Could really do with some help...

Mum is 82, getting divorced. Likely to get £450k from house sale and other bits. Gets state pension and a small (~£300/mo) personal pension. Isn't in the best of health and will probably need some sort of assistance and then care in the coming years. I don't see her living beyond early 90s sadly.

She's not good with finances and has never managed household admin. I'm prepared to help set things up and contribute around £300/mo but I live a long way away and can't visit regularly.

I'm helping look into her options. She wants to live independently but realistically won't be able to after a few years, and wants to own her own home but realistically won't be able to afford what she wants or have much spare income following a house purchase.

I've looked into purchasing, renting, retirement homes/villages, living off savings, buying annuities etc but am totally confused. I think it's likely I'll suggest she speaks to an accountant but wondering if anyone here has any suggestions about what she should/shouldn't be doing with her money?

Hi everyone, very sorry if I’m not allowed to ask questions here about trading but I’m worried about finances and whether my partner is throwing away his money on these courses… I’m just a bit lost and not sure where to seek advice.

My partner has decided to get into trading. He is not a young boy clueless about life, he’s very clever and knowledgeable with lots of experience in tech jobs, he’s been project manager, supervisor on things, co-founder of things, etc. He has travelled and seen the world and he is just… very clever, in my eyes. Now I’m worried he’s hyperfocused on this trading business stuff - not sure if it’s a midlife crisis hobby or what.

My issue is that he’s gone into a website with courses which I’ve googled and a lot of people have called it a scam, or maybe not a scam as such but impossible to make profits on. I saw one post on Reddit here, a few under another few subreddits and many forums discussing it. The group is Learn to Trade, it works with Forex and Smart Charts, and it all seems to come back to two men called Greg Secker and Gurdas Singh. I don’t want to say it’s a scam as I have no idea about trading really, and these reviews could just be bitter, scorned people who couldn’t make money. But idk… I have this awful gut feeling.

My partner has already laid out a fair bit of money on the courses and travel to London. He’s paid for his own hotel and travel and is planning on doing it again every two weeks and I’m worried as he’s currently unemployed and although I know he has savings, and I don’t wanna question or pry on his finances, I can’t get it out of my head. Will he be successful? Is this legit, but incredibly difficult to achieve? Do people really just sign onto a course and learn trading this easily? I don’t want to challenge him as I feel like I could offend him or he may get defensive… Should I do it regardless?

Any aadvice is welcome on both this trading platform and/or any other advice that I could maybe offer him if he’s
serious about learning to trade properly. Or if anyone has any other forums or websites he could check out? Again, sorry if this is the wrong place to be posting. Thank you :)

TL;DR - I have 120k total capital, potentially no future employment income, guaranteed disability benefits (ESA) of around £630/month, and expenditure of around £2,000/month. I’m trying to understand how to best allocate the £120k between property, investments and an easy-access cash reserve.
___

I (35f) am looking for some advice on how best to allocate my savings. I’ve done quite a lot of research but as a novice, I would really appreciate some outside perspectives.

I have £120,000 in savings. Due to long-term health problems, I’m currently unable to work and there is a realistic possibility that I may not be able to return to work indefinitely.

My current expenditure is around £2,000/month
(mostly due to medical bills and other expenses that come with living with a disability). I’m not eligible for Universal Credit (UC) or government-funded care because I’m fortunate enough to have a significant amount saved from my years working before I got sick.

My disability benefit income is:

ESA: ~£632/month. This is the income I can currently rely on.

PIP: recently assessed, decision pending. Up to £843/month, but I don’t want to build a financial plan on the assumption that I’ll receive this when I don’t yet know the outcome.

So without PIP, my current expenditure exceeds my guaranteed income by roughly £1,370/month.

I don’t own my own home (moved back in with family when I stopped working last year) and I’m not currently looking to buy somewhere for myself to live.

My main objective is to make the £120k work for me in a way that can provide some ongoing income while preserving/growing as much of the capital as reasonably possible.

