:00:00. > :00:00.can take on a plane. We're going to talk about that.
:00:00. > :00:00.Apparently there is some sort of voting going on in Scotland later
:00:00. > :00:13.on. That's all coming up as well. This is Your Money ` your weekly
:00:14. > :00:16.guide to personal finance issues ` here every weekend on BBC News
:00:17. > :00:19.television and available all week the vote is yes or no,
:00:20. > :00:23.the referendum in Scotland will affect everyone in
:00:24. > :00:26.the UK and their personal finances. You may have found a bargain
:00:27. > :00:34.flight online, but if you take the wrong luggage ` it may turn out not
:00:35. > :00:38.to be such a great deal after all. And remortgaging can be a good way
:00:39. > :00:40.for some people to consolidate We'll be finding out
:00:41. > :00:50.if it's the right option for you. What would be the effect on the
:00:51. > :00:54.finances of everyone in the UK if Scotland votes Yes to an independent
:00:55. > :00:59.country on September 18th? It has the potential to affect
:01:00. > :01:02.us all wherever we live. What would happen to pensions
:01:03. > :01:16.and how would savings be protected? Cox is with Hargreaves Lansdowne
:01:17. > :01:30.in Bristol. What do you think the effect would
:01:31. > :01:41.be? Nothing would happen immediately. The statutory
:01:42. > :01:45.protections will continue. There could be changes in the longer term,
:01:46. > :01:49.but in the next year or so, there would be no change.
:01:50. > :01:51.We've heard reports of people in Scotland withdrawing
:01:52. > :02:02.We haven't seen much of that activity. We have seen some
:02:03. > :02:09.softening of the market, some shares falling slightly, but we have not
:02:10. > :02:12.seen any sign of that with our clients.
:02:13. > :02:16.What about if you've pensions savings with a Scottish based
:02:17. > :02:33.Scottish companies are looking to make contingency plans, so that in
:02:34. > :02:37.the event of a yes vote, they can continue to provide high levels of
:02:38. > :02:40.service for their clients. Those people who are residents in the UK
:02:41. > :02:43.and had invested in Scottish companies would expect no change at
:02:44. > :02:48.all long term, because these companies would relocate part of
:02:49. > :02:54.their operations or all of them down to the UK. You might see Scottish
:02:55. > :02:58.pensions and special savings accounts, but there should be no
:02:59. > :03:02.change to the state pension. The Scottish yes campaign has always
:03:03. > :03:06.confirmed that. In the short term, there would be no change in the
:03:07. > :03:08.longer term, these companies are looking to see that there is a
:03:09. > :03:14.consistency of service. What is
:03:15. > :03:26.the Scottish residents with tax The best thing to do is to avoid the
:03:27. > :03:30.short`term noise, stick with the plan, keep investing with a good
:03:31. > :03:33.fund and good managers and benefit from the tax relief. Thank you very
:03:34. > :03:36.much for joining us. Some good news
:03:37. > :03:38.from the energy suppliers. If you've switched,
:03:39. > :03:40.there may be cash left in your old closed accounts repaid. The energy
:03:41. > :03:51.companies have launched a campaign to encourage people to check whether
:03:52. > :03:54.they're entitled to a refund. Anyone who thinks they may be owed
:03:55. > :03:58.money is advised to visit Whether it's to avoid
:03:59. > :04:03.the scrum or possible long delays getting your bags from the carousel,
:04:04. > :04:06.over half of low`cost airline passengers in Europe now choose to
:04:07. > :04:11.avoid checking in any bags. Cabin bag rules vary quite
:04:12. > :04:16.a bit between different airlines. If you don't do your homework,
:04:17. > :04:19.you could face a hefty supplement at the gate because your bag is just
:04:20. > :04:22.a few centimetres too long ` Nigel Cassidy has been
:04:23. > :04:38.finding out more. The longer we have to wait for our
:04:39. > :04:49.baggage at airports and what we have to pay to check it in, the more we
:04:50. > :04:52.are willing to carry our own bags. Travelling light is not for
:04:53. > :04:58.everybody, but it can save you a lot of time and money. This is my
:04:59. > :05:00.trusted cabin bag and this one is so small that I haven't found an
:05:01. > :05:07.airline in Europe that would take it. Mind you, I don't have four
:05:08. > :05:12.pairs of shoes and six changes about fit. It's just better weekend
:05:13. > :05:16.remember, you can take a much bigger for one airline, but you might not
:05:17. > :05:23.be allowed it for another. Do you know how heavy your bag is? Probably
:05:24. > :05:29.about six kilograms. Do you know how much luggage you are allowed?
