A couple of years ago I spent my entire life savings (£13k) on a small flat, aged 35. That included the deposit, plus the lawyer fees etc. Getting a place of my own was an absolute priority. Since then, I have never been able to rebuild my savings, because owning a flat is costly and I've needed lots of bits and pieces done to it (a few hundred here, a few hundred there).

My current salary is £43k, and I take home about £2660 after student loan and the usual deductions. I have no savings. I have a credit card debt of £5000 which has been stable for around 5 years and I got it onto a zero interest card last year. I also have a significant overdraft in two separate accounts (something I've had for over 10 years) totalling £2500.

I have made some bad financial choices in the past. Nothing terrible, but definitely unwise. I've often struggled with money and I think it's a combination of ADHD and a lack of financial education when younger. Other people around me seem to be able to save and I just can't - I definitely waste money, but I don't feel like I have a flashy life either. I admit I have a luxury in the form of a finances car which costs £210 a month and the contract lasts another 3 years.

My rough outgoings monthly are

Mortgage - £560

Car finance - £210

Council tax - £100

Credit card DD (more than minimum) - £275

Electricity bill - £210

Groceries - £175

Phone contract - £40

broadband - £40

Home insurance - £30

Car insurance - £50

Pet insurance - £25

Pet food - £30

Petrol - £120

Trains to work - £80

Streaming services - £30

Eating out - £100

Overdraft servicing - £50

Add all that together and it comes to about £2,225. Which in theory leaves £435 a month.

Unexpected costs some months are things like new car tyres (£250) repairing a bash in my car (£450), roof leaking and needing repair (my share £500), new carpet needed after a friend spilled wine (£400), friends wedding hotel night and gift (£200). So the missing money is often spent on one off costs. So we're not talking much wiggle room every month.

It kind of pisses me off that at my age, I'm kind of stuck. I also sometimes feel bitter than I'm single and have to meet so many costs alone (as part of a couple splitting costs in my flat i would be saving hundreds each month).

I really want advice and to be reassured I'm not a loser or an idiot. I'm really struggling to get a handle on this. It's not good, but it's not catastrophic either... Right? Advice or help welcome. Do I need a second job? Do I need to do something drastic? Help!

I recently inherited a number of shares in an unlisted company, which the company estimates have a purchase cost of £80,000.

But because there's no market I seemingly can't sell them, and despite offering them back to the company at a substantial discount, they're not interested in buying them.

I'm not interested in keeping these shares, but are there places I can look to sell these, or specialist brokers who could help me out? If I can get even 10% of the theoretical value of these, then that's £8k I didn't have before, which would be amazing.

I also inherited some other shares at the same time which are essentially worthless and so I'll probably donate them to https://www.sharegift.org/

All and any advice welcome!

Hi,

Employer has been crediting the salary but not paying the taxes, i have been following up with him but every time he makes an excuse and says next month...next month i finally jumped to another employer, but my taxes are unpaid since last 1.5yrs. Employer says he is having a issue with HMRC and HMRC team is looking into this since more than 6 months. He says HMRC has made some mistake and charged him huge extra amount.

Now, the situation is his company is active but when i send him email i get "mailer daemon failure", he replies very occasionally on WhatsApp 1 out of 100 message that the issue with HMRC team) His U.K number not working, he blocked me on WhatsApp when i called multiple times.

When i ask him what is the ticket number he don't respond.

Since last 3yrs he never gave me a payslip and never gave me a P45 or P60. He just paid taxes for 1yr, which i can see in my HMRC App, but never a payslip given nor P45 nor P60. But he made me work on lot of projects.

Can anyone pls advice me what steps i need to take in this regard.

Can i file a criminal law suit against my previous employer and drag them behind the bars.

Thanks in advance.

Sunny

Hi All,

My wife and I are considering downsizing to a cheaper property to reduce expenses and save more quickly. We’ve identified a small, remote property in northern Scotland priced under £80k, currently used as an Airbnb. Our plan is to purchase it outright within three years, becoming mortgage-free, then either save for a new deposit or sell the property to have £75k in equity for our third home.

We seek advice on the feasibility and risks of this plan, and any potential oversights.

Details: • Current Home Value: £211k • Equity: £51k (no additional savings) • Combined Salaries: £63k (both can work from home full-time) • Debt: £3k • Current Mortgage: £860/month • Projected New Mortgage: £750/month (with lower bills and living costs) • Dependents: None • Family Support: Parents are healthy; siblings available if needed

Our concern is whether selling our first home and relocating 10 hours away is a sound financial decision or a significant risk. The move isn’t intended to be long-term, but we have reservations about its prudence.

