If you’re young, today may be the first time you’ve ever witnessed a rise in interest rates. It’s been over ten years since the last increase. At the time of the last increase, July 2007, Gordon Brown was Prime Minister, the first iPhone had just come out and one of the biggest films of the year had just been released – the fifth Harry Potter…
Scottish Friendly’s Disposable Income Index looks at the variations in how much money households have left at the end of the month and a key variable we look at is how young people fare compared to older age groups. An area of concern we’ve highlighted over several issues of our quarterly report into the nation’s households’ financial situation is that the median disposable income is…
October 1987 is ingrained in the nation’s psyche for two reasons. Most amusingly – although for many it was anything but funny – is that it was the time BBC weatherman Michael Fish confidently reassured an enquiring viewer that her sister’s hearsay that a storm was on the way was erroneous. Mr Fish has now had to live with 30 years of ribbing that his…
The UK is stuck in a rut of economic uncertainty. The country is awaiting the outcome of Brexit negotiations and the impact this will have on the wider economy and, even though employment levels are continuing to rise, this is tempered by the reality that wages are stagnating in real terms as inflation increases but the size of our pay packets does not. In short,…
Last July I wrote that “Less Is More” in a piece about how a minimalist approach to spending leaves us with more to either spend on goods and services we couldn’t before or to put aside for our longer term financial future. I’d focused on the redoubtable Michelle McGagh whom I’d met earlier that month and who was just over half way through her epic…
A consistent theme in the media these days is how the financial fortunes of the older generation seem to be improving while the financial outlook for the younger generation is, well, more pessimistic. A state pension with a guaranteed triple lock, decent final salary pensions and homes of their own that are usually mortgage free are just some of the factors that bring a spring…
Borrowing is ballooning. In May, the Financial Times1 reported that “there is a large section of society drowning in personal debt, on credit cards, overdrafts, hire purchase and other high-cost credit.” Last week, the Daily Mail warned that “Debt charities say swathes of the country are living on the never-never, where one false move could plunge them into ruin.” Now these warnings are official. The…
And so it comes to an end… The Great British Savings Challenge is over! One, two, three, aww! Hopefully there are some fatter piggy banks sitting proudly in our families’ homes after taking on our challenges. We’d like to thank Natalie and her dogs and Nikki and the Watt family for their hard work and penny pinching for each of the four challenges we set…
It’s now one year since Britain voted to Brexit and outside the temperature is sizzling. But it’s the financial heat that’s making many people across the UK feel particularly uncomfortable. The Prime Minister served the EU divorce papers in March this year and this week formal decree nisi negotiations began. The decree absolute could be, should be, 2019 but a softer Brexit may involve a…
On Friday 16th June our administration system will be offline to allow a significant upgrade to our system. During this time you won’t be able to access our My Plans online portal or application forms for our product range. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but rest assured we’ll be up and running again by midday on Tuesday 20th June so please check back…
Need help?