A COUPLE have revealed how they moved into a 50ft narrow boat to save thousands on rent – but are now being hit by a catch.

Alternative-living lovers Danni and Joe moved into a 50ft narrow boat to save thousands on rent but upcoming changes are likely to make their lives a lot more expensive.

The couple bought their canal boat after selling their previous mobile home – a sprinter van – for £12,000 and have been living in it for three months.

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They’re currently cruising just outside of London, having made their way from the West Country into the city.

Last year, they posted a video about the savings they were making since opting for a life on water.

But they just warned potential boat-buyers that new Canal and River Trust (CRT) surcharges will increase from April next year.

These are a set of fees for anyone living on canals across England and Wales.

This means anyone on a continuous cruiser, as opposed to someone who is permanently moored, will be paying a surcharge of up to 75 per cent.

“If you’re moving onto a boat to save money then you need to know this,” Danni said.

For boats with a beam over 2.16m a surcharge of 10 per cent will be applied and for boats over 3.24m this will be an extra 20 per cent.

Danni and Joe said their first license cost them £886.31 but this has since increased to £1065.79.

From April there will be a new license price, which they said will cost about £200 more a year.

When the couple bought the dilapidated boat over a year ago they were expecting their lives to be a whole lot cheaper.

But they quickly discovered that the “boat-life” was far more expensive and complicated than they had anticipated.

Firstly, the renovation project cost between £15,000-£20,000.

Despite having some money left over from the sale of their van, they said they were living “pay cheque to pay cheque” in order to make it liveable.

One of their biggest challenges to date, the couple said, was when the boat’s battery died and they didn’t have a generator.

“When our battery died we couldn’t use our washing machine,” Danny said.

“You have to take your big bag of clothes along the tow path [to the launderette] and sometimes it’s raining but you need clean pants,” added Joe.

Another thing they hadn’t accounted for were the number of logs and amount of coal they would need to keep them warm during the winter months.

One bulk bag of logs set them back £120.

“You may get this cheaper somewhere else but we don’t have a car in London,” Danni said.

Whilst bulk buying is more financially-savvy, she added, it can be a logistical pain.

“You need to work out how to get it to the boat,” she laughed.

As for gas on the boat, the adventure-loving couple said they get through a cannister a month, which costs about £50.

Although this could be cheaper if Danni had fewer baths or Joe cut down on baking, they said.

“We’re gas hungry,” they joked.

Canal boats vary in prices and can cost anything from £30,000 to way over £100,000. For a narrow boat that is fully-equipped and electric it could cost as much as £200,000.

This comes as Wayne Aspland and his partner, Angela Hughes, moved out of their home to live on their very own narrowboat.

According to this couple though, they saved a fortune, having bought the boat for just £17,000 on Facebook Marketplace.

In 2000, when the brilliant Ian Taylor and Mike Howard were launching Transact and giving advisers control like never before, the other end of the tech market saw another iconic and much-loved innovation rolled out: the Nokia 3310.

Over the next few years, 126 million of the wonderful things would be shipped to a generation of Snake addicts, who still hold it in cultish affection long after it was laid to rest in 2005.

That something could be game-changing in 2000 and obsolete in 2005 goes to show just how rapid the speed of innovation within consumer technology is.

Here’s another example. Back in 2010, less than 1% of the global population had an iPhone. By 2023, over half the planet (4.3 billion) owned a smartphone of some kind. It’s a feverishly rapid tech adoption that has reshaped nearly every aspect of our lives.

I’d go so far as to say the infrastructure of our market falls drastically behind that of nearly any other

Here in our market, however, that speed of change is nowhere to be seen.

Our world has transformed since 2000 but the software that underpins advice has barely changed at all. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the infrastructure of our market falls drastically behind that of nearly any other.

A Nokia 3310 in an iPhone world

Why are we so behind the curve? Well, ours is a long-term industry, with a complex series of interdependencies between market participants. And at the heart of it all are financial planning professionals themselves, cleaning up the mess.

One of the unintended consequences of planners being generally excellent at what they do – building and maintaining great client relationships – is that the providers they rely on are shielded from rising customer expectations.

Like all things interconnected, our market is only as strong as its weakest link. Sooner or later, one of them will break…

Advisers bear the brunt of customer interactions. They soften the blow of poor technology – explaining, excusing and generally covering for the failings of others. They act as the valve in a creaking pressure cooker that’s well overdue its service.

But it can only go on like this so for long. Like all things interconnected, our market is only as strong as its weakest link. Sooner or later, one of them will break…

Gradually, then suddenly

The wealth management industry is on the cusp of massive transformation. An iPhone moment, you could call it.

The pressure that has been building over the last five to 10 years – gradually – can no longer be contained. The tipping point has been passed. The creaking infrastructure is about to break – to be replaced by a new operating system that can cater for the radically evolving expectations of today’s (and tomorrow’s) financial consumers.

