Articles
Explanations, guides and things worth knowing — some next to a calculator, some standing entirely on their own.
What a rate change does to your mortgage payment
Central banks move rates in quarter points, and lenders pass them on in steps that look small on paper. Here is what each step is actually worth on a monthly payment, and why two borrowers with the same mortgage feel the same change differently.
How much can I borrow, and what does a lender actually count?
The number a lender will give you is not your salary times four. It is a payment they think you can still afford if rates rise, worked backwards into a loan — which is wh...
Fixed or variable: how to choose the way your rate is set
The choice is not a forecast about rates. It is a question about how much a known payment is worth to your household, and how far the variable rate would have to move bef...
UK stamp duty in 2026: the lower thresholds, and a higher surcharge
The higher stamp duty thresholds introduced in 2022 expired on schedule in April 2025, and the surcharge on second homes went up separately. Here is exactly what a purcha...
How the euro, dollar and pound moved against each other in 2024
10,000 euros converted to dollars in January 2024 and again in December would have produced two noticeably different amounts. Here is the shape of the year, and why the d...
UK minimum wage in 2024: a 9.8% rise and a lower age threshold, both at once
April 2024 brought one of the largest single-year rises to the UK minimum wage on record, plus a change to who qualifies for it. Here is what full-time work at each rate...
The state pension and National Insurance in 2024: two rate cuts and an 8.5% rise
Employee National Insurance fell from 12% to 10% in January 2024, then to 8% in April — two cuts in one year. Meanwhile the full state pension rose to £221.20 a week. Her...
UK stamp duty in 2024, and what a first-time buyer skips
A first-time buyer and a home mover pay very different stamp duty on the same house in 2024 — and the gap disappears completely above a certain price. Here is exactly whe...
What these articles are for
Some explain a question behind a calculator: which number belongs where, which rule applies to you, what the answer means. Others stand on their own and have nothing to do with a calculator. Either way, the arithmetic itself stays on the calculator pages — an article only ever explains, it never computes.