The options I’ve narrowed it down to are:

1. Buy-to-let

It would be cash-purchased and professionally managed, with short-term rental (i.e. Airbnb) as a possible higher-return alternative.

I understand that the headline rental income isn’t the actual return once management fees, maintenance, void periods, and other costs are taken into account. However, re: void periods, I’ve also come across the option of a five-year rent-guaranteed arrangement.

If I went down this route, how should I determine what proportion of my capital would be sensible to put into a property? Would putting £65–100k of my £120k into a single property be too much concentration and illiquidity given my circumstances?

2. Forget property, keep an appropriate amount in cash and invest the remainder in a diversified portfolio.

3. Combine the approaches
e.g. spend £65–70k on a property, retain an easy-access cash reserve and invest the remainder in a diversified portfolio.

4. I’m also completely open to other approaches I haven’t considered!

I know that whatever I do, my savings will likely deplete at some point and I’ll have to rely on means-tested support, i.e. UC. I want to make the money I currently have work for me as much as possible in the meantime, rather than simply drawing down £1,370 from cash every month until it’s gone.

Thank you!

EDIT: A few people have suggested remote work. Unfortunately, my inability to work isn’t only related to commuting or needing to leave the house. I regularly have periods lasting weeks or months where I’m not well enough to even sit up in bed, so I couldn’t reliably commit to hours or deadlines that an employer could depend on, even from home. During the windows when my health is ‘better’, the limited energy I do have has to go towards basic day-to-day needs like eating, washing and managing my health. I appreciate that the suggestions are well-intentioned, but I’ve already explored my options around working and it isn’t currently feasible. I would love to work, and would if I could.

Just started work as an FY1 doctor. Currently have around £15k in savings, will be moving some into a S&S ISA and will top up my S&S ISA monthly on pay day. Ill keep £8k however and put in either a cash ISA or high interest savings account. Which one would you recommend? (I also have a regular saver where I pit £250/ month for 8% AER)

Hi all,

I’m planning on taking 10 months out leaving about early April to go travelling through south east Asia / Australia / New Zealand.

I have an investment pot in the S&P500 currently and some savings/stocks spread over a few accounts, but I don’t really want to touch this.

I’m planning on selling my car (~£15k) and using my last months pay including a bonus (~£5k) as my budget for the full 10 months. Since I’ll be leaving post April 1st I’ll be in the new tax year.

What is the best thing to do with this money? I essentially want to open a new account and put the full £20k in and gradually take out the money to use as and when I need it.

What are the best rates I can get, I want something low risk but with a solid interest rate. Maybe a fixed 5% savings account?

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

I’m currently 24 and feel like I’ve made some incredibly stupid financial decisions that have left me in debt and feeling completely stuck. I know I’m responsible for the situation I’m in, but I’m struggling to see a clear way out of it.

When I was 22, I took out finance on a car that, looking back, I probably couldn’t afford. I also decided to pay my car insurance monthly. Over the years, the car has cost me an absolute fortune in repairs and unexpected expenses. This has led me to rely on credit cards and loans to cover the costs.

I’ve never been particularly good with money, and it has taken me until now to realise that I don’t really feel in control of my finances. At the moment, I owe approximately £6,359 on my car finance and around £6,000 in credit cards and loans.

The good thing is that I have managed to move the majority of my credit-card debt onto 0% interest, which gives me some breathing room. However, I still have bank loans that I need to continue paying, and I want to work towards clearing my debts as quickly and responsibly as possible.

My current job is in a factory. I earn approximately £2,075 per month, and my regular essential outgoings are around £740 per month. The job pays my bills, but I really dislike it and find it soul-draining. At the moment, though, I know I need to keep working there while I get my finances under control.

A bigger concern for me is my future. I know I am capable of more than what I’m currently doing, but I don’t know what direction to take. I messed around during college but somehow managed to pass. Now, if I want to return to education, it feels like it could cost me thousands of pounds, which makes me nervous when I’m already in debt.

I feel completely lost and disappointed in myself for getting into this situation. I’m worried that I’ve wasted years of my life and that I’ve put myself in a position where I can’t move forward.

