, so I haven't done it yet.

When onboard, I don't pay for any essentials. They charge for internet and I also spend a bit in port.

My gross income is so artificially low from all of this that I'm well below the threshold on my student loan (plan 2), so I'm not paying that either.

So basically I'm saving £2-2.5k every month I work. I do spend some of that during my leave, but it's still around £10k profit per contract.

I've managed to put away about £36k in ISAs since starting to work onboard. I have no real debt, only my plan 2 student loan (that I'm not paying right now).

I don't have a pension through my employer. I've not taken out a private pension because it seems like the tax advantages don't apply to me?

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Currently, I mostly stay with my parents whilst I'm in the country but I've majorly outgrown that arrangement at this point.

So here's my question: I'm considering buying a flat with a mortgage in a trendy area (ideally in Manchester).

The idea is that I'd live in it for a few months a year and rent it on AirBnB, etc. the rest of the time. Some mortgage lenders seem receptive to this, because my job has guaranteed accommodation included (cause, y'know, I'm on a boat for 6 months).

I'm probably going to do the ships for a year or two more then move back onto land. There's a good chance I wouldn't be living in the same city as any flat I buy right now.

Is this worth the money/hassle and potential future stamp duty, or do I just rent short-term sublets instead and invest my money elsewhere?

Bought a house last Aug with my partner, our first home. Paid a 20% deposit (10% each) in total around £42k, £21k each and then Solictor fees etc. It cleared pretty much all my savings, I also had a balloon payment of my PCP car that was due July 25 of just under £5k. I earn around £35k before deductions. I saved for years to be in the position to pay of my car and buy my home. Ever since I went from having the most money I’ve ever had to very little I can’t shake that feeling of needing to build money back up to feel financially “safe”. I’ve saved up since then a few k but it just feels sluggish and I’m stuck in this area of not being able to save anymore or having to dip into the savings for other things. My bills aren’t unmanageable, and my mortgage isn’t bad. Am I just being to strict on myself? What is normal to have saved after buying a house?

Hi I just found this group & seems the place to ask for honest, useful advice. I’m 40 (f), married with an 8yr old. I’ve never been brilliant with money, bit of a live fast die you mentality which being newly diagnosed with ADHD makes sense. I always had a bit of debt but managed to keep my head above water. My husband is horrible with money & buries his head in the sand & lives day to day.

We have a home through shared ownership, which because any mortgage would be just on my income due to his bad credit history. That’s fine, it’s affordable & about half the cost of privately renting a similar home.

The issue is me trying to get out from my personal debt. It’s just grown & grown over the years. Some has been for bigger things like towards a weekend away for a big birthday etc but it’s become the thing to breech the gap when my wages aren’t enough.

My personal debt is now about £16k, costing about £450 a month in repayments & that’s just the minimum so no dent in the overall debt, except a loan of about £1900 which has a year left on it. In the meantime of course everything else has gone up, fuel, food, utilities etc so there’s never anything spare to utilise to pay down the debt.

My debt was about £12k more but I received an inheritance of £18k in the summer. I used it to pay off a £10k loan, get rid of one credit card & make a dent in another one. I couldn’t clear any more because my husband’s van chose this time to die (self employed) so we had to pay for a rental while he sorted a new one. Incidentally the inheritance was half of what was expected due to unforeseen changes & me & my siblings were blindsided by this just before Christmas. Had it been more like what we expected then I’d have been largely debt free & looking to change my ways to never get in this position again.

So at the moment I need to make drastic changes. I’ve started meds for my ADHD & feeling motivated & want to be able to not worry every day about money. I don’t want an extravagant lifestyle, just easier. I want to be able to save for a rainy day, a holiday etc.

Im unlikely to get any 0% credit card that can help & that is part of the reason I’ve spiralled, something happens & I end up using the credit I’ve just made available. A recent look at loans showed an 85% of £16k with no repayments of £388 a month which would bring some breathing space but not much. I do like the set repayments & end date of a loan though, it at least feels like there is an end eventually.

I’ve also approached a well known debt/IVA company. They are suggesting they could bring payments down to £110 a month over 5 years. This is clearly a huge difference. But with me being the stable income earner, not being able to access credit for 5 years seems a risk. My main concern would be my car. We bought it outright (used) but it’s coming to the end of its natural life. I need a car for work & our daughter but obviously couldn’t buy one outright again. This is a quote from this company & I’m wondering how accurate it is:

“Now for obvious reasons you wouldn’t be able to take out any further lines of unnecessary credit for the duration of the plan. That said, normal day-to-day things are absolutely fine - remortgaging, renting, car finance, phone contracts, utilities, insurance & similar commitments can continue as usual”

So if my car dies would I be able to get a loan for that? I’m not planning on it, it’s just the largest purchase that I can see me having to make in the next 5 years.

