Money Box

Money Box Live: Making Tax Digital Guide

29 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Making Tax Digital for income tax is HMRC's biggest shake-up of self assessment for decades, but are you ready? The new system will involve filing qua...

Petrol Price Rises and NS&I

25 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The cost of filling up your car has risen every day over the past three weeks as the conflict continues in the Middle East. Diesel is now averaging ...

Heating Oil Guide and Banknotes

18 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The government has promised more than £52mn to help people in the UK hit by huge rises in the price of heating oil. Around 1.5 million households in...

Mortgage Rates and Banknotes

11 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a turbulent week for the mortgage market - as lenders adjusted their rates amid fears of a rise in inflation and what that will mean for int...

Middle East Conflict and Crypto Scams

04 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Just seven days has passed since the USA and Israel began their attacks on Iran. As the attacks become heavier and more destructive, the ripples of ...

Pension Age Rise and April Tax Changes

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of people in their sixties will now wait up a year longer before they can claim their state pension. From Easter Monday the current state pen...

Civil Service Pension Loans and Pokémon Cards

28 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The number of emergency hardship loans issued to former civil servants who are facing long delays for pension payments is "pitiful" according to a sen...

Motor Finance Claims and Pay by Bank

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Claims management firms have been warned by regulators to treat their customers fairly over compensation claims for mis-sold car finance. The financi...

Money Box Live: Starting Out

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How hard is it for young people to find a job and once they do how can they make it pay? Some 16.1% of people aged 16 to 24 are not able to find work ...

Pension Delays Apology and Romance Scams

14 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Chief Executive of Capita Public Services has apologised for the serious delays thousands of civil servants are facing simply to get paid their pe...

Money Box Live: How to Pick a Mortgage

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Mortgages are one of the most important financial products most of us ever come across, but they're also complicated. With more than 7,000 products o...

Credit Card Debt and Civil Service Pensions

07 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Debt charity StepChange says its research suggests around 2.5mn people who have debt on a credit card have paid more in interest, fees and charges ove...

Money Box Live: Student Loan Debate

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Student loans and their impact on graduates’ finances have dominated the news recently. The average student debt in England for 2024 graduates was ...

Report Fraud and Student Loans

28 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Billions of pounds is lost each year to fraud, be that by criminals simply stealing someone's money or by thieves tricking victims into giving them th...

Money Box Life: Working for Longer

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The number of people working past retirement age is growing. New analysis of tax data found a 12% rise over the past five years. It was carried out ...

Energy Ombudsman Powers and Cheques

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The chair of Parliament’s Energy Select Committee has told Money Box it’s “vital” the Energy Ombudsman is given new, stronger powers as quickl...

Money Box Live: Do Electric Cars Add Up?

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Buying a new car last year increasingly meant going electric. Around one in four new car buyers made that choice with almost half a million electric c...

Energy Bill Battle and Restrictive Covenants

14 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to keeping our homes warm nearly all of us rely on just a handful of big energy suppliers. And during the winter, especially with the co...

Money Box Live: Inheritance Tax

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There's a topic that often appears in the Money Box inbox, inheritance tax.It's money paid by the estate of someone once they die, as long as the tota...

Child Benefit and Credit Cards

07 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

More than 60% of parents who lost their child benefit because the tax office believed incorrectly they'd moved abroad, were in fact eligible for the b...

Money Box Live: Women's Finances

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's 50 years since the Sex Discrimination Act meant all women could take out mortgages and loans without needing a man to approve it.In this programm...

Making Tax Digital and Savings Rates

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

"A big change" - that's how HMRC has described a major transformation starting in April, which affects the way sole traders and landlords report their...

Can You Make a Creative Job Pay?

24 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The creative industries add around £124 billion to the UK economy according to government figures, but for actors, painters, or even influencers, mak...

Mortgages, Silver Marriages and Warren Buffett

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week the Bank of England cut interest rates to the lowest level for more than two years. The decision to cut Bank Rate to 3.75% came after new fi...

