I’m a 30 year old freelancer who’s having a particularly good year, and will be earning about £60k+ come April. Up until this point, I’ve just been contributing monthly to a S&S ISA, but now there seems to be more tax-efficient options (SIPP).

For context, my partner and I are looking to buy our first home within the next year, and have children within the next 2-3 years.

I’ve also been unfortunately too relaxed about pension contributions in my 20s, being self employed and not having any employer contribution. I realise now that was not the best choice, but better to realise now than later.

At the moment, my accounts roughly stand at:

£65k — house deposit (spread across premium bonds, cash LISA, and high interest savings accounts)
£15k — S&S ISA (invested in global index fund)
£10k — emergency fund
£7k — SIPP (also invested in global index fund)

I’m looking for advice on where to put any additional income that will be taxed at 40%. My instinct is to put it all into my pension for the tax relief. But with a house purchase coming up, and children on the horizon, another part of me wants to keep some of it as cash.

I’m also weary about AI and the global market affecting any immediate contributions to SIPP / S&S ISA. I understand time in market is better than timing the market, but part of me thinks keeping cash for the next year could be better if a correction occurs. Obviously it’s hard to predict (I.e I could also miss out on gains) but it’s been playing on my mind a lot.

Does anyone have any thoughts and advice? Would really appreciate it!

Hi all,

I'm planning a loft conversion costing around £70k–£80k. I'll use £60k in savings, but expect to borrow up to £30k to cover the shortfall. I'll also use an interest-free credit card for some purchases where possible.

We have around £200k equity in our house, but our fixed-rate mortgage has another four years to run.

I should be able to repay the borrowing within a year using my annual bonus and monthly payments of around £1,000.

What would be the most cost-effective option? Mortgage borrowing may offer lower interest rates, but I'm concerned about early repayment charges and fees. Would a personal loan work out cheaper overall for such a short period?

I'd appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks!

EDIT: Reason for not waiting a year is because the price keeps going up. Just under £5,000 less was my quote from the same company last year.

Basically the title.

I (28F) developed a debilitating immune disease as a teenager after a viral infection.

Despite hoping to recover with time, my condition has only gotten worse over the years, forcing me to drop out of school and stop working.

I'm now mostly bedbound and like 99% reliant on my family for daily needs.

But they're not going to be around forever and I hate being a burden to them, and honestly I'm afraid of what my future holds if I'm unable to build some level of independence or financial security.

I come from a working class background and wasn't raised by people with financial literacy, so I've had to teach myself the basics and am still learning.

Currently my options seem to be extremely limited.

I have no debt fortunately and am in receipt of PIP (the high rate of both the daily living and mobility components) and of UC with LCWRA.

I'm incredibly grateful to reside in a country that has this safety net but with the rise of the cost of living it's barely enough to get by and I'm afraid for my future, especially with society's growing hostility towards the sick/disabled and the government's talks about welfare cuts.

Like I mentioned, I'm interested in building long-term financial security. Given that I'm unlikely to be able to work for the foreseeable future, are there any realistic ways to build wealth while receiving PIP and UC?

I'm aware that UC has saving/capital limits, which makes me concerned about how I could accumulate savings or investments over time without jeopardising it.

I'd be interested in understanding whether pensions, long-term investments or other financial arrangements could be suitable in my circumstances, and whether there are any specialist resources for disabled people planning for their financial future?

All advice welcome.

Edit: To the person who just sent me an abusive dm. I don't know what you thought you'd accomplish. It's not like I chose to become disabled. Not everyone is lucky enough to bounce back after a severe infection, and what's happened to me isn't uncommon. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to you. Being healthy and able-bodied doesn't make you better than anyone and it certainly doesn't give you the right to hurl abuse at a stranger simply asking for financial advice in a finance-based subreddit.

2nd edit: Sincere thank you to everyone who's been kind and given advice. It might take me a little while to respond to everyone because of fatigue but I will!

