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YOUR RT
RT MONEY PARTNER
Melanie Wright
WHAT ARE YOUR 2026 MONEY RESOLUTIONS?
Packed full of useful hints and tips, this guide is invaluable if you're planning your estate or have benefited from an inheritance. This guide reveals: Simple steps to pay less inheritance tax Reduce tax and keep your wealth in your family using our experts' top tips HARGREAVES LANDSOWN’S FREE GUIDE TO SAVING INHERITANCE TAX
here are plenty of things you can do to ensure that this year sees a whole new financial you. Here, we take a look at T some of the money resolutions you might want to consider making to help boost your bank balance in 2026… Earn more interest on your savings The Bank of England base rate was cut to 3.75% in December, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle with earning paltry returns on your savings. You should regularly review your accounts to ensure your money earns as much interest as possible. For example, a savings pot of £5,000 could earn more than £200 extra interest a year if it was earning a market- leading 4.5% easy access savings rate compared to if you left it languishing in an
over a year, even once the 3.45% balance transfer fee is factored in.
How you could use an inheritance Gifting - pros, cons and 'how to'
Shop around for insurance
IHT-free investments Easy ways to use trusts
Never just accept the renewal quotes offered by your home and motor insurance companies. Consumers who use a comparison website to switch their insurance provider can typically save as much as around £500 a year on car insurance and about £200 on home insurance, although the actual savings you’ll be able to make will depend on your individual circumstances and claims history.
To download your guide, scan the QR code here This guide is not personal advice. Please remember tax rules can change and the value of the tax benefits will depend on your circumstances. The value of investments can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. If you are unsure, please seek advice.
Slash energy bills
You should regularly check that you are on the right gas and electricity tariff. You may be able to make savings by moving to a fixed rate dual fuel online direct debit deal. By switching to the best online tariff instead of staying on the average standard energy tariff, customers could save up to around £200 over 12 months, with some fixed deals costing over 10% less than the current price cap.
HARGREAVES LANSDOWN’S FACTSHEET ON PROPERTY VERSUS PENSION You’ve probably heard people say “my property is my pension”. But focusing on one at the expense of the other could be a costly mistake. We compare pensions to property, and the key factors to consider when investing for retirement, including: Could property be better than a pension?
account paying just 0.5%. Cut credit card interest
If you’ve piled pounds onto your plastic over the past few months and face the prospect of steep interest charges, act as soon as possible and transfer your balance to a card which charges 0% on balance transfers for an extended period. For example, switching £2,000 worth of debt on a card with an average APR of 24.9% to the market-leading Barclaycard extended balance transfer card, which offers a 0% introductory rate for 36 months, would save you £429 in interest
Taxes relating to property and risks you may have overlooked Extra costs and practicalities you might not have considered
We wrote this factsheet to give you useful information, but it's not personal advice. If you’re not sure about what’s right for you, take advice. Remember that investments and any income they produce can go down as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you put in. Property can be very illiquid so it can be hard to access your investments and you can’t normally access money in a pension until age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). Pension and tax rules can change, and any benefits depend on your circumstances. To download your factsheet, scan the QR code here
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RadioTimes February 2026
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