September 6, 2026

The £12,000 Cash ISA Limit: What Will Actually Change in 2027?

Nick Saving Money, Investing events, Tax, retirement, savings 0 Comments

There has been quite a lot of discussion about the Government’s decision to reduce the annual Cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £12,000 from April 2027. If you have money in Cash ISAs, you may therefore be wondering whether you should be doing anything differently before then.

There is, however, an important point that is sometimes missed in reports about the change:

The new £12,000 Cash ISA limit will only apply to people under the age of 65.

If you are aged 65 or over, you will continue to be able to put up to £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA.

Here’s what we know so far…

What Is Changing?

At present, the overall annual ISA allowance is £20,000. You can put this into a Cash ISA, a Stocks and Shares ISA, an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) or a combination of these, subject to the rules applying to each type.

For the 2026/27 tax year, the maximum you can subscribe to ISAs remains £20,000.

From 6 April 2027, however, the rules will change.

For people under 65, the annual Cash ISA subscription limit will become: £12,000

The overall ISA allowance will nevertheless remain at: £20,000

This means that the Government is not reducing the overall amount you can put into ISAs. Instead, it is restricting how much of that £20,000 can be put into a Cash ISA.

The remaining £8,000 could, for example, be put into a Stocks and Shares ISA, assuming you are happy to invest it and the relevant ISA rules are met.

The Important Exception for People Aged 65 and Over

This is particularly relevant to many Pounds and Sense readers. The £12,000 restriction does not apply to people aged 65 or over.

From April 2027, people aged 65 and over will continue to have a Cash ISA limit of £20,000 a year. There is also an interesting wrinkle here.

The Government says that entitlement to the higher £20,000 Cash ISA limit will apply from the start of the tax year in which you turn 65.

So, for example, if you turn 65 at some point during the 2027/28 tax year, you will qualify for the £20,000 Cash ISA limit for that whole tax year rather than having to wait until your 65th birthday.

This makes the age cut-off rather more generous than simply saying, “You can use £20,000 once you reach 65.”

What About Your Existing Cash ISAs?

The new £12,000 figure is an annual subscription limit. It does not mean that anyone with more than £12,000 already saved in Cash ISAs will have to withdraw the excess.

If you already have, say, £50,000 in one or more Cash ISAs, that money can remain there.

The new rules concern how much new money you can subscribe to Cash ISAs from 6 April 2027.

This is an important distinction.

Someone under 65 could therefore have considerably more than £12,000 in Cash ISAs after April 2027. They simply won’t be able to add more than £12,000 of new subscriptions to Cash ISAs during that tax year.

Can I Still Use the Full £20,000 ISA Allowance?

Yes.

For someone under 65, the overall annual ISA allowance will remain £20,000. The difference is that no more than £12,000 of this can normally be subscribed to Cash ISAs.

For example, someone could potentially put:

£12,000 into a Cash ISA
£8,000 into a Stocks and Shares ISA

That would use their full £20,000 annual ISA allowance.

Alternatively, they could put less than £12,000 into a Cash ISA and use the remainder for another type of ISA.

The Government says that the annual subscription limits for Stocks and Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs are not being reduced as part of this change.

Why Is the Government Doing This?

The stated aim is to encourage people to invest more of their savings rather than keeping everything in cash. The Government argues that some people hold substantial sums in Cash ISAs for many years when they might achieve better long-term returns through investments.

There is certainly a debate to be had about this. Cash has an important role in financial planning, particularly for people approaching or in retirement. It provides security and avoids the risk of investment losses.

On the other hand, money that is needed for the long term can potentially lose purchasing power if inflation is higher than the interest rate being earned. The Government’s policy is therefore intended, at least in part, to encourage more people to consider investing.

Whether that is appropriate for you is a separate question, of course.

What if I Don’t Want to Invest?

This is probably the biggest concern for many savers. Suppose you are aged 55, have £20,000 to save and don’t want to take investment risk.

From April 2027, you won’t be able simply to put the whole £20,000 into a Cash ISA. You could put £12,000 into a Cash ISA, but you would then need to decide what to do with the other £8,000.

One possibility would be an ordinary savings account. However, interest outside an ISA can be taxable, depending on your circumstances.

The Personal Savings Allowance means that many people can receive some interest tax-free, but the amount depends on your tax position.

Another possibility is to invest the remaining money through a Stocks and Shares ISA, but this is only appropriate if you are comfortable with investment risk and have a sufficiently long time horizon.

There is certainly no requirement to invest simply because the Government has made Cash ISAs less generous for under-65s.

Can I Put £20,000 Into a Stocks and Shares ISA and Then Move it Into a Cash ISA?

This is where the new rules become more complicated. Under the existing system, ISA transfers allow money to be moved between different types of ISA without losing its tax-free status, subject to the rules.

From April 2027, people under 65 will not be allowed to transfer money from a Stocks and Shares ISA or Innovative Finance ISA into a Cash ISA.

This is intended to stop people getting around the £12,000 Cash ISA limit by putting £20,000 into another type of ISA and subsequently moving the money into a Cash ISA.

Transfers in the other direction — from a Cash ISA to a non-Cash ISA — will remain possible.

What About Keeping Cash Inside a Stocks and Shares ISA?

The Government has also anticipated this potential workaround. From April 2027, people will still be able to hold some cash within a Stocks and Shares ISA.

However, there will be a 22% charge on interest paid on cash held in a non-Cash ISA. ISA managers will deal with this charge rather than the individual having to declare the interest to HMRC.

There will also be restrictions on using a Stocks and Shares ISA simply as a substitute Cash ISA. For example, an ISA portfolio consisting entirely of certain “cash-like” investments will not qualify in the same way.

The rules do, however, allow diversified Stocks and Shares ISA portfolios to contain some cash-like investments.

What Should You Do Before April 2027?

For most people, there is no need to panic.

If you are under 65 and have money that you were planning to put into a Cash ISA, however, it may be worth thinking about your plans before the new rules arrive.

