Personal finance Archives

July 1, 2026 — No Comments

Monzo Review UK: An Honest Opinion After Four Years

Last updated: 1 July 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This Monzo review is based on my own experience using Monzo as my main current account for over four years, on the £7 a month Perks plan. I run everyday spending, Pots and my Sprive mortgage overpayments through it, so this is real use rather than a weekend trial.

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

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 page is general information, not financial advice.

Cool Factor: 4/5

Banking / Opinion

Welcome to my honest Monzo review, written from the inside rather than the marketing deck. I have banked with Monzo since well before it became a household name, so this is four years of daily use talking. Monzo is now the UK's largest digital bank, with more than 15 million customers. However, the interesting question is not how big it has become. Instead, it is whether the everyday account and app still feel special, or whether the spark is quietly fading.

Fancy trying Monzo with our referral link?

New customers can get a randomly selected reward of up to £50. The current offer, and the exact steps to claim it, are always kept up to date on our referral page.

Get the Monzo referral bonus

Published by Stiv in Banking, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: banking app UK, challenger bank, current account, digital bank, fintech, monzo, Monzo Perks, Monzo railcard, Monzo review

June 30, 2026 — No Comments

Sprive Gift Cards: The Reloadable Card Explained

Sprive gift cards are now reloadable. Here is how the one-card, Apple Wallet and auto top-up setup works, from four years of real use.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Cashback, Mortgage, Personal finance

Tags: Apple Wallet, auto top-up, cashback, gift card cashback, money apps, mortgage overpayment, Sprive, Sprive app

June 23, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Premium Bonds vs Investing UK: Which One Suits You?

Last updated: 21 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 is not financial advice. It reflects my own experience, so please do your own research or speak to a qualified adviser before making any money decisions.

Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Premium Bonds vs Investing2026 Guide

Premium Bonds vs investing: a prize draw, or the stock market?

Premium Bonds vs investing is a money question I get all the time. So here is my honest, first-person take, because I have held both at once for four years. Crucially, this is not an either or for everyone. In my experience, the two really answer different questions.

Want the hands-off investing option?

Maybe you want investing that mostly runs itself, like the Premium Bonds draw does. In that case, a ready-made managed portfolio is the closest fit. The current JPMorgan offer, and how to claim it, are kept up to date on our referral page.

See the JPMorgan investing offer

Published by Stiv in Finance, Investing, Personal finance, Saving

Tags: investing, investing uk, Premium Bonds

June 22, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

How Does Sprive AutoSave Work?

Sprive AutoSave2026 Guide

Sprive AutoSave, explained in plain English

Last updated: 21 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I have run my Nationwide mortgage through Sprive since October 2021, so more than four years now, making regular overpayments through the app. Because of that, this guide to Sprive AutoSave comes from steady real use rather than a quick demo.

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 is general information, not financial advice. Sprive deals with your mortgage, so your circumstances matter and it is worth doing your own research.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

So what actually happens when you switch on Sprive AutoSave? In short, you set an amount, and each month it quietly moves that money into a holding pot inside the app, ready for your mortgage. Above all, you stay in control, because nothing reaches your lender until you tap to send it. Below, I walk through exactly how Sprive AutoSave works, where the money sits, and how to pause or switch it off, with notes from four years of real use.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Mortgage, Personal finance

Tags: mortgage overpayment, mortgage overpayment app, Open Banking, pay off mortgage faster, personal finance, Sprive, Sprive app, Sprive AutoSave

June 18, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Tembo Money Review UK

My honest Tembo Money review after years of real use: HomeSaver rates, Lifetime ISAs, the mortgage service and the referral, tested for UK savers.

Published by Stiv in Mortgage, Personal finance, Reviews, Saving

Tags: first-time buyer, HomeSaver, lifetime isa, Tembo Money, Tembo Money review

June 14, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Tom Insurance Review (UK): My Honest Take

Last updated: 14 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 or financial advice.

Cool Factor: 3/5

Tom insurance review2026 Edit

Fixed-for-life cover, a handy virtual GP, and a lot of phone calls.

This is my honest Tom insurance review, written as an actual customer rather than someone skimming the marketing. I took out a lifetime serious illness cover policy with Tom, so this Tom insurance review is based on living with the application, the price and the perks, not on a press release.

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.

Want a Tom quote?

If this Tom insurance review has you ready to compare cover, you can start a quote through my referral link below. Meanwhile, the current offer and how it works sit on our Tom life insurance page.

Get a Tom quote

Published by Stiv in Finance, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: life insurance, life insurance review uk, serious illness cover, tom life insurance

June 3, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Can AI Turn $1,000 Into $10,000? My AI Stock Picking Experiment

My AI stock picking experiment: can four AI models grow $1,000 into $10,000 on Lightyear? I post honest, not-advice weekly updates.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Investing, Personal finance

Tags: AI investing, AI tools, Autopilot, ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Grok, investing, Lightyear, us stocks

May 30, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Energy Price Cap July 2026: 13% Rise and What you can do

Last updated: 30 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

The energy price cap July 2026 is going up by 13% from 1 July, and for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit that means an annual bill of £1,862, which is £221 more than today. In other words, you have roughly five weeks to do something about it before the new rates land. Here is the good bit, though: for most people this rise is voluntary, because a fixed deal below the cap can sidestep it entirely.

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.

Energy Price Cap Update: 13% increase from 1 July

A typical dual-fuel bill rises from £1,641 to £1,862 a year, about £18 a month more.

You have until 30 June to fix.

13%
cap increase

£1,862
new annual cap

£221
extra per year

Energy prices, tariffs, and the Ofgem price cap change quarterly. This post reflects the Q3 2026 cap announced 27 May 2026. Always verify current rates with your supplier or at ofgem.gov.uk.

Published by Stiv in Energy, Money saving, Personal finance

Tags: energy bills, energy price cap, fixed energy tariff, gas prices, octopus energy, Ofgem, save money on bills, switch energy supplier

May 10, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

How To Read Your Energy Bill UK: 2026 Plain English Guide

Last updated: 10 May 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.

Your energy bill arrives every month. You glance at the total, wince, and close it. Most of us have no clue whether the number is right, whether we're overpaying, or what any of the line items actually mean. So here's how to read energy bill statements properly, in about five minutes flat.

Honestly, we stared at our own bills for nearly three years before any of it clicked. The numbers looked made up. The terminology was designed by people who hate clarity. Once you understand the four or five lines that actually matter, you can immediately tell if you're overpaying, if your tariff is competitive, and whether switching would save you money. This is the guide we wish we'd had back then.

Energy prices, tariffs, and government support schemes change regularly. All figures in this post are verified as of May 2026. Always check your supplier's website or Ofgem for the latest information.

Published by Stiv in Energy, Money saving, Personal finance, Services

Tags: energy bills, energy price cap, how to read energy bill, octopus energy, Ofgem, save money on bills, smart meters, standing charge, switching energy

May 9, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

XTB App Review UK 2026: One Star Opinion (1/5)

Last updated: 10 June 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 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 post does not contain any XTB referral links; where alternative brokers are mentioned, those links may include CoolCuration referral codes. We have no referral relationship with XTB and do not benefit financially from XTB itself.

Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

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.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: broker app, broker review, Freetrade alternative, investment apps, Lightyear alternative, opinion, uk investing, XTB, XTB app, XTB review