October 19th, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Redundancy can put immediate pressure on household finances, but a clear action plan helps protect your income, benefits, and essential cover. Start with the paperwork your employer provides, then calculate how long your available money may last. Avoid making major financial commitments until you understand your position, including any final salary payment, notice pay and ongoing workplace benefits.

Reviewing Your Severance Package

Read every part of your severance agreement before signing it. Check the redundancy payment, outstanding salary, payment in lieu of notice, unused holiday entitlement and any bonus or commission due. Confirm when each amount will arrive and ask how deductions will appear on your final payslip.

A structured redundancy action plan can help you separate urgent administrative tasks from longer-term financial choices. Ask your employer when pension contributions and benefits will stop. If the agreement contains confidentiality clauses or asks you to waive legal claims, consider obtaining independent legal advice before accepting it. Keep copies of the agreement, payslips and correspondence in one folder.

Budgeting for Uncertainty

Build a temporary budget based only on money you know will be available. Add together your final pay, redundancy payment, accessible savings and any confirmed support. Then list essential monthly costs such as housing, energy, food, transport, insurance and minimum debt repayments.

Divide your available funds by essential spending to estimate your financial runway. For example, £12,000 in accessible money and £2,000 in monthly costs provides about six months before you consider other income. Review direct debits and pause non-essential subscriptions, but avoid cancelling cover or services that would be expensive to restore. Guidance on preparing for job loss also highlights the value of reviewing cash flow before making large withdrawals or purchases.

Securing Your Health Protection

Employer-funded private medical cover may end on your final working day or at the close of that month, so ask for the exact date in writing. Also check whether existing treatment authorisations remain valid and how leaving the company affects dependants covered under the policy.

If you want to retain private medical protection, review your options for continuing health insurance before the workplace scheme finishes. Moving promptly may affect how a new policy treats your medical history or ongoing care. Compare premiums, excess levels, hospital access and outpatient limits carefully. If the cost is too high, ask about reducing optional benefits instead of cancelling cover without first understanding the consequences.

Exploring New Income Streams

Treat finding replacement income as a practical project with weekly targets. Update your CV and professional profiles, contact former colleagues and register with reputable recruiters in your field. Temporary work, contract assignments or freelance projects may help cover regular bills while you search for a permanent role.

Check the financial effect before accepting short-term work. Travel costs, childcare, software subscriptions, and tax can reduce what you keep, while irregular payment schedules may create cash-flow gaps. Agree rates and payment dates in writing. Also check whether you qualify for state support or help with housing costs. Apply promptly where appropriate, as some payments may depend on your claim date and household circumstances.

Seeking Professional Guidance

Redundancy decisions can involve tax, pensions, debt and insurance, so specialist advice may prevent an expensive mistake. A regulated financial adviser can assess pension choices and investment withdrawals, while a debt adviser can help if minimum repayments are becoming difficult. An employment solicitor may help if the severance terms are unclear or seem inconsistent with your contract.

Check an adviser’s regulatory status, charges and areas of expertise before sharing documents or paying a fee. Free guidance may also be available through recognised employment, benefits and debt-support services. If you’re reviewing your life insurance alongside other financial commitments, check whether your current cover remains affordable and appropriate for your circumstances. 

Take your severance agreement, current budget, policy details and pension statements to any appointment. That paperwork gives the adviser a clear starting point and reduces the chance that a deadline or valuable benefit gets overlooked.

October 15th, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Affiliate marketing systems connect commercial partners, track customer referrals and calculate payments. When those systems work together, a business can see which relationships generate revenue and reward partners accurately. Poor setup, however, may cause missed conversions, disputed commissions and unreliable reports.

A successful programme therefore needs clear commercial rules, suitable software and regular technical checks. The following steps explain how to build that foundation and improve it over time.

Understanding Affiliate Ecosystems

An affiliate ecosystem usually includes the business selling a product, the partners promoting it, the customers they refer and the technology recording each interaction. This overview of affiliate ecosystem roles explains how those participants depend on one another.

Start by mapping the full customer path, from the first partner click to the completed purchase and any later return. Decide how long referral tracking should remain valid, which actions qualify for commission and how cancellations affect payments.