For example, if you have £20,000 available and were intending to put the whole amount into a Cash ISA, you could potentially use the full £20,000 Cash ISA allowance during the 2026/27 tax year.

You should not, of course, put money into an ISA simply to beat a deadline if you don’t actually need or want the product. But if you already intended to save the money in a Cash ISA, the April 2027 change is worth bearing in mind.

What if I’m Already 65?

If you are 65 or over, the change is much less dramatic. You will continue to be able to subscribe up to £20,000 a year to a Cash ISA.

And, as mentioned earlier, if you turn 65 during a tax year, the Government says the £20,000 entitlement applies from the start of that tax year.

This means that the headline “£12,000 Cash ISA limit” is potentially rather misleading when talking to older savers.

For many Pounds and Sense readers, nothing will actually change regarding the amount they can put into a Cash ISA each year.

What About Existing ISA Savings?

Another important point is that the £20,000 annual ISA allowance is not a limit on the total amount you can have in ISAs. There is no £20,000 cap on your lifetime ISA holdings.

You could, for example, have £20,000 in an ISA from one year, another £20,000 from the following year, and so on, with the accumulated savings remaining tax-free.

The £20,000 figure is an annual subscription allowance, not a maximum ISA balance.

The new £12,000 figure works in the same way: it limits new Cash ISA subscriptions for under-65s from April 2027; it does not cap the amount you can have accumulated in Cash ISAs.

So, Is the New £12,000 Limit a Big Deal?

For some people, yes. For others, not at all.

If you are under 65 and normally put £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA, you will need to rethink what you do with the other £8,000.

If you normally save £5,000 or £10,000 a year in a Cash ISA, nothing changes.

And if you are aged 65 or over, your annual Cash ISA limit will remain £20,000.

For someone approaching 65, the rules may therefore be particularly worth understanding.

The key dates and limits

From 6 April 2027	Cash ISA limit	Overall ISA limit
Under 65	£12,000	£20,000
Aged 65 or over	£20,000	£20,000

The Government currently intends these changes to take effect on 6 April 2027. The detailed legislation is still going through the process, so some technical details could change before implementation. If that happens I will update this post accordingly and/or add a new post about it.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to remember is that the Government is not abolishing Cash ISAs and it is not reducing the overall ISA allowance to £12,000.

From 6 April 2027:

Under 65: maximum £12,000 a year into a Cash ISA, within the overall £20,000 ISA allowance.

65 or over: maximum £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA, within the overall £20,000 ISA allowance.

Existing Cash ISA savings are not being capped at £12,000.

For many older savers, therefore, the change may have little or no direct impact. But for younger savers who prefer the safety of cash, it will mean making a decision about what to do with any amount between £12,000 and £20,000 that they would previously have put into a Cash ISA.

And that, rather than the headline figure of £12,000, is probably the most important point to understand.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below. But note that I am not a professional financial adviser and cannot give personal financial advice. You should always do your own “due diligence” before investing and seek appropriate professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

August 30, 2026

My Investments Update – September 26

Nick Investing reviews, events 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my August 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In August my JPM Investing income portfolio generated £157.02 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 August 2026. That means I have now received (tax-free) income of £894.41 in 2026 and a total of £1,365.87 since I opened the account in June last year. That’s a return on capital of around 5% to date. That is in line with JPM’s original projected annual return for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio also increased in value in August. It’s now worth £29,010 compared with £28,447 at the start of August, a rise of £563. As the screen capture below shows, my income port is up by a respectable £3,406.67 (13.31%) after fees since I opened it in June 2025.

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,313 compared with £3,221 a month ago, a rise of £92. Here is a screen capture showing performance since I opened it in December 2020. As you may recall, I sold £2,000 worth of this portfolio in May this year to pay for some building work.

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,055 compared with £1,019 (rounded up) last month, a rise of £36.

Overall in August the value of my JPM investments rose by £691 or 2.12%. In addition, I did of course receive £157.02 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am up by a respectable £848.02 for the month.

Excluding income generated (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew in May this year) the overall value of my JPM investments has risen by £3,716 since the start of September 2025. If you add to this the £1,365.87 of income generated by my Income portfolio since August 2025, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £5,081.87 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times. Another way of looking at this (which I like!) is that the £2,000 I withdrew in May this year has been comfortably covered by the growth in value of my JPM investments over the last year.

Obviously it’s important not to read too much into a single month’s performance. Ups and downs are very much to be expected with stock market investments. In the longer term they tend to even themselves out and typically outperform bank savings accounts (though that’s never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur. You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I had cause to discuss last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

As mentioned, Nutmeg have rebranded as J.P. Morgan Personal Investing and their website is now at www.personalinvesting.jpmorgan.com.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £339.75 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 25 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 4 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 47 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £56.92. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £265.23. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March this year due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last few months InTheGame has made a recovery and is now in profit by 5.15%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,222.16, an overall increase of £333.80 or 37.57%.

Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 5.15%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 76.64%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are also up this month. They are now showing an overall profit of over 213% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

If you would like more information about setting up an eToro account, please click on this no-obligation website link [affiliate]. Don’t forget that you also get a free $100,000 virtual portfolio, which you can use to experiment with trading and investing strategies. I have certainly earned a lot from mine.

Moving on, I published several posts on Pounds and Sense in August. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

Caravan Fire Safety – How to Protect Your Holiday Home and Your Finances is a collaborative post with my friends at Compass, a specialist provider of caravan and leisure insurance. It concerns an important subject all caravan owners need to be aware of. This post was especially relevant during the hot, dry spell we have just gone through. But even when the weather is cooler it’s still very relevant. In the article – which applies to static as well as mobile caravans – I set out a number of tips to keep your holiday home safe from fire, and also some important insurance advice for caravan owners.

In My Short Break in Portmeirion I talked about my recent short visit to this beautiful Welsh village and tourist resort (famously the location in which 1960s TV series The Prisoner was shot). It was the first time I had stayed in Portmeirion, though I had visited many times before. In my article I discuss the accommodation, the dining facilities, the costs, things to do in (and around) Portmeirion, and whom (in my view) the location is most likely to appeal to.

