Four Premium Bonds alternatives open to new savers, with each provider's published odds, prize tables, access rules and protection.
Last updated: 21 September 2026. I checked every Monzo figure and every comparison price on this page that day.
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Affiliate disclosure: 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, and CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial regulator. I pay for Perks and have never held Max. So the verdict below is arithmetic from Monzo's own plan pages, its three policy booklets and published prices, rather than a year of living with the plan.
Opening a Monzo account first?
Every Monzo plan sits on top of a Monzo current account. My referral page has the live offer and the steps to claim it.
Monzo plans2026 edit
Worth it if you would buy two of the three policies anyway
Is Monzo Max worth it? Only if you would otherwise pay for at least two of the three insurance policies it bundles. Max costs £10 a month more than Perks, which comes to £120 a year. For that, it adds worldwide travel insurance, worldwide phone insurance and UK and Europe breakdown cover. I priced standalone versions of all three and they came to £290.66 a year. A household that needs all three therefore comes out well ahead. By contrast, someone who needs only one of them does not.
Still weighing up the Monzo range? My Monzo guides hub collects the lot, including the price rise, the Perks verdict and the Perks vs Max comparison.
Read more
Our Book of the Month: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds by Female Invest. The friendliest first investing book I have read, and the one place it leaves a UK reader short. Prices, formats and an honest verdict. #BookOfTheMonth #GirlsJustWannaHaveFunds #FemaleInvest #MoneyBooks #UKFinance
September 21, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Managed Investment Platforms UK: 7 Compared
Seven UK managed investment platforms ranked on what they really cost, from J.P. Morgan Personal Investing to Monzo. All-in fees from 0.45% to 0.97%, every figure checked 10 September 2026.
September 17, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Bank of England Base Rate: Where It Stands and What It Means
The Bank of England base rate is 3.75% after a 6 to 3 vote on 17 September 2026. What the hold means for mortgages, savings and energy bills.
September 16, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Which Lenders Does Sprive Support?
Sprive's FAQ names sixteen lenders. The download banner on the same page says fourteen. Here is the full list, the two numbers, and what to do if yours is missing.
September 15, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Monzo Perks vs Max: Which Plan Should You Pay For?
The gap between Monzo Perks and Max is £10 a month, and it buys three insurance policies. Priced honestly against buying them separately.
September 2, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Is Monzo Perks Worth It? A Year of Paying for It
A year of paying £9 a month for Monzo Perks, with the honest maths on what I actually claim and what earns nothing.
August 31, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Should You Fix Your Energy Tariff Before October?
Last updated: 17 September 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
EnergyFix or float · October 2026
Ofgem says fix. I checked the sums.
Ofgem reckons you can beat the October cap by £100 or more, so the obvious question is whether to fix your energy tariff before it lands on 1 October. So I ran the only supplier prices you can check without handing over a postcode against Ofgem’s own regional cap tables. On 30 August, Octopus’s twelve month fix beat the cap in every region of Britain, by £47 to £82. The version on sale since 11 September costs more than the cap in every region, by £75 to £117.
Update, 17 September 2026. Octopus withdrew the 12M Fixed tariff I first tested on 5 September. I have re-run the test on its replacement, on sale since 11 September, and the table and chart below now show those prices. The 12-month fix costs £75 to £117 a year more than the October cap in every region, £93 on average. Octopus 18M Fixed lands between £7 below and £33 above it. The Bank of England held its base rate at 3.75% on 17 September. That decision does not set energy prices, but the rising energy costs behind it are the same ones pushing fixed tariffs up. More on that on my Bank of England base rate page.
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, and CoolCuration is not FCA authorised. Tariffs, rates and offers change constantly, so always check the supplier’s own site before you commit.
Thinking about switching as well as fixing?
My Octopus Energy page keeps the current switching credit and the sign-up steps up to date, so you are never working from a stale offer.
See the Octopus referral offer
Read more
August 27, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Energy Price Cap October 2026: What the £60 Rise Means
Last updated: 17 September 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
EnergyOfgem · October 2026
Up £60 a year, and two right answers
Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap October 2026 on Wednesday morning. A typical direct debit household paying for gas and electricity moves from £1,663 to £1,723 a year. That is £60 more, or roughly £5 a month. Meanwhile you will also see £1,935 quoted elsewhere, plus a 4% figure sitting awkwardly next to a 3.6% one. None of those numbers are wrong, and the reasons come down to VAT and a change in how Ofgem measures a typical home.
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
This is not financial advice. Cap rates, tariffs and offers change often. So always check the current terms on the supplier’s own site first.
Weighing up a switch before October?
My Octopus Energy page keeps the current referral credit and the switching steps up to date. That way you are not working from a stale offer.
See the Octopus referral offer
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.