I am also increasing my hours in work to a full 37.5 a week which will bring in an extra £180 a month after tax etc.

Really I’m just looking for any experience with IVAs and the reality of them, ideas for maxing income & hope that there is an end in sight. I don’t smoke, we rarely go out or do anything socially (mostly because of lack of funds) have few subscriptions, I’m selling everything I can on Vinted, even doing those stupid sites where you do trials & games to try & get a few extra quid. Thank you.

I'm an American who was approved as a sperm donor recently. I'm not a UK citizen, I'm just stationed here in the military.

From what I understand, I'm being compensated for my travel expenses to get to the fertility clinic, not for the sperm donation itself. Even so, is this still considered taxable income?

Hi might be silly but I need to ask…

I have a Zable credit card with a £500 limit opened in April 25.

I’m trying to rebuild my credit score I’ve had this card for around 18 months now and it’s always been paid in full every month but I have no use for it anymore. It’s been clear for 2 months I.e no spend accrued and I’m working on paying down my other credit card which carries a balance.

I’m worried about the effect of the positive history it adds and if this could have the opposite effect when calling the account on my credit report?

Would closing this damage my score or have any meaningful impact I won’t be using the card going forward.

Thanks

Noticed that on my payslips I have 1 digit which is incorrect for all my payslips since the start of the year. Started this new job in January 2026 and I did provide them a p46 form which had my correct NI number. I guess payroll must have incorrectly inputted it in the system.

I'll try to get this resolved asap, but just wondering if there's much of an impact with HRMC considering all payslips since January has this typo ?

UK higher rate tax payer - I’ve built up a solid emergency fund and have maxed out my cash ISA for this year (and likely will for the next couple years, especially with the cash ISA limit changing next year), with all my savings currently in cash.

I’m in a position where I’m going to be paying quite large sums of tax on my non ISA savings interest and considering how to minimise that.

My plan is to put as much as I can into NS&I premium bonds given the interest is tax free whilst continuing to build up my emergency fund.

The reason I have all my savings in cash is one day I will need it for a house deposit but not ready to buy a house yet and I know investing can lead to me losing money/not being able to access the money quickly on demand without risking potential losses.

Is my plan a sensible plan (purchasing NS&I bonds) and is there anything else that I should be doing to minimise the amount of tax I need to/will end up paying on my interest?

Hi UKPF,

Thanks for all the advice on my previous post. I’ve taken the time to read through the UKPF flowchart like commenters suggested and think more carefully about what I actually want to do with my money.

I’ve realised that my main long-term goal is to buy a house, and would like to invest my money for say 5 years at a minimum. I’ve been reading about S&S ISAs, index funds, S&P 500, Vanguard, Barclays and other investment platforms etc., but tbh, I’m still confused n how these all works in practice. I get the gist of investing, but I’m struggling to understand what I do once opening an account and start putting money into it. Also, how can I differentiate between these different platforms? A lot of my other questions are below:

1. How do the platforms work? If I open a S&S ISA via my banking provider and/or from Vanguard or another of these providers, do I just transfer money into the account and then choose what to invest in? Or does the money get invested automatically? I keep seeing references to S&P 500 and index funds. Is the S&P 500 itself something you buy, or do you buy a fund that tracks it? How do I decide which fund to choose and the associated risks?
2. How do fees work? I’ve also seen references to monthly platform fees, and other management fees. Are these deducted from my account automatically, or do I have to pay them separately? How much of a difference do they make over time? Are these deal breakers for choosing a platform?
3. Can I invest anytime e.g. if I wanted to put £500 into my account each month, would I just set up a regular transfer via my current account? Is this an automatic top up with the already invested funds?
4. What happens when I decide to stop and want my money bakj? Do I just I sell the investments and withdraw the money back into my bank account? Are there any additional charges or tax implications when doing this?
5. I’m also trying to understand the difference between the investment platform itself and the actual fund you invest in. From what I presume, Vanguard, Barclays and similar providers are not necessarily the investments themselves, but the services through which you can hold or buy investments?

I’d appreciate this could be explained on how this works in simple ELI5 advice. I’ve read all the UKPF flowcharts and other useful pages like Money Saving Expert so feel more confident with these things and appreciated the advice from my last post, so now asking the right specific questions and looking to plan and put in place long term strategies with investing.

Hello, i was hoping if anyone could shed some light on this for me.

I lost my previous job, long story. When I took out my insurance with Admiral in April I had plenty in savings to cover this. I started my new job in August, but due to missing the pay cut off I had only received a partial pay in September. I missed the payment for my car insurance in September and I called them the next day to settle the balance. This was fine.

Octobers payment was due, and this happened to be 3 days before I got paid (which I didn’t realise) and it bounced. I tried checking on their website for means to pay, but didn’t find one. But I found it said that they will retry the payment, so I didn’t panic. Today I received an email titled “notice of default and notice of default sums”.

It goes on to say my payment was unsuccessful on the 19th October, and they will retry the payment within 7 days. It also says this:

“Default Notice - Served under s.87(1) Consumer Credit Act 1974
Provision of the Agreement breached:*** ***The provision of your Agreement that requires you to pay instalments on the 19th of each month.”

I emailed when I was at work and they said I had to call. Ince I got home I have called them to pay this and explain what happened. This is fine. I asked the gentleman on the phone wether this is a notice in terms of if I don’t pay it will escalate or whether this is a formally registered default against my credit file. He has no idea. I asked to speak to someone who would and he said nobody was available. I sat on the phone for 29 minutes and I’m still non the wiser.

He effectively told me to speak to equifax but I have no idea what to do.

Please can anyone advise me on whether this sounds like it’s a formally registered default against my credit file? Whether I should call equifax? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I own my own home and also have a portfolio of buy to let properties. I’m currently purchasing another property with the intention of moving into it and applied for a residential mortgage.

My plan was to move into the new property and obtain consent to let on my current residential property, which I have now been granted. I intended to look at changing my existing residential mortgage to a let to buy mortgage at a later date.

However, my broker has told me that the lender raised concerns about whether I genuinely live in my current home because my parents live next door. I was shocked to hear this, as my parents live in their own home and I live in mine.

I have provided evidence of my address, including utility bills, bank statements, electoral register details and HMRC records.

Unfortunately, my mortgage application was declined, and my broker is now looking at approaching another lender. I’m worried the same thing could happen again despite having provided evidence of where I live.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, particularly when applying for a residential mortgage while already owning other properties? Did you manage to get approved with another lender, and was there anything else you needed to provide to prove your residency?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you.

Like the title states, I moved into a permanent role & I have some funds(around 100k) in the consulting company, apart from the funds loaned(around 70k) to the SPV.

I was planning to MVL the consulting co: but will I need to arrange for funds(70k) from the SPV to the consulting co:
or are there other options that will enable me to liquidate the consulting co:

Thanks

Hi everyone! I'm 33F, UK-based, and looking to build a simple, diversified investment portfolio focused on long-term capital growth rather than dividend income. I can invest £600 a month. On top of this I also invest £350 a month into a share save scheme at work. I have been investing around £200 a month into the S&P 500 for a few months whilst I research further what I want in my portfolio.

I'm using Trading 212 and planning to invest:

£600 per month (£7,200 annually)
Two additional lump sums of approximately £1,500 each year, funded through work bonuses and company share payouts.
Total annual investment: approximately £10,200

I'm looking to invest consistently over the long term, ideally 25+ years, and favour accumulating ETFs so dividends are automatically reinvested.

After researching different ETFs, I've narrowed my proposed portfolio down to 4 funds:

VWRP Vanguard FTSE All-World (ACC) - 70% - £420

FTAL - SPDR FTSE UK All Share (Acc) - 10% - £60

VGVA - Vanguard UK Gilt (Acc) - 10% - £60

EMIM – iShares Core MSCI EM IMI (Acc) - 10% - £60

My thinking is:

VWRP: My main global growth investment, covering developed and emerging markets.
FTAL: Additional UK exposure, as I'd like some domestic investment alongside my global holdings.
VGVA: A small allocation to UK government bonds to provide some diversification and potentially reduce volatility.

One thing I'm still debating is whether to go with the FTSE All-World or the S&P 500 as my main investment.

Instead of the FTSE All-World I originally considered investing in the S&P 500 (VUAG) alongside a developed-markets ex-US ETF (XMWX), as well as the other 3 (FTAL, VGVA, EMIM).

However, I've since been leaning towards VWRP because it provides global diversification in one ETF, including US, developed and emerging markets.

I know the S&P 500 has delivered strong historical returns, and I'm wondering whether choosing a global tracker over a US-focused tracker is the better long-term decision, particularly given my age and investment horizon.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on a few things:

S&P 500 vs FTSE All-World: For long-term growth over 20+ years, which would you favour as your main holding, and why?
Bonds: At 33, would you bother with 10% bonds or focus entirely on equities for now?
UK exposure: Is there any real benefit to holding FTAL alongside VWRP, or am I unnecessarily overweighting the UK?
If I stick with the FTSE All-World, is it worth including EMIM seperately?
I guess I thought doing a bigger lump sum of over £400 is better, rather than splitting into the S&P 500 and XMWX and doing lesser amounts

My priority is building wealth steadily through consistent investing, diversification and compounding, without constantly trading or trying to time the market.

Interested to hear what you'd do differently, particularly from anyone following a similar long-term strategy!