1 in 4 people experience mental health problems however many people go without any support or reaching out for help. The stigma around mental health is still an issue and prevents many from taking action.
Personal finances can often be a cause or an outcome of mental health problems.
1.5M people in England experience problem debt and suffer with mental health problems.
A study from Money and Mental Health Policy institute found that 46% of people with problem debt also have a mental health problem. Of this, 86% of people said that finances made their mental health worse.
People with mental health problems are three and a half times more likely to be in debt and struggling with their finances. This could be due to their mental health preventing them to cope with the burden or as those with mental health problems are typically in lower paying jobs or to be unemployed. They could struggle to maintain a job or struggle with making their payments.
The stigma around both mental health and finances makes this a difficult topic for people to approach.
With more support at work and at home more people could stay on top of their finances and in turn reduce money stress.
Only 1 in 5 people with mental health issues had spoken to a GP, Social Worker or a mental health nurse about how their finances are impacted. Only 3 in 10 people suffering are asked about their finances showing those in positions of support also avoid the topic of finances.
It was shown that younger people are more likely to approach the topic of mental health and finances and express their anxieties around the topic. This could mean older generations are more reluctant to share and therefore could be missing out of resources and support they need.
Among those with mental health problems, people from minoritised ethnic groups are significantly more likely to live in a household that is behind on bills.
They found that this ranges from 9% of White people to 33% of Black, Black British, Caribbean or African people. Those is minority groups lack access to the support they need and often have worse outcomes.
The summer holidays are coming and you might be panicking about what to do, how to entertain the kids for 6 weeks and create lasting memories. Your budget doesn’t have to be blown this summer and you can still make the most of the warm months and long days with the family.
With the price of houses rising each year this makes it much harder for first time buyers to get on the property market.
There are regional differences in house prices over the UK and clear increases as you travel the south of England.
When looking to buy a house you might consider the regional differences in prices.
MoJo Mortgages has found that the value of property you can buy in the North VS. the South holds a significant difference. The average price for a 2 bed in £260,863. For this price, in a northern city you could find a three bed for this average price whereas in the South you would be more likely to find a 1 bed flat for the average price.
They found that Middlesbrough can offer the best value as with the average price mentioned above you could get a 3 bed house.
Brighton offers the worst value closely followed by Oxford and then Cambridge.
House Prices began falling at the start of 2024 but remain +30% higher than the average in most areas.
The south is perceived to come with lifestyle benefits such as the climate and landscape with fewer large cities and more natural land.
Higher wages in the South match the higher house prices and often people will move to the south for work benefits.
The commuting belt into London stretches about 100 miles around the city offering easy access to work offices and so many people live in the South for this reason too.
The high demand for living in the South drives the prices up.
Home insurance premiums are becoming more expensive as conditions such as extreme weather are pushing the prices up.
Figures released by Compare the Market showed that from January to March this year home insurance costs rose by a huge 31%.
It was found that the average combined building and contents policy climbed up to £209 in the first quarter for this year, a leap of £53 compared to the same period for last year.
One of the major triggers for the prices spiralling upwards was the unsettled weather that the UK faced last autumn from storms Babet, Ciaran and Debi.
This led to weather related claims reaching an eye watering £573 million, which is the highest on record.
Most of the payouts were for flooding, followed by the costs of burst pipes.
Other figures revealed by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) would support what was found by the comparison website.
Year-on-year ABI data revealed that home insurance premiums rose by 19%, comparing the first three months of this year to last year.
Again the storms of last autumn were the main reason for the increases, and caused £352 million of damage to homes.
Compare the Market said that bedsits were the most priciest type of property to insure for the first three months of this year.
The average cost of covering a bedsit was £423, which also saw the largest annual increase in premiums, rising by a massive 41% from £301 in 2023.
Flats were the second most expensive property type to insure, with an average cost of £221 which was an annual increase of 36%.
While bungalows were found to be the cheapest to cover, with the average price of a policy £199 for the first quarter of this year, but those living in bungalows have still not escaped the premium rises as they have increased by 30%.
Regional disparities were also found, with Northern Ireland the most expensive area for home insurance with an average price of £383, while the North East was the cheapest with a £169 average premium.