Finally in Pounds and Sense – A Personal Update I set out some information about my personal circumstances and (in particular) my plans for Pounds and Sense going forward. I won’t say any more about this here, but I do urge you to read it if you haven’t already.

One other thing is that, if you’re looking to change your energy provider as autumn approaches, you can get a £50 bonus credited to your account if you sign up with EDF Energy via my referral link. I’ve been with EDF myself for some years now. In my experience they offer a reliable service along with prices that are generally very competitive. If you do choose to do this via my link I will receive a bonus as well, which is very much appreciated 🙂

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

August 24, 2026

My Short Break in Portmeirion

Nick Everything Else reviews, travel, holidays 0 Comments

I recently enjoyed a three-night break in the lovely Welsh village/resort of Portmeirion. This is about two miles from Porthmadog in NW Wales. It was the first time I had stayed in Portmeirion, though I have visited many times before. Here’s a map from Google Maps.

Portmeirion is a beautiful Italianate village created by the architect Clough Williams Ellis. These days it’s probably best known as the location for the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan.

Portmeirion is privately owned and you have to pay a fee to enter during the day. Of course, if you are staying there, as I was, this is included in the price you pay.

You can also get free admission (in the afternoon) by booking a minimum two-course lunch at Castell Deudraeth; this is part of the Portmeirion estate, a short walk from the village itself. Free admission to the village is also available if you book a spa treatment or afternoon cream tea there.

Accommodation

There are various accommodation options in Portmeirion. You can stay in the main hotel in the village or at Castell Deudraeth. You can also stay in one of the many self-contained cottages and apartments in the village itself. I did the latter, staying in one called The Neptune Suite. This is in the heart of the village, directly over the ice cream parlour. Here’s a photo…

I was quite surprised how spacious The Neptune Suite was. The front door opened into a good-sized lounge with comfortable chairs and sofas and (of course) a TV. There was also a sink in the corner with an electric kettle, coffee and teabags, mugs and glasses, and so forth. There were no cooking facilities but there was a small fridge with complimentary bottled water and a bottle of champagne (definitely not complimentary). The fridge came in very useful for storing milk and snacks for the evening (see below).

Next to the lounge was a double bedroom, with a large bathroom off it. The latter had a separate bath and shower, which felt quite a luxury. A good selection of freebies such as bath/shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, soap, shower caps and even miniature shoeshines were provided.

I stayed on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Breakfast was provided in the hotel, which was about five minutes’ walk away. The hotel breakfasts were excellent, with a self-service buffet and a choice of cooked breakfasts, which were brought to you. During the day I ate at one of the cafes and restaurants in the village (I particularly recommend the Italian-themed Caffi Glas).

There are fewer options for eating in Portmeirion in the evening. Basically you can book a table at the hotel or Castell Deudraeth. These both have highly rated restaurants, with prices to match! They would be good if you were celebrating a special occasion, but a bit pricey to eat at every day. Personally, after a big hotel breakfast and lunch in the village (or out exploring) all I wanted in the evening was a light meal anyway. So I brought my own bread and cheese, fruit, biscuits and so on. Along with a cold drink or a pot of tea, that was fine for me! But otherwise you could always take a short drive into Porthmadog, which has plenty of shops and eateries.

The apartment had free wifi which worked perfectly during my stay (not always the case in my experience). The location was quiet and peaceful (there was a low-key buzz from the ice cream parlour during the day but that closed at 4 pm) and I slept very well during my stay.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a word about this.

Portmeirion is a bit more expensive than most places I visit on short breaks. For my three-night stay with breakfast, I paid £640, which works out at around £213 per day. I thought that was actually quite reasonable bearing in mind the standard of the accommodation and the other amenities on offer. I got a 10% ‘Genius Discount’ from Booking.com, which may have reduced the cost a bit.

I did notice as well that prices vary somewhat from week to week, I assume due to supply and demand. A bit of trial and error here may pay dividends!

One other thing I should say is that I opted for a ‘Village Double Room’ and didn’t know exactly what accommodation I would get. I guess that’s like staying in a hotel, when you aren’t normally told your room number beforehand. If you have a particular preference you can always try asking, but there’s no guarantee you will receive it. I did email a few days before to ask where I would be staying and discovered then that it would be The Neptune Suite.

Things to Do

There are various things you can do in or around Portmeirion. On my first full day I stayed in the village itself. I enjoyed walking the coastal path from the village and back through the woodlands behind. I also spent some time enjoying the heated outdoor pool. This is available to residents only (not day visitors). I was lucky with the weather and made the most of this facility. The changing rooms are pretty basic, but as my accommodation was just a couple of minutes’ walk away that really wasn’t an issue for me.

On my other full day I took a five-minute drive to Porthmadog and enjoyed a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway.

This heritage steam railway has two separate lines, both of which run from Porthmadog. The Welsh Highland Railway takes you on a scenic two-and-a-quarter hour trip through the heart of Snowdonia to Caernarfon, while the original Ffestiniog Railway takes you on a one-hour trip to Blaenau Ffestiniog. On this occasion I took the shorter journey, but I have done the Welsh Highland Railway trip before and recommend it as well. You can get more info on both (and book in advance) via the Ffestiniog Railway website.

The harbour station in Porthmadog has a small car park for people with disabilities only, but there is a free car park for people travelling on the railway at the back of the public car park opposite (Llyn Bach). I used that myself on this occasion. There were plenty of spaces when I arrived at around 9.30 a.m. but I noticed it was full later. So my top tip if going by car is to book a ticket on a morning train rather than leaving it until the afternoon!

Final Thoughts

As you may gather, I enjoyed my short break in Portmeirion and am happy to recommend it for a relaxing short break (though not an especially cheap one!).

Portmeirion is a great place to kick back and chill out. It has good road and rail connections, and there are also other high-quality tourist attractions nearby, including the Ffestiniog Railway, Harlech and Criccieth Castles, and so on.

