How do I set up utilities in a new home?
The order to do it in, the readings to take on day one, and the accounts that cost you money if you forget them.
beginner1 hr 30 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 spend less on getting around?
Reducing transport costs — running a car more cheaply, and working out whether you need one at all.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I tell a reversible decision from one I cannot undo?
How much care a decision deserves depends far more on whether you can walk it back than on what it costs — and most decisions are more reversible than they feel.
beginner10 min3 min readHow is my holiday pay worked out if my hours vary?
Holiday pay is meant to reflect what you normally earn, not your basic rate. For anyone on variable hours, commission or regular overtime, that difference is real money.
intermediate15 min3 min readHow long should a washing machine last, and when is it worth repairing?
Some washing machine faults are cheap parts and an hour of labour; others are effectively the whole machine. Knowing which is which before you book the call-out is the entire decision.
beginner25 min5 min readIs a dishwasher cheaper than washing up by hand?
The honest answer depends entirely on how you wash up by hand — and the method here lets you work out your own numbers instead of trusting anyone else's.
beginner20 min4 min readShould I buy it now or wait?
Waiting has a cost that people rarely count. How to price the delay, when a predictable price cycle genuinely justifies waiting, and when waiting is just deferral.
beginner15 min3 min readShould I insure something or carry the risk myself?
The test is not whether something might break — it is whether you could absorb the loss. How to decide which risks to transfer and which to keep, without under-insuring the ones that matter.
beginner20 min3 min readShould I still claim Child Benefit if we earn too much?
The charge claws back Child Benefit above an income threshold — but not claiming at all forfeits National Insurance credits that matter decades later.
intermediate15 min3 min readWhat ID do I need to vote?
Photographic identification is required at polling stations in most UK elections, an expired document is usually still acceptable, and there is a free certificate for anyone without one.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat are my options if I cannot repay my debts?
The main informal and statutory debt solutions in the UK, what each requires, and the consequences that make free advice essential before choosing one.
intermediate45 min4 min readWhat happens to a joint bank account when one person dies?
The money usually passes to the survivor automatically, but that is a rule about ownership, not about tax — and a joint account with a non-spouse can behave quite differently.
beginner12 min3 min readWhat happens to my pay if my employer goes bust?
When an employer is formally insolvent, the state pays certain debts out of the National Insurance Fund. What is covered, the two separate applications, the number you cannot claim without, and what happens if there is no formal insolvency at all.
intermediate14 min5 min readWhat if a repair has failed more than once?
The one-repair principle, and how to move from an endless repair cycle to a refund or replacement.
beginner15 min2 min readWhat is a Section 20 notice for major works?
A statutory consultation that must happen before large works are charged to leaseholders. If it is skipped, recovery is capped at a low statutory figure per flat.
intermediate20 min3 min readWhat is illegal eviction, and what do I do if it happens to me?
Changing the locks, removing your belongings, cutting off services or making your life unbearable to force you out are crimes, not landlord remedies. Who enforces it in each nation and what you can recover.
intermediate12 min5 min readWhat should I do if my card is lost or stolen?
Freezing rather than cancelling first, reporting fraud, and the protections that apply to unauthorised transactions.
beginner30 min2 min readWho is responsible for repairs in a leasehold flat?
The lease divides the building between what you own and what the freeholder maintains, and every repair argument turns on that line. How to find it, who pays, and what to do when nothing happens.
intermediate12 min5 min readWhy do house sales fall through, and what can I do about it?
The handful of causes that account for most collapsed transactions, which of them you can influence, and what to salvage — legal work, searches, survey — when one falls apart.
beginner12 min4 min readHow do I compare two products when their specifications do not line up?
One quotes capacity, the other quotes dimensions; one quotes annual cost, the other quotes cost per cycle. How to normalise both onto the same scale before you compare anything.
intermediate25 min3 min readHow do I decide whether to repair or replace something?
A framework for the repair-or-replace decision covering cost, remaining life, reliability and the things people forget to count.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I get my rental deposit back?
Evidence, cleaning and the dispute process — and why the photographs you take on day one decide the outcome.
beginner2 hr2 min readHow do I switch energy supplier?
Comparing tariffs properly, what you need before you start, and what actually happens during a switch.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I work out what a second-hand item is actually worth?
Asking prices tell you what sellers hope for. Sold prices tell you what things are worth — how to find them, and how to adjust for condition, completeness and timing.
beginner20 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.