Money Box Life: Blended Family Finances

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Life can sometimes get very complicated and messy so can our finances, so we're doing something a bit different to our usual Money Box Live. Introduci...

Investment Changes and Women's Financial Rights

10 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Sweeping changes to the way investments are recommended across the UK will start in April. This week the Financial Conduct Authority set out its plan...

Money Box Live: Impulse Spending and Debt

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s December, a time of year when there’s pressure to say yes to every night out, buy the perfect presents and spend without really thinking. All...

Energy Costs for Families and Salary Sacrifice Pensions

03 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

New research suggests there are 6 million children across the UK living in fuel poverty, according to the charity National Energy Action. It defines f...

Money Box Live: Making Sense of Your Pay

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How much do we really understand about our pay?From frozen tax thresholds to salary sacrifice and minimum wage increases, a number of changes made in ...

Cash ISA Change and Carers Allowance

27 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor announced dozens of changes in the Budget that will affect the money in your pocket from wages and energy bills to savings. Many of the...

Money Box Live: Autumn Budget 2025

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For months we’ve heard speculation about what the Autumn Budget might bring - now we know. The Chancellor has delivered her statement, setting out p...

Life-changing Scams and Child Benefit

20 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Money Box takes a special look at how victims of fraud are treated by those supposed to help them in the weeks and months afterwards. How are they hel...

Water Bills and Graduate Jobs

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A record number of households across England and Wales are now getting social tariffs from water suppliers to help cut their bills. Two million househ...

Suspended child benefit and the cost of school trips

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

MPs on the Treasury Select Committee are seeking answers from HMRC after thousands of parents have had their child benefit stopped because they took a...

Funeral insurance cancelled and not-so-simple assessment?

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of people who've paid millions of pounds into an insurance plan they thought would cover their funeral costs face getting nothing in return...

Money Box Live: Beating the squeeze?

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inflation may not be in double digits anymore, but it is still almost double the Bank of England's target. That means prices are rising twice as fast ...

Infected Blood Compensation and Standing Charges

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lawyers acting for victims of the infected blood scandal have written to the Chancellor demanding urgent action to avoid families and loved ones havin...

Money Box Live: First-Time Buyers

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For some it's the dream, for others it's the plan, for most it's an effort. On this programme we look at buying a first home. It's rarely easy but ple...

Unauthorised Recurring Card Payments and Overpaying Mortgages

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is warning people to keep a close eye on their bank and credit card accounts after thousands of unsuspecting...

Money Box Live: Apprenticeships

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The government wants more young people to be offered "gold standard apprenticeships". The plan was unveiled at the Labour party conference as the Prim...

Investing and Car Finance Compensation

08 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor wants more people to invest in shares, UK companies and infrastructure projects in a bid to boost growth in the economy. Rachel Reeves ...

Money Box Live: At the London Stock Exchange

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Money Box Live hits the road and heads to the heart of the City of London for this special programme on investing. We're live at the London Stock Exch...

Paying with Cash and Pension Age Rise

01 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cash now accounts for less than 10% of all the retail payments we make. New figures out this week UK Finance, which represents banks and others, show ...

Money Box Live: Private Healthcare

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More of us than ever before have access to private medical insurance. New data shared with Money Box Live shows that more than 8 million people were c...

Teachers' Pensions and Car Insurance Compensation

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The National Association of Head Teachers has written to the Department for Education demanding it take action to address what it describes as the fai...

Money Box Live: Understanding Crypto

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are a type of digital money that has proliferated in recent years. They are mostly unconnected to governments or centr...

Warning over Trusts and Landlord Mortgages

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Top lawyers have told Money Box that people across the UK are being misled into paying thousands of pounds for products which they are told will prote...

Money Box Live: Navigating a Terminal Illness

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Money Box Live we're looking at a topic that's very difficult but very important. What happens to your finances when the worst happens? ...

Mortgage Charter and Unclaimed Benefits

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New figures reveal that more than a quarter of a million homeowners have temporarily reduced their mortgages payments, or extended their mortgage term...

Money Box Live: The Cost of University

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

About a quarter of a million 18-year-olds in the UK secured a university place this summer and are now preparing to head off to their chosen instituti...

