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 21, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Managed Investment Platforms UK: 7 Compared
August 11, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Sprive Prize Draw Explained: How to Enter and What You Win
Sprive's "win £2,000 a week" headline is technically true and quietly misleading. The Sprive prize draw is a referral draw, not an overpayment one, and most entrants take home £5 a referral paid straight to their lender. Three draws are live right now, including £10,000 via Wayfair until 31 October. Here is the honest arithmetic on all three, plus the ones that closed.
July 20, 2026Comments are off for this post.
That Mortgage App on the Channel 4 Advert? It’s Sprive
Last updated: 20 July 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
I have used Sprive with my Nationwide mortgage since October 2021, making regular overpayments through the app, so this is written from about four years of real use.
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 is one homeowner's experience, shared to help you make your own call.
So you spotted the Sprive advert on the telly and wondered what that mortgage app actually is. Here is the short answer: yes, the mortgage app on the Channel 4 advert is Sprive, and it helps you chip away at your mortgage a little faster. Below, I explain what it does, whether it is legit, and what it is like after four years of real use.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Want to try the app from the advert?
The current Sprive sign-up offer and how to claim it are kept up to date on our referral page.
Just seen the advert? The app behind it is explained below. For every Sprive guide in one place, see our Sprive guides hub.
Read more
June 23, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Premium Bonds vs Investing UK: Which One Suits You?
Last updated: 9 September 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
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June 14, 2026Comments 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.
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May 22, 2026Comments are off for this post.
We’re Paying Off Our Mortgage with Our Food Shop Cashback. Here’s How.
Last updated: 16 August 2026
Can grocery cashback from your weekly food shop pay off your mortgage? Not entirely, no. But we've been routing our regular shop through Sprive's cashback feature for over a year, and the numbers are starting to look surprisingly compelling. A percentage of every Tesco and Sainsbury's shop now goes directly off our mortgage balance. We didn't change what we buy. We didn't change where we shop. We just changed how we pay, and our mortgage is shrinking faster because of it.
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. The cashback feature has been running alongside this for over a year. This post is based on real use and real numbers.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or mortgage advice. Cashback rates, retailer availability, and mortgage terms can change. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links, including to Sprive. 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.
Sign-up bonus before you shop
The current Sprive welcome offer, plus the claim steps, are kept fresh on our referral page.
Curious about the food shop trick? The full story is below. For every Sprive guide in one place, see our Sprive guides hub.
Read more
May 5, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Mortgage Overpayment Savings: How Much Could You Save? (2026)
Last updated: 9 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 post is based on over four years of real use and real numbers.
Most people know they should overpay their mortgage. Almost nobody knows by how much, or what it actually saves them. So we built a free mortgage overpayment calculator to find out. Then we ran our own numbers through it. The mortgage overpayment savings took us by surprise. We've since added a compare-to-savings toggle so you can see whether overpaying or saving the same money comes out ahead at your specific rates.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or mortgage advice. Mortgage products, rates, and overpayment terms vary by lender. Always check your lender's overpayment policy before making extra payments. 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 home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
See your own overpayment savings
Our free calculator shows what your overpayments could save, and whether saving the cash instead would beat them.
Open the overpayment calculator
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April 29, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Sprive vs Plum vs Chip: Honest Comparison (2026)
Last updated: 10 September 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. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. 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.
Sprive's current sign-up offer
If Sprive ends up being your pick of the three, the latest welcome bonus is always on our referral page.
Comparing money apps? The three-way verdict is below. For everything we have written on Sprive in one place, see our Sprive guides hub.
Read more
April 26, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Chip App Review UK 2026: 3 Years Tested, Rates, Prize Saver, Fees
Last updated: 10 September 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 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 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.
Fancy trying Chip yourself?
New customers can pick up a £50 bonus with a qualifying £1,000 deposit held for 90 days; the current code and full terms are on our Chip referral page.
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: 10 September 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.
Keen to give Plum a go?
Our Plum referral page shows any current new-user offer and walks through the sign-up, and using it supports the site at no cost to you.
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.
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