Bills & Broadband
Our broadband contract ends in February: what we're checking first
23 September 2026Our 24-month broadband deal ends early next year. What the end-of-contract notice should tell us, what we're comparing and what we actually use.
Our house budget 18 months in: what went up and what we cut
12 August 2026We put this summer's household budget next to our first one from April 2025. What went up, what came down and the line we can't control.
Life insurance alongside a mortgage: what we chose
6 May 2026Buying a house together made us think about what happens if one of us dies. What we compared, what we bought and what we left out.
April bill changes: broadband in pounds and pence, council tax and water
1 April 2026April is when the bills move. Our broadband rise was written into the contract in pounds, council tax went up and so did the water.
Streaming, phones and the TV licence: the subscriptions we cut in January
21 February 2026We listed every monthly subscription in the house. What we cancelled, what we moved to SIM-only and how much it saves over a year.
Our home insurance renewal went up 31%, so we shopped around
12 January 2026No claims, same house and a renewal quote £93 higher. How we compared policies like for like, and what we checked before switching.
A leak through the kitchen ceiling, and why we didn't claim
16 December 2025A drip from the bath waste left a brown patch on the kitchen ceiling. Why we paid for the repair ourselves instead of claiming on our insurance.
Checking our council tax band, and why we didn't challenge it
25 November 2025Our house is in Band A. How we checked the band against the rest of the street, what a challenge would involve and the discount we couldn't get.
Boiler cover or a savings pot? What we did in our first year
1 October 2025We looked at boiler and home emergency cover, then put £15 a month in a pot instead. How we decided, and what happens if the boiler packs up this winter.
Contents insurance and two bikes in the shed: reading the small print
12 June 2025Matt's bike cost more than our sofa. How our contents policy treated bikes at home and away, what we added and the lock wording we nearly missed.
Asking for a water meter after our bill went up by a quarter
3 May 2025Our unmetered water bill jumped in April. The sums we did for two people, how we asked for a free meter and the rule that made trying it low-risk.
Every bill for a two-bed Sheffield terrace: our first monthly budget
15 April 2025Mortgage, council tax, energy, water, broadband, insurance and the rest. Every regular payment for our house, written down in one place for the first time.