The first thing to do is shop around and compare the quotes that you receive from different insurance companies.
You can also contact an insurance broker directly through the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, or use a price comparison website such as Compare the Market.
Also, don’t just accept your current insurance provider’s renewal quote, make sure that you look around for the best deal each time your policy is up for renewal.
Do not pay for any unnecessary extras, as your insurer could offer you additional cover that you might not have recognised, such as for accidental damage.
It’s more than likely that your standard policy will cover everything that you need.
While it is not necessary to buy building and contents insurance from the same provider, some companies will offer a discount if you take out two premiums together.
Yet it can also work out cheaper to buy different polices from separate companies, so again it is best to shop around and compare costs.
You could also look to upscale the security in your home, as many insurers do offer discounts to reward efforts of increasing safety.
The devices that you could install include burglar and smoke alarms, and high quality door and window locks would impress insurers.
Potentially your insurance provider could reduce the cost of premiums if you agree to pay higher excess, which is the first amount of any claim that you must pay.
Rather than pay for your premiums on a monthly basis, you could pay for them in one whole go at the beginning of your policy period, this could qualify you for a discount.
It’s common for insurers to offer discounts if a customer has not claimed anything on their insurance over a period of time, so it important to maintain your no claims discount.
To increase your chances of not having to make a claim, you can take preventative measures such as insulating your pipes and water tanks to prevent freezing in cold weather.
Plus you can install proper security devices to further avoid having to make a claim.
Finally, make sure that you spend time working out exactly how much that your possessions are worth.
If you overestimate the value of your possessions then your premium will be higher than what you should pay.
While if you underestimate this figure you will not be fully covered for a claim.
In the year ending June 2023, ONS statistics estimate that 1.2 million people migrated into the UK.
The UK is currently spending more money on their policy with Rwanda where asylum seekers are sent to a third country to settle rather than allowing them status in the UK. Due to the asylum process in the UK thousands are waiting years for their asylum status so they can settle safely and legally. By spending on a new policy rather than improving the current status of many lives, how will this effect thousands who travel for a hope of a safer life.
The cost of the asylum system has increased due to, the increase in small boat crossings, the market price of accommodation, the resettlement grants for Afghanistan and Ukraine.
In the year ending in 2023 over 67,000 applications for asylum were made which totals to around 84,000 people. Spending included accommodation, food and other supplies.
Around £4bn per year is spent on immigration in the UK including £8m on accommodation for people seeking asylum.
The UK government have now set in motion their Rwanda policy where asylum seekers entering the UK without legal documentation could be sent to Rwanda. The government has declared Rwanda a safe destination despite many activists expressing concern as people are sent to an unknown location expected to restart their lives after an already stressful journey.
This policy has been reported to have already cost more than the resettlement process in the UK. By the end of 2023 the UK had sent £ 240m to Rwanda and it is estimated by the National Audit Office that over 5 years they will spend £370m.
On top of this, for each person sent to Rwanda the UK will pay £150,874 to provide for accommodation, language, training, education, professional development and food over a 5 year period.
The hope for this policy was to deter people from dangerous small boat crossings as there is a chance they could be sent to Rwanda. However, so far this has not decreased the number of crossings and many still attempt to travel.
The Migration Observatory has reported that the effect of the increasing migrants entering the UK is harsher on the already settle migrants. The effect to UK-born workers is small or non-existent as migrant workers job prospects and skills are often similar and easily substituted by employers, this has been a trend the Migration Observatory has found.
Over one million people have taken out new mortgagees that are set to run past retirement age in what is a growing trend.
The data has been supplied for the Bank of England by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Freedom of Information Act, and was later obtained by Steve Webb who is a partner at the pensions consultancy LCP.
It showed that in the final three months of 2021 the number of new mortgages that would run past the age or retirement was 88,931, which was 31% of the total of new mortgages.
While two years ago, again in the final quarter of the year, the total of the latest mortgages at the time that would go beyond pension age reached the higher number of 113,916, or 38% of new mortgages.
For the same period last year, it was a smaller number of 91,394, but as a percentage of all of the new mortgages that were taken out it was a higher 42% that would run past the time of the state pension age.