Portmeirion itself isn’t somewhere to go if you want to be ‘entertained’. The gardens and buildings are beautiful and highly photogenic, and there are some lovely little shops and cafes. You can also enjoy scenic walks alongside the estuary and through the woodlands. And, as mentioned above, there is an outdoor pool you can use (or sunbathe beside, weather permitting!).

To be honest, Portmeirion isn’t going to suit everyone. If you want a holiday with lots of activities and entertainment laid on, it won’t fit the bill. And children and teenagers (especially) might find it a bit limited. For older people and couples looking to relax and recharge their batteries, though, it might be just the thing. There are also some special events (e.g. The Prisoner Weekend) held there throughout the year.

One other point to note is that dogs (apart from guide dogs) are not allowed anywhere in the village. So if you normally take a canine companion on holiday with you, Portmeirion may not be the place for you.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

August 18, 2026

Pounds and Sense – A Personal Update

Nick Everything Else events, blogging, retirement 4 Comments

Today I wanted to share some information about my personal circumstances and my plans for Pounds and Sense (in particular) going forward.

As you may know, I’ve been running PAS for nearly 10 years now and during that time have published over 560 blog posts. Most of these are still available to view via the sidebar on the right (or below if you’re reading this on a mobile). They cover the entire period during Covid, and some in particular make quite poignant reading now.

Nothing is forever, though, and as I’m now 70 I’ve decided the time has come to wind down the blog. My health remains reasonable (touch wood) but I have other interests I want to devote more time and energy to.

In addition, I am now officially retired and no longer registered as self-employed. In fact, Pounds and Sense hasn’t made a profit for some time. As other bloggers will testify, it has become much harder to make money this way in recent years – especially if (like me) you’re a one-man – or one-woman – band.

A major cause of this – in my view anyway – is the rise of AI in online search. In the past you could attract traffic by targeting certain keywords and phrases and hoping Google (or whoever) would rank your article high in search results for the keyword/s in question. With most people nowadays going no further than the AI answers at the top, that method of attracting readers no longer works nearly as well as it used to.

For this and (no doubt) other reasons, the last few years have seen a big fall in the number of other UK personal finance blogs. The ones left are mainly those run as a full-time business, often with a team of staff. Really these are personal finance websites rather than blogs in the traditional sense. There are still a few brave solo bloggers left, and more power to them. But from comments I have seen, I know many of them are struggling as well.

Meanwhile, the costs keep on rising. Pounds and Sense is a self-hosted WordPress website, so I have to pay annual fees for the domain name and (in particular) the hosting service. In total I am now paying over £200 a year for this, which in the last year or two is more money than I have made (directly) from the blog itself. There are other costs as well such as accountancy services and even electricity bills. I also have to pay for the graphics service I use (PicMonkey) to create the cover images for my blog posts.

For all these reasons, then, I am winding down Pounds and Sense. I won’t stop immediately, but my posts will likely be less frequent in the coming months. In April next year my hosting service (the largest expense I have to pay) comes up for renewal, and at that point I plan to allow it to lapse. So after that date, all past and current content will cease to be available here. If there are any articles you particularly want to save for future reference, therefore, I recommend that you copy them sooner rather than later.

I should also say that as I will be closing PAS, I won’t be taking on any further sponsored posts or other commercial partnerships or arrangements. I don’t think it would be fair to take on such projects knowing that the blog will in all likelihood cease to exist a few months later. I am still happy to consider guest posts but on the understanding that they may not be up here very long.

With all that said and done, I do enjoy blogging, and it’s possible I might continue Pounds and Sense in some shape or form using a free or low-cost hosting service such as Blogger or WordPress.com. I might also copy over some content to this. Using this type of service has its drawbacks, but of course it has the big attraction of being cheap or free! Obviously I will let PAS readers know nearer the time if I decide to proceed with this.

In closing, thank you for reading this far; and particular thanks to my regular readers, some of whom have been with me for many years. I wish you all a happy and prosperous future in these increasingly uncertain times.

As always, you are very welcome to leave a comment below if you wish.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

August 9, 2026

Caravan Fire Safety: How to Protect Your Holiday Home and Your Finances

Nick Everything Else holidays, events, property, travel, insurance 0 Comments

My post today is brought to you in association with Compass, a specialist provider of caravan and leisure insurance. It concerns an important subject all caravan owners need to be aware of.

With the UK experiencing a prolonged period of hot and dry weather this summer, and drought now declared across large parts of England for the third time in five years, it’s vital that all caravan owners take extra precautions to reduce the risk of fire.

Static caravans are particularly susceptible to fire damage. Their fixed position, close proximity to neighbouring units, and structural materials – often made of plastic and thin cladding – mean that a fire can spread rapidly and with devastating effect. The use of LPG gas cylinders adds further risk if they are not stored and handled correctly.

In August 2025, a wildfire on the North York Moors came within a few hundred metres of a holiday park near Dalby Forest before a shift in wind and swift action from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service prevented what could have been a catastrophic loss.

Less than a year later, in late July 2026, a major wildfire broke out at Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast, forcing more than 200 caravans to be evacuated from the nearby Cliff House Holiday Park as flames spread across over 150 hectares of heathland. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze over several days after a major incident was declared, a stark illustration of how quickly fire can threaten caravan parks during sustained hot, dry conditions.

Nationally, the trend is stark: the UK recorded 117 wildfires in 2025, more than double the total seen in 2023 and a 32% increase on 2024, second only to the record 207 wildfires recorded during the 40°C heat of 2022.

2025 was officially recorded as the hottest UK summer to date, and 2026 has already brought comparably extreme conditions, meaning the risk of fire-related incidents in caravans remains high. This is reflected in Compass’s fire claims data, which peaked between January 2024 and December 2025 at £881,982 – more than five times the total from the previous year.

With this summer already matching the extremes of 2025, and incidents like Dunwich Heath showing how fast a wildfire can take hold, taking proactive fire safety precautions in caravans is more critical than ever.

