Category
More than the headline figure, because charges come in several layers that are disclosed separately — and the cumulative effect over decades is far larger than the annual percentages suggest. The
Differently from earnings, and differently from each other — with their own allowances and their own rates, which is why the tax on the same amount of money varies enormously depending on where it
Because a bond pays a fixed amount, so when newly issued bonds offer more, the only way an existing bond can compete is for its price to drop until the return a buyer gets matches what is available
A check of whether you could still afford the mortgage if interest rates were considerably higher than they are now — applied in addition to, and separately from, whether you can afford the payment
Loan-to-value is the size of the mortgage as a percentage of the property's value — and it is the single biggest determinant of the interest rate offered, because it determines how much the lender
A statutory compensation scheme that pays out when an authorised financial firm fails and cannot meet its obligations. It is funded by industry levies rather than by taxpayers, and the limits and
A credit card designed for people with limited or damaged credit history — offering a low limit at a high interest rate, on the basis that demonstrating repayment builds a record. How they differ
A court order requiring an employer to deduct money from an employee's wages and pay it to a creditor — one of the enforcement methods available after a judgment. When it can be used. Generally after
Debt that has become unenforceable through the courts because the creditor left it too long — and it is a genuinely important protection that is widely misunderstood in both directions. The
Selling a financial product in a way that breaches regulatory requirements — typically through unsuitable advice, inadequate disclosure or unfair pressure — and redress is the process of putting the
A loan where a second person legally agrees to repay if the borrower does not — and the risk to the guarantor is far greater than most guarantors understand when signing. How it works. A borrower
Because the market caused documented, widespread harm — and the regulatory response, introduced from 2015, reshaped the sector almost entirely. What the problem was. High-cost short-term credit
A statutory scheme in England and Wales giving someone in problem debt legal protection from creditor action for a defined period, so they can get advice and make a plan without enforcement
Three responses to unmanageable debt, differing in whether they are legally binding, whether debt is written off, and what they cost you. Debt management plan (DMP). An informal arrangement to pay
A default is a lender's record that an agreement broke down; a county court judgment (CCJ) is a court order to pay. One is a credit reporting matter, the other is a legal decision with enforcement
Whether the search is visible to other lenders and counts toward their assessment of you — which determines whether checking your options can affect your ability to borrow. Soft search. Recorded on
A dividend is a payment a company makes to its shareholders out of profits. Yield expresses that payment as a percentage of the share price — and because the price is the denominator, a high yield
A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is digital money issued by a central bank — a direct claim on the central bank in electronic form, rather than a claim on a commercial bank. The distinction
A recession is a significant, widespread and sustained decline in economic activity — and the widely quoted definition is a rule of thumb rather than the real one. The common shorthand: two
A tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free income to give you before deducting tax. It is issued by HMRC, applied by your employer, and it is wrong more often than people
Capital gains tax (CGT) is tax on the profit made when you dispose of an asset that has risen in value — not on the amount you receive, and not on the asset itself. The core idea. Gain equals
A UK system requiring employers to automatically put eligible staff into a workplace pension and contribute to it — with the employee opted in by default and free to leave. Why it exists. Voluntary
Both are ways of turning a pension pot into retirement income, and they trade off certainty against flexibility in opposite directions. Annuity. You exchange some or all of your pension pot for a
An index fund holds the constituents of a market index in the same proportions, aiming to match the index's return rather than beat it. That is what "passive" means: no one is choosing what to buy.