The Department for Work and Pension oversee the payments which are provided for those who may need extra financial support. This is called Personal independence payments (PIP) and you could qualify if you suffer from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition which affects your ability to continue with everyday tasks.
The Department for Work and Pensions report that there are 3.4 million people in the UK who receive PIP.
You could receive payments for living components as well as mobility if you struggle to do necessary travel yourself.
Mostly you will be given a 3 year fixed time of receiving these payments before getting a review to determine any changes.
Some people qualify for a ‘indefinite award’ in which they will be placed on a 10 year plan before they are reviewed.
If you have any changes to you condition whether it becomes worse or improves you must tell the Department for Work and Pensions as this could affect your payments. If your situation worsens you could be eligible for a higher allowance.
If you qualify for PIP you will receive your payments weekly, below is the amount you could be paid weekly. These payments are not subject to tax.
The lowest allowance come to £72.65
The maximum allowance is £108.55
The lowest allowance is £28.70
The maximum allowance is £75.75
To receive PIP you will have to apply to the department of work and pensions who will require personal information before conducting a review of your condition.
For both the living and mobility components you must be above 16 but below the state pension age.
Check to find out if you qualify for extra financial support to help you with day to day living.
With the elections result naming Labour as the winners we now wait for the action they promised to be delivered.
Labour promises for home owners and renters will be watched to see which ones come through to help those getting onto the property market.
This promise also included the building of affordable and council housing helping those on lower incomes also get onto the property market.
Now Labour are in parliament we wait to see when and if their promises and followed through to see what a labour government means for the housing market.
To start investing you will need to set up an account on a trading platform. Upload your details to the platform and deposit funds to begin. Some platforms will have a minimum fund that you can start investing with.
Make sure you know all the details of trading platforms before investing so you can make start the right way.
When you create your account on a trading platform you will have to pay fees to use their services.
Some platforms will charge a flat fee or alternatively will charge a percentage of the portfolio value. Brokers such as, AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown charge one platform fee for a portion of your portfolio held as shares as well as one fee for the portion held as funds.
There will also be a flat fee when you sell and buy an investment typically ranging between £5-10.
Investments into companies outside of the UK will cost extra as well as an extra charge if you are inactive on your platform.
If you make a certain amount of trades in a month could get you a reduced rate.
You will need a trading platform to begin investing, many have an app so you can keep an eye on it whenever you like. For some you will have to pay a fee to use the platform, this a service fee for the platform to buy shares on your behalf.
Below are some popular platforms investors use, make sure you research each one and decide which one works best for you before you begin. Pay attention to the platforms different fees.
To open the account you will need your debit card information and National insurance number, you can set up online or on the app where you can also track your investments.
They have the option of ETFs, government bonds, investment trusts, UK and overseas trades so you have a variety to choose between.
They have no platform fees but do charge between £5.95 to £11.95 per investment you buy or sell. The charge will decrease with the more trades you make each month. They will take this automatically from your account, if you do not have enough funds on your account they will sell some shares on your behalf.
Again there are no annual platform fees, you will be able to track your investment through their app and buy, sell and withdraw whenever you choose.
You will be charges 0.25% of your first £0- £250,000 on the account, this covers the service of using their platforms. The charge will decrease when the value of your shares increases.
For dealing shares you will be charges £5 each time you sell or invest but won’t be charges to withdraw.
Targeted towards new investors making it simple to use and get started. There are no trading fees so you can buy and sell whenever you please. The app has simplified investing so could be a great choice to start with.
Download the app to start and keep updated on your stocks. The app is UK based and is regulated however it does come with high conversion fees if you choose to trade with Overseas companies.
Today is election day, we hope you are ready to vote at your nearest voting station. At 10pm voting will be closed and before the final verdict there will be the exit poll which has been used to predict the outcome since 2005.
The Exit polls is not a statement of who won but a close prediction which has a very impressive track record. In 2019 the exit poll predicted 368 seats for the Conservative party and the actual number of seats was 365.
The Poll is based on a small sample of votes from 130 different polling stations from around the country. People at the stations are handed a replica ballot to fill in to show who they voted for in the real ballot. These replica ballots are counted to see who comes out on top. They also indicate any changes in areas from the last exit poll and past votes are used to predict how each area could vote this time around.
Seats Predicted for Labour - 410
Seats Predicted for Conservatives - 131
Go Compare reports increasing prices in home insurance.
You can often find cheaper policies when buying a combined policy.
Older property owners are seen as less of a risk because they tend to make less claims, are more security conscious, are at home more often making themselves less of a target for burglars as well as statistically being more financially secure.
