Money blog: '90s pop star reveals she's been living in her car for three years - and doesn't regret a thing (2025)

Every Friday, we take an overview of the mortgage market with industry experts and round up the best rates withMoneyfactscompare.co.uk.

Borrower confidence appears to be up, if you look at the data released by the Financial Conduct Authority this week.

In the latest three-month period (Nov-Jan), fewer people locked into a new mortgage deal less than six months ahead of their current deal ending.

Around 280,000 made the move, compared with 377,000 in the previous three months.

"The sharp drop in early mortgage deal lock-ins suggests a shift in borrower confidence, likely influenced by rate expectations," said Pete Mugleston, managing director at Online Mortgage Advisor.

"With fewer borrowers re-locking into alternative deals, it seems homeowners are more decisive in their initial choices, possibly reflecting stabilising market sentiment."

But the figures suggest that households are still struggling with costs, as more people turn to interest-only mortgages.

There was a slight uptick from December's data when 4,537 people opted for interest-only, with 5,011 opting to switch.

Under new FCA rules lenders can allowcustomers who are up-to-date with their payments to switch to interest-only payments for six months, or to extend their mortgage term with the option to revert to their original term within six months.

Between July 2023 and January 2025, the monthly payments on around 236,000 mortgages were reduced as people switched to temporarily paying interest-only or extended their mortgage term.

"Over 160,000 homeowners have been forced into term extensions or interest-only payments, moves the FCA misleadingly calls temporary," said Patricia McGirr, founder of advice organisation Repossession Rescue Network.

"The reality is these desperate measures rarely reverse, leaving homeowners servicing mounting debt for decades longer."

We also got data this week from the Bank of England showing that the outstanding value of residential mortgage loans reached a record high of £1.67bn.

The value of all new mortgage loans provided by lenders increased by 4.9% from the previous quarter to £68.8bn - the highest amount since the end of 2022.

'New mortgage commitments have surged'

"More strikingly, new mortgage commitments have surged by over 50% compared to a year ago, indicating that many buyers and homeowners are keen to secure finance despite ongoing concerns over interest rates and house price trends," Holly Tomlinson, financial planner at Quilter, said.

"People are clearly adjusting to what is the new normal when it comes to mortgage rates."

The share of lending to first-time buyers has reached its highest level since records began in 2007.

Tomlinson added: "This suggests that, despite stretched affordability and mortgage rates that remain elevated compared to the ultra-low levels of recent years, many are still determined to get onto the property ladder."

In the mortgage market, the average two and five-year fixed rates have seen their biggest cuts in almost six months - dropping to 5.35% and 5.19% respectively.

"The churn of ranges and rate moves circulated around swap rate volatility, but also due to a drop to the Bank of England base rate near the start of the month," said Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts.

"However, it is uncertain whether the rate cutting sentiment will be sustained in the weeks to come, particularly by significant margins, but the millions of borrowers due to come off a cheap fixed deal will be hoping for further falls, without doubt."

Here's a look at the lowest rates available for house purchases...

Moneyfacts also rounds up what it calls "best buys", which look beyond the lowest rates and take in incentives and fees.

All of these deals also come with a free valuation...

Rumoured changes that would limit tax breaks on Cash ISAs have reportedly been shelved ahead of the government's spring statement - but they could return later this year.

It comes after a row broke outover whether tax breaks should be scaled back on the popular savings accounts to help encourage a shift from cash into stock market-based investments.

The government is being lobbied by some fund managers to put more focus on the riskier practice of investing in the stock market as a way of boosting UK economic growth.

The interest on savings held in Cash ISAs is currently tax-free, and adults can contribute as much as £20,000 annually if they wish, though some proposals want to see this cut to £4,000.

More than 18 million people have a Cash ISA, and there is almost £300bn sitting in them.

Rachel Reeves is said to be determined to retain incentives in the ISA system for tax-free cash savings but is also looking at potential changes to ensure that investors have the "right balance between cash and equities".

A shortage of cattle and increased demand for steak is pushing up the price of red meat.

According to The Grocer, 314 supermarket beef products have increased in price since the start of the year.

It found the biggest increase was for a Birchwood British 30 day matured XXL beef roasting joint in Lidl, which rose40.4% to £7.99.

Restaurants have also been feeling the effect, with the founder of Hawksmoor steakhouse group telling The Times that demand for British steaks is at an "all-time high", while cattle herd sizes were down.

Last month, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board said reduced domestic cattle supply was expected "to contribute to lower beef production levels in 2025".

Offers of cheap driving lessons, "guarantees" of early test slots, requests for cash to be paid up-front and "no show" driving instructors are examples of test scams which, overall, have seen a 92% rise, according to Lloyds Bank.

It said it victims are reporting an average loss of £244.

The scams often start on social media, with fraudsters posting adverts which claim to offer discounted driving lessons and make false claims about being linked to reputable driving schools.

In some cases, victims are persuaded to contact scammers via WhatsApp communications, Lloyds said.

The UK is seeing more Americans applying for British citizenship and purchase property in prime central London.

Home Office figures show more than 6,100 US citizens applied to call Britain home in 2024, more than double the number of applications submitted in 2004, which is as far back as public records show.

The polarising effect of Donald Trump's presidential election win has "undoubtedly played a part" in this, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank.

Its own data shows US nationals accounted for 11.6% of overseas buyers in prime central London (PCL) in the final quarter of 2024, which was the largest group ahead of the Chinese (8.1%).

