13/09/2014 Your Money

can take on a plane. We're going to talk about that.

Apparently there is some sort of voting going on in Scotland later

on. That's all coming up as well. This is Your Money ` your weekly

guide to personal finance issues ` here every weekend on BBC News

television and available all week the vote is yes or no,

the referendum in Scotland will affect everyone in

the UK and their personal finances. You may have found a bargain

flight online, but if you take the wrong luggage ` it may turn out not

to be such a great deal after all. And remortgaging can be a good way

for some people to consolidate We'll be finding out

if it's the right option for you. What would be the effect on the

finances of everyone in the UK if Scotland votes Yes to an independent

country on September 18th? It has the potential to affect

us all wherever we live. What would happen to pensions

and how would savings be protected? Cox is with Hargreaves Lansdowne

in Bristol. What do you think the effect would

be? Nothing would happen immediately. The statutory

protections will continue. There could be changes in the longer term,

but in the next year or so, there would be no change.

We've heard reports of people in Scotland withdrawing

We haven't seen much of that activity. We have seen some

softening of the market, some shares falling slightly, but we have not

seen any sign of that with our clients.

What about if you've pensions savings with a Scottish based

Scottish companies are looking to make contingency plans, so that in

the event of a yes vote, they can continue to provide high levels of

service for their clients. Those people who are residents in the UK

and had invested in Scottish companies would expect no change at

all long term, because these companies would relocate part of

their operations or all of them down to the UK. You might see Scottish

pensions and special savings accounts, but there should be no

change to the state pension. The Scottish yes campaign has always

confirmed that. In the short term, there would be no change in the

longer term, these companies are looking to see that there is a

consistency of service. What is

the Scottish residents with tax The best thing to do is to avoid the

short`term noise, stick with the plan, keep investing with a good

fund and good managers and benefit from the tax relief. Thank you very

much for joining us. Some good news

from the energy suppliers. If you've switched,

there may be cash left in your old closed accounts repaid. The energy

companies have launched a campaign to encourage people to check whether

they're entitled to a refund. Anyone who thinks they may be owed

money is advised to visit Whether it's to avoid

the scrum or possible long delays getting your bags from the carousel,

over half of low`cost airline passengers in Europe now choose to

avoid checking in any bags. Cabin bag rules vary quite

a bit between different airlines. If you don't do your homework,

you could face a hefty supplement at the gate because your bag is just

a few centimetres too long ` Nigel Cassidy has been

finding out more. The longer we have to wait for our

baggage at airports and what we have to pay to check it in, the more we

are willing to carry our own bags. Travelling light is not for

everybody, but it can save you a lot of time and money. This is my

trusted cabin bag and this one is so small that I haven't found an

airline in Europe that would take it. Mind you, I don't have four

pairs of shoes and six changes about fit. It's just better weekend

remember, you can take a much bigger for one airline, but you might not

be allowed it for another. Do you know how heavy your bag is? Probably

about six kilograms. Do you know how much luggage you are allowed?

Probably five kilograms. It has to be 55 x 45, I think. They used to be

a standard that said certain dimensional 's work OK for cabin

luggage, but there doesn't seem to be a standard any more. Most but not

all airlines will let you take a standard bag, but some are not very

flexible. If you get caught at the gate, it could cost you an extra

?50. Although your bag may be the right size for the airline, it might

be too heavy. Only one or two airlines allow an unlimited weight

of bag as long as you can get it into the locker. Otherwise they have

limits, which may be anything from 23 kilograms to five kilograms. In

that case, Teddy, you're overweight. But what is the point of rules, when

you can often get away with more if you are not challenged just before

you board? It is often dependent on the personal policy of the people at

the gates, some are more relaxed than others. But don't rely on that,

because if you are caught out, we're talking about substantial amounts of

money. Airlines are the victims of the lone success. They encourage us

to ditch luggage for the hold and now they are trying to get us to cut

down hand luggage, because it would all fit in overhead bins. `` it

won't all fit in overhead bins. Other personal finance news

in brief now: It's been a year since the launch of

a simpler current account switching service and the number of people

doing so has increased by 19%. Instead of the 18 to 30 days it

took previously, customers can now Remember if you want to switch,

contact your new bank and once you have switched, payments

in or out of your old account will be automatically re`directed

for a period of 13 months. No`one whom you pay, or who pays

you, will have to take any action. While the TSB ` the bank formerly

owned by Lloyds ` has confirmed that it is in the process

of opening up to 30 new branches. It has declined to say where

they will be for the moment. But experts believe the new branches

are likely to be in the English And Cardiff has been named

the best place to live in the UK. Comparison website MoneySuperMarket

examined various financial factors such as house prices

and life satisfaction and the city came out tops with the lowest cost

of living at just under ?360 While a second study revealed Dorset

is the place In fact,

remortgaging your home could be an Two million have done

so over the past five years while millions more have stayed put

and failed to switch. With the interest rates set to

increase after remaining at record lows for 5 years,

now could be a good time to do it. Is now a good time? Yes, we think

rates are at lower levels, it is an increasingly competitive market. We

have just conducted some quite detailed research on some of the

reasoning behind why people haven't remortgaged. A lot of people

historically have been constrained by low levels of equity. That is

starting to reverse as we have seen increasing house prices pity much

across the country. Top to me about M M R, the Mortgage Market Review.

It has come around as a result of the financial crisis. The regulator

has required that mortgage levels in particular are much more rigorous in

their assessment of a borrower's income and ability to pay. ``

mortgage lenders. They check to see, can you still make the payments if

interest rates go up or you lose your job or have more children.

People are looking very much at lifestyle, your income, where you're

spending your income, what proportion of your income your

mortgages. Where you go on holiday. In some cases. Some lenders are more

rigorous than others. The key thing for the markets is ensuring that the

market is sustainable. We want to avoid the boom and bust that the

market has gone through in the past. Constant remortgaging, as part of

the advice bureau, what kind of people should consider

remortgaging? If you could classify who you think should remortgaged

their existing property and who should really think about moving? A

lot of people are less inclined to move these days, they want to stay

in their own home because they have family and friends. I and the

perhaps moved to an area for good reasons. One key factor is school

catchment areas. It's quite a big factor in people's lives these days.

People more prone to move I know staying put, but if they want a

bigger property or want to extend, remortgaging for many of those

people is a good option if they have significant equity in their poverty.

That means we have paid off a lot of their mortgage? Relative to the

value of their home. In some cases people are looking to consolidate

other debts, maybe unsecured borrowing, which may cost more than

their monthly repayments if they transferred to the mortgage, not

necessarily the right option for everybody. Other people will just

want to switch and cap their rates, hedge against future interest rate

rises, which is looking likely on the horizon, and other people may be

paying a rate which is not that competitive and can get better rates

in the marketplace. Thank you very much for joining us today. That is

all from us this week. Keep up to date all week long on the Your Money

pages on the BBC website. On social media, you can find updates on

Twitter. Thanks for watching. Yuval Noah Harari started out as a

social historian and these days his interest spread right to the start

of humankind. His book Sapiens is a bestseller in Hebrew and he has now

helped to translated into