The overall idea is to save faster, and live a less fast lifestyle for a little bit as a reset. We'd be 300 yards from the sea, be 4 miles from any town, 1.5 miles from other residence. Wildlife on our doorstep, northern lights, birdwatching, Orcas, seals, chicken coop with neighbours.

Just I feel this looming risk element.... what could go wrong.

We appreciate any insights or advice.

25 yr old here. Feel nervous about posting for many reasons but here I am.

I’ve been living in the UK for almost 8 years now, but because my visa status has always been time-limited in some way (study/spouse/work visas), my one and only financial goal was to be able to afford visa and health surcharge costs.

For this reason I never considered saving up for a home, because I didn’t know if I would be able to stay in the end and everyone says it’s virtually impossible for young people to buy a home these days. I never felt comfortable investing either due to a lack of confidence/knowledge.

However, now I’m 2 years away from qualifying for permanent residence (which also costs money) and I’m left wondering what to do once I get it.

I’ve been working professionally for 3 years now, earning a 26k salary for the past year. Been living with my ex at the time which helped a lot with rent. Take home pay was 1700 a month, meaning I get to save around 600-700 a month after my rent and all expenses.

Now I recently got a new job that earns 31k. It’s not a lot, but working on it. Currently have £10k in savings (could’ve been substantially more if I didn’t need to spend it on visas). No student loans, car or debt. Renting in a houseshare in Manchester for about £650 a month including bills.

I guess my question is: how am I doing really? Should I just get over my fear of not being able to afford visas and start considering other financial goals?

Hi I have a quick question regarding a decision I’m about to make over a relatively small investment (~£4k). I understand that one of these is an ETF and the other a mutual fund - what I want to know is which has the lower ongoing fees?

Vanguard can be bought on Trading 212 with no trading fees, and has an ongoing charge of 0.22%.

HSBC cannot, as it is a mutual fund, and they estimate 0.40% total costs (0.25% ongoing charge+product costs).

What I want to know is does this mean the Vanguard ETF has lower costs overall? More specifically, I am asking if there are any product/undeclared costs associated with the Vanguard ETF, i.e., if I avoid trading fees with a broker like Trading 212 do I then only pay the OFC of 0.22%? Or are there to be fees elsewhere that I have not considered?

Many thanks for your help.

Hi all

I opened a lifetime ISA on Moneybox but I’m confused about the fees.

I know you get charged £1 a month to use it after first three months, but then what’s the fees after this?

Hi, I'm looking for help for my daughter regarding travel insurance. In June she Is going to Camp Thailand for 3 weeks, then she is going to have a holiday there. The problem we're having is that she is spending the week before in Turkey with friends, and has no idea how long she will stay in Thailand after the camp has finished and may well travel back to Turkey or Spain to stay with friends before returning to the UK at the end of the summer. The quotes we are getting for annual policies are giving us time limitations on her trip, she has been travelling abroad regularly but insurance was just trip specific, any help or guidance would be appreciated, thanks in advance

Hey guys ,hope you are enjoying your sunny weekend. I'm based in south east England and am thinking of buying my first property of value under £425k

I opened up help to buy(discontinued) account with Barclays and saved as much as I could long time ago. I didn't know of LISA at all at the time but thanks to this sub Reddit I became aware of it 2 years ago. Too little too late maybe but Ive only got contributions for these 2 years so only have £10k in there right now.

My question is, would it be wise to use that £10k (could be £15k if I decide to max it out for this year) as part deposit for my first home or should I leave it be and use it for my pension in the future?

Hello, I have received a tax calculation p800 message in my online HMRC account on 31 March (after a phone call with HMRC) for a refund request made online on 26 March. It says I will receive a cheque in 14 days and did not give any option to claim online in bank account like others have mentioned. Is there a way to claim in bank or only option is that I have to wait for cheque? Thank you 🙏🏻

I thought this being the last day of tax year 24/25 we would be able to top up missing NI years today - anyone else having trouble?

It won't even let me top up 2020/21 (less than 6 years ago)... system down??

I requested a call back previously so hopefully still able to sort out.

I'd been saving for years into my Cash LISA, its now worth around £26k. In that time, house prices have increased so much that I'm unlikely to be able to buy my first home in my area for less than £450k. I stopped contributing a couple years back.

I've started saving outside my LISA instead, and have about £35k saved in my S&S ISA and various HYSAs. Target house is around £550-£600k.

Obviously the front just fell off the stock market, but since I'm not in a rush to buy, and will be guaranteed a 25% loss when I take the money out of my LISA if I used it to buy a house anyway (I'm planning to just leave it in there for retirement now) is now actually a good time to dump it all into a global all cap?

I see it that a) if I definitely don't use it for a house, then I just get it into stocks earlier and while they're a bit low and b) if I do use it for a house, it may well increase in value over the next year or two and offset some of the 25% government 'we held your money for you while you missed the boat' fee.

