What do I do about a payment I do not recognise?
Identify it before reporting it — most unfamiliar payments are legitimate under an unfamiliar name.
beginner30 min2 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
What is a lasting power of attorney and which type do I need?
Two separate documents with different rules about when they can be used. Both have to be made while capacity is intact, which is the whole difficulty.
intermediate45 min4 min readWhat does owning a home cost on top of the mortgage?
The mortgage is the predictable part. The costs that catch new owners out, how to build a realistic annual figure, and the maintenance allowance that prevents the worst surprises.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I dispute a bill?
What to pay while it is disputed, how to escalate, and the free ombudsman route people forget exists.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I make a will, and do I need a solicitor?
The formalities that make a will valid, the decisions to make before drafting, and the situations where a DIY will reliably goes wrong.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I replace a lost birth certificate or passport?
Which document to replace first, the official routes and what they cost, and why the order matters.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I set up post redirection?
What redirection does and does not cover, how far ahead to apply, and why it is not a substitute for telling people you have moved.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I switch broadband provider without losing service?
Who arranges the switch, when you should and should not cancel yourself, and the checks that avoid a week with no connection.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I write a formal letter or complaint?
A structure that gets a result — facts, dates, what you want, and a deadline.
beginner30 min2 min readHow is a contents sum insured worked out?
Room by room at replacement cost, the categories people forget entirely, and why under-insuring reduces small claims too.
beginner45 min4 min readWhat are my rights if something breaks after a year?
Why the manufacturer's warranty expiring does not end your rights, and who to claim from.
beginner20 min2 min readWhat are the last posting dates and how do I plan around them?
How the deadlines work, why they are earlier than people expect, and the planning that makes them irrelevant.
beginner30 min4 min readWhat is a free trial actually committing me to?
What you agree to when you hand over a card, the notice periods hidden in the terms, and how to leave cleanly.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat is pension auto-enrolment, and what happens if I opt out?
How the workplace pension you were put into actually works, what the employer contribution is conditional on, and what re-enrolment means for anyone who opted out.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat is statutory sick pay and when do I get it?
The minimum an employer must pay when you are off sick, who qualifies, the waiting days, and how it interacts with a company sick pay scheme.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat is total cost of ownership, and how do I work it out?
The purchase price is one of six costs, and often not the largest. The six pots, how to fill them in for a real product, and how to turn the total into a cost per year.
beginner30 min3 min readWhat kind of tenancy do I have?
Almost every renting question depends on this answer, and the answer is different in each UK nation. How to work out which regime you are in and what your agreement is actually called.
beginner12 min5 min readWhat should I check when viewing a property?
What to look for beyond the decoration, and the questions that reveal what the photographs do not.
beginner45 min2 min readWhy does my budget keep failing?
Budgets fail for a small number of specific reasons, and almost all of them are design faults rather than discipline problems. How to diagnose which one is yours.
beginner30 min4 min readHow can my landlord increase the rent where I live?
The mechanism, the notice period and the challenge route are different in each UK nation — and in Wales and Northern Ireland most renters have no route to challenge the amount at all.
intermediate14 min5 min readHow do I change my address everywhere?
The legally required ones, the order that avoids being locked out, and the ones people forget for years.
beginner3 hr3 min readHow do I check my National Insurance record for gaps?
Your State Pension is built from qualifying years, not from what you paid. Gaps are common, often invisible, and only sometimes worth filling.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I complain about poor workmanship?
Give them the chance to fix it, in writing, with evidence — and the escalation route when they will not.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I get out of a mobile or broadband contract?
The routes out — end of term, price rise, poor service, or paying — and which apply when.
beginner45 min2 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.