Ive been paying my student loan via my employer paye but none of the payments have been credited on my student loans account, as far as they are concerned i have no paid. Ive tried filling in my employment details 3 times and calling slc and they say that the issue is for my employer to fix but they say theyve done everything they can. So ive lost the money but have no repayment to show for it. How do i fix this if my employer will not deal with it.

Student loans suggested requesting my money back from my employer but thats likely to cause workplace drama.

Any advice appreciated. Can i contact hmrc directly to get this fixed if so how?

Many thanks

Hi everyone!

I'm 30 and hoping to buy my first property around April/May 2027. I'm looking at flats in Portsmouth, ideally between £140,000 and £160,000.

I work for the NHS on a bank contract, so I'm not on guaranteed contracted hours. However, I work regularly and can choose my shifts.

I will be earning £32,000 gross annually, and I am aiming for around a 15% deposit.

My circumstances are:

Employment: NHS bank worker with variable hours and income.

Shift pattern: I'm planning to work three long days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), plus one Sunday a month and potentially some additional half shifts.

Previous earnings: My hours have varied quite a bit. Some months I've mainly worked weekends, while others I've worked considerably more.

I have worked for Bank Partners for 3 years, but had a temporary DBS gap in August/September for 2 months so I wasn't able to work so would affect my recent annual earnings.

Deposit: I'm expecting to have a substantial deposit, partly from inheritance and ISA savings.

Property budget: Approximately £140k–£160k.

Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Application: Hoping to obtain an AIP around April 2027 and start viewing properties shortly afterwards.

My biggest concern is how lenders assess NHS bank income, especially when previous months haven't been as consistent as my intended working pattern.

I've heard that some lenders will consider three or six months of payslips, but I'm worried about getting an AIP, finding a property and having an offer accepted, only for the underwriter to request 12 months of payslips and potentially reject my application because my earlier earnings were lower.

I'd really appreciate advice on the following:

Has anyone successfully obtained a mortgage while working solely on an NHS bank contract?

Which lenders are generally more flexible with NHS bank workers and variable shift patterns?

Do lenders typically assess the most recent three or six months of earnings, or could they request 12 months during underwriting?

So we have been muddling through life and getting by day to day, I'm the main earner on £40k and wife has minimum wage part time job, we share a mortgage but. I have always covered mortgage/bills/food/insurances etc and Wife is very defensive and secretive of her earnings

Just found out wife has been basically giving most of it to a long term best/only friend - she has always had the mindset that "its her money she can do what she wants with it", not exaclty how I see it as I think our earnings should be joint/shared for our family but for some reason that is controversial and causes her massive upset but I didnt know it was so much, looks to be about £6k over the last 6 months alone but I think its been going on for years

The worst thing is she has agreed to be guarantor for a loan for her friend. in the region of £10k with interest/ liability up to £30k and I think its guaranteed against our house. The friend is borrowing money virtually weekly from her ontop of this loan, so is clearly borrowing to pay the loan repayments

This has devastated me as we struggle without holidays/nice luxury things and adding a debt like this is and risking our home is unimaginable to me

I dont know the specifics yet or what to do, I know wife will be fuming that I have found out and will immediately blame me for even raising it and then blame me for ruining her friendship

If I can stop wife giving the friend money I have no doubt the loan payments will stop and we (me) will end up having to foot the bill or lose our home

I dont have any details of the loan and I doubt I will see anything

I cant believe she has done this to our family

Any help/advice please

Hey!

So basically around 7-8 months ago my dad purchased tickets from a third-party over the phone. The flight is supposed to be in like 2 weeks. I had a bad feeling about the booking confirmation they sent so I called the airline straight up asking if they had our tickets, and they said no.

I called the third-party sellers asking if they had my tickets and if they could look into it, but they blocked me. So it turns out they’re a scam lmao.