Inheritance Planning and State Pension Underpayments

04 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We look at changes which the Government has announced – and the speculation around those it hasn’t. Pension inheritance rules will change in 2027....

Money Box Live: Rising rents troubling tenants

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Being a tenant can be pricey — and it’s only getting pricier. Private rents rose by almost six per cent in the year to July, and while the pace m...

Firefighter Wins and Winter Fuel Scams

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of former retained firefighters have come forward to claim millions of pounds in missing pension payments after Money Box covered the story e...

Money Box Live: What You Wish You'd Known

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dragons' Den investor and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden joins Felicity Hannah to look at the money wisdom and advice you wish you'd known when you were ...

Pensions, On-Call Firefighters, Childcare

23 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When will you retire? And will you have enough money to live comfortably? Big questions and this week the government announced two major reviews to st...

Money Box Live: How to Improve Your Credit Score

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every adult has a credit score but you've been telling us the factors affecting it can be mystifying and frustrating. So in this edition of Money Box...

Money Box Live: Why Are Women Retiring with Less?

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For every £1 a man has in his private pension pot a woman has just 42p according to research from pension company Royal London.When it comes to the S...

Water Meters and Cash ISAs

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Money Box can exclusively reveal there has been a sharp rise in the number of people applying to have water meters fitted to try to bring their bills ...

Mansion House and Council Tax for Terminally Ill

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was a momentous day on Tuesday as the government and regulators announced major changes in the way investments will be sold. What's been proposed ...

Money Box Live: Losing Your Job

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unemployment recently rose to its highest level in almost four years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate went up to 4.6 per cent ...

Future of Pensions and Heat Networks

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reform of the state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and consolidation of small pensions spread across several providers are proposed thi...

Money Box Live: Behind Bars

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special programme Money Box Live has been given exclusive access to a centre working with former prisoners to find out how money works behind ...

Warm Home Discount and Teachers' Pension

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Six million people will have £150 knocked off one winter electricity bill this winter. The Government has announced an expansion of the Warm Home Dis...

Money Box Live: Does Being Single Cost You More?

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More people are living alone, in fact 3 in 10 households are made up of single adults, according to the latest government figures.Research from the pe...

Child Trust Funds and the Cost of Insurance

19 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Campaigners say more needs to be done to help the parents and carers of tens of thousands of disabled young adults access their own money held in Gove...

Money Box Live: AI and Your Money

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Three quarters of financial firms are already using Artificial Intelligence, according to the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, wit...

Bailiffs and Premium Bonds

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We'll discuss proposals to reform the bailiff industry, hearing from a man whose small parking fine ballooned into a debt of more than £400 once bail...

Water Bills and How to Save?

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New research, seen exclusively by Money Box, suggests a third of households in England and Wales are trying to cut the amount of water they use to hel...

Avoiding Scams and Changes to Wills

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds of millions of pounds was stolen from people in 2024 by thieves who tricked them, manipulated them, and then drained their bank accounts. Th...

'Making Tax Digital' and Bank Charges

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hundreds and thousands of sole traders and landlords are facing a significant change in how they file their tax returns. In less than a year 800,000 p...

Fraud Crackdown and Is Cash King?

14 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fight against what is called push payment fraud - when victims are groomed and manipulated into transferring money to criminals - took a huge step...

Money Box Live: The 'Sadmin' of Bereavement

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this spring the Financial Conduct Authority warned that some banks and firms lack empathy when dealing with bereaved customers and called for ...

Cancer Costs and Mortgage Deals

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Around 1 in 2 people living in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime according to Cancer Research UK. That stark statistic is a r...

Money Box Live: Move or Improve?

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If your home isn't working for you, should you pack up and move or get the builders in and improve?Moving is expensive, aside from the price of the ho...

Wealth Divide and Domestic Abuse

31 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People over the age of 60 hold nearly £3 trillion of wealth in the value of their homes, almost all of it mortgage free. That is more than half of al...