As Hemingway’s character responded when asked how he went bankrupt: ‘Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.’

Financial planning, its infrastructure, delivery methods and economics will all change, creating both opportunity and jeopardy in equal measure. No more compromise, less analogue and less requirement for high tech costs.

As Hemingway’s character responded when asked how he went bankrupt: ‘Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.’

As with all predictions, I’m bound to be wrong about plenty. But of one thing I’m pretty sure. Things are going to look very, very different quite soon.

David Ferguson is chief executive officer at Seccl

BARCLAYS and Santander are making a big change to mortgage interest rates today.

As a result, borrowers face a rise in mortgage costs, with both lenders either increasing rates or withdrawing their most affordable deals.

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Recent increases in swap rates, which directly affect the cost of fixed-rate mortgages, have led experts to warn of rising mortgage rates amid various uncertainties.

Santander will “temporarily” withdraw its cheapest five-year fixed deal, offering a rate of 3.68% via brokers, at 10pm this evening.

Lenders often do this if there’s a surge in interest because it is the most competitive on the market.

Nicolas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, explained: “Although high demand seems positive, it can strain the lender’s ability to process applications efficiently.

“To maintain good service levels and ensure applications are handled in a timely manner, the lender may need to temporarily withdraw the product to manage their workload.

“Once they catch up, they may reintroduce the product, potentially at the same rate or with adjusted terms.”

We’ve asked Santander if it will increase the rate on this product when it returns to the market.

Meanwhile, Barclays has increased the rates on some of its fixed-rate mortgages.

The bank’s lowest five-year offer for buyers has risen from 3.71% to 3.76% overnight.

However, those looking to remortgage could benefit from a slight reduction, as Barclays’ best five-year remortgage rate has been cut from 3.93% to 3.85%.

Interest rates on home loans had been on a downward trend, leading many homeowners and buyers to anticipate further reductions.

However, experts have cautioned that rates are now climbing due to various uncertainties.

David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, said on Wednesday: “The mortgage market has seen rates fall in recent months, but that may be coming to an abrupt halt.

“Fixed rate pricing depends on what the market anticipates may happen to interest rates and uncertainty over the forthcoming budget, mixed messages from the Bank of England and global unrest is pushing costs back up for lenders.”

As a result, swap rates, which reflect market expectations for future interest rates, have been on the rise.

These directly impact the cost of fixed-rate mortgages, prompting lenders to increase their rates to avoid financial losses.

Smaller lenders, including Coventry Building Society, Co-operative Bank, Molo, and LiveMore, have already responded by raising rates and withdrawing their least cheapest deals.

The two-year swap rate was 4.05% as of October 9, while the five-year swap rate was 3.80%, according to Chatham Financial.

These figures are higher than the respective rates of 3.82% and 3.46% recorded in September.

Why is this happening?

A variety of factors have unsettled market expectations, causing an increase in both gilt yields and swap rates, according to Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol.

He said: “First, Andrew Bailey’s recent comments, in which he indicated expectations for larger or more frequent interest rate reductions, have introduced some uncertainty.”

The Governor of the Bank of England indicated last week that the institution could take a “more aggressive” approach to cutting interest rates.

Currently, interest rates stand at 5%.

The rate, which banks use to determine the interest on mortgages and loans, was last reduced from 5.25% in August.

Andrew Bailey’s comments led a number of leading banks to bring forward predictions for interest rate cuts.

But this sentiment didn’t last for long.

Nicholas said: “Markets had been pricing in interest rate cuts for November and December, but expectations for December have now softened slightly.”

This shift occurred because, just a day later, various members of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expressed views contrary to those of Andrew Bailey.

MPC member Huw Pill indicated that rates should be reduced “gradually,” citing caution over the long-term trajectory of inflation.

A similar situation arose at the beginning of the year when mortgage rates initially fell below 4%, only to be increased again as it became apparent that the Bank of England would not reduce rates as swiftly as anticipated.

For now, swap rates will remain uncertain until the Bank of England decides whether to cut interest rates from 5% on November 7.

What does this mean for mortgage holders?

Swap rates primarily influence fixed-rate mortgages.

As a result, these are the main products that lenders are currently increasing.

Those on standard variable and tracker deals remain unaffected, as these mortgages are tied to the Bank of England’s base rate, which has not changed.

If you are already locked into a fixed-rate deal, you will also be unaffected.

However, the rise in fixed rates will be a significant blow to prospective homebuyers and those looking to remortgage.

According to the banking trade body UK Finance, approximately 1.6 million mortgage deals are set to expire in 2024.

This means that over a million households also face the prospect of their monthly payments increasing by hundreds of pounds.

According to moneyfactscompare.co.uk, the average two year fixed rate homeowner mortgage stands at 5.37%.

This is down from an average rate of 5.56% last month.

Meanwhile, the average five-year fixed residential mortgage rate is 5.21%, a decrease from 5.37% the previous month.