Money Box

National Insurance will be cut for millions workers from today. It'll be cut from 12% to 10% - the lowest main rate for more than twenty years. The government says this cut will save an employee on average earnings around £450 a year. However, some experts including the Office for Budget Responsibility say that gain is far less than the cost of freezing personal tax allowances from 2021 while wage...

It can feel like new year, new you, with so much potential for change and improvement, but then reality can kick in. Around 1 in 3 of us will have made a financial resolution this year, but according to Hargreaves Lansdown, almost 20% of us won't even make it to the end of this week. So how do you make them stick? Felicity Hannah is joined by behavioural & data scientist Professor Pragya Agarw...

Are you putting down the mince pies and opening your bank statements? Well, you're in the right place as we're dedicating some time to the kinds of money topics that come up between Christmas and New Year.  Perhaps you want to know your consumer rights before hitting the sales, what to do with unwanted gifts or maybe you've spent more than you can afford this festive season? If so, then you've com...

Higher earners in Scotland are to pay more income tax from April. That was one of the headlines from the Scottish government in its budget on Tuesday. We'll discuss that change and more with Professor Mairi Spowage, director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde. Tens of thousands of teenagers could benefit from studying the subject of core maths once they turn 16. T...

A typical rental property gets 25 enquires from people who want to view it, according to the property listings site Rightmove. That high demand also comes alongside high prices. The estate agents Hamptons says tenants have been hit with the biggest rise in rental costs in at least a decade. And it's not just tenants feeling the pinch. We look at the impact rising interest rates have had on those o...

The Office for National Statistics has published the first of a new quarterly set of figures designed to reflect how inflation is experienced by households. They are called the Household Costs Indices and include things like mortgage costs, interest and insurance. It showed that overall UK household costs rose by 8.2% in the 12 months to September. How does it compare to other measures and what im...

This week we're tackling the cost of the festive season and looking at how to avoid scams. The cost of Christmas is up almost a quarter over the last three years according to the The Centre for Economics and Business Research. What can you do to keep costs down? And as figures from UK Finance, the trade body for banks, suggest nearly £100m will be stolen from around 200,000 people through fraud an...

Teenagers are being bombarded on social media with promotions for financial products they might not understand and that are usually too risky or dangerous for them to invest in. The MP Robin Walker, who chairs the Commons Education Select Committee, wants to see financial education for 16-18 year olds strengthened. The Department for Education told us "Financial literacy within citizenship is comp...

This is a transformative time for banking. The last decade has seen an incredibly fast-paced increase in the use of technology and also a rapid decrease in the use of cash. High Street banks, where most of us have our money, have adapted. From branch closures to online accounts, we'll discuss how banking is changing. We look back at the history of banking with Cambridge University Economic Histori...

Property buyers have said their home completions are being left in limbo after a company providing IT services to law firms was hit by a cyber incident. Money Box has found some of the UK's largest lenders have begun extending mortgage offers for those affected. A national debt charity is calling on lenders to improve the way they identify customers who're getting into problem debt. StepChange say...

This week on Money Box Live we're talking about Power of Attorney. What it means, who needs one and some of the pros and pitfalls. Presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, Angela Rippon shares her experiences with the programme and Felicity Hannah is joined by a panel of experts to answer your comments and questions. Solicitor Gary Rycroft helps clients set up and manage the legal side of Power o...

We'll take a closer look at what the Autumn Statement means for your personal finances. On Wednesday the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, made announcements about tax, pensions and benefits. With his top takeaways, Paul Lewis talks tax cuts and the unfreezing of the local housing allowance. A listener went into a filling station to put just enough petrol in her car to leave her enough money to buy food fo...

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt has opened the red briefcase once again to deliver the Autumn Statement in the Commons. But what does it mean for you and your money? Felicity Hannah will be looking at how today's announcements impact your personal finances - from pensions, to taxes and benefits. Joining her to answer your questions and comments are, Alice Haine, Personal Finance Analyst at BestInvest,...

The number of reported scams involving QR codes has nearly quadrupled in less than three years according to figures seen by Money Box. The data was revealed by City of London Police and gathered from reports made to Action Fraud. The Charted Institute of Trading Standards is warning those reports are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. We'll hear the story of one woman who was scammed after...

Most people would like to save for their children but it's not always straightforward. There are questions about the best accounts, about how much you can afford - and about what those children might decide to spend the money on once they hit 18! According to Standard Life 7 out of 10 parents are worried they're not saving enough for their youngsters' futures. Felicity Hannah is joined by Kirsty S...

As the number of homeowners behind on their mortgage jumps we look at a scheme in Wales trying to help people stay in their homes. Also on the programme we speak to experts who weigh up the pros and cons of deferring your state pension and hear about the complications one woman had in getting the money she was owed. We'll tell you if you're eligible for the winter fuel payment and, as the cost of...

This week we are talking all things love and money and what co-habiting, marriage and divorce mean for your finances. Do you split the bills evenly or have a complicated spreadsheet to work out who pays what? It comes as recent research published by the University of Bristol revealed 100,000 couples divorce in England and Wales every year - but only a third of them use the legal system to sort out...

For the first time we know the record of individual banks on reimbursing victims of fraud. The Payment Systems Regulator published figures this week which show, bank by bank, what proportion of the victims were reimbursed and what proportion of their money they got back. Millions of people, some with quite modest savings, now face the prospect of paying tax on the interest those savings earn. Who...

This week the team is live at a community centre in Lancaster to look at all things housing. It's one of the biggest financial stories of the year. Rising interest rates led to hundreds of mortgage deals being pulled earlier this year before being replaced by costlier versions. This week the Bank of England will decide where they'll go next. Exclusive figures for Money Box have revealed a third of...

The official body which tackles loan sharks tells Money Box that for the first time in its almost 20 year history it is seeing people turn to loan sharks to pay for essentials like food and fuel. The England Illegal Money Lending Team investigates and prosecutes loan sharks and supports those threatened by them. We report from Blackpool and visit a credit union - CLEVR Money - where people can bor...

More than £500m was stolen by fraudsters in the first half of 2023, according to figures from UK Finance. This is less than the same period in 2022, but Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams, where people are tricked into transferring money to thieves, are on the rise. We ask what can be done to fight back against the fraudsters, both on a personal and industry-wide level? Joining Felicity Hannah ar...

We investigate the case of Kent Brushes, a hairbrush company founded in 1777, which has had £1.6m stolen by thieves. The money was transferred in 40 separate transactions, all to new payees, in less than 20 minutes. Dan Whitworth reports. And - the difficulties facing people in England who used the government’s Help To Buy loan scheme to get on the property ladder. What advice is there for those a...

Just how much does technology impact your finances? Do you search for the best deals on your laptop or phone? Perhaps you keep track of your money through online banking. As many as 40% of people in the UK feel they cannot keep up with newer technology according to the charity the Good Things Foundation. And not being online can cost you money, over £1,000 a year, according to Hargreaves Lansdown....

This week, the energy watchdog Ofgem released data showing energy debts reached £2.6 billion between April and June. It says the rise in debt was due to both the increase in wholesale energy prices and wider cost of living pressures. We'll get reaction to that figure from Octopus Energy, one of the UK's biggest suppliers. More and more people are taking money out of their private pensions. Between...

A lot of us like to save up for special occasions - a holiday, some home improvements - but, as we grow older, more of us think about saving for the costs that come after we die. In fact, 69% of people make some sort of provision to help with the cost of their funeral, according to the financial services firm Sunlife. And it's a big bill - more than £9,000 if you want a funeral and a wake or even...