Clear rules prevent confusion. For example, if a customer uses two referral sources before buying, your system needs an agreed method for crediting the sale. Document that method before inviting partners to join.

Choosing the Right Software

List your operational needs before comparing platforms. A small online retailer may require basic link tracking and monthly payments, whilst a subscription company may need recurring commissions, discount-code attribution and connections to billing software.

Useful criteria include:

• Pricing at your expected transaction volume
• Reporting for both staff and partners
• Payment currency and scheduling options
• Fraud monitoring and data controls
• Connections with your shop, analytics and customer database

A current affiliate software comparison can help you identify possible suppliers, but test shortlisted products against your own sales process. If several systems must exchange customer, order and commission data, specialist support for the technical integration of your affiliate platform can reduce implementation errors and support future growth.

Expert Integration for Success

Create a written implementation plan covering data fields, tracking rules, access permissions and launch dates. Assign one person to approve decisions, even if developers, marketers and finance staff all contribute to the project. This avoids conflicting instructions during setup.

Testing should recreate real transactions. Place test orders through different referral links, apply voucher codes and cancel selected purchases. Check that every event appears correctly in the platform, analytics tool and finance records.

Allow time for unusual cases too. Mobile-to-desktop purchases, delayed payments and subscription renewals can reveal gaps that a simple test order misses. Keep a record of expected and actual results so developers can reproduce faults quickly. Launch only after commission totals match the source transaction data.

Ongoing Optimisation Tips

Set a regular review schedule instead of waiting for partners to report problems. A weekly check can identify sudden changes in clicks, conversion rates or rejected transactions. Each month, compare platform commissions with completed orders and issued refunds.

Keep tracking links, product feeds and promotional terms current. Expired offers frustrate customers and can weaken partner relationships, especially when a partner has already published the material. Give advance notice when commission rates or eligibility rules change.

Watch for patterns that deserve investigation. A high number of clicks with no sales may point to poor audience fit or broken landing pages. An unexpected rise in conversions could reflect a successful campaign, but it may also expose duplicate tracking. Record every configuration change so you can connect performance shifts with specific actions.

Maximising Your ROI

Judge performance through profit, not headline sales alone. For each partner or campaign, subtract commissions, platform fees, discounts, returns and internal management costs from the revenue generated. This gives you a more realistic view of contribution.

Avoid applying one commission rate to every product if margins vary widely. A retailer might offer a higher percentage on own-brand items and a lower one on heavily discounted stock. You can also reward partners for valuable outcomes such as new customers or annual subscriptions, provided the platform can track them reliably.

Review the programme quarterly and direct support towards partners producing profitable, low-return sales. Accurate attribution should remain the priority. When tracking data, invoices and order records agree, you can adjust rates and budgets using figures that stand up to scrutiny.

October 5th, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

If you’re looking to choose between a drawdown and a lump sum lifetime mortgage, you’re in the right place. We arrange lifetime mortgages for homeowners over 55, and two plans at the same rate can behave very differently over 15 years. How you take the money is the first of those differences, and the cheapest one to get right.

Quick answer: is drawdown or lump sum cheaper on a lifetime mortgage?

Drawdown costs less whenever you don’t need all the money at once. You take a smaller first advance, leave the rest in an agreed reserve, and pay interest only on what you have drawn. A lump sum suits one immediate need, such as clearing an existing mortgage.

What is a lifetime mortgage, in plain terms?

A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your home, and you keep owning the home. No monthly repayments are needed: the interest is added to the loan and rolls up, so it compounds. The loan is repaid when the last borrower dies or moves into long-term care, normally from the sale of the property.

Plans that meet the Equity Release Council’s standards carry a no negative equity guarantee, so your estate will never owe more than the home is worth. The rate is fixed for life, or variable with a cap that is fixed.

Why does the way you take the money matter so much?

Compounding. At September 2026’s lowest advertised rate of 6.25% MER, a £60,000 release with no repayments grows to about £111,900 after 10 years, £152,800 after 15 and £208,700 after 20. Nothing is being paid down, so the interest earns interest.

