HOUSEHOLDS should be aware of lots of big money changes happening this September, including a £7,500 boost for parents.
Keeping an eye on important financial dates can help you stay in control and plan ahead.
We share all the important money dates for September[/caption]
We have gathered all the key dates and explained what you need to know and do in order to stay on top of your money.
September 1: Childcare boost for parents
Parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare starting from September.
The help is available for children aged nine months up to four years old.
You must send in your application by August 31 if you want to receive the funding by the start of the 2025/26 academic year.
This is the final phase in a three part expansion.
Phase one kicked off in April 2024 and saw eligible working parents of two years old able to apply for 15 hours of free childcare.
Phase two, which was rolled out last September, helped working parents of kids aged nine months to three years old access 15 hours of free childcare.
Prior to this parents could only apply for 15 hours of free care for three and four-year-olds.
The government said that parents using the full 30 hours from this September will save around £7,500 a year.
If you are keen to apply visit the Gov.uk website.
You have to set up a childcare account and if your application is approved, you are sent an 11-digit code that proves you’re eligible to get free childcare.
You give this code to your childcare provider.
To keep getting free childcare hours you have to confirm your details are correct every three months via your childcare account.
September 1: First Direct customers no longer sent paper savings account statements
Starting September 1, First Direct customers will no longer be sent paper savings account statements.
Instead, they will be able to view, download and print their statements using the bank’s app or online banking.
The change will only affect those who have a savings account with the bank.
Going forward, all customers should receive an email telling them their bank statement is ready to view.
September 1: High street bank closures
The first of the month will kick start a wave of bank branch closures.
Natwest will close 25 branches in the month, starting on September 1 with a branch in Cwmbran.
Until the end of the year, NatWest has earmarked 46 branches for closure with a further eight listed but without dates.
Halifax, Lloyds and the Bank of Scotland will also shut a range of branches this month.
Major high street banks are cutting their estates as more and more youngsters prefer banking digitally.
You can check out the full list below:
- Lloyds Bank
- Hornchurch – September 11
- Halifax
- Northwich – September 3
- Skegness – September 3
- Castleford – September 8
- Barrow-in-Furness – September 10
- Brentwood – September 10
- Epsom – September 15
- Richmond (Surrey) – September 16
- Long Eaton – September 18
- London Clapham Junction – September 23
- Rhyl – September 23
- Erdington – September 24
- Cirencester – September 25
- Walkden – September 25
- NatWest
- Cwmbran – September 1
- Wisbech – September 1
- Leicester (Melton Road) – September 2
- Rayleigh – September 2
- Halesowen – September 3
- Bristol (Fishponds) – September 4
- Llangefni – September 4
- Ely – September 10
- Leicester (Oadby) – September 10
- Birmingham (Edgbaston) – September 11
- Cardiff (Llanishen) – September 11
- Luton (Leagrave) – September 15
- Northampton (Weston Favell Shopping Centre) – September 15
- Birmingham (Acocks Green) – September 16
- Cardiff (Canton) – September 16
- Cirencester – September 17
- Hinckley – September 17
- Wickford – September 18
- Willerby – September 22
- Abingdon – September 24
- Newmarket (Suffolk) – September 24
- Birmingham (Smethwick) – September 25
- Yate – September 25
- Melton Mowbray – September 29
- Sudbury – September 30
- Bicester – September 30
September 16: Wage figures
The ONS will publish its wage figures for September on the 16th of this month.
This will be considered by the Bank of England when it decides whether to reduce or raise rates.
September 17: Inflation
The Office for National Statistics will release August’s rate of inflation on September 17.
It comes as inflation has been creeping upwards, hitting the highest level in over 18 months in July.
The Bank of England is predicting that inflation will rise further this year and should peak at 4% in September, before easing over the next two years.
Rising inflation means prices are going up faster than they were the month before, pushing up grocery and household bills.
The inflation rate is also taken into account for several major financial decisions, including the Bank of England’s base rate.
September 18: BoE Rate decision
The Bank of England will announce its next interest rate decision on September 18.
The base rate impacts the interest rates banks offer on savings accounts and loans, including mortgages.
In August, the Bank of England‘s rate-setters lowered the base rate from 4.25% to 4%, marking the fifth interest rate cut since 2020.
The decision means lower mortgage payments for homeowners but could also lead to smaller returns for savers.
After this month’s reading, there are two more meetings left in the year:
- November 6
- December 18
What is the base rate and how does it affect the economy?
NINE members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meet eight times each year to set the base rate.
Any change to the Bank’s rate can have wide-reaching consequences as it directly influences both:
- The cost that lenders charge people to borrow money
- The amount of savings interest banks pay out to customers.
When the Bank of England lowers interest rates, consumers tend to increase spending.
This can directly affect the country’s GDP and help steer the economy into growth and out of a recession.
In this scenario, the cost of borrowing is usually cheap, and the biggest winners here are first-time buyers and homeowners with mortgages.
But those with savings tend to lose out.
However, when more credit is available to consumers, demand can increase, and prices tend to rise.
And if the inflation rate rises substantially – the Bank of England might increase interest rates to bring prices back down.
When the cost of borrowing rises – consumers and businesses have less money to spend, and in theory, as demand for goods and services falls, so should prices.
The Bank of England is tasked with keeping inflation at 2%, and hiking interest rates is a way of trying to reach this target.
In this scenario, the losers are those with debt.
First-time buyers will lose out to cheaper mortgage rates, and those on tracker or standard variable rate mortgages are usually impacted by hikes to the base rate immediately.
Those on a fixed-rate deal tend to be safe if they fixed when interest rates were lower – but their bills could drastically increase when it’s time to remortgage.
The cost of borrowing through loans, credit cards and overdrafts also increases when the base rate rises.
However, the winners in this scenario are those with money to save.
Banks tend to battle it out by offering market-leading saving rates when the base rate is high.