Eight key money changes in February - Universal Credit, passports, interest rates and more
As the cost of living crisis continues, it has never been more important to keep an eye on your personal finances and household budgets. There are a number of key dates and changes which could affect your wallet in February.
February 2 - Interest rates On Thursday , the Bank of England will announce whether interest rates will be raised again. It recently increased the base rate on December 15 from 3% to 3.5% - its highest level in 14 years. The ONS has said the UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in the month to November - but GDP fell by 0.3% between September to November. If the ONS were to record negative growth for the October to December period, then the economy will officially be in recession - as this is defined as two consecutive quarters of the economy contracting.
However, this threshold is being increased to 15 hours a week - or 24 hours a week if you're in a couple - meaning more people will be pressured into looking for a job or increasing their hours of work or earnings. These regulations came into force yesterday but the change will start impacting claimants from February 26.
The £2,500 and £3,000 amounts are just indicative figures based on the average energy use for the "typical household", which help understand how much prices are changing. But if you use more than this amount, you could be charged more than that figure - and if you use less energy than a 'typical' household, it will cost you less.
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