Americans also overtook the Chinese to become the largest group last year in PCL, accounting for 9.3% of sales to overseas buyers compared to 5.6% in 2019.

Knight Frank adds that the UK could benefit as a location for overseas investment if it avoids getting caught in the crossfire of a trade war between the US and the EU.

This means there is a feeling of "unfortunate timing" surrounding the government's decision to replace the country's non dom tax regime with something less competitive.

"Demand for prime London property comes from a broader base of buyers than non doms, but the UK is arguably sending the wrong message to the rest of the world at the wrong time," it says.

Renewing car insurance almost a month before it runs out can save drivers more than £160 - compared with doing it on the final day.

A study of purchases made through Go.Compare last year shows that renewing 26 days before motor insurance expires is the optimum time.

The average price then was £390 - £164 less than buying it at the last minute.

Purchasing on the last day before your policy expires can hike it to £554.

The best period is between 21 and 28 days before renewal, while the 26-day point was shown to provide the largest savings.

Renew earlier than that and the price is likely to be higher, research suggests.

"Drivers who leave it until the last minute are often perceived as higher risk, which can result in higher premiums," explained Tom Banks, car insurance spokesperson for Go.Compare.

"On the other hand, purchasing in advance signals that you're organised and responsible—traits that insurers reward with lower prices."

ByJames Sillars, business and economics reporter

Are you an electric sceptic?

If so, you are not alone as only one-in-eight new car buyers are actively planning to make the switch, according to a new survey for the UK car industry.

The SMMT lobby group's findings suggest that it's proving hard to convince people beyond those already converted.

Worries include poor provision of public charging points, vehicle ranges and higher prices when compared to petrol or diesel alternatives.

The SMMT is again calling on the government to provide "purchase incentives" - and fast - as steep discounting to attract buyers is unsustainable.

The study showed that 23.1% of would-be new car buyers plan to go electric between now and 2028.

Such a percentage figure is far short of current government targets for 28% of new vehicles sold to be electric this year alone.

The SMMT says incentives, such as scrappage schemes or grants, would raise demand and help the planet at the same time.

More retired baby boomers are paying income tax than Gen Z workers, new HMRC data shows - in a significant shift since the pre-COVID period.

Some 5.45 million Britons aged over 70 paid income tax in the 2022-23 financial year (the latest figures we have), compared with 5.23 million aged under 30.

Over 70s paid £19.1bn in income tax, compared with £18.3bn by under 30s, as Britain becomes increasingly reliant on its retirees.

Baby boomers have seen their tax bills rise, as many with even modest private pensions have been dragged into the income tax net because of the triple lock. The thresholds at which people start paying income tax have also been frozen since 2021 - rather than going up in line with inflation.

With this freeze due to last until 2028, the amount of income tax being paid across all age groups is only set to rise.

The HMRC data dump also revealed the number of higher rate taxpayers (40p) increased by 680,000 to 5.1 million people in 2022-23 - another consequence of frozen thresholds. The number oftop rate (45p) taxpayersrose by 10% to 600,000.

The figures show that while roughly 80% of the workforce pay the basic rate of income tax, they account for only around 33% - or £75.6bn - of total tax revenues.

The five million taxpayers on the higher rate account for another third of tax revenues (£85.1bn).

Those paying the 45p rate account for a further third (£83.4bn) despite only representing 2% of the workforce.

We thought it would be interesting to see how all this compares with pre-COVID, so we looked back at the 2019-20 data...

You can see income tax revenues have increased massively - and how back then, more under-30s were paying income tax than retirees.

The US president has threatened200% tariffs on all French wines, champagnes, and other alcoholic beverages exported from the European Union.

Donald Trump said it was in response to the EU placing a50% tariff on whisky.

He will take action if that tax is not removed "immediately", he added.

Trump said his threatened tariff would be "great for the wine and champagne businesses in the US".

While there are some American sparkling wines that are produced in the same way as champagne, the word refers to a region of France.

The USA does not, therefore, make any champagne.

Writing on his Truth Social programme, Trump described the EU as "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world".

He also claimed it was "formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States".

Grammy-nominated singer Dawn Robinson, who rose to fame with the girl group En Vogue in the 1990s, has opened up about how she's been living out of her car for years.

In a candid YouTube video released on Monday, the 58-year-old explained how she's become devoted to the lifestyle that was previously a necessity.

"You guys, for the past three, almost three years, I have been living in my car," she told viewers.

"I said it. Oh my god, it's out. I've been living in my car. Oh my gosh."

Robinson explained she had moved in with her parents near the start of the pandemic but after falling out with her mother, moved out and slept in her car for around a month.

She then accepted an offer to stay with her then manager in LA, but after it transpired there was no place for her, she stayed in a hotel for eight months, which he paid for.

She said she felt constantly stressed over whether he could pay the bill and began researching communities of people who live in their cars and RVs, telling her assistant that she was going to give it a go.

"I just thought, 'Wow, these people. I could do this, I think,'" she said. "And I ended up in my car, and it's been, like I said, three years."

Robinson said the first night was "scary" but she quickly adapted to her new life and is now glad to have made the choice.

"I was so free, I felt like I was on a camping trip. It was the right thing to do, I didn't regret it."

Robinson rose to fame in the 1990s alongside original En Vogue members Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones.

They sold millions of records and achieved a number of hit songs, including No 2 records Hold On and My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It).

She later formed part of R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl alongside Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who released their critically acclaimed eponymous album in 2000