Common causes of static caravan fires include:

Careless use of barbecues near units
Improper disposal of cigarettes
Unattended cooking
Faulty gas appliances or heating systems
Electrical overloads and damaged wiring

According to fire safety data, a fire in a mobile home or caravan is significantly more likely to result in death or serious injury compared to conventional housing.

Kevin Minnear, Head of Underwriting at Compass, explains: “Caravans are fantastic for enjoying the outdoors, but they come with serious fire risks, especially in dry conditions. What we saw as a near-miss on the North York Moors last summer, and now a major incident at Dunwich Heath this year, tells us this isn’t a one-off. It’s a pattern, and with the UK in the grip of a prolonged drought, the risk of fire has never been greater.

“As insurers, we see the aftermath of caravan fires all too often, with families losing not only their cherished holiday homes but valuable personal belongings as well. We’re reminding everyone to stay vigilant, follow basic safety practices, and help prevent fires before they start.”

Top Tips to Stay Safe in Your Caravan This Summer

Always use barbecues well away from caravans, awnings and dry grass. Never use them inside or on decking, and ensure coals are fully extinguished before disposal., and always follow your park’s barbecue rules and designated areas.
Do not smoke inside caravans. Always use a proper ashtray and ensure cigarettes are completely stubbed out and disposed of properly.
Store gas bottles outside in a secure, upright position and never in direct sunlight. Turn them off properly after use and have them checked regularly.
Every caravan should have at least one working smoke alarm fitted. Test it weekly and change batteries regularly.
Avoid open flames indoors; candles and gas lanterns can ignite furnishings or nearby materials in seconds. Use battery-powered alternatives instead.
Fit a fire blanket inside your caravan and make sure you have a fire extinguisher, so you are prepared should the worst happen.
Avoid overloading plug sockets and have electrical systems checked regularly.
Ensure all escape routes are accessible and exits are not blocked.

Insurance Advice for Static Caravan Owners

In the unfortunate event of a fire, adequate insurance cover can be the difference between financial recovery and long-term loss. Caravan owners are advised to:

Review your policy to ensure it covers fire damage comprehensively.
Keep an up-to-date inventory of contents.
Notify your insurer immediately in the event of a fire-related claim.
Check whether your cover includes temporary accommodation or replacement of personal effects.

Fire spreads extremely quickly in caravans – even a small spark can have devastating consequences, especially during dry spells.

Kevin Minnear adds: “Prevention is always better than cure. We’re encouraging all caravan owners to make safety a top priority this summer. Fire can devastate a caravan in minutes, but by being proactive and following these simple steps, you can help safeguard your property.”

Many thanks to my friends at Compass for their assistance with this article. For more info on specialist caravan and leisure insurance, please visit compass.co.uk

As always, if you have any comments on this article, please do post them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

August 2, 2026

My Investments Update – August 2026

Nick Investing events, reviews 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my July 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In July my JPM Investing income portfolio generated £89.56 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 July 2026. That means I have now received tax-free income of £737.39 in 2026 and a total of £1,208.85 since I opened the account in June last year (just over a year ago). That’s a return on capital of a little over 4.90% to date. That is close to JPM’s original projected annual return of just under 5% per year for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio decreased slightly in value in July. It’s now worth £28,447 compared with £28,465 (rounded up) at the start of July, a fall of £18. As the screen capture below shows, however, my income port is still up by a respectable £2,843 (11.11%) after fees since I opened it last June.

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,221 compared with £3,262 a month ago, a fall of £41. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last month.

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,019 (rounded up) compared with £1,043 (rounded up) last month, a fall of £24.

Overall in July the value of my JPM investments fell by £83 or 0.25%. On the other hand, I did of course receive £89.56 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am up by the princely sum of £6.56 for the month!

Excluding income generated (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew at the end of May this year) the overall value of my JPM investments has risen by £3,556 or 11.42% since the start of August 2025. If you add to this the £1,208.05 of income generated by my Income portfolio to date, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £4,764.05 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times.

The small drop in the value of my JPM investments in July is down mainly to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Obviously it’s disappointing, but some volatility is always to be expected with stock market investments. In the longer term they tend to even themselves out and typically outperform bank savings accounts (although that is never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur. You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I had cause to discuss last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

As mentioned, Nutmeg have rebranded as J.P. Morgan Personal Investing and their website is now at www.personalinvesting.jpmorgan.com.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £334.80 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 23 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 6 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 47 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £56.96. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £260.24. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March this year due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last four months InTheGame has made a recovery and is now in profit by 3.84%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,192.96, an overall increase of £304.60 or 34.29%.

Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 3.84%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 70.49%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are down a bit this month, but still showing an overall profit of over 180% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

If you would like more information about setting up an eToro account, please click on this no-obligation website link [affiliate]. Don’t forget that you also get a free $100,000 virtual portfolio, which you can use to experiment with trading and investing strategies. I have certainly earned a lot from mine.

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in July. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

In Small Changes That Could Save UK Households £1,000 a Year I set out some easy, everyday changes that could potentially have a big impact on your finances over the course of a year. As the article says, save a few pounds here and there, and before you know it you’ve kept an extra £1,000 in your pocket!

How to Know When Fruit and Veg Are Still Safe to Eat – And When They Should be Binned is a syndicated guest post by Primrose Freestone, whose work I have featured in Pounds and Sense before. Dr Freestone’s article concerns a subject that many older people (and others) on tight budgets may find of interest. It’s certainly something I have wondered about myself in the past.

And in Why Every Older Adult Should Consider the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix) I look at an important subject every older adult should be aware of. Shingles is essentially a recurrence of a common childhood disease, chicken pox, but in older adults it can be a lot more serious. I recently had the new shingles vaccine (Shingrix) myself. In this article I explain why I felt it was important to do so, the side effects I experienced, and a potential beneficial side effect of the vaccine that has only quite recently come to light.

