Guides
Longer reads for when a one-minute lesson isn't enough. Every guide answers the question at the top, shows the arithmetic, dates any figure that changes and links its sources.
- Apps like Duolingo for personal finance, comparedSeven apps that teach money in short lessons, compared on lesson length, quizzes, countries, price, platforms and bank access, from their own store listings.
- APR, APY and AER explained with one exampleAPR is the yearly cost of borrowing; APY (US) and AER (UK) show what savings earn once interest compounds. One card and one savings account, worked both ways.
- The cash ISA limit is dropping to £12,000. Who it affectsFrom 6 April 2027, savers under 65 can pay £12,000 a year into cash ISAs. Who's affected, worked £20,000 splits, and the Personal Savings Allowance compared.
- Does Klarna affect your credit score? What changed in 2026Klarna's soft checks don't touch your score, but it reports Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 days to UK credit agencies. The July 2026 FCA rules, late fees and mortgages.
- What lifestyle creep looks like, and how to keep a raiseSix signs of lifestyle creep to check against last year's bank statements, what saving half of a $4,000 raise adds up to, and what research on adaptation shows.
- Lifetime ISA rules in 2026, and what may replace itLifetime ISA rules for 2026/27 from GOV.UK, the 25% withdrawal charge worked through, and what HM Treasury's June 2026 First Time Buyer ISA plan proposes.
- The money questions most adults get wrongThe interest, inflation and diversification questions behind financial literacy tests, how US adults scored in 2024 and 2026, and the working for each answer.
- Should you pay off debt or build an emergency fund first?An order of steps with the arithmetic behind each: a starter fund, any employer match, high-interest debt, then the full emergency fund. Three worked examples.
- Sinking funds vs an emergency fund, and why you need bothWhat sinking funds are, how they differ from an emergency fund, how to size each with simple division, and where to keep both, with deposit protection limits.
- Trump account, 529 or custodial Roth IRA?How Trump accounts, 529 plans and custodial Roth IRAs compare in 2026: who qualifies, yearly limits, tax, when money can come out, and an 18-year growth example.
- Will a raise put you in a higher tax bracket?Only the part of a raise above a bracket line is taxed at the higher rate. 2026 US and UK examples, plus the tapers and charges that take more.