My dad paid with credit card, he gave them his credit card details and they purchased what looked like tickets from LoveHolidays. We called love holidays and they didn’t have my dad’s details either. So we believe that the scammer bought tickets using my dad’s credit card or something.

I have a lot of proof that I’ve been compiling. Oh the bank is HSBC. Just wondering if, even though the 120 day limit passed, would my dad have an okay chance at getting his money back considering the transaction is a future transaction.

We started a s75 claim but tbf i dont really see the DCS link? So I want to change it to a chargeback.

please be nice, i’m quite new to this subreddit and my dad is old and not very good with technology. 😭

if you have have any questions do let me know! thank you again💞

Hi all,

I will try to keep it short.

My partner and I are planning to buy a £400k house in Fife later this year. Unfortunately, I own a property in NE Scotland purchased during the height of the market in 2014, and it has lost at least 40% of the value since than, due to saturation of the local market with hundreds of similar properties. I still have £65k on the mortgage, and if lucky the flat will sell for £100k. If unlucky, much less.

The rental market seems to be hanging in balance. And nearby flats were often rented out in weeks for £750ish

We would like to get the flat sold so that we can avoid paying the second home tax (Thank you Scottish government for punishing people with a significant loss even more). However, my fear is that the flat may not sell within a reasonable time, so now I am looking for alternative options. A transfer to a ltd is option 2, and last resort is keeping it in my own name and make a £300 loss (fees, 42% tax bracket) monthly topped up with £32000 second home tax

Would transferring ownership to a limited company be an option? What are the things I should take into account and what are expected transfer costs?

Cheers,

So me and my partner, both 34, bought our 3 bedroom end of terrace in a deprived area for £200k 2 years ago. Rates were high at this time due to Ukraine and the food prices etc. We signed with a 2 year deal, overpaid by about £150 for one year of this. Mortgage was £750, our overpayment was £900.

I was sure that the rates would go down as things couldnt possibly get economically worse. Now, the Iran war has happened and rates have gone up. Our mortgage payment in a few months time will be £850.

We'll be looking at overpaying to the maximum reasonable amount, £1200. Yes we should have done this before but it didnt seem necessary.

Now we've discovered at least 2 rafters need replacing, as well as the battens and tiles on the front of the house. The roofer is asking £18k to £21k. Could even go up if more rafters are found to be shot.

A £20k loan for 7 years would be a £380-£500~ repayment monthly.

Me and my partners combined salarie is £85K before tax.

We are going to have to do so much belt squeezing. The roof will be 10% of the value of the mortgage.

Not to mention that the HPI value of the house has dropped to £194k.

I just don't know what to do or where to turn. It feels like things should be easier than this. When will it break? Ill be 41 by the time we would have paid off the roof.

We are getting other roofers to quote, i have another one coming on Friday but i dont know if I'll realistically be able to find it cheaper.

How cooked am I, reddit?

We work from home in a rural area, North Devon, changing jobs for a salary increase will be difficult nigh on impossible.

Looking to buy my own place I earn around 28k a year and hopefully looking to put a deposit down around 30k , looking at properties around 85-100k

Is this doable?

Also Should I take the mortgage term over 25 year or 15-18 year term I was thinking I know the payments will be more expensive a month

Hi all,

I'm 29 and in London, investing for the long term (retirement), and I'd like a sanity check on where to keep my ISA money.

My setup:

- Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap fund (VAFTGAG, accumulation OEIC) on the Vanguard platform: about £8.2k, currently £200/month, going up to £300/month next month
- Trading 212: a cash ISA with about £24k, plus a stocks and shares ISA where I hold some individual stocks
- About £9k in a H2B ISA
- About £7k of this year's ISA allowance left

I'm thinking of moving my Vanguard ISA over to T212 so everything is on one platform, and buying VWRP there instead.

Vanguard's platform fee looks like £48/year under £32k on top of the 0.23% fund charge which is about £67/year, whereas T212 has no platform fee.