Finally, my cover image this month is a view of the lovely Welsh village/resort of Portmeirion (probably still best known as the venue for 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan). I have visited Portmeirion many times before, but in July I fulfilled a long-standing ambition and actually stayed there for a few days. It wasn’t exactly a cheap break but well worth it. I may post an article/review in due course if there is sufficient interest.

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

July 27, 2026

Why Every Older Adult Should Consider the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix)

Nick Everything Else health 0 Comments

Getting older has some advantages – but one downside is that our risk of developing certain illnesses increases. One of these is Shingles, a painful condition that can have long-lasting effects.

I recently had my second Shingrix vaccination, completing the recommended course. Like many people, I experienced some short-term side effects afterwards, mainly fatigue and exhaustion for a day or two. It wasn’t especially pleasant, but it soon passed. In my view, it was a small price to pay for the protection the vaccine offers.

If you’re eligible for the shingles vaccine, here’s why I think it’s well worth having.

What Is Shingles?

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Even after you’ve recovered from chickenpox – perhaps many decades ago – the virus remains dormant in your nervous system.

As we age, our immune system naturally becomes less effective, allowing the virus to reactivate. When it does, it causes shingles.

The condition typically begins with tingling, burning or pain on one side of the body, followed by a blistering rash. While many people recover within a few weeks, others suffer much more serious complications.

It’s More Than Just a Rash

Many people underestimate shingles, assuming it’s simply an uncomfortable skin condition.

Unfortunately, it can be far more serious.

Complications can include:

Severe nerve pain (known as post-herpetic neuralgia) that can last for months or even years.
Eye infections that can threaten sight if shingles affects the face.
Hearing or balance problems.
Rarely, more serious neurological complications.

The risk of these complications increases significantly with age, particularly after 65.

How Effective Is Shingrix?

Shingrix is the vaccine now offered by the NHS. It replaced the older Zostavax vaccine because it provides much stronger and longer-lasting protection.

Clinical trials have shown that Shingrix is over 90% effective at preventing shingles in older adults, and it also greatly reduces the risk of post-herpetic neuralgia.

Protection remains high for many years after vaccination.

The vaccine is given as two injections, normally two to six months apart. It is a non-live vaccine that uses deactivated fragments of virus to create an immune reaction.

What About Side Effects?

Like any vaccine, Shingrix can cause side effects.

The most common include:

Soreness at the injection site
Fatigue
Headache
Muscle aches
Mild fever or chills

As mentioned earlier, I felt unusually tired and lacking in energy after both doses. People often find that the side effects after the second jab are worse than the first, though that wasn’t true in my case. Fortunately, the side effects both times only lasted a couple of days.

Although the side effects can be inconvenient, they’re generally short-lived and are a sign that your immune system is responding to the vaccine.

In my opinion, they’re a small inconvenience compared with the possibility of developing shingles itself.

Could It Also Help Protect Against Dementia?

One particularly interesting area of research has emerged in recent years.

Several large studies have suggested that people who receive the shingles vaccine may have a lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who remain unvaccinated.

Researchers are still trying to understand exactly why.

Possible explanations include:

Preventing shingles may reduce inflammation that could contribute to dementia.
Vaccination may produce beneficial effects on the immune system.
Preventing viral reactivation may help protect brain health.

It’s important to stress that Shingrix is not approved as a treatment or prevention for dementia, and more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Nevertheless, the findings have attracted considerable interest within the medical community and provide another potentially encouraging reason to accept the vaccine when it’s offered.

Who Can Get the Vaccine?

The NHS is gradually expanding eligibility for Shingrix.

Currently, it is routinely offered to older adults as they reach the eligible age (70 in most cases) along with certain people who have weakened immune systems.

If you’re unsure whether you qualify, it’s worth asking your GP surgery or checking the NHS website.

Even if you’re not yet eligible, knowing about the vaccine means you can arrange to have it when the time comes.

I’d also add, be sure to get both jabs, not just the first, as this will give you much better protection. If necessary, chase up your health provider if they haven’t called you back for your second vaccination after six months. I had to do this myself.

My Verdict

Having now completed both doses, I’m very pleased that I decided to have the vaccine.

Yes, I felt washed out for a couple of days afterwards.

But compared with the possibility of suffering weeks of severe pain – or months of lingering nerve damage – it seemed a very worthwhile trade-off.

And while the possible link with a reduced risk of dementia still needs further investigation, it’s certainly an intriguing bonus.

Final Thoughts

As we get older, prevention becomes increasingly important. Vaccination is one of the simplest and most effective ways of protecting our future health.

Shingles can be an extremely unpleasant illness with long-lasting consequences, but fortunately we now have a vaccine that offers excellent protection.

If you’re invited to have the Shingrix vaccine, my advice would be simple: take up the offer.

Your future self may well thank you.

Have Your Say

Have you had the shingles vaccine? Did you experience any side effects? Or have you unfortunately had shingles yourself?

Please share your experiences in the comments below. As always, I’d love to hear from you.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

How to Know When Fruit and Vegetables Are Still Safe to Eat

July 25, 2026

How to Know When Fruit and Veg Are Still Safe to Eat – And When They Should be Binned

Nick Everything Else health, food, guest post 0 Comments

Today I’m sharing a guest post by Primrose Freestone, a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology at the University of Leicester. It concerns a subject that many older people (in particular) on tight budgets may find of interest. It’s certainly something I have wondered about myself in the past.

This article was originally published in The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons licence.

Whether it’s trimming off a piece of mushy parsnip or cutting away a slightly mouldy bit of apple, many of us have used produce long after their peak of freshness.

While fruits and veggies are important for our health, they’re also highly susceptible to bacteria, fungi and other pathogenic microbes. Overripe fruit and veg can harbour E coli, Salmonella and Listeria bacteria, all of which can cause food poisoning. Understanding how to properly store fresh produce can maximise their freshness and keep them safe to eat for longer.

The use-by dates printed on packaging are usually a useful indicator of how long fresh produce can safely be stored and eaten. But the environment fresh produce is stored in can affect the shelf-life of produce – so use-by dates may not always be accurate.