Take a lump sum and all of it compounds from the first day. Take drawdown and the reserve you haven’t touched costs nothing. Each later withdrawal is priced at the lender’s rate on the day you take it, so a later drawdown can be cheaper or dearer than the first.

The decision that saves the most, in our experience arranging these, is borrowing the smallest amount that solves the problem and leaving the rest as reserve. It does more than chasing a slightly lower rate. Most people already borrow far less than the maximum: FCA data across 2022 to 2025 puts the median lifetime mortgage at around 15% loan-to-value.

When is a lump sum the right choice?

When the need is single and immediate. Clearing an existing mortgage is the clearest case, and some people use a lifetime mortgage to buy their next home, which few realise is possible. If the whole amount will be spent at once, a reserve adds little.

Can you pay the interest or make repayments?

Yes, and this is the second feature that changes the long-term cost. Some plans let you pay part or all of the interest each month, from £50 a month or 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the monthly interest, so more of the equity stays in your home.

Since 28 March 2022, every plan meeting Equity Release Council standards has allowed penalty-free partial repayments. How much you can repay differs by lender. Aviva, for example, allows up to 10% of the borrowed amount each year without penalty, from a £50 minimum. Even small repayments slow the compounding curve.

Because the terms vary so much between plans, compare them side by side rather than ranking plans by rate alone; our guide to lifetime mortgages sets out the features each plan can carry.

What happens if you move, downsize or go into care?

You can move home, provided the new property meets your lender’s criteria, and the plan moves with you. Repaying in full because you are not buying again can trigger an early repayment charge, unless your plan has downsizing protection. Aviva’s, for instance, starts once the plan is three years old.

Care is covered by the standards. Since 6 May 2025, a permanent move into long-term care waives any early repayment charge on Equity Release Council plans, and that includes care with relatives.

Can you still leave an inheritance?

Some plans include inheritance protection, which ringfences a percentage of your home’s value for your family. That share is not available to borrow against, and the rest of the estate still shrinks as the interest rolls up. Equity release will reduce what you leave behind, whichever features you choose.

Does your health change the terms?

It can. A standard lifetime mortgage is not underwritten on your health, but enhanced plans can lend more or price lower where health or lifestyle is likely to shorten the plan. Nobody enjoys that conversation. We ask medical questions only with your permission, and disclosing at the start means the right lender is approached first time.

Who is a lifetime mortgage not right for?

Anyone who can comfortably pay the interest from pension income for life should look at a retirement interest-only mortgage first: it starts from age 50, the debt stays flat, and the affordability test is strict. Anyone ready to move somewhere smaller may find downsizing releases the cash with no loan at all.

Advice is mandatory before any equity release plan goes ahead, and a good adviser will tell you when the answer is not to proceed. Bring your family into the conversation if you can: around half of our reviews were written by a client’s son or daughter. MoneyHelper’s free guide to lifetime mortgages is a sound independent starting point before you speak to anyone.

A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your home. It will reduce the value of your estate and may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits. Ask for a personalised illustration to understand the features and risks of any plan.

Jeremy Furnell is a later life lending specialist at Trusted Equity Release, near March, Cambridgeshire. He is on the FCA register (reference JLF01060) and his firm, Pellucid Ltd, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 981845.

October 2nd, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Santander has today announced that its market-leading £240 current account switcher offer will be ending on Wednesday 7 October 2026.

The offer rewards new and existing customers with £240 when they switch to Santander’s Everyday Current Account1 using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS)2 and open a Santander Regular Saver3 account paying 8% interest in their name.

To be eligible to snap up the £240 switcher offer4, customers must:

• Submit a request to switch to Santander’s Everyday Current Account before 14:00 on 7 October 2026;

• Complete the full switch within 60 days of the initial switch request, including closing their external account,

• Pay in at least £1,500 to their eligible Santander account within 60 days of the initial switch request, which can be done through one or more payments,

• Set up at least two active household direct debits5 within 60 days of the initial switch request,

• Not have held a Santander current account on 1st January 2026, and

• Fund a Santander Regular Saver account held in their own name with at least £200 within 60 days of requesting the switch.