:05:30. > :05:35.Probably five kilograms. It has to be 55 x 45, I think. They used to be
:05:36. > :05:40.a standard that said certain dimensional 's work OK for cabin
:05:41. > :05:54.luggage, but there doesn't seem to be a standard any more. Most but not
:05:55. > :06:04.all airlines will let you take a standard bag, but some are not very
:06:05. > :06:08.flexible. If you get caught at the gate, it could cost you an extra
:06:09. > :06:14.?50. Although your bag may be the right size for the airline, it might
:06:15. > :06:18.be too heavy. Only one or two airlines allow an unlimited weight
:06:19. > :06:26.of bag as long as you can get it into the locker. Otherwise they have
:06:27. > :06:31.limits, which may be anything from 23 kilograms to five kilograms. In
:06:32. > :06:37.that case, Teddy, you're overweight. But what is the point of rules, when
:06:38. > :06:43.you can often get away with more if you are not challenged just before
:06:44. > :06:47.you board? It is often dependent on the personal policy of the people at
:06:48. > :06:51.the gates, some are more relaxed than others. But don't rely on that,
:06:52. > :06:58.because if you are caught out, we're talking about substantial amounts of
:06:59. > :07:05.money. Airlines are the victims of the lone success. They encourage us
:07:06. > :07:09.to ditch luggage for the hold and now they are trying to get us to cut
:07:10. > :07:15.down hand luggage, because it would all fit in overhead bins. `` it
:07:16. > :07:18.won't all fit in overhead bins. Other personal finance news
:07:19. > :07:20.in brief now: It's been a year since the launch of
:07:21. > :07:24.a simpler current account switching service and the number of people
:07:25. > :07:26.doing so has increased by 19%. Instead of the 18 to 30 days it
:07:27. > :07:29.took previously, customers can now Remember if you want to switch,
:07:30. > :07:33.contact your new bank and once you have switched, payments
:07:34. > :07:37.in or out of your old account will be automatically re`directed
:07:38. > :07:39.for a period of 13 months. No`one whom you pay, or who pays
:07:40. > :07:44.you, will have to take any action. While the TSB ` the bank formerly
:07:45. > :07:47.owned by Lloyds ` has confirmed that it is in the process
:07:48. > :07:50.of opening up to 30 new branches. It has declined to say where
:07:51. > :07:53.they will be for the moment. But experts believe the new branches
:07:54. > :07:56.are likely to be in the English And Cardiff has been named
:07:57. > :08:01.the best place to live in the UK. Comparison website MoneySuperMarket
:08:02. > :08:03.examined various financial factors such as house prices
:08:04. > :08:08.and life satisfaction and the city came out tops with the lowest cost
:08:09. > :08:11.of living at just under ?360 While a second study revealed Dorset
:08:12. > :08:16.is the place In fact,
:08:17. > :08:24.remortgaging your home could be an Two million have done
:08:25. > :08:30.so over the past five years while millions more have stayed put
:08:31. > :08:34.and failed to switch. With the interest rates set to
:08:35. > :08:45.increase after remaining at record lows for 5 years,
:08:46. > :08:58.now could be a good time to do it. Is now a good time? Yes, we think
:08:59. > :09:01.rates are at lower levels, it is an increasingly competitive market. We
:09:02. > :09:07.have just conducted some quite detailed research on some of the
:09:08. > :09:13.reasoning behind why people haven't remortgaged. A lot of people
:09:14. > :09:22.historically have been constrained by low levels of equity. That is
:09:23. > :09:29.starting to reverse as we have seen increasing house prices pity much
:09:30. > :09:44.across the country. Top to me about M M R, the Mortgage Market Review.
:09:45. > :09:51.It has come around as a result of the financial crisis. The regulator
:09:52. > :09:59.has required that mortgage levels in particular are much more rigorous in
:10:00. > :10:08.their assessment of a borrower's income and ability to pay. ``
:10:09. > :10:12.mortgage lenders. They check to see, can you still make the payments if
:10:13. > :10:19.interest rates go up or you lose your job or have more children.
:10:20. > :10:24.People are looking very much at lifestyle, your income, where you're
:10:25. > :10:29.spending your income, what proportion of your income your
:10:30. > :10:36.mortgages. Where you go on holiday. In some cases. Some lenders are more
:10:37. > :10:41.rigorous than others. The key thing for the markets is ensuring that the
:10:42. > :10:45.market is sustainable. We want to avoid the boom and bust that the
:10:46. > :10:50.market has gone through in the past. Constant remortgaging, as part of
:10:51. > :10:57.the advice bureau, what kind of people should consider
:10:58. > :11:00.remortgaging? If you could classify who you think should remortgaged
:11:01. > :11:05.their existing property and who should really think about moving? A
:11:06. > :11:11.lot of people are less inclined to move these days, they want to stay
:11:12. > :11:18.in their own home because they have family and friends. I and the
:11:19. > :11:23.perhaps moved to an area for good reasons. One key factor is school
:11:24. > :11:28.catchment areas. It's quite a big factor in people's lives these days.
:11:29. > :11:35.People more prone to move I know staying put, but if they want a
:11:36. > :11:39.bigger property or want to extend, remortgaging for many of those
:11:40. > :11:47.people is a good option if they have significant equity in their poverty.
:11:48. > :11:55.That means we have paid off a lot of their mortgage? Relative to the
:11:56. > :11:59.value of their home. In some cases people are looking to consolidate
:12:00. > :12:02.other debts, maybe unsecured borrowing, which may cost more than
:12:03. > :12:07.their monthly repayments if they transferred to the mortgage, not
:12:08. > :12:13.necessarily the right option for everybody. Other people will just
:12:14. > :12:19.want to switch and cap their rates, hedge against future interest rate
:12:20. > :12:23.rises, which is looking likely on the horizon, and other people may be
:12:24. > :12:28.paying a rate which is not that competitive and can get better rates
:12:29. > :12:32.in the marketplace. Thank you very much for joining us today. That is
:12:33. > :12:39.all from us this week. Keep up to date all week long on the Your Money
:12:40. > :12:41.pages on the BBC website. On social media, you can find updates on
:12:42. > :13:08.Twitter. Thanks for watching. Yuval Noah Harari started out as a
:13:09. > :13:18.social historian and these days his interest spread right to the start
:13:19. > :13:21.of humankind. His book Sapiens is a bestseller in Hebrew and he has now
:13:22. > :13:22.helped to translated into