Helen Saxon

Deputy Editor

Helen currently has strategic responsibility for delivering MoneySavingExpert's clubs and tools. Her main focuses are Credit Club and Cheap Energy Club, but she's also responsible for the site's calculators and other tools, such as Compare+ Car Insurance and – most recently – a gilts calculator, which helps compare their potential return with savings.

Previously Helen's responsibilities as Deputy Editor also included responsibility for content across the money, utilities, features and deals areas of the site. In addition to this, she was also jointly responsible for the production and distribution of the MSE weekly email, ensuring its accuracy and readability.

Helen joined MSE in August 2019 to look after the banking, credit cards, loans, savings and insurance content on the website. She held this role until 2022.

Before joining MSE and becoming a journalist, Helen spent much of her time talking to them as a PR, first for a debt help charity, then for a lenders' trade association – both of which helped her gain important knowledge and expertise in personal finance. She has also worked in content strategy for a top-six bank, leading on UX content for its new app-based account.

Latest from Helen Saxon

Back in 2008 we saw banks collapse and others bailed out by the taxpayer. Although things have moved on, the rescue of Silicon Valley Bank UK in 2023 was a stark reminder that the worst could happen again – so every sensible saver needs to make sure their money is safe. To help, we've full information on the £85,000 per institution protection and a free tool to check if your bank is covered.

22 April 2025

If you earn less than £18,570 a year from earned income and savings combined, then all your interest from those savings could be tax-free. This is primarily due to what’s called the 'starting rate for savings' which you get on top of your 'personal savings allowance'. It can be complex, so let us take you through it.

15 April 2025

Child Trust Funds (CTFs) were offered to most children born between 2002 and 2011. They're now 'dead' accounts – as you can't open a new one – so there's little competition and interest rates can be low. If your CTF rate is uncompetitive, you can choose to switch it into a junior ISA, its replacement account, which usually offer better rates. This guide takes you through the rules, plus whether you should transfer.

7 April 2025

You don't have to take your state pension when you hit state pension age, currently age 66. If you defer it, you'll get paid a higher amount when you do decide to claim – up to 5.8% a year more in fact. But you'll receive it for a shorter time. Whether it adds up for you will depend on how likely you are to live and your income, so here's what you need to consider.

7 April 2025

Withdrawing cash on a credit card is bad for your credit score. But if you've got one of the top overseas credit cards, it's a cheap way to get cash abroad. So should you do it?

3 April 2025

Gift Aid is a scheme that lets UK taxpayers easily supercharge their charity donations. Every time you say 'yes' to Gift Aid, each tenner you give becomes £12.50 for the charity at no extra cost to you. And if you're a higher or additional-rate taxpayer you can later claim some further tax back (which you could donate too). Here's how it all works...

2 April 2025

Sharesave schemes let you save directly from your paypacket, then give you the option to buy shares in your employer at the end of the scheme. The idea is that you get the opportunity to take part in the success of the company you work for. Best of all, there's no risk to your cash as you can get every penny saved back if you don't end up buying the shares. Yet, sharesave isn't right for everyone – this guide helps you decide if it's for you.

12 March 2025

A secured loan is a bit like a mortgage – indeed, they’re often known as 'second mortgages'. Their main characteristic is they’re secured against your home, so if you don’t pay, the lender could repossess your home and sell it to get their money back. That’s why it’s important to think carefully before taking one out. This guide takes you through the pros and cons (and the alternatives) to help you decide if it's right for you...

30 January 2025

Billions of unclaimed financial assets lie in old UK bank accounts, pensions and investments – even though most are easy to reclaim. So whether the account's yours or belonged to a deceased relative, it's worth spending 10 minutes checking. You could be in for a windfall – one MSE user found an old pension worth almost £138,000. It's free and easy to check online, so don't be tricked into doing it over the phone – it could be a scam.

30 January 2025

Many people think ISAs are complicated, and that perception isn't helped by the maze of options out there. But ISAs are simply accounts for your savings or investments that are tax-free forever. This guide takes you through the basics of the five different types of ISA.

20 January 2025

If you've got credit cards you're no longer using, is it best to cancel them? Often, but not always – sometimes it's better to keep certain credit cards open. This guide takes you through the pros and cons of cancelling... and tells you which cards you should, and shouldn't, keep.

15 January 2025

Homeowners use equity release to unlock billions in cash from property each year. But if that's you and you've got a 'lifetime mortgage' charging an interest rate higher than what's available today, it might be possible to save £10,000s by switching to a better deal. This guide will help you figure out if you can save – and show you how to go about doing it.

7 January 2025

With energy prices staggeringly high, the humble hot water bottle is making a comeback – often dug out from drawers and cupboards – helping people to stay warm without putting the heating on. However, while make do and mend works for many things, with hot water bottles safety comes first... and they have a shelf life. Use this little-known way to check how old yours is.

12 December 2024

If you pay tax on savings interest, and you've already maxed out your cash ISA for this tax year, investing in specific gilts (also known as government bonds) could shelter more of your cash from the taxman. In this guide we take you through what gilts are, how this trick works, and how to buy gilts. We've even developed a quick gilts calculator to help you compare returns to normal savings...

9 September 2024

English students face a real-terms cut in their living loans.

English student living loans will rise by 2.5% from September, the Government has announced. But with inflation currently at 4%, it means students will see ANOTHER real-terms cut in the amount they get to help them with living costs. MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has warned that this is one of the biggest practical problems for students, with some not having enough money to live on.

5 February 2024

More than 1.6 million mortgage customers have applied for a mortgage payment holiday since the coronavirus crisis started, yet while the vast majority are being told their monthly payments will increase by less than £50 once they start repaying again, we've seen a few examples of people being told their payments would double, triple or even quadruple.

9 November 2023