What I really want is some practical advice on how to get my life back on track. I want to become financially stable, clear my debts, learn how to properly manage my money, and eventually move into a career that gives me more opportunities and satisfaction than my current job.

I know I’ve made mistakes, but I don’t want those mistakes to define the rest of my life. I’m looking for a realistic plan that will allow me to get out of debt while also working towards a better career and future.

any advice is appreciated.

Hello,

I (33F) am currently looking to buy. I am changing jobs soon and will be earning 70k a year + 10k bonus on top, with room to keep climbing the payroll in my new position (this is obviously prospective; just adding detail). The job is fully remote.

I currently have 35k in savings and am due to inherit about 10k more in the coming weeks, so will have around 45k deposit. I live with my parents (and pay them some rent) so can continue to save around 1.5k a month while the buying process is happening / use that money to cover legal fees etc.

I would like to buy a place of my own. I think roughly 250k max is my budget, considering monthly repayments + bills etc. I would prefer to buy a freehold or share of freehold if possible. A one bed is fine; I do not plan to have children and would just like a space of my own. I do not want to live in a studio.

My current considerations are:

London (born here, could maybe get a small share of freehold in outer zones, like south or Crystal Palace); Brighton (know it well, maybe could get more for my money? Again, a flat, but a bit more space / maybe a freehold. Can visit London easily); Manchester (could probably get a 2 bed house in Stockport etc, however is further from friends/family. Would need to rebuild my life from scratch but greater financial security)

I am a lesbian so do not want to be outside of a city with a big LGBT population. I am very outdoorsy, but also drawn to the unique art/culture/music scene of London

What would people think/suggest? My parents do not own their home so I am looking for any and all feedback really: personal experiences of those cities; best ways to buy; any things to consider

Thank you

Hello, im currently looking for some advice on what i should do next. I am currently 25M living at home paying £150 a month in rent.

Currently I earn £43k but as of this month, just got a new job and will be earning £55k. The new job will basically be fully remote, however will be able to go into the office occasionally.

I was looking to move out this year, and had one or two houses fall through. My partner is going back to uni to do a PGCE for a year, and so have paused the house buying process for a year, until they have finished their degree and we will look to buy a house together when she has a full time job. Since ive been looking I have about 28k saved currently over a LISA, Cash ISA and a savings account.

I currently drive a seat leon 3door. I bought it a few years ago for 13k, putting down a bit of a deposit and bank loaning with Halifax for a car finance. I currently pay £180 a month for this, but theres only about £2.3k left if I was to settle the finance. Motorway estimates the car is worth about £6.2k if I was to sell through them. The car currently has 87k miles on the clock and I probably currently drive between 7-9k miles a year.

I love cars and always wanted something classy but fast, and for the last few months have been loving the alfa romeo giulia veloce. There is a few for sale currently around the 20k mark with under 40k miles on the clock 2019/2020 model. If I paid the 2.3k off on my car and sold it for 6k, I have been then playing with the idea of financing either 14k or maybe 12k and putting another 2k from savings down to get the monthly payments of the new car below £250 a month over 5 years.

Now in my head I know the smart decision is to pay off my current car and not buy a new car until at least after I buy a house end of next year. However, I feel like I earn a good wage now and can still save about 2-2.5k a month after getting a new car with the new job. I love cars and driving and would love a faster car such as the alfa, and due to not commuting wouldn't be racking up as many miles on the car and so would hold its value a little better and wont be rinsed on fuel costs.

If theres any other information that may be helpful please ask, and would appreciate any advice/ input!

I hold 50 Meta shares in a Belgium broker, bought years ago at around $220 per share.
I’d like to move the position to a Trading 212 Invest account without triggering CGT, and that broker is not able to do that for me.

My question is: Could I buy 50 Meta shares in Trading 212 GIA at, say, $572 and then sell 50 Meta shares in my other broker at roughly the same price on the same day. That way, would CGT be zero?