Currently the state pension age is 66 years old for both men and women but this will gradually increase again from 6 May 2026, and it will rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960 again for men and women.
It was found that the fastest growing group of people taking out mortgages lasting into retirement is those aged under 40, and many of them were first time buyers.
For those who are under 30s, it was revealed that there was a 139% increase of into retirement mortgages for the final three months of 2021 compared to the same period for last year.
While there was a 29% leap in the amount of past retirement date mortgages for those who are between the ages of 30 and 39 for the same timeframe.
Over the age of 40 up to those in their seventies, there was a decline in the amount of fresh mortgages that will be paid at state pension age.
Other information compiled by the Bank of England discovered that just under a quarter or 23% of new mortgages to people in their thirties ran past pension age, but now that has climbed to 2 in 5 or 39% of new mortgages.
Yet a mortgage that has been taken out in someone’s thirties, perhaps as a first time buyer, is highly unlikely to be someone’s last mortgage.
The risk to retirement depends on what happens over the course of their working life, and if they are able to shorten the mortgage term.
Those who have mortgage debt during retirement may use their modest auto enrolment pension pots to clear the debt, this would leave little for retirement itself and less to live on for their golden years.
It has happened in the past that when people mostly paid off their mortgage before pension age, they could spend their final years in work boosting their pension pot.
Even if mortgages only run to pension age and not beyond, it denies people a period before retirement when they might have paid off their mortgage and put more money away in their pension schemes.
As for mortgage lenders there is little certainty over the future pension income of someone in their thirties today, so they cannot know if borrowers will have enough income in retirement to cover mortgage debts.
Also there is evidence that more people have pulled out of the labour market before they reach pension age.
This places extra pressure on keeping up payments on a long-term outstanding mortgage;
The latest figures on mortgage rates released by Moneyfacts will make disappointing reading for mortgage holders, or those who are looking to buy as they grew throughout April.
At the beginning of May the cost of a two-year fixed mortgage rate deal had climbed upwards to 5.91%, up from 5.80% the previous month.
Its UK mortgage trends treasury report found that five-year fixed rates had also jumped up in a similar fashion, rising from 5.39% last month to 5.48% in May.
This is the biggest month-on-month hike in average rates since March for both of the timeframe deals on offer.
One of the main reasons for the rises is the uncertainty over when there will be an interest rate cut.
We have heard about all the sewage being pumped into the UK’s seas and rivers disturbing ecological levels as well as public health whilst the water companies cut costs and raise bills.
Can something be done to stop the water companies getting away with it and how can we trust our water now?
Water Companies are a necessary industry and this is why the government will always bail them out of their debt.
Since being privatised in 1989 the industry has borrowed £68bn, somehow they have since paid £78bn in dividends to investors and shareholders.
Water Companies rely on investors which usually come from wealthy companies which according to the Guardian, include, Qatar Investment Authority, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the US company BlackRock and other private equity firms.
They remain funded through their investors as well as borrowing whilst expecting a return to reward those investors and pay back debt. Thames set a plan for 2024 of increasing their dividends whilst raising their customers’ bills by around 40%.
Southern Water is asking for a price increase of 91% which would be an increase to £915 a year by 2030 according to Consumer Council for Water. South Staffordshire and Cambridge water are asking for the lowest price increase of 24% which would be a hike to £221.
These increases are said to fund £100bn of spending over the next five years which will be spent on replacing ageing, leaking pipes and reducing sewage being pumped into rivers and lakes across the country. The industry regulator is set to decide what the companies can charge between 2025 to 2030, their survey from water companies found that fewer than 1 in 6 considered water bill rises affordable.
The water companies are set to hike prices but it is up to Ofwat to decide by how much. Details are set to be published 12 June and finalised in December.
It has been found that millions of litres of raw sewage has been pumped into Cumbria’s, Lake Windermere. United Utilities documents show a fault at a pumping station in Bowness-on-Windermere which left sewage being illegally pumped into the lake for around 10 hours.
On the 15TH May the Liberal Democrats proposed to criminalise water companies not tackling the problem which the Conservatives voted against.