It’s not too late for customers to benefit from the offer which has been running since 1 September, with switch requests accepted until 14:00 on 7 October. Applications received to switch accounts to Santander before the deadline will be eligible for the switcher incentive, even if the switch completes after the offer is withdrawn. Eligible customers will receive their payment within 90 days of starting the switch process.

October 2nd, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Nine in ten UK parents have not appointed a legal guardian for their children in their Will – despite having strong views about who they would not want to raise them.

New research commissioned by national charity Will-writing campaign Will Aid found that just 11% of parents surveyed have appointed a legal guardian for their children.

And the findings reveal a striking gap between parents’ wishes for their children and the steps they have taken to formally record them.

When parents were asked who they would not want their children to end up with if they died, 19% said someone their children did not know well, while the same proportion said they would not want them cared for by someone who was not emotionally ready for the responsibility.

Almost one in five said they would not want their children to go to anyone other than their chosen guardian while other concerns included an elderly relative who might struggle physically, someone who was not financially stable and someone with very different values or beliefs to them.

Trusha Velji, Director and Solicitor at Touch Solicitors, one of the participating Will Aid firms, said: “Parents will often have a very clear idea of the person they would trust to care for their children if the worst happened, but having a conversation with family or assuming everyone knows your wishes is not the same as formally recording them.

“The figures demonstrate just how personal this decision is. Whether the concern is someone’s relationship with the children, their emotional readiness, their age, finances or simply that they hold very different values, parents understandably want a say in something so fundamental.

“That is why guardianship should be part of the conversation when parents make or review their Will. A solicitor can talk them through their individual circumstances, help them understand the legal implications of the choices they make and ensure their wishes are properly recorded.

“It can feel like an incredibly difficult subject to confront, particularly when your children are young, but making those decisions now can provide valuable clarity about what you would want if the worst was to happen.”

The poll found 62% of parents surveyed either do not have a Will or have one which is out of date. More than half have never made a Will, while a further 10% admit their existing Will no longer reflects their current circumstances or wishes.

Peter de Vena Franks, Campaign Director at Will Aid, said: “As a parent, few decisions could be more important than thinking about who you would want to care for your children if you were no longer there.

“None of us wants to imagine not being there to bring up our children, but making a Will is about planning for the people you love. It gives you the opportunity to record your wishes and discuss your circumstances with a qualified solicitor rather than simply hoping those closest to you will know what you wanted.

“With almost two thirds of parents surveyed either without a Will or relying on one which is out of date, we want to encourage families to stop putting it off.”

Will Aid is a nationwide campaign that takes place every November and sees participating solicitors across the UK volunteer their time to write basic Wills, waiving their usual fee in exchange for a voluntary donation.

Suggested donations are £120 for a single basic Will and £200 for a pair of basic mirror Wills, with donations supporting the work of Will Aid’s partner charities.

Appointments for the 2026 campaign are available with participating firms either in person or remotely – you can find out more at willaid.org.uk/lookup

Peter added: “Will Aid gives people an opportunity to have their Will professionally drafted by a solicitor while at the same time supporting vital charitable work.

“For parents in particular, a Will is about far more than deciding who receives your possessions. It is an opportunity to think carefully about the future of the people who depend on you and to put your wishes in writing.”

September 28th, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

A business case for HR technology is stronger when it starts with costs the organisation can already see. That means licence fees, payroll checking, duplicated data entry, reporting work and the time spent fixing records that do not agree. Without that baseline, projected savings are little more than guesses.

This method is for UK HR, payroll and finance teams assessing a replacement or a move from separate systems. By the end, you should have a documented current cost, an estimate of what could change, the full cost of implementation and a return calculation whose assumptions can be checked by finance.

1. Set the baseline before estimating any savings

Start with what your organisation spends now. Gather annual licence fees, support charges, integration costs and any separate tools used to move information between HR and payroll.

Then add the work around the technology. Track the time spent entering the same employee change twice, reconciling records before payroll, fixing mismatched reports and answering queries caused by information being out of date in one place.

For your current HR and payroll system, or the separate tools doing that job now, record both cash costs and hours. Do not convert the hours into savings yet. At this stage, a good outcome is a baseline that finance can trace back to invoices, payroll cycles and recorded work rather than estimates from memory.