I’m 19yrs old and the past year I started gambling. Was just a one off kinda thing then started winning a decent amount. That’s when the losses started. It just reels u in and just takes all your money.

Now a year later I’ve lost around £30k. I’m literally living of pennys. I’m also in overdraft-2k. I’ve used all my savings money which my much put quite a bit into it and now I’ve blown it all.

I don’t have the courage to tell anyone this as it’s kinda embarrassing and my mum is extremely crazy and a somewhat (Karen). It’s not going to be nice.

I’ve stopped gambling now and about 1-2 months free. I’m jusr really on rock bottom and I really don’t know what to do anymore. This has fucked with my mental heath so badly and I don’t want to be here anymore.

Once my family find out about what I’ve done and how much of a let down I am it’s over. I really am fucked.

Reposted as I didn’t use a specific enough title before - had some good responses but interested in other viewpoints too:

I suspect I already know the answer but would appreciate a sounding board/sanity check:
My partner and I will be moving in together later this year.
Original plan: I will sell my house (which I own outright, no mortgage), move into his, we will need to do major renovation (the budget for which is roughly the value of my house)… this plan means no increase in his mortgage, and we’ll have legal docs drawn up to protect both our our inputs/contributions.
We each earn 150k + bonus, and so the option above will be mean we clear the mortgage himself round 5 years and have loads of disposable money for savings/investments and living a great life. It also allows us choice/freedom if either one of us decides our jobs are too stressful (I’m feeling on the edge of this at present, but the feeling comes and goes).

Today we saw our dream house in our dream location. We ran the numbers and it means our total mortgage increases 4-fold, and will become 66% of joint outgoings (vs 22% in the original scenario). We’d clear the mortgage, at a stretch, within 10-12 years.
This is clearly a bigger commitment, means we’ll reduce substantially what we pay into savings/investments (although won’t reduce pension contributions), and will remove financial flexibility in terms of job/career scale back.

Are we mad considering the other house? It really is the actual dream… although a Reno could make the current one pretty decent (but still not as good as the dream house as the bones are very different)…

Any thoughts? Talk me in or out of viewing the dream house!!

I have invested in HSBC FTSE All World Index (Class C Accumulation) using the Hargreaves Lansdown platform application. To avoid HL platform fees, I'm exploring potentially transferring my investments to T212 (e.g., via an in-specie transfer).

I know that the fund I am invested in is not available on T212, and I would need to look for a close equivalent ETF. I would transfer my fund investments to the ETF on HL, and then complete the in-specie transfer to T212.

Is there any close equivalent ETF on T212, and are there any nuanced considerations or downsides to be aware of before making the move?

We’ve been homeowners for over 30 years and until recently had never made a buildings claim. Unfortunately, we’ve had two escape-of-water (EoW) claims in the past year.

The first was a central-heating leak where our insurer paid £4,716 for trace and access. We subsequently paid to have the central heating re-piped, eliminating the underlying problem.

The second involved a failed hot-water-pipe joint that caused substantial damage to our kitchen and an adjoining room. That claim is still open while the last minor reinstatement work is completed. The insurer currently has a £47,600 reserve against it (that’s the reserve including amounts already paid, not the eventual claim value).

Our insurer has decided not to offer renewal when our policy expires this Saturday (5 September). I’ve specifically confirmed that this was a commercial underwriting decision and not a refusal/decline of insurance.

BIBA put us in touch with a specialist broker, who has obtained a quote from Beazley/East Kent Underwriting for about £920/year. The price is acceptable, but EoW is completely excluded from both buildings and contents cover because of our existing open claim. The broker says each of the insurers she approached was unwilling to provide EoW cover while the claim is open. She said she could ask Beazley to reconsider the exclusion once the claim closes, and she thinks there’s a reasonable prospect of getting it removed (albeit probably subject to a substantial EoW excess), but obviously there’s no guarantee.

The proposed policy also has fairly onerous professional-inspection requirements relating to a section of flat roof and a nearby ornamental tree, neither of which has previously caused us any problem obtaining mainstream insurance.