Fruit and veg are living – so things like humidity, temperature, atmospheric gas, light, how long it’s been in storage and any potential microbial contamination can all affect how long produce can be stored.

The ideal storage conditions will also be different for each fruit and vegetable.

Fruit

Apples have a shelf-life of around one week at room temperature, and three to four weeks in the fridge. These should ideally be stored in the fridge’s veg drawer and washed before eating.

Apples which are a little bruised are safe to eat but don’t consume if they’re mouldy.

Bananas can last around two to seven days, depending on how ripe the bunch was when bought.

Store bananas at room temperature until ripe, then refrigerate to extend shelf life. Brown or mushy bananas are safe to eat so long as they aren’t mouldy.

Berries have a shelf life of around 3-7 days if refrigerated. Store them in their original packaging. Only wash before eating, as washing may spread fungal spores.

Again, don’t eat if mouldy. Even if only one berry in the punnet has mould and the rest look fine, they may still contain mould. This is because the toxins produced by moulds and other fungi – called mycotoxins – are invisible and directly penetrate food and can spread to adjacent foods.

Mycotoxins, such as the Aspergillus aflatoxin, can cause serious damage to the liver and have been linked to liver cancer.

A punnet of mouldy berries. — Even just one rotten berry can spoil the bunch. vfhnb12/ Shutterstock

Citrus fruits are usually good for around one week at room temperature, and up to one month in the fridge. Keep the fruits whole and store in the fridge in a mesh bag that allows airflow. Cut citrus can be kept in an airtight container for up to five days.

Grapes can last several days at room temperature, and up to two weeks when refrigerated. Store them in their original ventilated package to enable airflow, and wash only before eating. As with berries, if any of the grapes have gone mouldy it’s best to bin the bunch to avoid mycotoxin contamination.

Tomatoes should be allowed to ripen first at room temperature, then stored for up to two weeks in the fridge. Slightly soft or mushy tomatoes can be eaten so long as there’s no mould present.

Vegetables

Carrots and parsnips can be stored for up to two weeks in a cool pantry, and for more than a month in the fridge. Just make sure they’re stored in perforated bags to allow airflow.

Sprouted carrots or parsnips can still be eaten, but if they’re mushy or mouldy that means bacteria or fungi are already growing so throw them away.

Cucumbers can be stored in a plastic bag or container for up to a week in the fridge. Cut cucumbers should be placed in a clean plastic bag or container and eaten within 1-2 days, as microbes will start growing quickly.

Lettuce is usually okay to refrigerate for three to seven days if left whole. For mixed lettuce leaves, it’s best to follow the use-by date on the package. Whole lettuce should be stored in breathable packaging in the fridge’s salad drawer. Wash only before use. Any lettuce that has become mushy or turned brown shouldn’t be eaten.

Mushrooms have a shelf life of only one day at room temperature, and three to seven in the fridge. Denser mushroom species – such as shiitake or button – tend to keep longest. Store mushrooms in breathable bags in the middle of the fridge.

Onions can sometimes last more than six weeks when stored in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. Do not wrap in plastic, as a lack of air flow reduces shelf life. You also shouldn’t store them with potatoes or other veg that release moisture, as this will cause fungus to grow. Sprouting onions can still be eaten if no mould is present.

Potatoes can also last more than six weeks when stored in a cool, dark, dry place.

Do not eat green or sprouting potatoes, as these often contain natural toxins which can cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Even if you cut off the sprouted or green bits, the toxins may still have spread throughout the entire spud. Importantly, these toxins are not destroyed by cooking.

Exposure to light greatly increases the formation of these toxins.

Maximising shelf life

Storing certain produce together can also affect shelf life.

Certain fruit and veg produce gases during when ripening – most notably ethylene. This gas acts as a ripening hormone, accelerating the process and reducing the shelf life of other produce nearby.

Bananas are high ethylene producers, while apples are even stronger ethylene releasers. Both can prematurely accelerate ripening of other fruit and veg, which can lead to over-ripeness, spoilage and mould growth. It’s therefore a good idea to avoid storing these fruits near other produce.

To minimise wastage, also consider buying only as much produce as you’ll eat within a few days.

Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

As always, if you have any comments about this article, please feel free to post them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

July 19, 2026

Small Changes That Could Save UK Households £1,000 a Year

Nick Saving Money savings 0 Comments

With household bills still putting pressure on many family budgets, finding ways to save money has never been more important. The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to make big sacrifices to make a noticeable difference to your finances.

Often it’s the small, everyday changes that have the biggest impact over the course of a year. Save a few pounds here and there, and before you know it you’ve kept an extra £1,000 in your pocket.

Here are some simple ideas that could help…

1. Review Your Broadband and Mobile Contracts

Many of us stay with the same provider for years without checking whether we’re still getting a good deal.

When your contract ends, your monthly payments can creep up significantly. Spending half an hour comparing prices or negotiating with your existing provider could save £10 to £20 a month.

Potential annual saving: £120–£240

2. Switch Energy Tariffs

Energy prices remain higher than many of us would like, but that doesn’t mean you should simply accept your current tariff.

If you’re on a standard variable tariff, it’s worth checking whether a fixed deal or another supplier could work out cheaper. Even if you decide not to switch, keeping an eye on the market can help you spot opportunities.

Potential annual saving: £100–£200

3. Check Your Home Insurance

Many insurers rely on customers renewing automatically each year.

Before accepting your renewal quote, compare prices from a few competitors. You may also be able to negotiate a better premium simply by phoning your insurer and mentioning cheaper quotes elsewhere.

Potential annual saving: £50–£150

4. Make Better Use of Cashback Sites

If you’re buying something online anyway, why not earn a little cashback?

Websites such as TopCashback and Quidco pay you a commission when you shop through their links. It costs nothing extra and the savings can soon accumulate, particularly if you’re booking holidays, buying insurance or making larger purchases.

