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Probate question - Do you need to pay for a house evaluation IF the property is WELL below IHT ?
Hi. About to start doing a relatives probate ourselves. They have a property that was valued 3 years back at 140k. No savings or anything else of value. Zoopla currently says it's £150k. The house next door which is literally identical was sold for 145K in December so we are very confident that it'll be around this price.…
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Second home council tax – part-year UK use while living abroad?
Hi, I have a property in the Sefton Council area which is currently classed as a second home, so I’m paying the council tax premium. I spend part of the year there (around 10–12 weeks at present), while also living abroad, but I’m now retired and gradually planning to base myself more in the UK. The house isn’t empty—I use…
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SIPPs and gifting
I wish to regularly gift money to my adult children funded by withdrawals from my SIPP using UFPLS. Can these withdrawals be counted as “gifts from surplus income” according to HMRC’s gifting and inheritance tax rules? I had previously asked ChatGPT about this and it gave advice that only annuities counted as income from a…
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2026 Frugal Living Challenge
Welcome to the all new 2026 Frugal Living Challenge Challenge yourself to live a frugal lifestyle so you can afford the freedom to enjoy life. This is about household budgeting, simple living and being creative with your money. Frugality can be a fabulous lifestyle choice for debtbusting, boosting savings or investing in…
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MSE Team Blog: Tricks to boost storage and improve the look of your home
Want to save on space and spruce up your house or flat? There are lots of nifty MoneySaving tricks to 'pimp your home' for less, from low-cost ways to make your bathroom sparkle to raising your bed to create storage space underneath. Folk at MSE Towers know a thing or two about making the most of a smaller pad - after all,…
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'Best' reward given for ISA selection
Hi there Is there a thread or article which consolidates all the offers on the market please? This springs from a Chase email where they are offering £100 for locking away a minimum of £1000 until next year. I'd love to compare with others. TIA
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Etsy - increase in Regulatory Operating Fees
For anyone selling on Etsy watch your inboxes for a message about a small increase in regulatory fees - cut and paste below: Hi xxxxx We introduced Regulatory Operating Fees in certain countries in 2021 to help cover the rising costs of operating under local government regulations. We review these fees each year to make…
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Time of alleged breach per the NtD differs on Notice to keeper.
As the title says, my Notice to Driver is states a time of 10:02 am and the Notice to Keeper states the alleged breach as 10:05 am. The alleged breach is for parking outside of a designated bay. I appreciate it is only 3 minutes, but does it help my appeal?
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Investment Planning
(moved from another board to here..) I hope this is the right place to ask for thoughts on how to plan my investments. I am trying to have a diverse asset allocation while keeping it simple (eg hold 2 funds) but at the same time not putting all my eggs in 1 (to 2) basket, but I feel I am going in circles. Background…
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Fuel costs and airline ticket prices
I've bought RyanAir tickets back in January for flights in late June. Can they legally add a surcharge if fuel costs remain high ?
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Debt and Caring
An unprovoked attack on my ankle by a metal workout bench has me lying down with a foot up this evening. Which makes this the ideal time to start this diary. And possibly to declutter some exercise equipment... Yesterday I was £9993.61 in debt. Today I have made a £1500 payment to one of my credit cards taking me down to…
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NatWest - process for FTB
I'm a FTB at the age of 50 (!) and would just like to understand the process a bit more whilst I'm agonisingly waiting for news. My broker is great, but feel like I'm bombarding him with enough questions! I am (hopefully) buying a house for £190000, with a 10% deposit. This is through NatWest, who also issued me with a…
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Lloyds switch for up to £500, 24 February to 30 April 2026
Switch to a new Club Lloyds for £200, or Lloyds Premier for £500. Open a Current Account Online | UK Bank Accounts | Lloyds https://share.google/6K20M5Iy0knuEbtVi https://www.lloydsbank.com/current-accounts.html £200 Club Lloyds switch offer Terms & Conditions. To qualify for the £200 switching offer (“the offer”) you must…
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The all new using what you have from your Freezer, Cupboard or Shed (Barn)
It is probably time to have a new thread for this. What do you have in your freezer? In your cupboard/shed? Do you have a veg patch or allotment? What did you manage to store, preserve or freeze? I, myself, like to cook following a recipe, but love to add veg from my allotment!
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£10 Amazon gift card for opening a Santander savings account (09/12/2025 to 18/12/2025)
Get a £10 Amazon gift card for opening a Santander Edge Saver, Easy Access Saver, Limited Access Saver, Fixed Term Saver, Fixed Term ISA or Easy Access ISA. OFFER HAS ENDED. What you need to do: 1: Use this LINK (taken from MSE, other affiliate links are available - I've listed the Top Cashback affiliate links in this…
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Help me choose travel insurance
We received our renewal notice for annual travel insurance today from Staysure and the premium has leapt up from £333 to £450 and that's supposed to include a £129 loyalty reduction. We've not made any claims and everything is the same except for being 1 year older. Looking at the mse recommendations, I checked out LV…
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Pension Advisor would want £21,000 for a failed transfer
Company pension scheme suggested this chap. So far after two hour's chat I've established that: 1/ He is someone recommended by my complex company pension administrator (DC with DB underpin) because he has successfully transferred many pensions out of the scheme before whereas "other companies have had less success with…
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Entitled to receive compensation from Emirates?
Dear, my situation (Dutch native) is as follows: Last December, I flew from Amsterdam (AMS) to Male (MLE) with Emirates, with one stop in Dubai (DXB). EK0148 (AMS - DXB) was slightly delayed, but sufficiently in time to catch the intended connecting flight EK 656 to MLE which would depart at 2:30 am. EK0656 (DXB - MLE) was…
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Octopus Agile
Is Octopus Agile worth changing to if all you can change to cheap hours is dishwasher and washing machine
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Cheapest Telephone Landline Rental for Vulnerable Pensioner
Hello, I wonder if someone can give me guidance please. My mother-in-law who is very elderly and has recently been widowed after 63 years has had her rolling landline telephone contract increased by Northern Telecom from £27.25 in February 2026 to £28.02 in March 2026 and now £44.84 in April 2026. We have contacted…