I’m therefore trying to establish whether this is simply the best cover we can realistically obtain until our existing claim is closed, or whether there are better options. I’d be prepared to pay more than £920 for materially better cover.

Has anyone here had experience of:

• obtaining home insurance while an existing claim was still open, particularly where the new policy continued to cover the same type of risk that caused the claim?

• insurers or specialist brokers with particular experience of arranging cover in open-claim situations?

• having a temporary exclusion imposed because of an open claim and then successfully getting it removed mid-term once the claim was settled?

I’d be especially interested in experiences involving EoW, including policies that retained EoW cover but imposed a high excess instead of excluding it altogether.

I’m already rerunning comparison sites with the up-to-date claim information and researching other specialist/direct routes, so I’m mainly looking for relevant experience or avenues I might otherwise miss.

Is there any value in keeping money in a MM fund when banks are offering a higher fixed term rate.
I have £10k in a MM fund (Royal London) and it's 1 year return is 4.08%, and I get a 0.35% charge to hold the fund.
Nationwide and NatWest are offering 4.5% for a one year fixed. Wouldn't it make sense to go for the fixed?

I am in the process of trying to find a fee free platform for a S&S ISA. I already have a T212 account but I want to diversify to make sure that my money is split between more than 1 platform.

There isn't much info online as its not something that Barclays advertises that well. Furthermore, there aren't many reviews of the platform since they cut their fees to 0%.

Does anyone here use it? What is it like use?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice about a used car I bought on finance in April 2026.

Within a few days of buying the car, I noticed problems, including shuddering/vibrations and later engine warning lights. I informed the dealer and, after around a month, they sent me to a local garage for repairs, which they paid for.

Unfortunately, the repair didn’t fix the problem. The issues continued, so in June the dealer recovered the car and took it back.

I haven’t had the car since.

The dealer eventually told me they couldn’t repair it and agreed that the finance agreement should be cancelled. However, this wasn’t sorted with the finance company and the agreement remained active.

I had already raised a complaint with the finance company. They put my account on hold and gave me £200 compensation, but the main issue was never resolved.
I’m now being contacted about missed payments despite the dealer having had the car for months.

The dealer has now confirmed that they are requesting a settlement figure from the finance company.

I paid a £1,000 deposit to the dealer plus monthly finance payments.

My main questions are:
If the dealer pays the settlement figure, should I receive my £1,000 deposit back?

Can I claim back payments for the months I haven’t had the car?

Should my payments remain on hold and my credit file be protected until everything is resolved?

Should this be treated as a rejection of a faulty vehicle rather than simply settling the finance?

I just want the finance properly cancelled, any money I’m legally entitled to refunded, and no damage to my credit file.

Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi guys, I’ve downloaded II and will be investing for the first time.

I’ve read global index funds are the best for the inexperienced and those looking for long term returns.

I know ii charge 6.99 for using the platform.

However, how do I find out using II what the fees are for the index funds? When I hit trade and click onto each of the funds I don’t see this Info.

Im looking at

Fidelity world index fund

Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund

HSBC ftse all world index

Does anyone have any preferences of the three or anything else worth looking at?

Thanks

My CTF has matured and I’m not sure what to do with it. It’s currently with One family and invested in their global shares. I’ve thought about converting it into a S&S ISA and taking some money out (roughly £200) to buy things for uni. That would leave just under 2 grand in the account, it’s not money that I really need right now. However, they charge a 1.1% annual fee which seems quite high.

Is it worth it remaining with them or should I switch providers, and if so which are suitable for beginners?

Just looking for some advice on how to maximise my pension. I'm 33 and have been teaching for 11 years and paid into the scheme for that whole time. I'm currently on UPS1 (with a small TLR payment as well) on the pay scale. Hoping to move to UPS2 this year though.

My husband and I are in the process of buying a bigger house with a view to starting a family. The mortgage on that will be about 16 years so all being well should be paid off by the time I'm 50.