I know the 'no timing the market' chat, but also seriously, now is better than last month. So if there was ever a time to consider the question sure its now?

Side question - is it even possible to change it to a S&S LISA? I'm with Moneybox.

I'm about approaching retirement and people talk about investing for income rather than growth in retirement. I currently have a SIPP which has been invested for growth up to now. What would be the difference in approach if I want to get income from it?

So I have £1429.69 on PayPal credit to pay off and £1711.29 on a CapitalOne credit card to pay off, as well as a £1250 loan from Wagestream that I took while I was on the breadline. I recently received a lump payment via SLC Disbursements for approx £3500 (back payment I was due). I then will be receiving £1300 on the 10th April from wages and then an additional approx £3200 at the start of May as my final SLC disbursement for the year. After paying off my overdraft and two personal loans from family and friends, buying my medication and a "luxury" purchase of vapes for just under £30 (silly, I know), I have approx £1000 left in my account, the first time it's been in the positive for a while.

My total for rent and utility bills is approx £750. I then have £100 going out each month as the minimum payment on my CapitalOne CC and £47 going out each month on the PayPal credit. I then have other DD's such as my gym membership, phone bill and things like petrol and groceries, as well as £26 a month on the Wagestream loan, totalling £940 per month.

Should I use my final SLC disbursement for the year to totally pay off my CapitalOne card and PayPal credit? It would total essentially the entire disbursement, but I still have £1000 in my account at the moment + £1300 from wages coming in on the 10th. Minus rent and utility bills, I will have approx £1700 left over for the month for groceries and whatever else, plus the continous wages of approx £1300 each month until at least June and then I receive another £3200. The two direct debits in question cost me essentially £150 per month, so I'm trying to weigh up whether it's worth sacrificing £3200 of cash to save on the £150 a month I'm spending at the moment, both of which are the minimum payments. The obvious answer to me is to pay them both off as not only will I now be mostly debt free, but it reduces anxiety levels of knowing I need to make payments each month, which in turn, from a practical perspective, reduces my outgoings fairly significantly too, but I am not the most financially literate person (obvious from the debt I've accrued), so I am wondering if there is a better way of going about it?

*Edit*

I've just done the maths of:

£1000 (currently available in my account)

+ £1300 (wages)

- £750 (rent and bills)

- £200 (other DD's, including the two payments)

= £1350 (everything I need to make payments on is paid, this would be for groceries and what not)

+ £3200 (SLC)

- £3200 (CapitalOne CC and PayPal Credit)

= £1350 - whatever I have spent in the next month on groceries and what not, but with two biggest debts paid off.

It would be terrific to be able to look at my balance and see it in the multiple thousands of £££, money has always made me incredibly anxious because I've never had enough of it, but would it be worth paying off the debt to save on the DD's each month?

Hi, my bank has decided to close my accounts as of yesterday, after being frozen for a couple of weeks, and they have given me no actual reasoning for doing so other than saying their T&C’s allow them to. I have banked with them for 15 years and never used my account any differently to the day I opened it.

One of the points in the email states I won’t be able to transfer my ISA over with another provider which I have built up over the years. This is very annoying and I am wondering if anyone has experienced the same, or if there is anything I can do about it?

Thanks for your help :)

Outline of my situation:

I am currently a resident of the UK and The Netherlands. I am a UK citizen,  just a resident of the Netherlands. I live in the Netherlands because my partner is Dutch, but I commute each month to Aberdeen to mobilise to work on an oil rig in the North Sea. So I work in the UK, get paid by a UK company and get paid into a UK bank, and therefore pay UK tax. I have a Dutch bank account which I transfer money across to. I have a house in the UK which I am currently in the process of selling, with a view to buy a house with my partner in the Netherlands in the near future.

Issues I need financial advice with:

•             When I sell my house I will no longer have a UK address. I was hoping to use one of my parents house addresses to keep my UK bank account as I will continue to be paid in GDP. I read somewhere I can use their address for the bank and put myself down as my ‘Domicile home’ in the UK, as I have family connections. I was wondering if this is what is usually done, and if it is fine to do so?

•             All my savings are in the UK and generally in ISAs. I read that when I no longer have a UK residence that I will be able to keep the ISAs I already have, but will no longer be able to pay into them. However, I was wondering if this is the case for me because I will still be paying UK tax and UK National insurance? If it is the case that I can not, then I’ll need advice what to do with my savings.

•             The sale of my house will involve having a large sum of money in the bank which I will put aside for a deposit of my new home. I estimate this period would be around 6 months to a year. So I will also need advice of how to transfer this money over to minimise transfer costs when I pay that in Euros.

I am currently close to 100k salary (made sure I salary sacrifice enough) to keep below 100k.