Is it worth switching purely on fees, given it's a cash transfer and I'd be out of the market for a few days?

VWRP is FTSE All-World, which covers large and mid caps but not small caps, unlike my current All Cap fund. Is that gap worth caring about?

I've seen Vanguard has launched a Global All-Cap ETF (VALL) with a 0.07% charge that also seems to be on T212.

Would that be a better replacement than VWRP, given how new it is?

Or should I just leave it where it is and put the extra £7k allowance into T212 instead?

I'm not planning to touch any of it until retirement. Any thoughts or things I haven't considered? I’m concerned about how if would affect my tax free ISA limit for the tax year

Thanks!

Hello, I’m about to finish a 4 month contract where I have been staying away from home part of the week and commuting the rest of the time (3hr round trip). My employer has been paying £300 weekly to use for accommodation or travel- basically it’s been up to the employee what they use the money for. I’ve been paying tax on this money as it’s processed through payroll. I’ll have to submit a tax return for my pension contributions as I’m in the higher tax bracket. Can I claim back for my accommodation and expenses as I’ve paid tax on them? Or as I’ve been paid per diems for these expenses is it not possible? I phoned HMRC but they were v non committal on what I could do and couldn’t give me a definitive answer helpfully! Thank you!

I have no one else to blame but myself if I've royally screwed up here. Bit of context, I had a random text saying resolvecall would be sending someone round a couple of weeks ago. Ignored it because it gave no information about what it related to and had no letters from them. Fast forward to about 20mins ago I'd nipped out and someone triggered my ring doorbell. Thinking it was a delivery answered it and they announced they were from resolvecall,

Ok fine what's it about ?

"Can you confirm your details as all discussions are recorded important note)

Once again asked why all I wanted to know was what this was about.

The usual blah blah if you confirm I can give you the details...

This is where my frazzled brain possibly screwed me.. I just said fine address is x

Postcode z

Finally says it's regarding Capgemini Santander at which point alarm bells ring I do vaguely recall that but it was a VERY long time ago and most definitely statute barred with no ccj so I quickly after remembering the "this is being recorded" added "I do not acknowledge any debt and require any further correspondence in writing"

Thankfully the guy buggered off when I kept saying I wanted it in writing and I wasn't willing to discuss with him especially not over a bloody doorbell.

So how much have I potentially f!*ked myself and how do I go about sending the usual I believe this to be statute barred letter (assuming the mse ones are still valid?) if they haven't even bothered to leave details on a card?

Editted to add: found the text they sent (in junk!) and it does mention an account number but nothing further so I guess I'd need to write to resolvecall with that account number? Just to reiterate the guy door stepping never mentioned account numbers just the company names.

New to investing and I have been investing by just buying shares on Trading 212. Should I be investing in a stocks and shares ISA so I can avoid tax in a few years when I want to take the money out? Is that the only difference in using a stocks and shares ISA compared to just buying shares?

Forgive me if this seems like a stupid question, I believe I'm tripping up at what ougt to be the "easy" part!

I'm 36 and currently a minimum wage earner (resisting the temptation to make this post about how I got here; bright kid with a strong start, probably neurodivergent, loss of a parent shortly before leaving school, disappointing degree result, lost decade of gradually sliding backwards).

I'm making ends meet, if a little precariously. The strong start and the early bereavement might have done a lot of damage personally and professionally, but they did mean I was able to buy my home in my mid 20s so my LTV is in a place that I now get the better rates. The mortgage has gone up like everyone else's, but rent in my area would be double that and I have a lodger which helps a lot. My sense of meaning and accomplishment comes from a couple of hobbies indulged to a high level, which fill the space conspicuouly not occupied by career, partner and/or kids and I'm therefore reluctant to cut out.

