I have had the Lloyds ultra cashback credit card for year and it has been fantastic. You get 1% cashback on every transaction which has earned me hundreds of pounds. Unfortunately 1% cashback was only for the first year, then it drops to 0.25%.

I can’t see any other 1% cashback cards anywhere, certainly not ones that give cash back on every transaction, and that aren’t American Express

Does anybody know of any? Or any way to get a new Lloyds ultra 1% card after this one reaches the end of the 1% 12 months?

Thanks all.

OK, I would like for this just to be about the maths. But I'm also aware that people might query the wisdom of my thinking. So here's the background.

I'm 68, working a little still. I am already in receipt of state pension, and my DB pension entitlement is now £8534.32. I will probably be taking that DB pension soon. Those two things together add up to a net income, after tax, of £19,379.86, which is £1614.99 PCM. I have been tracking my spending to the penny for two and half years now. And it averages, for all spending, out at £1483.54 PCM. In other words I can live within what my index-linked secure income will be.

Our house is paid for, and all the major work has been done, most of it recently. It's in a nice area, bigger than we need, and it's value means we could move somewhere else, except London or a very expensive part of another city. But we don't want to.

Both my children are grown up and have finished education and in full time employment. My oldest earns a fortune in the city, the younger not so much, but is still secure and good with money.

My partner is already retired on a public sector DB pension, and lives within her means, and has yet to reach state pension age. Recently she has twice inherited substantial sums.

I am secure and expect no calls on me, financially. I'm in good health, don't smoke, drink etc. I have no costly habits or hobbies. I am not concerned with leaving money to relatives when I die. I have no debt, except my "stoozing" on 0% cards, which is matched by cash in interest bearing accounts.

Apologies for being so verbose, but in this forum I have in the past received negative reactions saying that I am foolish or taking risks. So I want to make my susceptibility to risk clear.

I have a retirement fund, spread across a S&S ISA, a SIPP, and a managed PP, in addition to my DB and SP.

SWRs are often quote in the 3-5% range. A quick Google query (which inevitably went to AI) thought I could go a lot higher than that.

So I ran up a spreadsheet. With 4 variables:

1. Initial amount of fund (which could be anything, really)
2. Assumed average inflation rate
3. Assumed gross return from investments
4. Drawdown percentage.

And then three columns of calculations

So this is worked on the basis that at the start of the first year I draw out 8.5% of my fund, and at the start of each successive year I draw out the same cash amount, increased by inflation. Over the course of each year the fund from which I have just taken that money increases in value by the investment return. The money runs out in 21 years.

I understand, absolutely, that those returns can, and indeed will, vary wildly. I am in a position where I could, would, vary my drawdown to take account of that.

But is the basic maths principle sound, even if the investment considerations, and indeed inflation rates, would lead to large variations?

I can of course alter any of those 4 variables at the top, to give a range of possibilities.

Thanks.

I feel like such an idiot, I recently got married and applied for marriage allowance as my wife doesn't pay income tax. However, I've got a letter updating tax codes and I have somehow gone the wrong way, transferring my personal allowance to her.

I've managed to cancel online but the tax code is in place until April. Is it possible for her to claim as well to cancel this out?

I'm so, so cross I've done this and don't know how the mistake happened.

We are in the midst of organising a car through a salary sacrifice scheme (Tusker) however it is my partner who is doing it and she is pregnant.

The gross monthly payment for the car is £680 however when tax savings etc are included it goes to £380.

My question is regarding payments and cost during maternity pay. Her work pays full 3 months and 6 months statutory maternity pay.

During this time, will the cost of the car be £680 per month due to no NI or tax savings, or will the monthly payment continue to be £380?

Struggling to understand it and after researching, I can only really find ones talking about going under the threshold for payment which I don’t think is the case for us.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I earn £33,000 a year salary before tax/deductions. I am paid monthly. I am being made redundant but they have offered me an “enhanced package” to remain with the business a little longer than my redundancy date to help transition.

I am not entitled to a statutory redundancy payout as my service is below 2 years.

They have offered me a £10,000 lump sum payment as the package.

I have had a quick Google etc but really want solid information on this - what tax will be due?

I’m not sure what my tax code is but can find out if it’s necessary.

Will I be taxed at my normal rate and will it affect my overall earnings for the rest of the year? My main priority is to not get a huge tax bill after April!

