Will you be an NI winner? | Beat energy hikes?

In April, National Insurance rose by 1.25 percentage points. But from July, the Chancellor is changing the thresholds at which you begin to pay NI, meaning millions will actually see more in their pay packets each month (hurrah). The Money Edit explains how the imminent change affects you.
The Money Edit’s National Insurance explainer..

With the price cap due to rise significantly in the autumn (with the forecasted hike up again, sadly), could fixing now and paying more for your energy between now and October, mean you pay less overall? For some people, this might be the case.
The Money Edit analyses the data.

Those who pay by direct debit will have started to receive their council tax rebates, but if you are still waiting, or if you don’t pay by direct debit and aren’t sure how to proceed, check out The Money Edit’s updated guide to see what you should do next.
See The Money Edit’s council tax rebate guide.

If you have a big, planned upcoming expense, the good news is loan rates are close to record lows. We’ll take you through the best ways to find one, but don’t borrow on a whim as you can get burnt. Only do it for something you need, ensure it’s affordable and pay it back as quickly as possible.

We’ve listed some of the best rates below but first use the eligibility checker from our friends at GoCompare. With it, you input basic details and it checks your chances of getting accepted before you apply and doesn’t impact your credit score.

Here are some of the cheapest personal loan rates right now (links go via our eligibility checker):

Fixed monthly payments on £10,000 over 5 years
M&S Bank | 2.8% Representative APR
Santander | 2.8% Representative APR

Fixed monthly repayments on £5,000 over 5 years
Novuna Personal Finance | 3.4% Representative APR

Rates are lower on higher amounts but that’s not an excuse to overspend.

Use GoCompare’s loan eligibility checker

As fuel prices continue to hit record highs, it’s never been more important to know how to save where you can. Follow The Money Edit’s top tips for saving money on fuel, including tools for finding the cheapest fuel and why you should fill up first thing in the morning.
Check out The Money Edit’s fuel savers.

If you have been told to work from home since the start of the pandemic, you could be entitled to up to £420 in tax relief. But as workers are encouraged back to the office, are you still eligible to claim?
Find out with The Money Edit’s WFH explainer.

Savings rates are rising which is a sliver of good news amid the cost of living crisis, and we’ve got one provider to give you access to a special deal.

With this link to the 2.7% 1-year fixed rate deal from National Bank of Egypt*, which goes via savings marketplace Raisin that houses the deal, you can get that rate if you’ve at least £10,000 to save. New Raisin customers can also claim £25 cashback.

This comes with the usual £85,000 per person Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection and it compares favourably to the next top one-year fixed rate of 2.61%. This rate is locked in so it won’t change for a year but you can’t access your cash in that time. In return, like with all good fixes, it’s much higher than the top easy access rates on savings accounts.

To get the cashback, once you have deposited your £10,000, email [email protected] within six months with your full name, from the email you registered with, and with ‘Raisin UK Partner Bonus’ as the subject line.

For more information on Raisin or if you want a different account, see The Money Edit’s top savings account article.

*When you apply via this link, we may earn an affiliate commission from this deal.