One mistake is to count only software licences. That can make the current setup look cheaper than it is while hiding the work required to keep it running.

2. Measure which manual work could actually change

Take one or two recent payroll cycles as a starting sample and follow common employee changes from approval to pay. Before annualising the results, check whether those cycles were typical for your organisation. Salary changes, new starters, changed hours and leavers are useful places to look because they often involve both HR and payroll.

Record every handover. Note where information is typed again, exported, checked against another record or chased by email. When repeated entry is one of the costs you have measured, assess whether payroll built into a cloud HR system could reduce the need to enter approved employee changes again.

Do not count every manual task as removable. Payroll still needs checking, approvals still need owners and some exceptions may still need human attention. The useful output from this step is a list of activities that could reasonably disappear, be reduced or remain unchanged.

3. Put a value on time without treating it all as cash savings

Once the hours are known, attach an employment cost to them. Base the calculation on the roles that actually perform the work, using salary and relevant employer costs where reliable figures are available.

Keep two categories separate. Cash savings are reductions in expenditure that your organisation reasonably expects to realise. Redeployed time is different. Saving five hours of payroll administration does not put five hours of salary back into the bank if the employee remains in the same role.

An integrated HR payroll system may reduce repeated checking or entry, but the financial model should say what happens to that time. If it will be used for work that is currently delayed or outsourced, explain that. If the benefit cannot be valued credibly, keep it as a non-cash benefit rather than forcing it into the return calculation.

4. Add every cost of changing the system

Next, build the investment side of the calculation. Ask vendors for written figures covering software, implementation, configuration, data migration, training and ongoing support.

Add internal costs too. Payroll, HR, IT and finance may need to review data, test processes or attend training. If old and new systems will run together for a period, include any overlapping licence or service costs.

Data cleaning deserves its own line. Moving duplicate or inaccurate records into new software does not correct them automatically, so allow for the work needed before migration.

A good outcome is a cost schedule that separates one-off implementation costs from recurring costs, with every assumption visible. Avoid hiding internal project time simply because no external invoice will arrive for it.

5. Build more than one savings scenario

A single optimistic forecast gives finance very little room to test the case. Build at least a cautious scenario and an expected one using the evidence collected in the earlier steps.

When assessing cloud based HR and payroll software, ask the supplier which parts of your current workflow the proposed setup can actually handle and which still need manual review. Use that information to adjust the hours and costs in each scenario rather than applying a generic savings percentage.

Keep projected error reduction especially conservative. If there is no reliable history showing how much payroll rework costs now, do not invent a future saving for it.

This step should leave you with annual benefits that can be traced back to a measured activity, an avoided contract cost or an assumption clearly labelled as an estimate.

6. Calculate the return and test the result

Once the cost and benefit figures are complete, calculate return on investment using a consistent period.

For a simple net return percentage, use

Return on investment = (total benefits minus total costs) divided by total costs × 100

If the project costs £80,000 over the period being assessed and the measured benefits total £100,000, the calculation is

(£100,000 minus £80,000) ÷ £80,000 × 100 = 25%

Do not stop at the percentage. Calculate the payback point separately by tracking when cumulative cash savings overtake cumulative cash costs. Finance may also want to see the annual cash impact separately from time that has been redeployed rather than removed.

Finally, use sensitivity analysis to test the assumptions. Reduce projected time savings, increase implementation costs and see whether the case still makes sense. If a small change turns a positive return into a negative one, the proposal depends heavily on assumptions that need more evidence.

By this point, you should have more than a percentage. You should have a baseline finance can verify, a documented view of which work may change, a full implementation cost and at least two scenarios showing how sensitive the calculation is.

That is the point of the exercise. The return figure may support the investment or show that the case is not strong enough yet. Either result is more useful than beginning with a desired percentage and working backwards to justify it.

September 25th, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

One in five Britons (15%) have provided personal information to someone before realising they were not genuine, according to new research from Nationwide.

Among them is actress and broadcaster Lisa Riley MBE, who was tricked into providing personal information through a convincing scam that appeared completely legitimate.