In 2023, Friends of the Earth found 68,481 incidents of sewage released into England’s seas which totalled to 440,446 hours.
More than a quarter of those incidents were nearby to popular bathing spots.
The Guardian states the financial benefits for the water companies as when they divert the water to rivers and seas rather than utilising treatment plants they can save money.
The River Trust collected date from UK river stretches which determined the true detriment to our environment as only 15% of stretches received good or above ecological health status. Out of our 3553 rivers, 158 got worse from last year. They found that 52% of river stretches declined in health due to Water Companies pollution.
In March, the Government announced that an investment of £180m over the next 12 months is set in place to prevent over 8000 sewage spills in waterways.
Investment into the overflow system and monitors to spot blockages earlier to prevent spills. Additionally they expect new specialist staff training to support the investment.
There has also been a ban on bonuses set in place so water company executive who have committed serious breaches will no longer receive a bonus and will be an increase in inspections.
The latest official figures have revealed muddled information as many still grapple with the higher cost of living.
Rises in wages for UK workers remained at a relatively higher level for between January and March this year, the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed.
Average weekly earnings increased by 6% for the first three months of this year, not including any bonuses.
Yet there were signs in the data that there is an easing of private sector wage growth, in the year to March it fell to 5.9%, which was just below the 6% that was forecast by the Bank of England.
This is the slowest pace of wage rises in the private sector since the period between April and June in 2022.
The biggest rises were found in both the manufacturing and the finance and business services sectors, which saw the largest annual growth rates at 6.8%.
At the same time public sector wage growth remained strong, with annual salary growth of 6.3%.
As inflation has been spiralling upwards since the latter part of 2021, wages have also risen to match the higher prices.
The ONS also found in its latest figures that the jobless rate was at 4.3% this year for between January and March, which is above the official data estimates of a year ago.
The number of unemployed in the UK has also increased quarter on quarter from the final three months of last year.
Overall the total employment rate for the first three months of this year was 74.5%, which is lower compared to what was estimated for the same period a year ago.
The number of situations vacant fell for 13 of the 18 industry sectors that the ONS reviews in its data.
There also appears to be a shrinking number of vacancies available.
The estimated number of vacancies for the period between February and April this year was 898,000, it’s a decrease of 26,000 or 2.8% from the vacancy figures for November last year to January this year.
When comparing the figures for between February and April for this year in contrast to the same period a year ago, it was found that there were 188,000 fewer positions open.
Another telling statistic is that for January to March this year, the number of unemployed people per vacancy was 1.6, up from 1.4 the previous quarter between October to December last year, due to the rising numbers of those out of work.
The latest ONS figures revealed that taking into account rising inflation, in real terms wages really rose by 2.4% for the first three months of the year.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said that "real pay growth remains at it highest level in well over two years".
But she also said that there are signs that the UK labour market is starting to cool, with the fewer vacancies that are available a sure sign of this.
The Bank of England has signalled that it's looking to finally cut the cost of borrowing by reducing interest rates from around June, after keeping them on hold again at the 16-year high of 5.25%.
The latest news from the ONS over wage growth and unemployment sends mixed messages, over whether the figures are a bonus or not for the Bank to finally cut rates.
Private sector wage growth is easing but overall wage growth is still high, that may prove to be a factor that keeps prices high and interest rates higher for longer than what the Bank of England would like them to be.
Some analysts believe that this is the case, and that the broader picture is that wage growth is still a little too strong for the Bank of England’s liking.
Yet the latest annual inflation rate is 3.2% in the year to March, for the same month a year ago it was 10.1%, and the Bank of England has forecast a fall to its 2% inflation target soon, before rising to 2.5% due to energy prices for this year.
While it is good news that the UK is now out of recession as the economy grew by a rapid pace of 0.6% for the first quarter of this year, the fastest growth for two years which was a surprise to many.
Although many will not be feeling the growth just yet, and as part of a seemingly never ending vicious circle its growth that lessen the chances of a rate cut soon, if people do start spending more keeping prices higher.
Rental properties are hard to catch and recently the competition has become fiercer as Zoopla report that listed rental properties only remain available for 25 days on average. The high demand coupled with the lack of available properties is forcing tenants to move quickly.
