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3 days ago
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The UK’s economic performance in 2024 was mixed to say the least: while inflation fell below the 2% target in early autumn – and has been outstripped by annual wage growth of 5.2% – it is on the rise again. Meanwhile, forecasts for the pace of interest rate cuts have been trimmed and businesses have warned they expect an imminent slowdown in activity. As the year nears its end, people from across the country have shared their financial hopes and concerns for the coming year.
I’m about to start maternity leave and – after aggressively saving for the last few months – I’m hoping my husband and I have budgeted accurately enough to manage without too much financial stress once my income drops to standard maternity pay (SMP). We’ve made a huge effort to live within our means and pay off any debts, so I’d love to have a few extra months off with our newborn without risking using all of our savings.
Even though the government is raising SMP in April by £3 [a week], it’s still less than half of national minimum wage and likely to be approximately £145 per week after tax, national insurance and pension contributions – a big drop from what we’re used to.
Given inflation and the extortionate nursery fees I keep hearing about, I’m really worried about having enough to cover the cost of childcare when I go back to work, or the risk of an unforeseen expense forcing me to do so early.
For many millennials, it’s just not affordable to have children any more; I know we’re the only couple in our friendship group who want to and are able to.
Ashley, 33, a marketing specialist from Leicester
‘Hopefully, I’ll pay off my Covid debt’
I’m hoping to finally pay off the hideous debt load I was put in during Covid. Or move it into “affordable” debt products. To be able to use gas central heating again. To buy a passport.
James, a homeowner working in IT, from Birmingham
‘I hope I’ll be able to buy a small home’
I hope that there is a house price crash and that, with the money I have, the purchase of a small home becomes possible – without being tied to the risk of equity extraction and terrifying maintenance charges.
My financial concern for next year is that investors will continue to be allowed to buy up smaller houses to trap the less rich in eternal debt to landlords and freeholders.
We cannot have a healthy demand economy when so much income goes to housing costs. Nor is it healthy for society for there to be so much homelessness, resentment and bitterness. Building more houses for them to be bought up by extractive investors, both domestic and overseas, will achieve nothing.
Rose, retired, from Cornwall
I desperately need a promotion. I’m happy in my current role but promotion is the only means by which to secure a pay rise that would be even close to covering the increase in the cost of living. Competition is fierce within the ranks of civil servants at delegated grades, as everyone is in the same boat, and there is a distinct lack of decent roles being advertised outside of Whitehall.
I worked very hard to secure a sufficient deposit to buy my flat earlier this year, but service charges are a significant worry.
After taxes, student loans and essential living costs, I have about £800 disposable income left – £600 after depositing for long-term savings. This year’s public sector pay rise worked out at 5.45% for me. It gave me about an extra £50 a month. But income tax, council tax and utility bill rises, as well as increased student loan contributions, mean that I’m still around £60 per month worse off than this time last year. And this doesn’t even begin to account for other inflationary pressures, or income erosion due to frozen tax bands.
I’m beginning to feel like a lemon that’s been squeezed one too many times. If they keep going, I’ll have no juice left.
A civil servant from Manchester in his 30s
‘The end of remote working means a costly move’
I hope to be able to move back to the south, ideally without compromising too much on the quality of the house and neighbourhood.
[My concern for next year is that] potential clients are increasingly asking for hybrid or on-site work. My immune system is compromised and I have successfully worked entirely remotely since the pandemic. But it now seems that clients want everyone on site, and this is impacting my ability to earn a living.
Andy Hilton, 57, a freelance IT consultant and blood cancer patient from Coventry
‘I worry about Trump’s effect on the global economy’
I’m hoping for reduced interest rates – the mortgage is high enough – and want to look at how I can get more for my money through savings.
I’m generally happy with how my finances are, have zero debt outside of mortgage and monthly credit card usage, which is low.
My concerns? The effect Trump may have on the global economy with his policy ideas. That the Bank of England gets jumpy about inflation, and adjusts interest rates up. The fact that there appears to be rampant profiteering by utility companies. And the knock-on effect of national insurance increases for employers who will clearly pass that on to us.
A 38-year-old paramedic from Leicestershire
‘I hope to secure full-time work to support my family’
I hope to secure a reliable source of full-time income to cover my bills, meet my student loan payments, and have enough left over to finally begin saving. A little bit of extra income would allow me to buy my four-year-old son a bike he so desperately wants.
Graduating in August with an MSc in Creative Writing will be a huge milestone, and my highest hope is that it spurs me on to have a wonderful career in the literary world that supports myself and my family.
The cost of living has made simply feeding my family and meeting rent incredibly difficult. Juggling parenting, university, and work is stressful enough, and I spend much of my free time figuring out ways to make ends meet.
Rachel, 28, a full-time master’s student and a part-time barista living in Edinburgh with unsettled status
‘Having to pay for private healthcare affects our retirement planning’
My wife and I both don’t have much of a pension because we spent many years working overseas, in jobs without pension schemes. We do have investments that would be more than enough for a decent retirement, but – medical costs! My wife has had two carpal tunnel ops this year, nearly a grand each. I need another surgery soon that will be close to three grand. Worst of all, she really needs a knee replacement, that’s going to be £15,000. Having to pay for medical treatment [because of long NHS waiting lists] blows a huge hole into financial planning.
I’m hoping to be able to reduce working hours a bit more, but that depends on whether we can handle the salary drop and whether my employer would permit it. At our age we need more time to look after each other, and we may not have that much time left.
John, 65, a computer scientist from the Isle of Wight