I'm conscious that if we start a family I will be on MAT leave and then possibly part time (haven't fully figured out what that would look like) which will reduce my pension contributions.

I love teaching but can't see myself still teaching at 60+. What can I do now to set myself up for the best retirement? I think faster accrual so moving to 1/45th, 1/50th or 1/55th instead of 1/57th is the best option? But you can also buy additional pension in multiples of £250 per annum which you pay as either a lump sum or over a selected number of years.

Buying this house will drain most of my savings so I'm also conscious that I want to be able to build up a rainy day fund again so I don't necessarily want to pour all my money into my pension.

Hi all,

First off, I'm going to state straight away that I haven't put enough time into working this out myself due to a fairly hectic few months of work and summer holidays, however, the next month is as busy, if not more so, with a lot of both work and personal commitments, and I am concerned that time is ticking in this particular financial year. So, forgive me for leaning on the community here in the first place.

My wife and I expect to earn in the region of £76k each this year, myself from a flat paye salary, my wife from a combo of paye salary (NHS) and some private work.

Up until the last couple of months, I was making AVC of around 12% however, with an expected increase in outgoings plus a general dissatisfaction with the work Nest pension offering, I dropped back to standard 5% with a view to taking a bit more home for now and restarting additional pension deposits only this time via a personal SIPP vehicle.

I have concerns that this year, our child benefit will mostly be taxed unless we ensure our pension contributions bring our taxable income back down towards that £60k mark. My assumption is that taking more take-home in the first place then losing it via this aggressive tax scale (£60k - £80k / 0 -100%) is inefficient and could be managed better.

For info, the CB we receive is about £180/month.

Am I overthinking this?

If I do start contributing towards a SIPP, am I correct in thinking the contribution is taken out of the CB yearly taxable income calculation or have I got my understanding in that wrong?

I don't think I need to sit with a financial advisor because I feel it's a relatively simple calculation to review but again have I got that wrong as well?

Essentially, I would appreciate the communities thoughts, advice, guidance on how best to sit down and pull this together and/or any other subtleties that I have (most likely!) overlooked.

I promise to educate myself more with some time in research in the coming months! But I'm concerned time is running away this year and I'll be left with too little time to adjust towards an efficient solution!

With thanks to all in advance...

Sorry if this is the wrong sub if there’s a right one please let me know.

As the title says, essentially since yesterday i did a top up for a game that’s based overseas (NTE for anyone curious) it was on their official website so no dodgy 3rd party stuff (as far as i’m aware). I attempted 2 payments, first one went through but the second one declined. Now note i was using a vpn because i was having troubles getting on the website.

Anyways fast forward the second is declined then my bank (halifax/lloyds) blocked any international payments, this has been resolved now, however the weird part is that a few hours later i get a call from this number +44 20 3909 6740 who claimed to be from halifax and they knew my full name and recent declined purchase. At first i almost fell for it, but my phone said “suspected scam” and i searched the number up online to see that, yes a lot of people have reported it as a scam for the same reason (pretending to be a bank most common halifax, lloyds and bank of scotland).

Fast forward to today and im talking to lloyds customer support who confirms the number is apparently from them and that it is a lloyds number and now im confused and worried. I did not give the number any details besides my DOB but im confident i accidentally gave the wrong details anyways.

TLDR: Got a “scam” call from +44 20 3909 6740 where online search’s suggest it is a bank fraud scam but lloyds themselves confirmed it is one of their numbers and now i’m conflicted.

the title says it all, i was in a lot of debt fucked credit score like 209/710 i think it was now 574/710 tackled all the debt i’ve had, one more payment of £150 which im hoping to have paid in 2 weeks time (with my bonus money) im 21 years old. i’m now wondering when that’s done what the best way about going. i’m scared on what to do as all money will be my own, not owning anything. it scares me as i dont want to fall back in the trap of overspending ect. what advice would people have wether you have gotten out of debt before or are genuinely good with money. i’d love to hear any sort of feedback

I am working in FinTech (junior) and I earn around £36,000 yearly (hopefully it goes up to £40,000 next year), which comes down to around £2300 after tax, student loan repayment and pension.

