How do I read a payslip?
Gross, net, and every deduction in between — what each line means and what to check each month.
beginner20 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
How do I recover financially after Christmas?
Face the total, deal with the most expensive debt first, and set up the thing that prevents next January.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I register a death, and what do I need to take?
The appointment, the documents, who is allowed to do it, and what changes when a coroner is involved — which is the case that catches people out.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I shop online safely in the Christmas rush?
The seasonal scams, why paying by credit card matters, and the checks that take thirty seconds.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I track my spending?
Recording where money actually goes for long enough to be useful, without turning it into a permanent admin task.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I work out what an appliance costs to run?
One piece of arithmetic that turns speculation about which appliance is expensive into a number.
beginner20 min2 min readHow much holiday am I actually entitled to?
The statutory minimum is set in weeks, not days, which is why part-timers, shift workers and people who changed hours mid-year all get confused by the same rule.
beginner15 min3 min readIs paternity leave a day-one right, and can I split the two weeks?
Two weeks, splittable into two single weeks, usable at any point in the child's first year, and available from your first day in the job in Great Britain since April 2026. The notice rules, and why Northern Ireland has none of this.
beginner12 min5 min readMy landlord has served a section 8 notice — what happens now?
What a section 8 notice is, how to check it is valid, which grounds are mandatory and which the judge can refuse, and the sequence from notice to court to bailiff in England.
intermediate15 min6 min readShould I take a meter reading before the price changes?
Why a reading on the day matters on a variable tariff, how to take and submit one that will actually be accepted, and what to do if you miss the date.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat do I do when a letter says I owe money?
How to check it is genuine, what to do in the first week, and where to get free help.
beginner45 min2 min readWhat do I need to know about council tax?
How the band is set, the discounts people miss, and why it is a debt to prioritise.
beginner25 min2 min readWhat does my tax code mean?
What the number and the letters mean, the codes that suggest a problem, and how to get it corrected.
beginner20 min2 min readWhat is an insurance excess and how does it work?
Compulsory and voluntary excess, how they stack, and why a high excess can make a policy useless.
beginner15 min2 min readWhat is an inventory and why does it matter?
The document your deposit is judged against — and what to do in the first week to protect yourself.
beginner30 min2 min readWhat is the difference between a fault and a non-fault motor claim?
Why fault means whether your insurer got its money back, how liability gets split, and what to do when a blameless accident is recorded against you.
beginner20 min6 min readWhat is the difference between leasehold and freehold?
A leaseholder owns a long tenancy of a property, not the building or the land. That single distinction explains the service charge, the permissions, and why the years remaining matter.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat should I check before signing a contract?
The six clauses that cause most of the trouble, and where to find them in a document nobody reads.
beginner30 min2 min readWhen should I stop researching and just decide?
Research improves a decision sharply at first and then stops improving it at all. The three signals that you have crossed that point, and the deadline that prevents it.
beginner10 min3 min readWhere can I get free debt advice in the UK?
The free, regulated organisations that give debt advice in the UK, what each does best, and what to prepare so the first appointment is useful.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy has my direct debit gone up when I use the same amount?
How the estimate is calculated, the four things that change it, and how to challenge one that looks wrong.
beginner20 min2 min readWhy has my insurance renewal gone up?
Market-wide increases, your own circumstances, and what actually happens when you challenge it.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I make a big decision with my partner when we disagree?
Most couple disagreements about a purchase are not about the option at all — they are about which criterion matters more. A process that surfaces that before it becomes an argument.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I pay for a large repair I have not saved for?
The order to work through: check who should be paying, reduce the bill, then look at how to fund what remains — with free advice before any borrowing.
beginner30 min3 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.