Onto the question -

In the last year I've lost both of my grandmothers, who had both outlived my respective grandfathers. Inheritance combined with the couple of grand I'd managed to put aside by myself, means I now have just shy of a year's expenses in cash. This is a first for me, and I'm keen not to blow it! It is all currently in an online savings account, which gives an okay interest rate on every month that I don't withdraw (which I seldom do). I'm inclined to leave half there as an emergency fund.

The flowchart agrees with my own judgement on what to do with the other half - stick it in a fire and forget S&S ISA, top it up whenever I have any spare cash but otherwise leave it alone to create myself a sensible buffer for some nebulous distant future that I'm quietly pretty worried about.

But... mechanically, how do I do that?? What platform works best? I want something simple to operate, to remove any barriers from myself in terms of actually topping it up. That would lean towards T212 or a similar online platform. But I see a non-negligible number of reviews talking about hidden costs and difficulty withdrawing at need, which really make me nervous if this is going to be my long term security! I'm also inherently suspicious of anything that needs to advertise so relentlessly.

Is anyone able to help shunt me out of my decision paralysis?

Got a amazon card check from the us so flagged it as fraud, this card (card 1) got a new number on the natwest app and card 2 (unrelated card) has completely disappeared from my account?

Update: natwest said card 2 was overlimit and expired, it wasn't. Card 1 was expired but it had a balance of £0 and that's still on my account?

Hi everyone, I have a full time job and earn £30k a year via PAYE, I collect Yugioh cards as a hobby and have brought and sold some this year on Ebay/Vinted

Im not sure if I need to register for self assessment as a sole trader as I have only made £400 profit which I am planning to spend on more cards to keep in my collection soon (Which I wont sell)

Jan 2026 - April 5th 2026:

-£1400 buying cards

April 6th 2026 - Current:

-£1900 buying cards

+£3700 selling these cards

I am worried that HMRC will think I made £1800 profit this tax year, whereas I spent £1400 buying these cards just a few months earlier

Thank you in advance, if I missed anything please let me know

Got my first payslip for my first job of the year a graduate role I started in September, they took NI but not tax at all, my code says 1257L as normal, are they gonna come hunting for me? Should I let them know? Or just roll with it?

CIFAS marker after identity theft — has anyone successfully challenged one?

I’m sharing my experience because I believe there needs to be more accountability for the impact of unresolved CIFAS markers on identity-theft victims.

A Lendable/Zable-related identity-theft dispute resulted in a CIFAS False Identity marker being recorded on 17 November 2025. After months of challenging the matter, CIFAS has maintained that the marker was correctly filed, but the issue remains unresolved.

I understand the need for fraud prevention. However, the distinction between a False Identity marker and a separate victim-protection marker has not resolved my practical problem.

The consequences are serious: my intended business-premises purchase is at risk, my solicitors’ work is paused, and my intended mortgage application remains unsubmitted.

I feel disgusted and sick to my stomach at how much time, uncertainty and stress this has caused after I was the victim of identity theft.

I have escalated the dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service and raised data-protection concerns with the ICO, but I am still waiting for a meaningful resolution.

Has anyone successfully challenged a CIFAS False Identity marker after identity theft? I would particularly appreciate hearing from people whose markers were removed following a complaint to CIFAS, the Financial Ombudsman Service or the ICO. What evidence helped, and how long did it take?

Hi, I voluntarily terminated my car, handed it in on 20th August. Last payment would have been a few days before that. I received the appraisal on 12 September and disputed the charges the same day. On 24th September I received the final balance to be paid. I called them on 29th of September and it was agreed that I would pay the balance in full on 16th October. I paid it tonight and then noticed a missed payment has appeared on my credit report. I’m going to call them tomorrow, but surely it can’t be a missed payment when they agreed to this date? Unfortunately I don’t have the agreement in writing it was over the phone. I’ve not had any phone calls or emails from them saying I’m late with a payment. Please help me figure out if I’m in the wrong?

hey, I don’t know too much about how this stuff works so I’ll try my best to explain the situation. Pretty much the mortgage on the house we live in is coming to an end and it turns out my dad was paying interest only mortgage (i think that’s what it is called). He is 74 and I think is too old to get a new mortgage from what i understand, Im 23 and finished uni a couple a months ago and only work a part time job, Before any deductions like tax I earn around 25k a year. We’ve been living in this house for nearly 20 years now so it’s a pretty stressful situation for us and him especially.