The research also found consumers are exposed to potential scams almost daily, receiving suspicious phone calls more than three times a week on average and suspicious text messages around twice a week.

Nearly one in five (19%) would be likely to call back an unknown number, potentially putting themselves at risk. The findings reveal how criminals exploit personal information, familiar details and technology to make their approaches appear genuine.

When asked what would make them trust an unexpected caller claiming to be from their banking provider:

• 20% said seeing their banking provider’s name displayed on their phone
  • 19% said the caller knowing some recent account activity
  • 14% said the caller knowing their full name
  • 13% said the caller knowing their date of birth
  • 12% said the number appearing genuine
  • 10% said the caller sounding professional

During the past 12 months, more than a quarter (26%) of consumers received a text message claiming to be from their banking provider, while 25% received an email and 22% received a phone call.

With Nationwide data showing the average impersonation loss is nearly £2,200, consumers are being reminded to remain vigilant when receiving unexpected contact.

Only 26 per cent sometimes or rarely check a number before responding to a text or call. A further seven per cent never check. Yet 14 per cent are not confident they know how to spot a scammer impersonating their bank.

Annya Burskys, Head of Fraud Operations at Nationwide, said: “Scammers are increasingly sophisticated at making unexpected calls, texts and emails appear genuine. They may disguise a call as coming from a trusted organisation, use personal details to gain your trust or pressure you to act quickly.

“Many scams are connected. Criminals may first obtain information about you through a fraudulent website, phishing email or text message. They can then use those details to make future impersonation scams appear much more convincing.

“They may also tell you what to say if your banking provider questions a payment, claiming it will speed things up. In reality, the more your banking provider knows, the better it can support and protect you.”

Lisa Riley on why scams can happen to anyone

Lisa Riley MBE said: “Being scammed is sadly something I have experienced. I provided personal information to what I believed was a genuine travel permit website. I’d completed the process many times before, so there was nothing that immediately raised alarm bells.

“That’s what frightened me most. The website looked completely legitimate and I genuinely believed I was doing the right thing.

“What that experience taught me is that criminals are incredibly clever and convincing. Once fraudsters have your personal information, it can be used in all sorts of ways and that’s a frightening thought.

“It’s made me much more cautious about any unexpected contact, whether that’s online, by text, email or over the phone. I can absolutely see how people could be persuaded by someone claiming to be from their bank if they appear to know information about them.

“It has had a real impact on me and changed the way I behave online. I think people sometimes believe scams only happen to other people, but they can happen to anyone.”

How to spot a bank impersonation scam – expert tips:

Annya Burskys, Fraud Operations at Nationwide, said: “We may contact you if we’re concerned about activity on your account but be aware fraudsters may impersonate your bank, can disguise the name or number they’re calling from, and may provide information to appear genuine.”

The five red flags you need to know:

• Financial providers will never ask you to move your money – there is no such thing as a safe account
• Financial providers will never tell you what to say to your bank or to misrepresent payments – even if they claim it will make it quicker or easier
• Banks will never ask you to share a one-time passcode
• Financial providers will never ask you to download an app or share access to your computer or app
• Financial providers will never put you under pressure to act fast

“If anything doesn’t feel right, you can end the call and contact your bank using the number on your bank card, through your app or website, or by dialling 159. Take time to stop and think before making a payment or sharing information. Use the tools available to you – Nationwide’s Call Checker in the app confirms whether a caller is genuinely from Nationwide, while its Scam Checker service lets customers verify a payment by phone or in branch.”

September 23rd, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Making sure you can get on the road in a new car without upsetting the monthly household budget can feel like a difficult balancing act. There are so many pressures on our finances at these uncertain times, but we all need to be able to get from A to B in a way that’s safe, reliable, and cost-effective. 

To make sure that you find the right solution for you and your family, we’re going to talk you through everything you need to know. 

Calculate your realistic monthly budget

Start with reliable, repeat income from your salary or regular customers if you’re self-employed, and then start to deduct household costs. Your rent/mortgage, council tax, utilities, and any loans or debts have to be paid. You then take off your groceries, fuel, and other incidentals. 

