Finance Archives - Page 2 of 8

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

We’re Paying Off Our Mortgage with Our Food Shop Cashback. Here’s How.

Last updated: 13 October 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 used Sprive since October 2021, on a Nationwide mortgage and then, from June 2026, a Halifax one, with a monthly auto-save that started at £100. 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 and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Sign-up bonus before you shop

The current Sprive welcome offer, plus the claim steps, are kept fresh on our referral page.

Claim your Sprive offer

Curious about the food shop trick? The full story is below. For every Sprive guide in one place, see our Sprive guides hub.

Published by Stiv in Cashback, Finance, Saving

Tags: cashback on groceries, food shop cashback, grocery cashback pay off mortgage, JamDoughnut, mortgage overpayment, pay off mortgage faster, personal finance uk, Sprive app, Sprive cashback, supermarket cashback UK, TopCashback

May 5, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Mortgage Overpayment Savings: How Much Could You Save? (2026)

Last updated: 13 October 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I've overpaid my own mortgage through Sprive every month since October 2021, starting at £100 a month. This post is based on that 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 and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them. 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

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

Tags: money saving, mortgage overpayment, mortgage overpayment calculator, mortgage savings, mortgage tips, mortgage vs savings, pay off mortgage early, personal finance, Sprive, uk mortgage

April 29, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Sprive vs Plum vs Chip: Honest Comparison (2026)

Last updated: 13 October 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I've used Sprive since October 2021, making monthly overpayments on my mortgage through the app. This comparison is based on that 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 and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

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.

View the current Sprive bonus

Comparing money apps? The three-way verdict is below. For everything we have written on Sprive in one place, see our Sprive guides hub.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money saving, Personal finance, Saving

Tags: app comparison, auto-saving apps, Chip, Chip vs Plum, fintech UK, money apps UK, mortgage overpayment, personal finance uk, Plum, savings apps UK, Sprive, Sprive vs Chip

April 26, 2026 — Comments 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 and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

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.

Get the Chip referral bonus

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.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: auto-saving, cash ISA, chip app, Chip review, ClearBank, fintech UK, personal finance, Prize Savings Account, reviews, savings apps

April 24, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Plum App Review UK 2026: Verdict After 3 Months

Last updated: 7 October 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 and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Keen to give Plum a go?

Our Plum referral page shows any current new-user offer and walks through the sign-up, .

Try Plum via our link

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.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Reviews

Tags: auto-saving, Finance Apps, money apps, Plum, Plum app, reviews, Round-Ups, Saving Apps

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

Best Apps to Save Money UK 2026: The Ones We Actually Use

Last updated: 10 September 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. This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Our top money-saving pick

If you only set up one, make it Chip: it is the app that has quietly saved us the most by moving money before we miss it.

Try Chip

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money saving, Personal finance, Saving

Tags: airtime rewards, auto-saving, budgeting apps, cashback apps, chip app, emma app, JamDoughnut, money saving apps, monzo, personal finance uk, Plum app, saving apps UK, Sprive, TopCashback, TrainPal

April 19, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Trading 212 Review UK 2026 — Honest Verdict After 3 Months

Last updated: 8 October 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This Trading 212 review reflects my own experience using the app daily to invest for three months. In the end, I moved almost all of my self-managed investing to Freetrade. I still have all the apps, but I prefer Freetrade for ease of use.

This is our honest Trading 212 review after three months of using it daily to invest. When Trading 212 kept coming up in conversations, we figured we should give it a fair shot. After using it daily for a full quarter, the verdict is clear: Trading 212 is a perfectly fine platform trapped inside a frustratingly cluttered app. The fees are competitive, the savings rate is genuinely good, but the experience of actually using it every day left me reaching for Freetrade instead. In the end, I moved almost all of my self-managed investing there. Here is why.

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

This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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

★★☆☆☆

2 out of 5: Lukewarm

Published by Stiv in Finance, Investing, Reviews

Tags: Commission-free trading, finance, Freetrade, investing, investment apps, isa, reviews, Trading 212

April 15, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

How Does Sprive Make Money? The Business Model Explained (2026)

Last updated: 13 October 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I have used Sprive to overpay my mortgage since October 2021, with Nationwide and now Halifax.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Not financial advice. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article is for information only. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Want the sign-up offer?

Should you fancy trying the app while you read, the current welcome bonus and how to claim it are set out on our referral page.

View the Sprive referral offer

If Sprive is completely free to use, how does Sprive make money? It's a fair question, and one worth asking before trusting an app with your bank account and mortgage details. The short answer: Sprive earns from remortgage commissions and a share of gift card cashback revenue. The longer answer is worth reading, because understanding the business model helps you judge whether the app's incentives actually line up with yours.

Digging into how Sprive works? Good instinct. For every guide we have written on the app, from safety to cashback, see our Sprive guides hub.

Published by Stiv in Finance, Mortgage, Services, UK Made

Tags: fintech UK, how apps make money, How does Sprive make money, mortgage overpayment app, Open Banking, personal finance uk, Sprive, Sprive app, Sprive business model, Sprive cashback, Sprive remortgage, Sprive review

April 12, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Monzo vs Starling 2026: Which UK Challenger Bank Is Better?

Last updated: 7 October 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 article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them. We have no commercial relationship with Starling Bank.

Picking Monzo? Grab the sign-up reward

Join through a referral link and make a card payment within 30 days, and a random reward from £5, up to £50 (sometimes up to £100) lands in your account; the steps are on our Monzo page.

Get the Monzo mystery reward

Comparing Monzo with more than Starling? I have also put it against Chase and Zopa's Biscuit, and my Monzo guides hub collects every Monzo guide in one place.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money, Personal finance, Services

Tags: bank comparison, challenger banks, digital banking, free bank account, monzo, Monzo vs Starling, Starling, uk banking

April 11, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Chip Prize Saver vs Premium Bonds UK 2026: Which Is Actually Better?

Last updated: 10 September 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Over 22 million people in the UK hold Premium Bonds, which makes them the nation's most popular savings product. Yet most holders have never weighed up Chip Prize Saver vs Premium Bonds side by side, and the numbers reward a closer look. Around 62% of Premium Bonds holders have never won a single prize, according to AJ Bell. The prize fund rate sits at 4.35% from the September 2026 draw, with each £1 bond facing odds of 21,000 to 1. NS&I has moved both twice this year. The rate ran at 3.30% with odds of 23,000 to 1 from April, went to 3.80% and 22,000 to 1 in July, then landed where it is now when NS&I announced the change on 18 August 2026.

Meanwhile, Chip's Prize Savings Account offers an alternative: a prize-draw savings account with a £10,000 grand prize every month and no interest at all. Both are a gamble on the return, not on the capital. You can hold either for a year, win nothing, and watch inflation eat the value of the money. We are not saying Premium Bonds are bad. Indeed, they are backed by the Treasury and pay tax-free prizes, which is a real advantage. However, if you have not compared them to anything in years, this is worth ten minutes of your time.

This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

Want to try the Chip Prize Saver?

Our Chip referral page carries the current new-customer bonus and the sign-up steps, kept up to date.

Open Chip via our referral

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to open, close, or switch any savings or investment product. Always do your own research or consider a qualified financial adviser before making financial decisions. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. All product details were verified at the time of writing but may change, so always check the provider's website for current terms.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money, Money saving, Saving, UK Made

Tags: Chip, Chip Prize Saver, FSCS, NS&I, Premium Bonds, prize draw savings, savings, savings comparison, tax-free savings, UK savings