We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Marriage, relationships & families

Discuss the MoneySaving implications of relationships and family life.

MoneySaving mums

A place for mums with kids of all ages to discuss parent MoneySaving matters.

974 discussions 13.8K comments Most recent: Dreamland snuggle up warming throw, disappointed by jack_121 30 November at 9:42PM
MoneySaving dads

A place for dads with kids of all ages to discuss parent MoneySaving matters.

372 discussions 4.1K comments Most recent: A married couple gifting a child tax free limit £3000 or £6000 by tetrarch 16 November at 1:10PM
Deaths, funerals & probate

Get MoneySaving help at the time of bereavement - discuss wills, inheritance tax, estate planning and more.

12.9K discussions 136K comments Most recent: Dealing with an intestacy by Keep_pedalling Today at 3:14PM
Pets & pet care

For MoneySaving questions about taking care of your cat, dog, parrot or other animal companion, including vet fees and pet insurance.

15.9K discussions 250K comments Most recent: Ideas for dog with bladder urgency/ control problems by Cyclamen 2 December at 2:36PM

Probate Query
Sorry this is probably a really thick question to ask so apologies. I am completing probate online for my late partner with whom I owned a property as tenants in common. I am also his sole beneficiary in his will. My question is for the gross value for probate, given we were tenants in common, do I still exclude his 50%…
Don’t even know where to begin
Hi everyone, I am really hoping for some advice as I just don’t have a clue what to do. I apologise in advance for the length of this post but I’m literally losing the will to live. I’m married with two high school age kids. We currently live in a rental property that is rented in joint names. I NEED out of my marriage.…
Power of attorney replacement.
My brother in law has dementia and is being cared for. My sister currently has POA but at the time had to apply for it after he lost capacity . She is very ill and if anything happens to her,who will take over his POA? Would a replacement have been nominated at the time (we are unable to ask her currently)or would we need…
Child Benefit NI Credits
Is it possible to claim NI credits towards my state pension for years I was eligible for child benefit as a parent but did not register for it, and how?
Fertility Treatment
A bit of a clanger last weekend. boyfriend (owns own house in which we were living together) dropped the info that after a year of it being on the cards he no longer wants to pursue fertility treatment. We were going to be eligible on the NHS from nov but now i am a single female with a quoted bill of 10k from the…
Moving with partner and 2 kids
Hey, So my partner got a really good job in Somerset, and it doesn't make sense to live apart and only see each other on a Saturday and a little bit on Friday before he has to travel back down. (I should mention we currently live in Cambridge). the area he is looking at is Weston super mare/bridgewater/Yatton? has anyone…
Money Moral Dilemma: Should we drive my mother-in-law over when she doesn't pay towards petrol?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My mother-in-law, 80, wants to visit me and my spouse. All of us are retired. My mother-in-law doesn't drive, and it's an 80-mile round trip to collect her and take her home again. In the past, she hasn't offered to pay towards petrol, and while she's not short of money, she…
power of attorney ,dad with dementia advice
My 90 year old father has been diagnosed 3 years ago with dementia , and is getting worse, my mother died 25 years ago and my father has a partner who is 85 and not very competent at organising things. When first diagnosed my brother and i suggested sorting out power of attorney she was very dismissive and said they had a…
Not married in UK - Divorce
Asking for a friend, any ideas where to get the right advice please? Friend is a UK resident, already bought a house (mortgage) in his name solely. Married an Indian lady in India. They both returned here and she lived with him. To date, they have been married for just over 2 years. Since she has been in the country, she…
Power of Attorney mother spending lots of cash
My 94 yr old mother is spending large amounts of cash, around £300 or more a week. This is on top of all her bills which are on direct debit and food shopping which I organise. Each week I give her £200 cash for her cleaner and spending money but she is drawing out at least £100 more. She goes out regularly to get her hair…
taken advantage of!
There is no nice way to put it. Basically, 3 family members have took advantage of their dying mother in last year of her life. In the last year or so, these family members has forced/ bullied their mothers husband out of his marital home which he shared with their mum of 30+ year. Branding him "a money grabbing thief"…
Formula when out all day
Hi, What do everyone do when you want to go out all day but your baby needs feeding? I was breastfeeding for the first 2 months ( I intended to breastfeed all year but didn’t work out for me ) and at the time I booked a day out in September to a theme park 3hr drive from our house one way. Now, that the baby is on formula.…
Ex still on mortgage.
I'm posting this on behalf of my Sister in law as she's not sure where she stands. She split from ex husband 10 years ago. He left her for someone else and stopped paying all bills. They divorced but never did a financial settlement. She remained in the house with the three kids and covered all the mortgage & bills on her…
Power of attorney - do they have to act in my interests?
Entirely hypothetical issue, am I worrying unnecessarily? I've been doing some housekeeping about affairs recently and as part of that have appointed my wife as attorney for both financial and health (she's done the same with me, we both have siblings as reserve attorneys). Looking at the requirements for an attorney, it's…
The knock on effects of Separation and Divorce
I'm after some advice, i know this forum is not for legal advice but want to get some general feedback. I am separated with my wife and am looking to divorce shortly. I have moved out of the family home as she is not working and i am working full time so she is doing more childcare. Based on this she has updated the…
Divorce Advice!
Hi! Looking for some early advice/tips. Long story short my wife and myself are getting a divorce. 13 years together, 3.5 married. 3 kids (1 14 stepdaughter, 6 boy and 2 girl both mine) Childcare we have no issues - both happy to coparent 50/50 and very amicable. Debt - no major debt other than a car loan circa £15k being…
Money Moral Dilemma: Should we give two of our daughters cash in lieu of paying for their weddings?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... Our youngest daughter is getting married and we've offered to foot most of the bill for the wedding, which will be around £20,000. We have two other daughters, who have both made it clear they don't plan to wed at all. Should we gift them the same amount in lieu of being able…
Power of Attorney & investing
Hi all, new to MSE and needing a few different bits of advice but starting with this first. I hope I can explain myself clearly and make some sense with my tired old brain. 😊 My mum has dementia and has recently moved in with us, leaving her house empty. We plan on renting that out via an agent for her. Mum also has enough…
Teenagers Pocket Money
Do parents of teenagers give them 'pocket money' these days, and if so what's the going rate and what do you expect them to pay for? My other half doesn't give her son (14) pocket money as such, but she pays for things as and when required. She is not on the breadline, but she's a single parent (she and I are financially…
Conflicting views around online dating
I had a discussion with a work colleague today on dating apps and he told me of a different viewpoint that normally perpetuates through the Internet and the media. This was mirrored by several other people. There are two viewpoints I see. The first one is where you see most men being largely ignored on the apps, women get…