How does a credit score work?
What actually affects a credit file, what does not, and the small number of things worth doing about it.
beginner30 min2 min read
Household Admin
Paperwork, renewals and the annual jobs.
258 guides in Money & Practical
How does a mortgage application actually work?
The stages from agreement in principle to offer, what underwriters actually assess, and the things that most often delay or derail an application.
intermediate1 hr3 min readWhat are my rights when I go back to work after family leave?
The right to return depends on how long you were away: the same job after 26 weeks or less, and the same job or a suitable alternative after longer. Notice to return early, accrued holiday, and the conversations worth having first.
intermediate12 min5 min readWhat do I do if a debt collection agency contacts me?
The difference between a collection agency and an enforcement agent, what collectors can and cannot do, and how to establish whether the debt is genuinely yours.
beginner45 min4 min readWhat do I have to disclose when I sell a house?
The forms a seller completes in England and Wales, what each one asks, what the honest answer looks like when you genuinely do not know, and where sellers get into trouble.
intermediate15 min5 min readWhat is Marriage Allowance and can we claim it?
A transfer of unused personal allowance between spouses or civil partners. Simple, backdatable for several years, and widely unclaimed by the people it fits.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat is Maternity Allowance and can I claim it?
The benefit for people who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay — the self-employed, recent job changers, agency workers and those helping in a spouse's business. Who qualifies, how to claim and when.
beginner11 min4 min readWhat is TUPE, and what happens to my job if the business is sold?
When a business or a service changes hands, your job usually moves with it on the same terms and with your continuity intact. What transfers, what the new employer can and cannot change, and the objection trap.
advanced16 min5 min readWhat is a FENSA certificate, and what if I have not got one?
Why replacement windows and doors need building regulations certification at all, what the competent person schemes actually do, and the two routes available when the paperwork does not exist.
beginner20 min4 min readWhat safety certificates must my landlord give me?
Gas, electrical, alarm and energy paperwork are all legal duties on a landlord, with different intervals and different rules in each nation. What you should have been given, and what to do when you have not been.
beginner11 min5 min readHow do I check my credit report and correct a mistake on it?
How to get your report free from all three UK credit reference agencies, what to check line by line, and the dispute process that gets an error removed.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I organise household expenses?
A system for household paperwork and recurring costs that means renewals never surprise you and nothing gets paid twice.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do credit cards actually work?
Interest-free periods, minimum payments and the specific things that make a credit card expensive.
beginner25 min2 min readWhat do I do if my insurance claim is turned down?
How to find the actual reason a claim was declined, the internal appeal that resolves many of them, and the free Financial Ombudsman route that sits above it.
beginner1 hr 30 min4 min readWhat should I do if my landlord will not do repairs?
Reporting properly, building a record, and the escalation routes when nothing happens.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow can my landlord end a private residential tenancy in Scotland?
Scotland has had no no-fault eviction since 2017. A landlord must use one of eighteen statutory grounds, every one of which is discretionary, and only the First-tier Tribunal can grant possession.
intermediate14 min5 min readHow can my landlord end my occupation contract in Wales?
Wales kept no-fault possession when England abolished it, but wrapped it in six months' notice, a six-month minimum before it can be served, a short window to act on it, and a list of situations that block it entirely.
intermediate14 min5 min readHow do I choose a removal company?
What to ask, what the quote should include, and the specific things that turn a cheap quote into an expensive day.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I find my National Insurance number?
Where the number appears, how to get a confirmation letter yourself in minutes, and why HMRC will not tell you over the phone or by webchat.
beginner7 min4 min readHow do I get a free bus pass?
Eligibility ages and coverage differ substantially across the four UK nations, and the disabled person's pass is often overlooked by people who qualify.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I make a decision that affects the whole household?
Consultation without a decision rule produces resentment either way. How to say up front who decides what, and how to include people whose stake is real but small.
beginner40 min3 min readHow do I make an insurance claim?
What to do before you claim, how to document it, and the decision about whether claiming is worth it at all.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I vote by post or by proxy?
Two different arrangements with different deadlines and different failure modes. Both need applying for well before polling day, and both have rules that have tightened recently.
beginner12 min3 min readHow do we manage money together without arguing?
Choosing a structure that fits both people, agreeing the principles, and the regular conversation that prevents resentment.
beginner1 hr2 min read
Going deeper: ToolFoundry
Interactive calculators — quantities, conversions, costs and sizing — rather than prose.