What’s left can be split between a new car lease, emergency funds for home repairs, and savings for things like holidays and home improvements. If in doubt, be pessimistic rather than optimistic with how much money you will have left over so that you’re not causing yourself undue stress by stretching things too far. 

Factor in the full cost of the lease

Low monthly payments are understandably what will first catch your eye, but there’s more to it than that. Add in the insurance, the fuel, the maintenance and servicing if they’re not bundled in, road tax, parking charges for your commute to work, and charging if it’s an EV. By knowing the full cost of the lease, you can make sure that you don’t put too much money towards the monthly payment side of things. 

Make sure you can afford the upfront deposit

Deposits can be lower when leasing than when buying a car with traditional finance, but a little care and attention is still needed at this stage. Make sure that the deposit won’t eat too far into your savings so that you still have your emergency fund. You never know when you will need it, so taking a little extra time when signing up for a new deal is really important. 

Estimate your typical annual mileage 

A good estimate is to take an average of your last three years. Few of us will remember these details, but the mileage elapsed since the last MOT 12 months ago will be recorded on the test certificate. If you have copies to hand, you can quickly work out your three-year average by using these figures. Just make sure to adjust for any changes in behaviour, such as a longer commute, more frequent holidays, or the cost of new hobbies you’re now pursuing. 

Always compare different finance methods 

There are pros and cons to every type of vehicle finance, which is why it can really help to compare like-for-like vehicles across different types of plans. Seeing whether a leased vehicle will be more cost-effective than buying outright becomes simple when you make a direct comparison and check out the numbers. Asking an experienced leasing company and car dealership to help you compare the two approaches will save you time and energy if you’re unsure about how to do it yourself. 

Make sure to stress-test your prospective budget 

It’s easy to write a budget today by assuming that everything will go well tomorrow, but we all know that a spanner will be thrown into the works sooner rather than later. Test it in a spreadsheet for things like food costs spiking by 30% or energy bills doubling over the course of a year. This is a great way of showing whether you have left enough headroom in the budget. Take a moment to remind yourself just how volatile the prices of things like food and fuel have been since 2020, and you will see that this is a crucial step you cannot afford to skip. 

Choose a number you feel comfortable with

Take a look at these car leasing special offers and then have an honest conversation with yourself that is based on the numbers you have arrived at by working through the previous steps on this list. The last thing that you want to do is go for the most expensive car you can possibly afford, only for something else in life to go wrong and apply pressure to your household budget the very next day. 

By being realistic, aware that prices of other goods and services will change, and remembering the importance of headroom, you will be able to strike the right balance.

September 23rd, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Kroo Bank urges banking customers to be vigilant against scammers posing as Hollywood celebrities, after a spate of recent cases.

Scammers posing as famous Hollywood actors, such as Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp, have defrauded victims online and via messaging platforms. Once they establish trust and forge a pseudo-relationship, these fraudulent ‘celebrities’ coax individuals into transferring funds to them. This may be by bank transfer, buying Bitcoin, or even convincing the victim to pay ‘delivery charges’ for a package supposedly being sent to them.

The use of Hollywood figures in romance scams has become so effective that Hampshire Police were recently compelled to issue their own warning, after a series of frauds took place across the county.

According to the Annual Fraud Report 2026 from UK Finance, the number of romance scam cases increased by 22% over the prior 12 months, with losses across the industry growing by 23% to £39.2 million.

Romance scams are a form of authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where the victim is tricked into sending money themselves to a fraudster’s bank account, which makes it harder for banks to detect.

Reimbursement protections are in place for eligible victims of certain types of APP fraud. According to UK Finance, in 2025 banks reimbursed more than £354 million to victims of APP fraud, including romance scams, which is equivalent to 61% of losses.

Protecting yourself from romance scams

There are a series of simple steps people can follow, to protect themselves from falling prey to a romance scammer.

• Do your homework

When communicating with someone online, ask questions and take your time, just as you would when meeting them in person. You can use resources like Google Image Search or TinEye to establish whether their profile pictures have been used elsewhere online.

• Talk to friends and family

If you feel you are being pressured into making a decision, such as sending money to somebody else, then speak to someone you trust. A second opinion can help you establish whether it is genuine.