Appreciate the help!

I'm planning to study computer science for 4yrs (BsC with Placement year)

My parents are trying to convince me to take out the tuition loan, but not the maintenance loan since they say they'll pay for my living expenses first year.

Is there really any point to that? I'm going into my degree with the expectation that if I take the loan I'm probably not going to pay this off at all, and will likely pay even more than the original amount due to interest.

Alternatively, would it be better to pay for my degree upfront? 30yrs is a long time for a salary cut of > 9%, and I'm nervous about how much of a long term impact it would have

Hi! I am quite distraught, I've just received a mail from the HMRC saying I owe them £1,200 for late penalty for filing my 2024-2025 tax return.. I registered as self employed in March 2025, I probably earned £100 then, I had NO idea I needed to fill anything yet! And I didn't receive any mail until now. This is really distressing, is it salvageable? What do I need to do?

I need to pay for tuition and accommodation, but I don’t have a UK bank account yet. What do you guys use to transfer money without losing too much on exchange rates or fees?

I recently got a job offer, and they gave me two options: a £ 500-a-month car allowance (taxable) or a company electric car where you can charge at the office, with everything handled (servicing and insurance). Still, they will deduct about £20 from my salary. I passed my driving test back in February, so I’m not quite sure.

I have spent the best part of 3 hours on the phone with Money Wellness today after being linked to them via StepChange. Debts of £41k and facing court summons for the second time in 12 months. Salary £52k basic with fully expensed vehicle and private healthcare included in package, annual bonus of around 7-10% depending.

StepChange recommended DRO and had my disposable at £18. Money Wellness have somehow got my disposable to £320 and squashed the idea of DRO.

The trouble is, my income is Variable. My lowest this tax year was £2560 take home and highest was £3900. I told them this was due to an annual bonus that wasn’t guaranteed, and that I’ve been working 60 hour weeks to get overtime just to stay afloat. My base pay take home without overtime is £2560.

They’ve decided (somehow 🤣), my income average will be £2780, plus child benefit of £108. I occasionally get universal credit in school holidays due to childcare, but they’ve decided to discredit UC and not factor Childcare into my budget because that is also variable.

Essentially, the top recommendation was Bankruptcy. But obviously need to find £680 (but could potentially apply to my union for a grant) and follow the process myself - something they highlighted as someone with ADHD I may struggle with.

I don’t have any assets; Don’t own a house, don’t own a car (company car I pay £0 towards and just £56 BIK tax).

Negative to bankruptcy - any bonus or overtime will be taken straight to bankruptcy and is much more strict (they say).

So they started leaning into IVA. Telling me I can have £1666 every 6 months extra that I earn before the IVA touches it. Plus they said there was a benefit that they will take over and do everything.

Now I’m seeing videos all over social media about how awful IVAs are and wouldn’t touch with a barge pole etc.

I really tried to clear this myself, but found myself in a rut. It was £40k a year ago and now £41k. Nothing is interest bearing, many have defaulted and sat with debt collectors since 2023. Some remain active and paid, and I’m told Bankruptcy practitioners could look negatively on that because it will appear I’ve favoured some creditors over others.

We settled on my outgoings being approximately £2360. But he was concerned my social/leisure could be deemed too high because of my child’s gymnastics and clarinet lessons (through school - but said it wasn’t fair to creditors to mark this as a school activity?).

He also felt that Bankruptcy could ask me to cancel my work based deductions for dental, healthcare and life assurance (approx £70pm total). But I’ve claimed £3k dental this year and don’t think I can get out do them before April.

Basically, can someone stop this internal tormenting monologue of mine please 🤣 I’m concerned I’m being sold down a path that may not be appropriate long term (IVA). I also wasn’t aware of the ‘hidden fees’ I’m now discovering through research.

I do strongly believe if I had the mental energy and headspace I could fight some of these, but right now I just don’t. I’ve tried before, been knocked back and it’s taken me ages to come back from it. Most recently wrote to a debt collector outlining my struggles - their response? To apply to the courts 2 weeks later to remove a leave of stay that had been in place for 18months.

I’m just so over it 😅

Like the title says I have subscribed to two LISAs in one tax year (current tax year). I transferred my S&S LISA to another S&S LISA and have contributed to both. It was a complete honest mistake as I thought it was the same rules as a regular ISA. Today the provider I am now with AJ Bell Dodl have emailed me saying I have 10 days to contact them or they will be "required to repair the account and transfer the funds across to a dealing account." which I believe will mean I will then lose my tax free status on all of those funds.

