My AI stock picking experiment: can four AI models grow $1,000 into $10,000 on Lightyear? I post honest, not-advice weekly updates.
Last updated: 1 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Tracking Mobbin new apps each month remains one of the quickest ways to see where real product design is actually heading, without trawling the App Store for sport. June's batch is a treat, too. Lumy turns the sunrise into something close to UI poetry, Hype drags fashion culture onto your home screen, and three of the biggest names in tech, ChatGPT, Gemini and Telegram, all turned up wearing the same new outfit.
So grab a coffee, because there is plenty worth stealing this month. If you are new to the platform, start here first: our Mobbin review.
Read more
May 10, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Mobbin New Apps (May 2026): Fi, Alan and Afterpay Refresh
Last updated: 10 May 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Tracking Mobbin new apps each month is one of the fastest ways to spot where real product UX is heading without scrolling app stores for sport. May's batch is a proper mix: pet-tech, regulated healthcare with a fluffy mascot, and a high-profile fintech rebrand. In other words, three completely different categories, all worth opening side by side.
If you are new to the platform, start here first: Mobbin review: is it worth it? If you already know you want it and just want the cheaper route, head straight to our Mobbin promo code page.
Read more
May 9, 2026Comments are off for this post.
XTB App Review UK 2026: One Star Opinion (1/5)
Last updated: 6 May 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
I have used investing apps for over a decade, including Freetrade, Lightyear, Trading 212, Interactive Brokers and JPMorgan Personal Investing. This XTB app review is based on real, recent first-hand use on iPhone over the past few weeks.
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are my own personal experience and observations. Other XTB customers have reported very different experiences, both better and worse, and you can read those views directly on the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Nothing in this review constitutes professional, financial or legal advice, nor an allegation of wrongdoing by XTB. Capital is at risk when investing.
This post does not contain any XTB referral links. Where alternative brokers are mentioned, those links may include CoolCuration referral codes. We do not benefit financially from publishing this XTB app review.
Cool Factor: 1/5
Welcome to our XTB app review. After spending the last few weeks battling with the broker's iOS app, surviving a verification process worthy of a Kafka novella, and being chased around the screen by stock notifications I never asked for, I have reached a personal verdict. It is not flattering. So if you have seen the ads and the free share offers, this XTB app review explains exactly what you would be signing up for, in my experience.
Read more
April 29, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Sprive vs Plum vs Chip: Honest Comparison (2026)
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
I've been using Sprive with my Nationwide mortgage since October 2021, making £100 monthly overpayments through the app. This comparison is based on over four years of real use alongside Chip and Plum.
Sprive vs Plum vs Chip is the question that keeps coming up whenever anyone in the UK talks about saving money automatically. All three apps promise to do the hard bit for you. But they are not the same thing, and picking the wrong one means you are either missing features you need or paying for ones you do not. Here is how they actually compare after months of using all three.
Between the team, we run all three. Sprive handles mortgage overpayments. Chip is our primary auto-saver. Plum runs alongside Chip so we can see how the two compare in real life. Each has earned its place on someone's home screen, but for very different reasons.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some apps in this comparison offer investing features, which carry risk including the possible loss of capital. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
Read more
April 26, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Chip App Review UK 2026: 3 Years Tested, Rates, Prize Saver, Fees
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This Chip app review UK draws on three and a half years of my personal daily use, starting 3 November 2022, across auto-save, the Instant Access Saver, Prize Savings, ChipX (briefly) and a Chip Stocks and Shares ISA.
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some features of Chip involve investing, which carries risk including the possible loss of capital. Savings rates can change. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Cool Factor
★★★★☆
4 out of 5 · Stone cold
My Chip app review UK is grounded in the actual ledger: £174.41 in interest earned, £180 in tax-free prize wins, £0.80 in investment returns, and three and a half years of daily use since November 2022. That is the unvarnished record of what I have personally taken out of Chip across four different account types. Below is what I kept, what I binned, what works, and the one quirk that still mildly irritates me.
Read more
April 24, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Plum App Review UK 2026: Honest Verdict After 3 Months
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some features of Plum involve investing, which carries risk including the possible loss of capital. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
Cool Factor
★★★☆☆
3 out of 5 · Cool
This Plum app review is based on three months of hands-on use. We set up Plum to run alongside our existing auto-saver to see whether it would earn a permanent place on our home screen. Plum is one of those apps that does a lot and wants you to know it. Auto-saving, round-ups, investing, bills management, cashback offers, interest-earning pockets. After three months of testing, here's whether all that activity translates into actually saving more money.
Read more
April 22, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Apps to Save Money UK 2026: The Ones We Actually Use
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
There are hundreds of money-saving apps in the UK app stores. Most of them are rubbish. The best apps to save money are the ones we've tested over the past few years, narrowed down and kept on our phones because they actually work. No fluff, no apps we downloaded once and forgot about. Just the ones that earned a permanent spot.
Between the team we've got about 12 money apps installed. Half of them we actually use. The other half sit there judging us. We tried about 20 apps before settling on this list. Some were too fiddly. Some had great ideas but terrible execution. A couple were brilliant but shut down. These are the survivors.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some apps in this list offer savings and investment features. Your capital may be at risk. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Many of the links below are referral links, which means we may earn a small reward if you sign up. This costs you nothing and in most cases gives you a bonus too.
Read more
April 13, 2026Comments are off for this post.
How to Get Cashback on Groceries UK: Save £100+ a Year (2026)
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Rates and terms can change; always check the provider's current terms before acting.
If you want cashback on groceries UK, there are a handful of apps that deliver results. We have been using JamDoughnut, TopCashback, and Sprive for our own weekly food shops for months, and the savings quietly stack up. This is not couponing. This is not switching to own-brand everything. It is simply routing your existing spending through an app that gives you a percentage back.
We ran the numbers on a typical £80 weekly Tesco shop using JamDoughnut and, at a standard rate of around 2%, that works out at roughly £83 back over a year. When rates get "pumped up" (more on that below), it could be closer to £125 or more. For cashback beyond groceries, see our full cashback apps roundup.
Read more
April 12, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Monzo vs Starling 2026: Which UK Challenger Bank Is Better?
Last updated: 8 June 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
The Monzo vs Starling debate is the one that never dies in UK personal finance. Both are app-first, both are FSCS-protected, and both let you spend abroad without sneaky fees. On paper, they look almost identical. But after using both across our team for years, the differences show up in the daily details. This is not a spec sheet comparison. It is what actually matters when you open both apps every day.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and does not provide personalised financial guidance. This page contains a referral link for Monzo. If you sign up through it, CoolCuration may receive a small reward at no extra cost to you. We have no commercial relationship with Starling Bank.
Read moreFollow us: Instagram
Copyright 2026 CoolCuration | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Affiliate Disclosure | Cool Factor
-----------
We are proud supporters of a safer more private internet via encouraging people to use Brave browser and are actively taking on Spammers as part of ProjectHoneypot. This site is hosted on servers that run on 100% renewable energy in the UK thanks to GreenWebHosting.
This site contains affiliate links, including to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase or sign up for a service via these links, at no extra cost to you. All offers and promotions are accurate at the time of publication but are subject to change or withdrawal by the businesses featured. We cannot guarantee their continued availability. Read our full affiliate disclosure.
Reviews and opinions on CoolCuration reflect the personal experience of our writers at the time of publication. They are not professional endorsements and your experience may differ. Scores use our Cool Factor rating system and are given independently of any commercial relationship.
All content on CoolCuration is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations or an endorsement of any product or service. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and do not offer personalised financial guidance. You should always do your own research or consult a qualified financial advisor before making any financial decisions.