Financial news

• We all want to live the good life – but how can we afford it?

  26-10-2019 18:00
  Britain could have great healthcare, fair welfare and environmentally friendly transport networks if excessive rents weren’t starving the economyA 21st-century life costs too much. At least, the glistening modernity we seek in all aspects of our lives costs too much. There is widespread agreement that Britons deserve the best healthcare modern methods, equipment and trained staff can provide.There are transport networks desperately in need of funding for upgrades and much-needed maintenanc
  
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• The 'invisible' female workers of London – in pictures

  26-10-2019 18:00 via theguardian.com
  London-based artist Caroline Walker takes inspiration from “invisible” women in the UK capital’s service industries – housekeeping staff, tailors, hairdressers, nail technicians – for her large oil paintings (many between 6ft and 10ft wide) inspired by 19th-century French painters such as Manet. “There’s all this stuff happening around us,” she says. “If we open our eyes, we can see a lot – not just about those people’s lives, but
  
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• Is state pension taxable income? Deferring UK state pension can mean less is taxed

  26-10-2019 11:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  STATE PENSION payments are a form of income which may be claimed once the eligible person has reached state pension age. Is the state pension taxable income?
  
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• Should we switch everything off at night?

  26-10-2019 08:00
  From our iPad to the dishwasher my partner is obsessive about pulling the plugøEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.My partner is obsessive about switching everything off at night, saying it’s not safe. Not just pulling the plug on the telly, but also not allowing iPad, phones, etc to charge overnight. No dishwasher either. Is she wrong
  
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• Paying a water bill twice over and unable to take delivery of a favourite tipple

  26-10-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A private home is labelled for business use and no exception to Amazon’s rulesTwo years ago Thames Water – unilaterally and without notice – decided that the residential rental property we lived in until this August was a commercial one and transferred our account to Castle Water. We were told that it was our new provider, but not the reason behind it.Continue reading...
  
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• 'I've been homeless – a drug addict. I needed to earn a living'

  26-10-2019 08:00
  Michael, 48, on how he has no boss and can make up to £100 a week selling the Big IssueName: Michael
  Age: 48
  Occupation: Big Issue vendor, Bristol
  Income: Up to £100 a weekI’ve been homeless and addicted to drugs for most of my life. I started with pot and hallucinogenics and ended up mainly on heroin and crack. I wanted to try everything. I’d say “I won’t try that”, and then I did it anyway. I’ve done everything I said I wouldn’t. Continue r
  
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• How students can buy a £400,000 home with zero deposit

  26-10-2019 08:00
  A building society is offering 100% mortgages to 18-year-olds while at university. Spoiler: you’ll need wealthy parentsFancy literally lording it over your college flatmates? A growing number of building societies are offering deals that let young adults buy their university home and pay the monthly mortgage with the rent they charge other students.This week the Vernon building society in Stockport, Greater Manchester, launched a range of “buy for uni” mortgages, the third lend
  
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• Food delivery apps fuel a junk economy that never fills the productivity gap

  26-10-2019 08:00
  £5bn Just Eat bidding war reflects a ballooning sector adding little value to consumers, workers or UKAn app that links you up with restaurants and sends the food round by bike is worth an astonishing £5bn, judged by the bidding war over Just Eat that erupted in the City this week.Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. Late in the evening my local McDonald’s is a mess of bike couriers (Uber Eats, mostly) picking up the likes of double quarter-pounder cheeseburgers (mmm, 102% of
  
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• How to reduce Inheritance Tax: 'Word of warning' issued on utilising IHT exemption

  26-10-2019 05:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  INHERITANCE TAX is a tax on the estate of a person who has died, which may apply above a certain threshold. For those who are looking to reduce Inheritance Tax, a word of warning has been issued when it comes to one particular exemption.
  
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