Potential annual saving: £50–£150

5. Plan Your Weekly Meals

One of the easiest ways to save money is simply to waste less food.

Planning meals before you shop helps you buy only what you need, makes better use of leftovers and reduces the temptation to order expensive takeaways when you can’t decide what to cook.

Personally I’m a great believer in cooking double portions and freezing or refrigerating the second meal for another day.

Potential annual saving: £150–£250

6. Audit Your Subscriptions

Streaming services, magazine subscriptions, cloud storage, apps and software can quietly nibble away at your bank balance.

Take a look through your bank statements and ask yourself whether you’re really using everything you’re paying for.

Cancelling just two or three little-used subscriptions could save a surprising amount.

Potential annual saving: £60–£180

7. Use Loyalty Cards and Reward Apps

Supermarkets, pharmacies, coffee shops and many other retailers now offer loyalty schemes.

No individual reward is likely to make you rich, but if you’re shopping there anyway, you might as well collect the points or discounts available.

Some supermarket loyalty offers can also help you save on fuel.

Potential annual saving: £50–£100

8. Review Your Bank Account

Many people still pay monthly fees for packaged bank accounts without making full use of the benefits.

If you’re paying for extras such as travel insurance or breakdown cover separately, a packaged account may represent good value. On the other hand, if you rarely use the included benefits, switching to a free account could save money.

It’s also worth checking whether another bank is offering a switching bonus.

Potential annual saving: £50–£200

9. Borrow Rather Than Buy

Before buying an item you’ll only use once or twice, ask yourself whether you could borrow it instead.

Many neighbourhoods now have tool libraries, while friends and family may be happy to lend ladders, pressure washers, carpet cleaners or gardening equipment.

Libraries are another excellent source of free books, magazines and increasingly e-books and audiobooks.

Potential annual saving: £50–£100

10. Shop Around Before Every Major Purchase

Whether you’re buying a new television, washing machine or holiday, resist the temptation to click the first attractive offer.

Price comparison websites, voucher codes and cashback deals can all reduce the final bill.

Even spending an extra fifteen minutes researching larger purchases can often save £50 or more.

Potential annual saving: £100+

The Savings Soon Add Up

None of these suggestions is particularly revolutionary. In fact, you may already be doing some of them.

But if you adopted just five or six of these habits, your annual savings might look something like this:

Change	Typical Annual Saving
Better broadband/mobile deal	£180
Home insurance review	£80
Meal planning	£200
Subscription audit	£100
Cashback websites	£75
Loyalty schemes	£65
Smarter shopping	£150
Total	£850

Add in an energy saving or a bank switching bonus, and reaching (or even exceeding) £1,000 a year is perfectly achievable.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to saving money, consistency usually beats dramatic action.

Rather than trying to transform your finances overnight, focus on making a handful of sensible changes that become part of your everyday routine. Individually they may not seem particularly significant, but together they can make a real difference.

I’d love to hear from you now. What small money-saving change has had the biggest impact on your household budget? Please leave a comment below and share your tips with other readers.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

July 2, 2026

My Investments Update – July 2026

Nick Investing events, reviews, property 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my June 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In June my JPM Investing income portfolio generated a respectable £222.45 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 June 2026. That means I have now received tax-free income of £647.83 in 2026 and a total of £1,119.29 since I opened the account in June last year. That’s a return on capital of a little over 4.48% to date. That is pretty much in line with JPM’s original projected annual return of just under 5% for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio increased in value again in June. It’s now worth £28,465 (rounded up) compared with £28,282 at the start of June, a rise of £183. As the screen capture below shows, my income port is up by a respectable £2,861 (11.18%) after fees since I opened it last June (about a year ago).

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,262 compared with £5,239 a month ago. As I mentioned last month, in early June I withdrew £2,000 from this portfolio to pay for some building work, so if you deduct this the value of the port has actually risen by £23. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last month.

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,043 (rounded up) compared with £1,038 last month, a small rise of £5.

Overall in June (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew) the value of my JPM investments rose by £220 or 0.65%. In addition I did, of course, receive £222.45 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am £442.45 up for the month.

Excluding income generated (and again allowing for the £2,000 withdrawal) the overall value of my JPM investments is up by £3,997 or 12.99% since the start of July 2025. If you add to this the £1,119.29 of income generated by my Income portfolio to date, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £5,272.84 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times.

Some volatility is always to be expected with stock market investments, but in the longer term they tend to even themselves out (and typically outperform bank savings accounts, although that is never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur (as happened in March due to events in the Middle East). You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I discussed last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

As mentioned, Nutmeg have rebranded as J.P. Morgan Personal Investing and their website is now at www.personalinvesting.jpmorgan.com.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £328.30 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 21 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 5 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 44 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £64.57. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £246.13. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last three months InTheGame has made a good recovery and is now in profit by 12.45%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,264.92, an overall increase of £376.56 or 42.39%.

Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 12.45%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 69.49%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are down marginally this month but still showing an overall profit of over 288% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

If you would like more information about setting up an eToro account, please click on this no-obligation website link [affiliate]. Don’t forget that you also get a free $100,000 virtual portfolio, which you can use to experiment with trading and investing strategies. I have certainly earned a lot from mine.

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in June. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

In Get a Free Share Worth up to £100 With Trading 212, I revealed that this promotional offer had reopened. If you haven’t done it before, you can get a free share worth up to £100 just by signing up to this popular share trading platform. My own free share in AMD is now worth £361.04! This offer closes on 9th July 2026. Learn more and sign up via my blog post.

And in The Best Realistic Side Hustles for Over-50s, I set out some easy side hustles that can work well for people in their fifties, sixties and beyond. If you’re looking for some simple, flexible ways to supplement your pension, build up a holiday fund, help cover rising household bills, or just earn some extra spending money, you’ll find a range of realistic ideas here.

Finally, I should mention that EDF Energy have enhanced their switching offer. Until 13th July 2026 you can get a FREE £75 (increased from £50) credited to your energy account when you switch to EDF via my referral link. Terms and conditions apply.

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media: