Why I’m bored to death of being told mortgage rates were higher in your day

Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?

According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.

The i Paper food writer Sophie Morris [below] asks chefs for their best ideas for hosting at home.

Chef and food writer Helen Graham turns vegetables into centrepieces to cut down on meat and fish expenses.

Generosity

Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.

Taco party

Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.

While many Britons feel inspired to tackle their homes during summer, the warmer months can also make cleaning harder.

But Lynsey Crombie, known as the Queen of Clean, says the hotter months can increase mould, musty smells and sweaty clothes. 

Here, she shares the tips and practical
hacks she lives by.

A study of 1,000 UK residents by Domestic & General revealed that almost one in 10 Brits have never cleaned their washing machine, yet it could be grubbier than the toilet seat.

Table salt

For tough stains like red wine, rub salt into the stain, leave overnight and wash as normal.

You’re damaging [wooden] floor [with hot water], making it expand, stretch
and cause gaps…

During hot days, Crombie says to avoid cleaning with hot water altogether to avoid adding humidity to the home.

“Cold water is much better, and if you’re using the right floor cleaning product, it’s still going to be clean,” she says.

Focus on hotspots

Clean the “high traffic” areas, like the toilets, kitchen worktops and the hallway daily.

Do it more frequently, to cut down how long it takes

One task Crombie does weekly is her fridge. This includes a 10-minute wipe-down, focusing on the salad and vegetable tray. “If you save that job up and do it every other month, it’s going to be a very big chore.”

The expensive products

“If you spend more money, you get the floral scents. The difference is scent, not performance.”

Four products can do do a full clean of the house.

• Antibacterial washing-up liquid: “It can clean almost anything, and any brand works.”
• M&S Fabric Refresher spray: It’s pet-friendly, eco-friendly and “ticks all the boxes.”
• Cif cream cleaner: “It’s an old school product. It’s so good.”
• White vinegar: ““It’s great for washing sportswear, gym kits and is a great stain remover.”

Take penetrative sex off the table

It may make you feel lightheaded, tired, and can even lead to erectile dysfunction because the body is overheating.

Mutual play

Set up a fan and touch yourselves while looking directly into each other’s eyes, says Nice.

The one easy habit which keeps your
brain young

From adopting a different running route to taking up a new hobby, here are seven ways in which new experiences can dramatically alter your brain health for the better.

A well-connected brain is more resilient to stress, illness and the effects of ageing.

Neurologist Dr Steve Allder says when we try unfamiliar things, our brain is forced to work in new ways.

Over time, this improves the brain’s ability to adapt to change and respond to challenges, helping us to preserve thinking skills and emotional balance.

They strengthen memory formation

Regularly exposing yourself to new situations – even small ones – helps exercise your memory systems, which improves your ability to store and retrieve information.

Reduce cognitive decline

New experiences activate different brain regions, helping to keep more areas working.

Wind down

A reasonable 20-30 minute bedtime routine can include reading, light stretching, and meditation.

Sleeping in a bedroom with bright overhead light has been associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attack (47 per cent higher risk), stroke (28 per cent) and heart failure.

Darken the room with blackout blinds or an eye mask, avoid blue light and leave your mobile phone outside your bedroom.  

Know your numbers

If your blood pressure at bedtime is consistently high, consider discussing medication with your GP.

Three families reflect on the early signs of the illness, which affected their parents.

They include the things they missed or dismissed, what they’d do differently and what they’d want other people in the same position to know.

She fell for a scam

One of the first incidents that rang alarm bells for Robert was his mum falling victim to a suspected scam from someone selling mattresses door-to-door. 

She also started to struggle with cooking and making her special dishes she’d been making for decades without a problem.

I think we missed some of the really early subtle signs.

Rosie’s mother was diagnosed with Young Onset Alzheimer’s Disease at 58 but some symptoms, like brain fog, were put down to the menopause.

She had become more forgetful, and was repeating herself, but as she had always “been scatty” it was dismissed.

Another time Sarah, who was diagnosed in her forties, forgot how to boil an egg.

On Saturdays, when she’d usually go shopping, she’d go out and come straight back home, almost like she was forgetting
what she was going out for.

Unused or unwanted subscriptions cost consumers £1.6bn.

Writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan looked into her own forgotten subscriptions when she became a first-time buyer, and realised how much she was wasting on things she wasn’t using.

I’d long considered myself to be quite a reasonable spender. 

But the hidden costs across her bank accounts, like free trials that hadn’t been cancelled and memberships for abandoned services, proved otherwise.

It was full of small amounts, £2.99 here, £4.50 there. These small amounts added up.

Sadhbh isn’t alone.

19%

According to a Nationwide survey almost one in five Brits don’t use every platform they pay for.

The bank suggests they could save as much as £400 a year by ditching them. 

4.7 million

National Trading Standards’ 2025 research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they didn’t know they’d signed up for.

In 2024, a government report found unused and unwanted subscriptions cost consumers up to £1.6bn a year.

Hunt them down

Banking apps usually list your ‘subscriptions’ separately from direct debits and standing orders so you can easily spot what you’re shelling out on.

Look over 13 months

Many businesses have changed from monthly to annual payments so look further back.

If companies don’t let you cancel online, don’t fear the customer service line.

• With TV and broadband, call the new customer number as it’s often answered more quickly.
• If you’re happy with the service, but not the price, speak to a real person that may offer a better deal.
• Look for a phone number and press the ‘thinking of leaving us’ option. It’s usually a fast track to a team with authority to offer bigger discounts.

Donations to charity have increased dramatically

But staff say many people treat their shops like a tip.

Here they share the most useful donations they get, and the
ones that drive them mad.

The quality of donations over the last year has diminished.

Claire Stockman, head of retail for St
Luke’s Hospice [pictured], says many donations include used items from fast fashion like Boohoo and Primark, which they cannot sell for more than £2, if at all.

60%

of what comes into St Luke’s Hospice is unsellable, Stockman says.

She adds its soiled, damaged beyond
repair or smelly.

Vinted

Harriet, a volunteer at Crisis in Dalston,
says people bring in clothes that are dirty and stained – things that they cannot sell
on Vinted.

She also sees dirty kitchenware and technology that no longer works.

A good donation is anything new with tags on, anything that hasn’t been opened, or higher quality items.

Items that have been well looked after are more likely to sell and generate a better price for charity too.

Harriet adds that knick-knacks and wine glasses are surprise hits in her branch.