How 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 read
Money & Practical
Budgeting, bills and buying decisions, described as processes you can follow. These guides explain method — how to work something out for yourself. They are not financial advice and recommend no specific products.
425 guides
How do I furnish a home without spending a fortune?
What to buy new, what to buy used, and the order to buy in so you are not living without essentials.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 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 manage the cost of Christmas and big occasions?
Spreading and controlling the cost of predictable annual expenses so they stop arriving as emergencies.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I save for something specific?
Turning a vague goal into a monthly figure, and structuring the saving so it happens without willpower.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I save money on insurance?
Where insurance savings actually come from — shopping at renewal, adjusting excess, and removing cover you already have twice.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I understand my energy bill?
What standing charges, unit rates and estimated readings actually mean, and how to check your bill is right.
beginner30 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 readIs it worth reupholstering a sofa or should I buy a new one?
The frame decides it. How to tell a frame worth spending on from one that is not, and why reupholstery competes with a mid-range new sofa rather than a cheap one.
beginner25 min3 min readShould I buy a washer dryer or two separate machines?
A washer dryer buys you floor space and costs you almost everything else — drying capacity, drying cost, throughput, and the ability to keep washing when the drying half breaks.
beginner20 min4 min readShould I pay off debt or build savings first?
A framework for the classic trade-off: a small buffer first, then whichever of debt interest or savings interest is larger, with the exceptions that override the arithmetic.
beginner40 min3 min readWhat are gazumping and gazundering, and can I protect myself?
Why an accepted offer means nothing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland until exchange, what a seller and a buyer can each do at the last minute, and the handful of things that genuinely reduce the risk.
beginner10 min5 min readWhat are my rights if a delivery is late or goes missing?
Why the retailer and not the courier is responsible, what 'left in a safe place' does to that, and the steps that get a refund rather than an investigation.
beginner30 min3 min readWhat can a letting agent legally charge me?
Fees to tenants are banned in England, Wales and Scotland, with a short list of permitted payments. Northern Ireland has no ban — but most agent fees there are void under a different rule.
beginner10 min5 min readWhat do I do about a large catch-up energy bill?
Why a supplier can suddenly bill for a long period, the back-billing limit that exists in Ofgem rules, and how to check and challenge the figure before you agree to pay it.
beginner1 hr4 min readWhat does the energy label on a fridge or dishwasher actually mean?
The letter was rescaled in 2021 so old and new labels are not comparable, and the numbers below the letter are the ones that let you calculate your own running cost.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat is the Right to Manage, and how do we use it?
A statutory route for leaseholders to take over the management of their building without buying anything and without having to prove the landlord has done anything wrong.
advanced14 min5 min readWhat is unpaid parental leave and how do I use it?
Eighteen weeks per child up to their eighteenth birthday, four weeks a year, that an employer cannot refuse — only postpone. The service qualification was removed in Great Britain in April 2026.
beginner10 min5 min readWhat must my employer put in writing about my job?
There is a legal list of particulars every worker must be given, on or before the first day. Knowing what is on it turns a vague argument into a specific one.
beginner12 min2 min readWhat should I do when a provider raises my price?
Using the notice period, the comparison and the retention team to reverse or reduce most increases.
beginner45 min2 min readWhich level of criminal record check do I need, and what shows up?
Basic, standard and enhanced checks in England and Wales, the filtering rules that remove old and minor matters, the Update Service — and the fact that Scotland replaced the whole system in 2025.
intermediate14 min5 min read
Going deeper: ToolFoundry
Interactive calculators — quantities, conversions, costs and sizing — rather than prose.
ToolFoundry is in development — GuideHQ covers the practical answers in the meantime.