Pensions Minister and Poor Bereavement Service

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In an exclusive interview with this programme the Pensions Minister has talked about the government's plans to reform the UK's pension system. Torsten...

Money Box Live: School Wraparound Care

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parents typically pay an average of more than £80 per week for a childminder and £66 per week for after-school club, to cover the hours they're work...

Investing in Gold and Accessing Child Trust Funds

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Money Box investigates fees being charged of teenagers who are struggling to access their child trust funds. We speak to an 18 year old who agreed to ...

Money Box Live: Social Housing

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New analysis shows that some parts of England have waiting lists for social housing that exceed 100 years. Recently the government pledged £2 billion...

Tariffs, Pensions and Credit Card Debt

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The stock markets have been on somewhat of a roller coaster since US president Trump announced global trade tariffs. Listeners emailed Money Box to t...

Money Box Live: Will Tariffs Affect your Finances?

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

US Trade tariffs, stock market ups and downs, economic uncertainty. What do they all mean for your money?Since last Wednesday, when Donald Trump annou...

Investments and Carers Allowance

03 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Stock markets around the world have plunged in reaction to the import tariffs imposed by President Trump and then the retaliation of China which respo...

April Bills and Child Benefit

26 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The cost of just about everything we need to run a home will be more expensive for millions of households from Tuesday. Switching on the lights, turni...

Money Box Live: Spring Statement

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, presents her Spring Statement, Money Box Live sifts through the details about what it all means for your personal fi...

Back Bills and Benefits

19 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We report from Parliament as the Minister for Energy Consumers and the regulator Ofgem face questions from MPs about the banned process of back-billin...

Funeral Plan Compensation and Leasehold Reform

12 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There will be no compensation for more than 46,000 people who lost thousands of pounds each when the funeral plan firm Safe Hands went bust 3 years ag...

ISAs Future and Later Life Mortgages

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past few weeks there's been speculation over the future of ISAs - Individual Savings Accounts. At the moment each saver can deposit up to £2...

Water Bills and Stamp Duty

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From April water bills for millions of households in England and Wales will go up by record amounts. Exactly how much more you'll pay will depend wher...

Money Box Live: Home Ownership Dreams

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Politicians, banks and builders all talk about the dream of homeownership, but it's not easy to get on the property ladder.New figures given to Money ...

Ofgem Back Billing and Pensions and IHT

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The energy regulator Ofgem says suppliers must take urgent action to find out how widespread a problem back billing is. It's when suppliers send out n...

Money Box Live: Energy Debt Help

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

People owe more money for gas and electricity bills than ever before. New calculations from the energy consultancy firm Baringa reveal the average typ...

Banned Back Billing and Debt Help

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The energy regulator Ofgem has been given less than two weeks to get answers for Parliament on the banned practice of back billing, which is when peop...

Money Box Live: How to Retire Well

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We all dream about what we will do when we don't have to work anymore. The perfect retirement looks different for everyone, from travelling the world ...

Back Billing Continued and Tax on Savings

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Chair of the House of Commons Energy Security Committee has told Money Box that the behaviour of the energy firms is "outrageous" following our in...

Money Box Live: Your Care Cost Questions Answered

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Paying for care in later life is something many of us will face. Unlike other NHS services, social care is not free at the point of use, the average ...

Energy Back Billing and Lifetime ISAs

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of people have made complaints to the Energy Ombudsman related to so-called back billing, which is when customers are sent new bills for ene...

Money Box Live: Disability and Finance

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Research from charity Scope suggests that disabled households have to find an extra £1,000 pounds a month to have the same standard of living as non-...

State Pension Tax and Debt Relief Orders

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over 1.4 million pensioners unexpectedly received a tax bill last year, according to exclusive data shared with Money Box. The mutual life, pensions ...

Money Box Live: Cost of Insurance

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Car, home, travel and life insurance are just some of the policies we might take out to protect ourselves if the worst happens.This year we've already...

Child Trust Funds and Gilts

15 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A senior MP has backed calls to start automatically paying out hundreds of millions of pounds to young adults if they haven’t claimed government-bac...