The money winners & losers of 2019

From pensioners and homeowners to motorists and investors, it's been a bumpy 12 months.

It’s fair to say that 2019 has not exactly been the quietest of years. From Brexit delays to a change in Prime Minister, and general election to boot, it’s been all go.

There have been plenty of important changes to the state of our finances too.

So who is finishing 2019 in a strong position, and who has had a year to forget?

The winners

Homeowners

The mortgage market has had a brutal year, with lenders accepting ever-smaller margins in the battle for market share.

And the big beneficiaries are borrowers, able to get their hands on ever more attractive rates, or deals with juicy incentives like cashback.

For example, Bank of England data shows that the average two-year fixed-rate at 75% LTV stood at 1.44% in November, down from 1.75% in the same month the year before, while five-year deals at the same deposit level dropped from 2.02% to 1.69%.

This has been great for both those looking to purchase a new property and those remortgaging onto new deals.

Homeowners have also seen their properties rise in value, albeit at a fairly modest rate. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that house prices grew by 1.3% in the 12 months to the end of September.

Compare mortgages with loveMONEY

Workplace pension savers

Now you might think that having less take-home pay in your salary every month would mean you were ultimately a financial loser in 2019, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

In April 2019, the minimum contributions made by employed people that are enrolled into workplace pensions was increased quite significantly (though not far enough), from 3% to 5%.

The amount that employers have to pay in was also raised, from 2% to 3%.

While this may mean less disposable income every month, it will also give the size of your eventual pension pot a real boost, giving you a better chance of a comfortable retirement.

Everything you need to know about pensions in one place

Pensioners

The State Pension increased by 2.6% in April, providing older people with a weekly boost worth either £3.25 a week or £4.25 depending on whether they are on the old Basic State Pension or the New State Pension.

Next year is set to be a good one too, with a 3.9% rise on the way.

How much the State Pension will pay in 2020

FTSE investors

If you’re invested in the nation’s bluechip funds, then it’s been a decent 12 months overall. The FTSE 100 ended 2018 at just 6,584, but has recovered since then to reach 7,519. 

It’s a similar story in the FTSE All Share, which has grown from 3,681 to 4,183 over the year, giving the value of investments a helping hand.

Visit the loveMONEY investment centre to view your options (capital at risk)

The losers

Drivers 

The cost of insuring your car has jumped over the past year, according to data from Consumer Intelligence.

It found that premiums had risen on average by 2% in the 12 months up to October, with the biggest increases seen by the over-25s and the over-50s.

A big factor in the rising premium cost has been changes to the Ogden rate, which is used to calculate personal injury payouts.

It’s been a mixed year on fuel costs too, with the average price of a litre of unleaded increasing from 121.6p per litre last December to 126.6p according to the AA, though the cost of diesel has dropped from 131.1p to 130.4p over the same time period.

On the plus side, drivers have at least enjoyed frozen Fuel Duty.

How to find cheap diesel and petrol where you live

Credit card borrowers

A 0% credit card can be a fantastic tool if you have some big spending on the horizon, allowing you to spread your payments without having to hand over money towards interest payments.

Sadly, the last year has seen the longest 0% deals trimmed ‒ back in 2018 you could get a 0% purchase offer of as long as 29 months, but today 26 months is the best around.

What’s more, Moneyfacts reckons that the interest rates charged on cards have now increased to record highs, at 23.7% for purchases and 22.5% for balance transfers.

Compare credit cards on loveMONEY

Savers

With the base rate sat at just 0.75%, you would think it wouldn’t be overly difficult to find a savings account that offers a better rate of interest.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case ‒ according to Moneyfacts, the number of accounts that beat base rate fell by 80 between November and December to just 1,254.

That’s the lowest number of base rate beating accounts on the market since March 2018, and the biggest month on month drop seen in a year.

It’s not just the number of accounts that are falling either ‒ the returns they offer are pretty mediocre too, with Moneyfacts finding that rates paid on fixed-rate bonds have dropped to the lowest levels since 2017.

Where to earn the best rate on your savings

Landlords

The authorities have made a host of changes to the buy-to-let market in recent years, and 2019 was no exception, with the latest proposal suggesting that no-fault evictions be scrapped.

Little wonder then that the National Landlords Association reckons confidence among landlords has dropped to the lowest levels since it launched its tracker back in 2006.

How to become a landlord

Neil Woodford investors

One of the biggest money stories of the year has been the closure and winding up on the funds run by superstar fund manager Neil Woodford, following years of catastrophic performance.

Not only have investors had to put up with their money being trapped in the funds, but a report from private equity house PJT Park Hill has also warned that the value of the assets held in the funds could crash by more than 40% during the sales process.

How investors are changing their ways after Woodford's collapse