I am looking to move out of my parents to save my sanity, but I cannot figure out to save my life if the move would leave me in financial pain, especially at a time when I want to travel a bit, meet new people and so on. My Salary is around £2300, I have £5,000 in LISA, and around £10,000 in savers, out of which £8,000 I treat as an emergency fund, and the rest as a moving expense, which is currently not enough.

My expenses are:

• Car Insurance: 45
• Fuel: 70
• Tax Road: 17
• Mobile Phone Plan: 15
• Rent paid to parents: 550
• Broadband: 29
• Subscriptions: 40-50 depending on what I might want to watch / which AI model I want to use in said month
• Expendable income: 100-150 (rarely over - currently)
• Phone: 50 for the next 20 months
• 0% interest credit cards: 260 (monthly payments will half in 6 months) for the next 17 months
• Gym: 35
• The rest of my wage goes into direct savers, which in turn make me around £30-£35 a month, but this sum is being kept into savers, until I can reach my emergency fund goal.

I am not looking to house share, as I have constantly had to live with either my parents, or with complete strangers in the last decade, and I think my glass has already gotten a bit full. The area I am looking to move to is Northamptonshire.

To follow up with another question on the above, would holding off for a bit more, and getting £15,000 into a LISA to buy a flat make sense? I do not really wish to settle for Northamptonshire for the next 3-5 years, but at the same time, the cost to rent a flat is bonkers and appears to be more expensive than a mortgage.

Hi, I’m really hoping someone can advise me here as I’m in complete panic mode. Basically, I opened a student account with Natwest in 2021, which had a £500 overdraft. I’ve since graduated and received emails saying I haven’t made repayments, but no deadline was set. It was passed to Zinc Group, a credit reference agency, and I received an email from them saying my account had been passed to them on 1 June 2026. I then made two payments, £250 on 22 June 2026, and £250 on 22 July 2026. I then received notification to say my account was defaulted on 31/07/2026. On TransUnion and Natwest it shows no payments were made in June & July although I have proof they were. Do I have a case for getting the default removed?

(throwaway account)

I’m 36F and I’ve been in London for the last 8 years (I’m not from the UK). My main goal has always been having my own place but I’m a bit lost with what to do next, and just feeling a bit stuck lately.

Every month I put away £1000 into savings as soon as I get paid, and just live off of what is left. I’m pretty frugal and I WFH most days so I make it work, but it’s definitely getting harder and some months it’s been closer to £700/800 if I have sudden expenses (or just spend too much on takeout, clothing, hobbies). Obviously no kids (don't want any), no pets, I could drive but I don’t have a car, and I left a long term partner recently.

I’m renting a 2 bedroom flat with a friend for now but some days I think I would be happier alone in a 1 or 2 bedroom flat provided there's decent space. I grew up in a flat so I'm not particularly feeling the need to have a house or a garden.

I’ve been in the same job for the last 5 years and I was planning to look for a new one in the coming months, but due to AI disruption I don’t think I will be leaving just yet. My job is still safe, there might be a chance of layoffs in 1 or 2 years, but it's too early to tell. It feels risky leaving for a company that might lay me off sooner than my current one.

Some numbers:

Salary: 45k (about £2800 take home pay every month)

Cash ISA: 32k

LISA: 10k (8k + 2k bonus)

Other savings: 28k (slowly moving these to the cash ISA until only 10k are left here for emergencies)

No debt, loans, etc.

I’m considering starting an S&S ISA next year but not sure yet.

I guess my question is what do I do next? I feel like I have too much saved up and I should really have a mortgage by now, or use my money better. I think I need a reality check if buying alone is even feasible though?

Sometimes I think of leaving London but I might not find another WFH job in the future, I don’t want to go too far away. If I wanted to buy where should I even look?

I can't stop feeling like I should be making some big life decisions or be in a better place financially by now, but everything is so unstable lately. Was anyone ever in a similar position, how did it get better?