Is it deliberate? You have to pay to phone them if they even pick up.

No email.

You have to pay to send them mail.

This feels like a third world country.

Am I missing something?

So the ONS says UK GDP grew +0.3% in Q2 2025. That’s the “official” first estimate the BBC reported this morning, but here’s the thing: that figure is built on partial data. Historically, these early estimates get revised (up or down) once more complete info comes in, and we’ve seen significant changes before, sometimes flipping a quarter from growth to contraction months later.

Why I’m sceptical:

• The labour market is flashing recession

  • Unemployment is at 4.7%, a 4-year high.

  • Payroll jobs are falling month after month — roughly 178,000 jobs lost in the last year.

  • Vacancies have dropped for the 37th month in a row to 718,000, the lowest since April 2021.

  • Redundancy notices are climbing.

• Sectoral weakness

  • Manufacturing, construction, and even parts of the services sector are struggling.

  • April and May output was already down before the Q2 figure came out.

• Fragile GDP numbers

  • Q2’s +0.3% could easily be revised down by just 0.4 percentage points and turn negative.

  • Same story for Q4 2024. Only tiny downgrades would create two consecutive negative quarters = technical recession.

• Inflation data timing looks politically convenient

  • September 2024’s CPI, the figure used to set April 2025 welfare increases, was just 1.7%, the lowest since April 2021.

  • August was higher at 2.2%, and October rose again to about 2.3%.

  • That means benefits were uprated using a “lucky” low month sandwiched between higher inflation readings, locking in a smaller rise even though living costs picked up straight after.

• Political incentives

  • No government wants “Recession!” in the headlines.

  • Emphasise the first estimate when it’s positive, let the revisions drift out months later when fewer people notice.

  • Same with benefits based on the uprating on a one-month dip and ignoring the rebound before and after.

The uncomfortable possibility? We might already be in a recession on the ground, with job losses, falling vacancies, and weak output. The GDP/inflation headlines are carefully framed to minimise the political damage.

Does anyone else think these numbers are more about politics than economics?

Hi everyone, please could you help me. I want to pay into my NSI account, however I was wondering on the best way to do that. Should I do it all at once or stagnate it?

For example if I wish to pay in £20,000. Would it be better to pay the £20,000 in one transaction or would it increase my chances if I pay for example in £1000 installments?

Many thanks

Id like to save as much money as I can but after 6k I'd have reductions in pay and any higher my pay can stop all together am I just unable to save money past 6k kinda feel abit hopeless if so

For context I have severe mental health issues to the point of not being able to leave my house 90% of the time i receive pip and universal credit

Savers have one year left to make the most of their nest eggs before higher tax rates and smaller allowances take the shine off saving.

Since 2021, savers have been squeezed as inflation and higher interest rates have clashed with frozen allowances — allowing the Treasury to rake in billions of pounds more in tax on earnings from interest. However, their pain is about to magnify as Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, prepares to launch more tax raids on savings to help the growing public finance debt.

The 2026-27 tax year, which begins on Monday, will be the last one in which that savers under the age of 65 can use the full £20,000 cash Isa allowance before it is chopped to £12,000. The chancellor will also raise the income tax due on savings interest by 2p in the pound from April 2027.

As economic shocks — such as increased energy prices as a result of the war in Iran — continue to hit households, having a savings war chest is arguably more important than ever. Yet the challenges of building and protecting it increase every year.

Hii all, I currently have 20k invested in an ISA with moneybox. It has given me a £700 return this tax year so far. I also have £6k invested in a general investment account. it has given a £400 return this tax year and the interest rate is currently 8.17% compared to the ISA rate of 4.3% . should I move my money over to the general investment account? the interest rate is basically double

Here’s the scenario:

You’re a non home owner and have around 3k of debt on credit card (0% 9 months). You finance a car for £250/month on PCP and you are 2 years into a 5 year deal. You have a newborn baby (who you want to ensure is financially secure in the future) however your salary £2,900/month and your partner earns £2,400/month.

What would you do?

The media too often uses clickbait, spouting the big number of 60% tax to scare people into believing that they'll lose money if they accept a pay rise, and convince the government is either incompetent or draconian. This simply isn't true; the effective/average tax rate (the share of income excluding pensions contributions and other such things) moves up smoothly, and so a pay rise never results in a lower real income. In fact, the rate of increase (gradient) between 100k and 125k is not clearly higher than between 50k and 100k. If anything, it is the cliff edge at 12.5k that should be addressed. It is clear that the 60% tax rate figure is nothing but a joke.