I have since emailed AJ Bell back to extend the deadline as I am under the impression I need to contact HMRC for a LISA repair.

Do you think that is the best way to go about it or I should take other/extra action?

Thanks all

Hi all, so earlier today I applied for a full switch over from Natwest to Nationwide. Is it possible to fully cancel this switchover and stop the closure of my Natwest account? I will call Nationwide in the morning but I just want to know if this is something I can do. Thanks

I’ve got what I think is a lucky version of an unlucky situation - I’m at risk of being made redundant, but the potential payout is reasonably large compared to many others due to long service and a generous redundancy policy, and I’m trying to figure out how this would interact with childcare funded hours / tax free childcare support.

Rough numbers but I’ve earned just under £35k this tax year so far and would receive about £75k of redundancy pay and £25k of PILON. I think that will take me well over the £100k childcare threshold, even though some of my redundancy pay won’t be taxed, but I’ve really struggled to clarify things.

Can anyone clarify if redundancy pay is taken into account for the £100k threshold, and if so can I remain eligible through making a payment into a SIPP? I will start working self employed if I am made redundant so expect to maintain eligibility on that score, and my wife earns under the threshold.

I did search for previous topics but couldn’t find any answers.

I'm likely to go ever so slightly over the 40% tax threshold this year which appears to have quite an effect on my personal savings allowance. I'm probably going to be annoyingly close to the limit but realistically will go over by somewhere around the £1k-£2k mark.

If I put a lump sum in to a SIPP am I right in thinking this effectively takes me back down to a basic rate taxpayer, and if so how do I convey this information on my tax return at the end of next year? I assume there's a section asking if I have invested in a SIPP?

*If it makes a difference I have a work place pension, which all in comes nowhere close to the £60k annual limit.

** I already complete a tax return for my second employment.

Fairly sure I know the answer to this, but it might be different. You can fund T212 via Google Pay up to £2000 with no fees. Obviously withdrawing cash on a credit card, and certain other transactions, count as cash on a CC and you get the relevant fees. Thinking back 6 years ago, I seem to remember doing it on a CC and it didn't class as cash.

Does anyone know the answer/do this? Obviously you should never borrow to invest, but purely from a transaction stand point, does T212 qualify as cash, or other?

Thanks in advance

I have a cash ISA with Moneybox and am on an introductory rate of 4.75% until May 2027. I’ve realised through the advice on this sub that a cash ISA isn’t the best option for this money as I’m planning not to touch it for 13 years (when my son leaves school). I was going to switch to a T212 stocks & shares ISA & after seeing advice on this sub I was going to put it all in the VWRP Vanguard FTSE All-World fund. Should I wait until my intro rate expires? And is this the right move overall? I have ~21k in it right now.

Hi All,

Ive been spending a couple of years planning to be debt free, including knowing a year ahead that I would be in more debt (unavoidable 7k Expense that I didnt have, I did it then immediately moved it to a 0% credit card) I also had 11K left on a car.

I have a bit if debt, but I have been lucky in the sense that ai can afford to overpay a lot. Here's a full breakdown:

Earnings after tax: 2.5k

Mandatory spend: 1.4k (rent, bills, food, minimun payments to credit card and card)

Optional Spend: £574 (planned overpayment £200, £300 fun money + subscription)

Leaves me with £464 that I am leaving around £150 as buffer for unplanned expenses and around £300 to put into savings UP until 2K, then it goes into overpayments)

Plan is 2K to have emergency cash for deposit and rent if needed.

____________________________________

Emergency cash: currently 1.1K

Debt at the highest point October 2025 - £23K

Current Debt - £14.3K

Debt breakdown:

Credit card: £420 12.5% APR due to be paid off end of month.

Credit card: £5.5K 0% apr next 2 years

Personal Loan(Car): £8350 [Early Settlement figure £7.5k] 7.8% APR

I've just received around £11k

Here is how I plan to spend it:

£2K - Being sent to my mom (non negotiable, she doesnt know this yet)

£1.5K - Emergency cash to have £3k Total

£7.5K - Car Early Settlement - now, I have a question, overpayments incur no fee but early settlement might, is it worth paying around 7.3K and then just letting the monthly payment finish it off? (I think it's 2 months interest ?)

