The average age of first-time buyers varies across the country (Picture: Getty Images) In the evolving tapestry of the English property market, an unmistakable trend is emerging: first-time buyers are getting older. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the South East, where the average age of first-time homeowners has climbed to 34 — marking […]
12 Oct, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
8 ways to get your home ready for winter — from heating hacks to chimney safety
Here’s how to prep your home for the colder months (Picture: Getty Images) As autumn arrives with heavy rain and winds, now is the perfect time to prepare your home for the colder months ahead. Beyond merely pulling on a jumper, meticulous preparation — particularly of heating systems and the fabric of the home — […]
7 Oct, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
Rent prices are in crisis – here’s how much you need to earn to afford your area
Unsurprisingly, London is the least affordable (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) New research has revealed that despite rent price decreases in some regions, private renting is still too expensive for many tenants in the UK. The analysis by ARLA Propertymark highlights a growing ‘affordability ceiling’ — meaning that rental costs have reached levels that many people find […]
2 Oct, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
728,000 people in the UK don’t know they’re eligible for £2,200 HMRC payout
The average payout is over £2,200 (Picture: Getty Images) Depending on when you were born, you could be eligible for a payout from HMRC, with 728,000 people across the UK having no idea they’re due an average £2,212 each in forgotten Child Trust Fund (CTF) cash. The CTF was government-backed scheme which ran between certain […]
1 Oct, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
The 17 London boroughs where residents’ bills could be slashed by £300
Wandsworth is one of the boroughs eligible for the automatic discount (Picture: Getty Images) The average UK household water bill is forecast by Water UK to be £603 for the 2025/2026 year, with households in the capital paying 1% more than the rest of the country, according to the London Assembly. But for 17 London […]
The cap for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 2% from today as cooler temperatures see many switching on their central heating (Picture: AFP) More than 7 million households are being urged to send in their meeting readings from today to avoid paying higher costs as the energy price cap […]
21 Sep, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
I’m a professional complainer and have won back thousands for customers
My interest in consumer rights started early (Picture: Helen Dewdney) A few weeks ago, Matty emailed about his faulty, two-year-old TV. He was frustrated and increasingly worried about being out of pocket as the store had reportedly told him they wouldn’t do anything as he hadn’t bought a warranty. He was facing the loss of […]
15 Sep, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
We sold our house to go backpacking with the kids and survive off £35 a day
Parents Katie and Josh realised they could have a better standard of living abroad (Picture: Josh/SWNS) While many of us have dreams of seeing the world, they’re often overshadowed by the responsibilities and ties of everyday life. However, this family sold their home to fulfil their goal of travelling full-time, taking their children on a […]
14 Sep, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
‘My children and I haven’t had hot water for over a month – it’s disgraceful’
Inside the flat of Remi Olawe, 49, mother of five, which suffers from mould issues and has a broken boiler that the Housing Association has not been able to fix. Remi pictured in the kitchen(Picture: Belinda Jiao/Metro) A family who were left without hot water for more than a month at their south east London […]
10 Sep, 2025 | Admin | No Comments
Martin Lewis says 728,000 Brits are unknowingly eligible for £2,200 HMRC payout
The MSE founder urged people to steer clear of third-party firms offering to help (Picture: Rex/Getty) Martin Lewis has urged the hundreds of thousands of Brits who are unknowingly eligible for a payout worth over £2,000 from HMRC to claim their share. The Money Saving Expert (MSE) founder spoke about about Child Trust Funds (CTF) […]