• Don’t send money

You should always be on your guard if someone you have only interacted with online asks you for money. They may act as if the request is urgent, but don’t let that pressure push you into doing something you’ll regret.

If you believe you have been scammed, then contact your bank immediately. You should then check your bank statements for any suspicious activity, while it’s also a good idea to monitor your credit record if you believe there is a danger of identity theft, for example if you have shared personal information.

Veronika Lovett, Chief Executive Officer at Kroo Bank, said:

“Falling prey to a scammer like this can be devastating, both financially and emotionally, which is why it’s so important to be vigilant. It’s easy to be flippant and tell yourself that you would never be caught out, but fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and that’s driving the increase in cases and losses to romance scams.

“As a bank, we take customer protection seriously, and will continue to flag trends and issues which may put our customers and their money at risk.”

September 22nd, 2026 | Andrew Hagger | News

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll ever make. Yet, the final bill for legal work can often feel like a moving target. The initial quote you get for property legal services might not always reflect the final cost. This can lead to budget stress and unpleasant surprises when you can least afford them. Understanding how solicitors price their services is crucial for managing your finances effectively during a property transaction.

The Problem with Hourly Rates

Many legal services traditionally bill by the hour. This means a solicitor charges a set amount for every hour, or part of an hour, they spend on your case. While this seems straightforward, it creates significant financial uncertainty for you. You have no way of knowing exactly how many hours your property transaction will take. A simple, smooth purchase might need much less time than one that runs into unexpected legal problems.

This model puts the financial risk squarely on your shoulders. A phone call to ask a question, a delay in getting documents from the other party, or needing extra searches can all extend the time required and increase your final bill. This lack of predictability makes it nearly impossible to budget with confidence. Many legal professionals are now looking into alternatives to hourly rate billing to give clients more cost certainty.

Unexpected Costs Can Accumulate

With hourly billing, the final invoice is often much higher than the initial estimate once all the “extras” are added up. These aren’t always major legal hurdles. They can be the accumulation of small, everyday administrative tasks billed in increments.

Think about these common additions that can inflate your bill:

• Charges for phone calls and letters.
• Fees for photocopying and postage.
• Extra work needed to fix unexpected title defects.
• Time spent dealing with delays further down the property chain.

Each of these items, billed by the minute, can add up significantly over the weeks or months it takes to complete a property sale or purchase. This “bill shock” often arrives at the worst possible moment, just as you’re finalizing the biggest transaction of your life.

What Fixed Fees Offer Homeowners

A fixed-fee pricing model offers a clear and welcome alternative. With this approach, the solicitor provides a single, agreed-upon price for all the standard legal work involved in your property transaction. This price is quoted upfront and, barring exceptional and clearly defined circumstances, it won’t change. This transparency provides immense value and allows for precise financial planning.

A fixed-fee structure removes the anxiety of a running clock. You can talk to your solicitor without worrying that every phone call is adding to your bill. It also encourages the legal firm to be as efficient as possible. Firms that offer this model are often highly organised, using streamlined processes to deliver a high-quality service. They manage their business carefully to provide value, often focusing on metrics like an effective hourly rate internally to ensure they can offer competitive fixed prices. For homeowners, this means you can budget for the conveyancing process with confidence, knowing exactly what the cost will be from the very beginning.

Comparing Service Models

When you’re choosing a solicitor, understanding the basic differences between their pricing models is key. It’s not just about the final number, but about the whole experience and how much financial control you have.

An hourly rate model gives the solicitor flexibility but creates uncertainty for the client. The final cost isn’t known until the work is done, and there can be an incentive to spend more time on the file.

In contrast, a fixed-fee model provides certainty for the client. The cost is known from day one, which eliminates the risk of surprise bills. It aligns your interests with the solicitor’s, as both parties benefit from a smooth and efficient process. When comparing quotes, be sure to ask what’s included in a fixed fee and what situations might trigger extra charges. A reputable firm will have a clear and transparent policy.

When you’re making such a significant financial decision, clarity is everything. Choosing a solicitor who offers a clear, fixed-fee structure ensures there are no financial surprises on the path to getting your new keys.