How to protect your business

What is business protection insurance and how does it work? Find out why it could be right for your business.

If you own or run a small business, protecting it is always a priority, especially if something were to happen to a key member, which could affect the financial health of the company. In this situation, business protection insurance could provide some peace of mind.

What is business protection?

Business protection provides coverage in the event that a director, business partner or other key employee o...

How does a remortgage work?

A remortgage is the process of moving your home’s existing mortgage to one with a new lender. Remortgaging could help you save money if you weigh up the fees involved with the savings you could make. Here’s how it works.

People remortgage for many different reasons, including:

• Finding a better deal elsewhere – you might be on a standard variable rate (SVR) and want to move to a fixed-term rate.
• Coming to the end of a fixed-term deal on your current mortgage and wanting to lock in a lower rate with a new lend...

10 ways to reduce your tax bill

Being tax smart means knowing the basics about how tax affects your life and money. Here are 10 ways to reduce your tax bill, which could make your money go further for you and your loved ones.

Personal savings allowance
You’re entitled to receive some interest on your savings tax-free every year, depending on your income tax band. For non-taxpayers or basic rate taxpayers you’re allowed up to £1,000 per year; for higher rate taxpayers you get £500. If you have savings with a spouse or partner, you can each ...

How might rising interest rates affect your mortgage?

The Bank of England has raised interest rates which means bigger mortgage bills for some homeowners.

Since December 2021 the Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.1% to 1.25% to combat soaring inflation.

This move will have a knock-on effect as mortgage lenders raise interest rates in response, which will increase monthly payments for some borrowers.

What does a rise in interest rates mean for your mortgage?
Anyone without a fixed-rate mortgage is likely to see their borrowing ...

Mortgages - Sorting the fact from the fiction

Lindsay and Sam have just found out they’re expecting their first baby. Although they’re excited at the prospect of starting a family, it’s come as a bit of a surprise and their current living situation is far from ideal. They’ve been staying with Lindsay’s dad in his two-bedroomed terrace for just over a year while they save up a deposit for their first house. The lack of space and privacy has proved challenging to say the least. Adding a baby into the mix seems like a terrible idea.

On the po...

Why cohabiting couples should make a will

When Tom and Pete bought their first property together, life couldn’t have been better. They both had good jobs pulling in decent salaries and were excited about spending the rest of their lives together.

They chatted about making a will a few times, but somehow life always got in the way. Until one day, 10 years after moving in together, Pete got a call that would change his life forever – Tom had been killed in a car accident.

The intestacy trap

On top of grieving for his partner, Pete found he...

Get Savvy Against Scammers

Retired teachers Paul and Mary are devoted parents and grandparents to their three children and eight grandchildren. As their family started to grow, they decided they wanted to begin saving for their grandchildren’s future. Disappointed with the returns from their savings accounts, they decided to look into other investment opportunities. After comparing a number companies online, they settled on one and made a £30,000 bank transfer. Within just a few months, their initial investment had grown sizably.

Soon afte...

Volatility and Long-term investors

As the conflict in Ukraine escalates and Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine major stock markets have fallen dramatically. But what does this mean for your investments?

Stories about stock market falls are guaranteed to make headlines like the financial crisis of 2008 and the stock market lows of March 2009. And for many they are still fresh memories but it’s worth noting that an investment then in global stocks would have grown more than twofold a decade down the line*.

That might be an extreme exa...

Spring Clean Your Finances

There’s plenty of advice and ‘life hacks’ on how to make spring-cleaning less of a chore. A quick Google search will throw up hundreds of random tips – like using cola to clean the toilet, lemon to clean the taps and vinegar to clean just about anything!

When you’ve finished scrubbing your worktops with baking soda and polishing your windows with newspapers, why not try spring-cleaning your finances? Here are some handy hints to get you started:

Throw away unnecessary spending habits

Look at your bank statement...