So i just wanted to ask realistically what happens in a situation like this ? We live in london, is the only option to sell the house and move somewhere cheaper ? Because from my little understanding of this whole situation we won’t be able to get a new mortgage on the house.

Hi all,

My partner and I have a house currently worth £466k with £100k equity and £366k left on the mortgage. The house needs renovating (full downs stairs reno including all plumbing, electrics, plastering, kitchen, toilet , walls knocked through to create open plan kitchen diner - the full works etc etc). So it’s a big job.

The quotes we have received from local reputable builders to do the works are all in the region of £80-100k. We have little to no savings as they all went into this house, last year. However we do have a £5k emergency fund.

If you’ve read this far, I appreciate it as this is a rather dry subject! So we essentially need to borrow extra money to finance these works to make our house liveable/functional/enjoyable. However we can only borrow £50k from our equity as that takes us to 90% LTV.

So my question is how would YOU fund the OTHER £50k. We’re thinking bank loans each on top of taking the £50k equity out. Is this possible ? Legal? Doable?

Annoyingly we both earn okay - £65k and £55k respectably. But with all the monthly out goings (mortgage food car loans etc) it’ll take us forever to save up the extra £50k needed to do the full Reno.

The other option is we wait 5 or 10 years to build more equity and remortgage against that, but realistically this work needs doing now.

Hi everyone,

I’m 21 years old, looking for some honest advice on my finances and the best way to get myself out of debt without completely sacrificing my social life.
I earn around £35k a year, with take-home pay of approximately £2,400 per month. Some months I can earn more through overtime, and my next payday could be around £2,700. Overtime isn’t always consistent though and believe me I would work it every weekend if I could if it meant paying this off a bit quicker.
I’ve built up quite a bit of debt over the past few years and want to get it under control properly rather than just making minimum payments and feeling like I’m getting nowhere.
My current debts are:
personal loan: £7,801 balance - £141/month
personal loan: £11,000 - £217/month
Barclaycard: £2,430 at 0% interest until November 2028, £25/month minimum
Monzo Flex: £1,290 remaining, with payments of £578 on 1 November, £409 on 1 December and £278 on 1 January, after which it should be cleared
Klarna: £682 at 0% interest, £62/month
Overdraft: £570, which I’m planning to clear from my next payday

Expenses include £217 per month for fuel,
£217 for food and £400 for other bills such as insurance etc.
total expenses including debt payments work out to about £1800. I feel my worst enemy at this moment in time is my overdraft which I am currently working towards paying off.
Just looking for advice on how you would tackle this debt and any tips for doing so. I am young

I am setting up Junior Stocks and shares ISAs for my kids (3 and 1) as a better means of saving for their futures.

I am clueless with investing and want something hands off that I can leave to grow until they are 18 and relatively lower risk. I plan to invest their gift money and a small amount each month. I don’t expect to make thousands of pounds but I just want a better means of having a nice start for them at 18 for uni fees or to buy their first car etc.

I have opened accounts with Harhreaves Landsown but need to choose a fund. Any ideas on funds that would be appropriate for me to choose in the long term? any help appreciated for a total novice.

My partners parents created an investment bond in 2012, and in the past month have transferred this into my partners name. They initially invested £5000 and it's currently sitting at £6000. He earns approx 28k a year, and has £15k in savings from an inheritance (£13k about to be paid towards a house deposit). Does he need to fill in a self assessment form/pay tax? Tried reading about it online but not really understanding. Thank you in advance!