Energy bills, the Ofgem price cap, gas vs electric, smart meters, council tax bands and ways to reduce your household running costs in the UK.
Welsh councils can charge up to a 300% council tax premium on second homes and long-term empty properties in 2026/27. Here's how the premium works, which councils use it, and the exemptions that can reduce or remove it.
How Scottish income tax, Aberdeen City Council Tax bands and typical household costs combine to shape real take-home pay for Aberdeen residents in 2026/27.
How Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Tax bands interact with 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance to shape household budgets in South Yorkshire.
What living in Basingstoke actually costs in 2026/27 — council tax bands, commuter rail costs to London, and real take-home pay on a typical local salary.
How Blackpool Council's Band D charge and 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance rates combine to shape household budgets on the Fylde coast.
How Bolton Council's Band D charge and 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance rates combine to shape household budgets in Greater Manchester.
What living in Brighton and Hove actually costs in 2026/27 — council tax bands, above-average housing costs, and real take-home pay on a typical local salary.
What living in Cambridge actually costs in 2026/27 — council tax bands, tech-sector salaries, and real take-home pay for typical local earnings.
How Canterbury City Council's Band D charge and 2026/27 income tax rates shape household budgets in this Kent cathedral city.
How Chelmsford City Council's Band D charge and 2026/27 income tax rates shape household budgets for London commuters in Essex.
How Cheltenham Borough Council's Band D charge and 2026/27 income tax rates shape household budgets in this Cotswolds-adjacent Gloucestershire town.
British Summer Time starts on 29 March 2026. Lighter evenings genuinely cut lighting and heating demand, but by less than most people assume — the real numbers, and where the savings actually show up.