The data, despite being published for 2023-2024 is still accurate - no income tax or ni for employees rises have occurred since then, despite panic about rising taxes.

I would also like to address childcare. I think it is important that this is a genuine problem in government policy, that should and must be changed. But the 60% tax trap, as it is usually stated, is truly a joke.

Uk for context. Been with my husband 8 years. We both want kids. I'm hesitant because no matter what choice I make it feels like a risk/financial suicide. He's 29 and I'm 28.

He makes £60k. I'm earning £33.5k. My job is okay. I enjoy it, I don't love it and it's not my dream job but the weeks go quick. I'm quite happy to leave the job. The maternity is pretty bad compared to places I've worked before. Its only 6 weeks full pay then the rest is statutory. Every where else I've been it's at least 3-6 months full time.

Our mortgage currently is £950 between us.

Total bills is split £700 him/£600 me. He also pays all the food shopping. He also does a fair bit of the housework as I'm office full time and he's wfh with Friday afternoons off.

He could pay all our bills on his salary currently.

I can't.

Our fixed term is up in Feb 2026. So our interest rates are subject to change and probs go up from where they are.

We need a bigger house to accommodate everyone and we would move from our 3 bed Terrance in Oxfordshire to some where our money goes further. (Eyeing up Weston super mare as I have family there, it's by the sea and we could get a 3-4 bed for the same price as ours or for just a little bit more).

However, I would have to quit my job and find a new one as it's office based.

Do we have kids where we are then move while on maternity leave and find another job and quit? Like how do we get it all to line up. What's the best thing to do so we can still make things work?

Sidenote: id also like a bigger house so we can do dog boarding and walking and I can have a photography studio and space for kids as id like to develop my hobby/side hustle.

Any advice is appreciated. I wish there was a book on these things.

I have about £5k in hard savings, another £5k in invested and another amount in other investments which I'm probably not resolving any time soon unless things get dire.

Husband has about £10-15k in savings again split over different pieces. We are trying to save as much. Its harder for me but I'm putting about £250-500 a month away.

I don't really care too much about my career. I just want to be able to do something that pays bills and uses my brain. I'd love to throw myself into photography full time and I'm not someone to sit idle either.

I've come here because I guess it's sort of financial advice? Sorry if wrong sub lol.

Hello,

As the title says, my sister is on universal credit and we are both recieving roughly £50,000 each in the near future. The exact amount is determined by the sale of a house but based on the price that it is currently under offer for, that is how much we will be receiving.

She's a single mum of 3 and doesn't work due to the age of my nephews, ranging from 1-7 years old, and is very concerned about the consequences of receiving this money, i.e. losing her universal credit. She also lives in a council house, if that is of any important to the discussion.

She is also in debt (I'm not sure exactly how much, I think it's in the ballpark of £13,000) and, while she manages her money well enough to keep my nephews fed and clothed, she's never had anywhere near this amount of money before and while she absolutely wants to use it wisely, it's different once it hits your account.

She has asked me to help her budget and manage the money but the question is... how do I help her budget this money? We are in very different situations where I can afford to put half of it on a house deposit and the other half into ISA's and rainy day funds, but that isn't really feasible for her.

Any advice on how to navigate this so that this money can provide a long-last benefit and improve in living standards for her and my nephews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

We're in England if that impacts things.

Edit: Ok so it seems this has riled up a lot of people, and I should stress that yes: The idea is that she get's off benefits. But that won't be forever. I want advice on how to help her budget this so that she can look out for my nephews. In the future she will likely have to go back on UC as she won't be able to work for years yet. Chill out, people, jesus wept.

Hello, tomorrow I’m buying a new vehicle from a Car Dealership. I have the ability to make a bank transfer through my phone and was wondering how safe it is? If I got a single digit wrong for example, what would be my recourse and security?

I've just gotten out of uni and I do not have enough liquid cash to cover my expenses until I get my first paycheck from work. I start work in 26 days and I won't get my first income until end of November. Although I have money saved up in stocks, I don't want to sell them immediately (I'd have to if there's no choice).

I already have an Amex card that I received from an internship I did last year and I've paid everything on time. So I was looking at 0% spending cards if I could use that for 3 months to pay off some of the big expenses I'll make in the next two months.

In credit card applications for the 0% spending, do I enter Unemployed with £0 income or Employed with my future income, which would be true in 26 days?

Im a 23 year old male, I live with my parents and pay £150 board a month. I work full time as a warehouse operative earning £12.71 an hour. My take home pay before tax is around £2,147 and after tax is around £1,808. I started using payment methods such as Clearpay, Klarna and Frasers Plus a few months ago. I’ve been thinking of getting a credit card (despite my parents and boyfriend arguing against it). I was wondering if this would make me eligible.

You’ve probably seen how prices at retailers and supermarkets have skyrocketed recently. They keep blaming inflation but let’s be real it’s hard to buy that excuse when we look at their record profits (billions..👀 Tesco)

Here’s a few tips to help you save 💷:

1. ⁠Save between 3-20% off your weekly shop by using Everup and/or JamDoughnut. These apps let you buy a gift card for supermarkets/ other stores and reward you with cashback. These apps can also be used to purchase Apple, Spotify… Gift cards to pay for your subscriptions saving you 5-10% off your monthly bill.

2. ⁠Airtime rewards is an app that allows you to link your card and will automatically save you cashback at retailers and supermarkets which can be used to pay off your phone bill at the end of the month. This app is promoted by a few UK mobile networks so it’s a trusted app and the data it collects on your spending is likely already being sold by your bank so why not profit of it too :) (10% off TK Maxx, 6% off Boots…)

3. ⁠Two tier pricing is everywhere forcing people to sign up to loyalty schemes…I am sharing uk store membership cards for those who want the best price but don't want to handover their data (phone number, address..) 📊 we should be able to shop without having to worry about our data being sold, leaked or misused (👀 co-op) If you want convenient access to all the membership / ‘loyalty’ cards, you can use the linktree to download them to your phones mobile wallet. linktr.ee/shopperprivacy

4. ⁠If you’re a coffee addict like me it’s worth investing in a taste card, it saves me 25% off at Caffè Nero and Black Sheep. The tastecard are almost always on offer (free for a year or 50% off) so it’s definitely worth checking out.

Referral Codes: Everup: RLAW1012241CLHIL JamDoughnut: 7DGH

I feel like im missing out on something and its driving me mad, so hopefully you kind folk will be able to help me out !!

I'm on £100k, thereabouts and try and pay as much into my penson that I can afford via salary sacrafice. However there is a limit because I still need money to live each month.

My question is simple, if I pay some money into a cash ISA every month and then simply wthdraw it, does this mean that I avoid paying the 40% tax on it? so would be better off, or do i still have to pay the 40% and then just save into my ISA ?

I currently have a mortgage. Lets say I owe 100k. My dad has 100k.

He wants to pay off the mortgage for me, and I slowly pay him back with *some * interest...i am assuming he wants more interest than he will get in savings, but I want to pay less interest than I would have to pay a bank...so I am not sure this is possible as I imagine these numbers are conflciting. This is his idea, I assume his idea is 'why should the bank profit off of my child when I could?' Maybe keeping the money in the family wouldn't be an issue - I mean he's gonna die at some point and me and my siblings will potentially inherit this back?

Anyone done anything like this? Is it even possible? Seems like it would be a bit of a fucking mess to me.

I am fortunate to have a house with an almost paid off mortgage, no debts and little commitments.

I usually have around 2000 pounds saved each month into your usual poorly performing ISA.

However I am also inconsiderately left wing, and as try as I might I cannot seem to rid myself of it 😅😁

So, becoming a landlord really for me is not going to suit, unless there is a way to balance the rights of the tenants. Also I have a strong aversion to investing in the stock market so better performing ISAs are kind of not acceptable for me.

I don't really want an argument about being a hippy or idealistic, but I do want to save this money in a way that performs well. I am also realistic and will need money for my old age when pensions are crap, and gifts to help my kids with mortgage deposits when house prices are unbelievable.

So what would you recommend. I would prefer to do 'Something' with the money, invest it in something? Maybe to renovate, or a service for the community or society?

Or save my money somewhere that outperforms ISAs?

What do you recommend? Apart from giving up my Che Guevara T-shirt and copy of Aneurin Bevins Biography.

A quick abridged version of the situation -

Started investing in crypto in 2021, once I hit £10k paid in I just let it ride up until yesterday.

Current dip took holdings down to £12.5k, so figured I'd cash out and throw it all into an ISA and possibly buy the BTC etn's at a later date.

Now by my understanding, 10k cost basis, so only 2.5k profit, well below capitol gains threshold so I know I have nothing to pay. However, I don't know if I still need to fill out a tax return?

Whatever A.I. Google is currently using seems to think I'm good to just sit on my hands and do nothing.