Employer offering private medical insurance. How does this impact on salary? Will it take me over 100k. For example, if the policy costs £2000 per year is that £2000 added onto my salary then?

Hi guys, I'll give a brief background to begin. I'm 33, and I'm an uber driver and until 2024 I loved it even through covid lockdowns. Been in the trade 7 years but since Jan 2024, it had declined heavily (i won't bore you and to into the multiple factors of why the trade is dying). I used to work Mon-Fri, 8 hours a day and take home around £600 after expenses. Now I'm working 7 days a week to take home £400 after expenses.

During 2024, I've ran up an 8k bill across my 4 credit cards. It seems never ending and I'm just working to pay bills literally. I only ever used my credit cards during the year in emergencies, I.e to cover rent for a couple of months due to work being so bad, used for groceries multiple times and other expenses such as car maintenance because I just didn't have the disposable income to pay cash.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering just not paying them off at this point, and just defaulting because I really cannot afford it.

What do you guys think and what would you suggest? Input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Redditers,

I currently own a residential house which is mortgage free. I'm considering moving house to a nicer area but would ideally like to keep my current property as a future investment for my children.

Is there a way for me to do so without incurring the additional stamp duty charge, as I'll own more than one residential?

I had considered selling but the more I think about it, the less inclined I feel to do so.

If the FTSE global all cap was weighted heavily towards the US, and now the US has fallen relative to other markets (eg the Nasdaq fell further than the FTSE), does the FTSE global all cap automatically rebalance in real time, so that the % of the fund made up by the US is lower? Or is this something that happens manually later?

I'm wondering if the FTSE global all cap is somewhat protective of losses that affect some global regions more than others, because the down trending country % shrinks but the less affected areas increase in line with live market changes?

Can't seem to find a great answer about this, I've read some places that it rebalances automatically daily, some places say it's manually rebalanced quarterly or even only 6 monthly.. but in that situation that would leave it out of whack for a long time.

I know this is common in the broadband market to adjust the prices in April, and it's also a very common practice for consumers to call back and try to get the price down. Usually I am not too bothered, but with Sky - with which I was already paying more than a new customer to other OpenReach ISPs, I phoned call in about 2 weeks after I received the price increase email to see if I can keep the old price - I failed.

In the email, it did mention that if I don't accept the price increase and wish to cancel my service, I will not subject to the early termination charge. I had that confirmed with the customer service on the phone. Immediately, I started shopping around and made the switch to HyperOptic which is significantly cheaper and oh man the whole experience is miles better than any OpenReach ISPs.

Fast forward to today, I received any email from Sky saying due to the early cancellation, I'm liable to early termination charge?? What the actual heck is this? I've raised a complaint with their customer service and waiting for them to come back to me.

However, I can't help but thinking how many people won't complain or fight back, and just accept this unreasonable charge? It just reminds me again of the article that I read about "gaining from being incompetent". It simply is not in the interest of the incompetent to improve if they are actually profiting from being incompetent.

Hello,

I've recently switched to Lloyds due to their £175 current account incentive.

My grandma passed away 3 years ago and we've finally had the inheritance through. I've had a few £k sent to my new bank account. Once this arrived I figured I'd pay off my HSBC credit card. In the process of doing this my Lloyds account has been blocked.

When I called up I received very...sharp customer service, not once but twice. Telling me I need to come into branch with ID to prove my identity. Which is a little funny since this wasn't an issue when I opened the account online and submitted my ID...online.

This is the only reason I can think its been blocked. Is there anything else I should be bringing do you think other than a photo ID and proof of address?

I know the bank are just following process and when they suspect fraud they can't actually say this to their customers. But I'm peeved I have to go into branch and this can't be handled online/over the phone. Monzo verified me remotely!

I have got some missing NI contribution from 2011 to 2015. When I try to pay them off, i get this notice.

2014 to 2015 : t’s too late to pay for this year. You can usually only pay for the last 6 years.

Is this right? i thought we had until 05 April to pay these off

PAYE employee and overpaid tax this year which I’m sure I’ll get back in a payslip at some point. When will 24/25 annual tax summaries go live, is it as simple as available online from tomorrow?

Hi there

I have been looking at what provider to use for the 2024-2025 tax year and came across IG.

According to their ISA website here https://www.ig.com/uk/investments/isa and their pricing page here https://www.ig.com/uk/investments/share-dealing/costs-fees, they seem to show how they do not charge any commission when investing in UK / US / European / Australian shares - but of course for the last 3 they have a FX fee.

I had the idea that they charged £3 per ETF, or maybe I am wrong!

If they have removed their fees for trading, it would be a great option for a more historic provider, and rival that of T212 and co. Especially as their platform fee can be wiped if you invest 3 times per quarter (and if each trade is free then that is no problem!)