If you think you should be paid more for your job then there is no harm in asking the question, but make sure you are prepared and you know how to address the topic with your boss.
The UK entered a recession in the later months of 2023 as the UK saw a decline in GDP of 0.5% and people across the country felt the effects of rising prices and interest rates.
This was the UK’s third recession in 16 years.
Today, the 10th May 2024, official figures from the ONS reveal the UK has exited this recession with a GDP growth of 0.6% in the months of January to March. This has been the fastest growth the UK has seen in two years and surpassed economists’ expectations.
The BBC reports that this is the strongest growth of any European G7 country.
There has been an increase in activity across the services sector since the rise in wages has outstripped inflation and eased financial pressures on consumers.
The ONS director, Liz McKeown has documented that there has been a broad strengthening across the service industries as retail, public transport, car manufacturers and health all performing well.
Prices will not fall immediately but inflation is rising slower meaning items are getting more expensive at a slower rate.
The bank of England has kept the rates at 5.25% however, they indicated at a possible cut in the summer months.
As interest rates have gradually climbed to a high not seen since the peak of the financial crash in 2008, the cost of credit has climbed up with it, but there are ways that you can improve your credit score to deal with the build up of financial pressure.
Your credit score is calculated by three credit reference agencies, who compile information on how you manage credit and make payments which is known as your credit file.
If you apply to a bank for a loan for example they would typically run a credit check over you to see how risky that lending money to you would be, and the check will influence what kind of interest rate you would be charged.
First of all make sure that you check all the details in your credit report, report any mistakes.
You can check your credit score for free using MoneySavingExpert’s Credit ClubOpens in a new window for Experian, ClearScoreOpens in a new window for Equifax and Credit KarmaOpens in a new window for TransUnion.
It would be beneficial for a start to ensure that you are on the electoral roll at your current address.
Also build up your credit history as having little or no credit history makes it very difficult to properly assess you, it’s a problem that is common amongst younger people.
You can take the steps to build your credit history, such as making regular payments on time as this show that you are reliable in paying back what you have borrowed.
This can be arranged through a regular direct debit payment, and be wary of any joint account with someone who has a poor credit history, if this is the case you can request a ‘notice of disassociation’ to stop your credit files from being linked.
It would also help your cause to stay within any overdraft limit.
If you have older and well managed accounts, make sure that they become known as this will improve matters.
Any lender would see it as a huge bonus to your credit reliability if you have previously managed several credit accounts, many credit scoring models tend to reward you for having long-standing, mature credit accounts.
Keeping control of your credit utilisation as low as possible is also a help.
For example if your credit limit is £2,000 and you have used half of that then your credit utilisation is classed at 50%, whereas a much lower score than that would be seen as positive by lenders increasing your credit score.
You must also beware that if your are a victim of fraud in anyway, as someone who has had access to your details could take advantage by borrowing credit in your name, so watch out for any applications that you do not recognise.
Also avoid moving home on a regular basis, of course there are circumstances where this is difficult.
Stability is an important quality for lenders, and if you are constantly moving around it could lead to some parties thinking that you might have issues paying rent.
Another way to improve your credit rating is to turn to a credit builder card which can rebuild your credit score, they typically have low spending limits and higher interest rates.
The builder cards can be effective if you use them for a small amounts of spending each month such as on essential groceries, but make sure you repay the card on time and in full each month to avoid paying interest.
Also there is the Experian Boost Scheme option, which you can sign up to as a free service.
The firm says that the scheme will help boost your credit score by simply sharing how you spend and manage your money.
It allows you to reveal information over your regular spending, such as payments to savings accounts, council tax payments and digital entertainment payments to the o the likes of Netflix and Spotify.
As long as you are not spending more than you earn and you are making all the correct payments regularly, then you should receive and instant boost to your overall credit score.
It’s important to ignore any adverts from companies that say that they can repair your credit rating.
In reality what most of them will do is advise you on how to see your credit report and improve your credit rating, but that is something that you can do yourself and for free.
There are some companies that may claim they can do things that legally they can’t, and in some more extreme circumstances they might even encourage you to lie to the credit reference agencies.
It’s vital that you never use or trust these firms.