The cost of your property will impact your home insurance due to higher costs of repairing and covering for damages.
The average price for home insurance on a house is, £214 and for a flat £192. Insurers will take into account the cost of the rebuild.
Just like the cost of your home, the size of it also impacts how much it costs to rebuild meaning home insurance will be more expensive.
Paying monthly will usually make it more expensive than paying one large annual sum because interest will be added on each month.
Where your property is located can make a large difference in price as factors such as, crime rates, flood risk, or a more expensive area.
Staring your investing journey to make more from your income, save up and learn more about investing? There is a lot of information about investing and not a lot of it is easy to understand, so here is a guide for beginners learn how to invest so you can get started.
Investing is when you put money into something in hopes to gain a profit in the future. You have heard of the stock market, where you can buy a share in a company so you are a shareholder, the value of your share will increase when the company is succeeding earning you money. Likewise, if the company takes a decline then so will the value of your shares, potentially losing your money. This is why it is best to understand your risk tolerance as well as your financial status before beginning.
You can invest in multiple avenues, find out which type of investing is best for you to begin. Common forms for beginners cash investing or buying shares on the stock market.
There are different ways of investing, for when you begin you should decide which type will help you reach your goals as well as match your personal risk tolerance.
You get a bundle of assets you can buy and sell which diversifies your portfolio whilst keeping the risk factor to a minimum. Instead of having shares in individual stocks this is a way to invest in multiple companies in one pot in order to keep.
Investing in one business and putting more into it could offer you a bigger return. There is a bigger risk of losing money along with a bigger chance of increasing the value.
You will need a trading platform to begin investing, many have an app so you can keep an eye on it whenever you like. For some you will have to pay a fee to use the platform, this a service fee for the platform to buy shares on your behalf.
If you are looking to get into investing to make more from your income then make sure you are financially ready to begin. Are you ready to start investing?
There are various types of investments and deciding which one suits you best will help you begin your investing journey clearly. Set some goals, what do you want to get out of this, will you set yourself some rules of when to withdraw money and how you will navigate investing.
Many experts recommend to invest around 10-15% of your post tax annual income to see the greatest return. However, it is best to begin low and work up to this amount when you can.
We hear a lot about the benefits of investing and the need to increase your income through investments. However, this isn’t always an option for everyone and starting to invest can be a big decision and should be thought out.
Investing is a great way to build on your income as well as create financial independence. Cash in your bank account will be losing value without a great interest rate which is hard to come by due to inflation. With investing, your money will adapt with inflation and the value of your money is protected.
If you are ready to invest find out which type of investing suits your goals and situation the best.
Going to University becoming more and more expensive, not only in inflation making it harder to live away from home but the increase in tuition fees from the last 10 years have tripled student tuition loans. This makes it so every University student becomes massively in debt from there years on their course. Many rethink going to further education because they know they will end it in debt.
1.8 million people are now in debt of over £50,000 due to student finances.
In 2023/24 2.8m people made repayments on their student loan however it is common knowledge that many people will never have the chance to repay. Repayments begin when you start earning above the threshold of either £25,000 on plan 1 or £27,295 for plan 2 and others. You pay back 9% of your income each month with a 7.5% interest rate on the debt. The debt immediately is void after 30-40 years after graduating.
Students receive a maximum of £9,250 for undergrad tuition as well as a maximum of £9,978 for maintenance loan, this is a maximum of £13,022 for those studying in London to account for higher rent and living prices.
If you are or will soon be a student living away from home, there are lots of ways to save as a student to make sure your maintenance loan goes as far as it can.
As a student, you will be affected by the election results this week so it is important to know which party is giving attention to student needs.
The Conservatives and proposed shutting down university course they deem as a ‘rip-off’ limiting students’ choices. They plan to replace them with more high-quality apprenticeships where students could learn on the job whilst getting paid an apprenticeship salary costing the government less.
Labour have repeatedly mentioned their plans for schools however, higher education plans have been vague or non-existent. They have pledged to revamp the higher education funding system but what this means is unclear.
The Green Party aims to abolish tuition fees completely taking us back to 1998 which is when tuition fees were first introduced. This would open University up to more people and offer further opportunities for higher education.
The Reform party plan to cut interest rates on student debt meaning graduates would only be paying back exactly what they borrowed, decreasing debt and paying less back into the government pot.
The Liberal Democrats pledge to reinstate maintenance grants for disadvantaged students as well as review the finance behind high education. This could give those from lower income households or other situations a better chance of gaining an education ultimately increasing the number of higher educated people in the UK.