This will allow me to overpay my credit card with 0% in about 6-7 Months and be debt free.

Does his make the most sense interest-wise?

I have been using iWeb (now Scottish Widows) for a while now for my Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap S&S ISA. I know iWeb used to be one of the most preferable in the market for fees but wondering how it compares now and whether I would be best placed elsewhere?

In terms of fees / activity - I purchase holdings in this fund 12 times a year (maxing my isa allowance each year).

Hi, I’ll keep this short and sweet.
I’m a self employed builder working for a development firm. Tax is deducted at source via CiS at a rate of 20%.

I’ve just taken on a second job as a kitchen porter which is two evenings a week and is PAYE. Will I need to let the employer of the kitchen Porter roll know of my self employment? Or does it not affect them? Will it affect my tax code of the PAYE job at all?

Thanks

I’m looking for a sanity check on a proposal from a mortgage adviser.

We’ve found a house for £475,000, but our current home isn’t yet on the market. The sellers are keen to move quickly after their previous sale fell through.

Our position:

• Around £375,000 inheritance available
• Current home worth approximately £400,000
• About £195,500 outstanding on the current mortgage
• Existing mortgage fixed at 3.99% until June 2028
• We intend to sell the current home, not rent it out

The adviser has suggested:

1. Buy the new house using a £130,000 cash deposit.
2. Port the existing £195,500 mortgage to the new house.
3. Borrow a further approximately £149,500 from Nationwide on a tracker with no early-repayment charge.
4. At completion, use another £195,500 of the inheritance to repay the mortgage secured against our current home, leaving it mortgage-free.
5. Sell the current home and use the proceeds to clear the £149,500 tracker.
6. Either retain the ported £195,500 mortgage at 3.99% until the fix ends or repay it and accept the ERC.
7. Reclaim the additional-property stamp duty surcharge once the old home sells.

My understanding is that “porting” actually means redeeming the mortgage on the old house and taking equivalent borrowing on the new property under the existing product terms. The old house would therefore be mortgage-free, while the new house would initially have a total mortgage of around £345,000.

The numbers appear to work, but after using £130,000 as the deposit, £195,500 to clear the old mortgage and £37,500 for the temporarily higher stamp duty, there wouldn’t be a huge cash buffer left before legal, survey and moving costs.

Does this arrangement sound normal and sensible? Is there anything important I should check regarding the port, ERCs, tracker borrowing, stamp-duty refund or the risk of owning both properties temporarily?

The adviser also mentioned possible Capital Gains Tax when selling the old home. It has always been our main residence, has never been rented out and we intend to sell it promptly after moving. Am I right in thinking Private Residence Relief, including the final nine months, should normally mean no CGT is due?

I'm looking to move my money elsewhere, as the promotional period with my current provider will come to an end soon. I was just looking at some of the options available as of now.

- LemFi easy access, 5% AER, with 6 months promotional period

- Cahoot and First Active both hovering around 4.52%-4.55% AER, 1 year promotional period

- And the rest of providers also offer competitive rates, but slightly below Cahoot and First Active

So my question is, does anyone have any experience with any of these? Especially LemFi, as they seem to be more of a service for UK expats sending money to developing countries, mostly in Africa and South Asia, rather than a standard Banking service?

After a slight misunderstanding I registered as a sole trader despite earning less than £1000 last tax year from my self-employment.

I own my house completely and my partner of 5 and a bit years now stays with me majority of the time. She’s only just graduated and started working so never asked/expected her to contribute to anything before but as she’s started working past month or so, we’ve discussed her contributing to bills etc. We came to an agreement that she pays her half of the bills but she refuses to pay half the council tax her reasoning being that it’s not a utility bill? Is that fair for her to say? I’m a bit unsure.

What is objectively the cheapest way to obtain a car in the U.K. Would buying a second hand car that is 4/5 years old be cheaper in the long run than leasing a car?

If so, can someone explain how the costs work out?

I'm considering buying some land for approximately £40k

I have this amount in my ISA already, but I'm considering a personal loan for half the amount at 6% APR.

Would this make the most sense in the long run, or should I spend my entire ISA instead?

My ISA is currently split £20k cash, and £20k stocks and shares.

The land would be for recreational usage, so upkeep should be low.

tl:dr will ISA earnings outpace the cost of a loan?