With only a few days to go until the 2024 UK Election held on Thursday 4th July we take a look into the polls which aim to keep track of how the public plans to vote on the day.
The BBC polls show that Labour are distinctly ahead of the other parties with predictions placing Conservative 100 seats behind this year.
From 14 years of a Conservative government the UK could be ready for a change this year and the polls are showing it. Voting is open until 10pm at your local voting stations, if you are registered to vote you will have a voting card to tell you where to go, if not you should be able to search for your local voting station.
Each vote from each constituency matter, these are all counted and an MP from each party will sit in the House of Commons to represent a majority vote from a constituency. The party with the most MP representative in the House of Commons will form the next government.
The manifestos have all been published for the public to review their policies and decide which one serves best. Reading the policies rather than focusing on the personality of each candidate to make an informed decision this election can help you change the government and enable change that you want to see.
Your vote matters for your own financial needs and the UK economy.
If you are looking to buy a house this year, you might be looking at party polices such as the Conservative policy of making the stamp duty threshold of £425,000 permanent stated in their manifesto. In the final days of their campaign, Rishi Sunak repeats his promises and fights off the other parties, refusing to admit that Reform party are a true opposition to Conservative or even the Labour party.
If you are a teacher or have children of school age then it might be important to you to hear that Labour intend to end tax exemptions for private school and will start to charge them VAT. This will increase fees at private schools for their plan to increase funding into state school including mental health professionals in each school. Keir Starmer continues campaigning this week reeling off his argument that if you want change you have to vote for it.
With various promises focusing on improving the NHS from all the parties including Liberal Democrats declaring their pledge to increase funding by £9.4 billion. This is the largest funding promise of any of the parties and some say they are aiming too high for real action to be done here.
The political parties are aiming to appease as many people as possible this year with the cost of living increase being a large factor in voters decisions. The Green Party also promise to be focused on bringing down costs, they pledge to do this through increase national insurance for the top earners where Labour have stated they will not be raising national insurance.
Another review from Ofgem reveals a price drop in energy costs!
This means that suppliers are capped at how much they can charge per unit. This newest drop means that for a typical household the bill will fall by £122 a year to a total of £1568 a year which is the lowest it’s been in two years.
Ofgem conduct a review and release a new cap every three months, many predict that by the time of the next review, in October the price will rise further again, in time for more people to turn on the heating for the winter.
Predictions say that there will be a 9% increase to £1714 a year on average.
Unfortunately, there a many people who struggle to pay for their gas and electricity, in 2023, Citizens Advice charity found that 5.3m people in Great Britain were in debt to the energy supplier.
Now, the BBC report a collective debt of £5 billion to energy suppliers due to the high cost.
If you can’t pay your bills the supplier will make you set up a payment plan with them.
After this, and if you still can’t pay they can force you to have a prepayment meter installed, will charge you late fees and after 28 days of no payment you can be disconnected until you pay the bill.
Being late to pay or not paying at all can damage your credit rating.
If you are of state pension age, live with only those of state pension age or under 18s then the supplier cannot disconnect you from October until the end of March.
There are many ways to decrease your energy usage if you are struggling.
This year the Amazon Prime sale days will fall on the 16th and 17th of July. This is the 10th year in a row for the Amazon Prime day and is a great way to save money on an item you have wanted, buy for birthdays or even get ahead and start your Christmas shopping.
There will be new deals released throughout the event so you can keep going back to search for that special item.
The deals are only available to Prime members so make sure you sign up in time.
The Vice president of Amazon Prime revealed that prime members saves over $2.5 billion during the 2023 prime day.
Members of Amazon prime will be sent invites to those extra deals, so request those invites so you don’t miss out.
The top invite only deals include 40% off Sony wireless headphones and up to 30% off Peloton products.
Back to school and college products such as 40% off on Amazon Basics school supplies as well as 40% off Amazon essentials crew necks, hoodies and joggers.
Keep a look out on these influencers pages as they will be dropping exclusive deals in the run up to the event.
The influencers include, Jess Sime, Millie Bobby Brown, Alix Earle, Jared McCain, Monet McMichael, Alyssa MacKay and Meredith Duxbury.
From July 8-15th they will pick their favourite products and provide an early access deal.
Sign up for prime if you’re not already as this is the only way to shop the deals.
Amazon are helping you prepare and if you have an Alexa device then you can set up alerts for items in your basket when they go on sale.
Sign up for the invite only product page to be in for a chance as viewing only the top deals.
