Helen Knapman

News & Investigations Editor

Helen has over a decade's experience championing consumer causes and has worked as a personal finance journalist and editor on national titles since January 2011.

She has held her current role, MSE's News and Investigations Editor, since April 2023. Previously, Helen held senior positions at financial magazine Moneywise and at The Sun.

Helen covers all issues that impact consumers, and has played a pivotal role in MSE's Lifetime ISA and unusually high call volumes campaigns. Standing up for consumers, fighting for their rights, investigating injustices, and holding big firms and the powers that be to account is what drives Helen. She regularly appears as an expert for MSE on TV, radio and in print.

Helen was named as the Wincott Foundation's Personal Finance Journalist of the Year in 2019, having won the Online Financial Journalist of the Year at the 2013 Santander Media Awards.

In her spare time, Helen tries to practise what she preaches by bagging a bargain on everything from gym classes to globetrotting and dining out.

Latest from Helen Knapman

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today announced a range of new tax, benefits and savings measures in his Spring Budget. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has shared his instant reaction and explained what the changes mean for you, and we've added more detail on them below.

6 March 2024

Model of a wooden house with a question mark next to it

A penalty paid by first-time buyers accessing savings in Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) when buying homes above the scheme's £450,000 property price limit could be scrapped, it's been revealed. A new report suggests the Chancellor will remove the withdrawal fee in his upcoming Budget. This would be a win for MoneySavingExpert.com and its founder Martin Lewis who have long campaigned on the issue.

22 February 2024

Martin Lewis: How to get £1,000s free towards your first home

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has hinted help could be on the way for first-time buyers who face losing £1,000s of their own savings when withdrawing funds from Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) to buy homes above the scheme's property price limit. MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis challenged Mr Hunt over the issue during an interview in the latest episode of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.

11 January 2024

Autumn Statement: ISA shake-up announced – though no win for Lifetime ISA savers.

A raft of changes for savers using ISAs – savings accounts where you'll never pay tax on the interest – have been announced by the Chancellor in today's Autumn Statement. However, Jeremy Hunt failed to address MoneySavingExpert.com's calls for a shake-up to Lifetime ISAs.

22 November 2023

Someone using a mobile. On the screen it says 'buy now, pay later'.

MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has pleaded with the Government not to be "yankers" and shelve much needed buy now, pay later (BNPL) regulation. His call comes as Citizens Advice, MSE and Which? have teamed up again to urge the Government to protect BNPL users.

20 November 2023

Lady sitting in front of laptop and holding bills

Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com’s (MSE's) founder and chair, is today strengthening his call for the Chancellor to overhaul the Lifetime ISA (LISA) in his 22 November Autumn Statement. Young savers should not be essentially fined – and lose their hard-saved cash – when they purchase homes above the scheme's £450,000 limit. This is a problem that leaves far more at risk now than when LISAs launched in 2017.

6 November 2023

NS&I will increase its Premium Bond prize-fund rate to 4% from 3.7% for its August 2023 draw and beyond, with an extra £30 million in prizes up for grabs. This latest increase – the seventh we've seen in just over a year – is to the highest rate since 2007. The odds of winning will also increase from 24,000 to one to 22,000 to one.

10 July 2023

Martin Lewis rounds up the key Spring Budget announcements

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today announced a range of new tax, benefits and energy measures in his Budget. But, as MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis points out, income tax thresholds will remain frozen – meaning millions will be pulled into paying more tax through a process known as 'fiscal drag'. Below we round up the key announcements and you can also watch Martin's instant reaction.

17 March 2023

Energy Price Guarantee to stay at £2,500 a year

Typical household energy bills will remain at £2,500 a year for at least three months from 1 April as the Government has heeded our and others' calls to postpone a planned 20% rise. The announcement ahead of today's Budget follows a month-long campaign led by Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, which has been backed by 130 charities and consumer organisations.

15 March 2023

Sainsbury's has promised to give shoppers who missed out on its in-store points promotion £5 in Nectar points. It comes after MoneySavingExpert.com pushed the supermarket to ensure shoppers who met the minimum spend for Saturday's promotion didn't go empty-handed after a "technical error" meant vouchers weren't issued. We had threatened to report the supermarket if it didn't help shoppers.

8 February 2023

Nectar cardholders can get between 50 and 5,000 extra points – worth 25p to £25 – when shopping at Sainsbury's tomorrow (Saturday 4 February). But you'll need to spend at least £20 and do so at a larger store, as the offer is not available at any of Sainsbury's 800 Local outlets. Here's what you need to know.

7 February 2023

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Change is needed to help half a million younger people with Lifetime ISAs as many risk lock-out and £1,000+ in fines to get their money back.

22 January 2023

If you're a Joules shopper, we've rounded-up your refund and shopping rights below as the retailer has fallen into administration. Joules has appointed Interpath Advisory to handle the process, though it is continuing to remain open and to trade, albeit on revised terms, while a buyer is sought.

6 December 2022

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today (17 November) announced tax changes, state pension rises and further cost of living help. The measures come as part of today's Autumn Statement, which also contains major changes to the Government's energy support package. Below we analyse what's changing – you can also watch MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis's instant reaction.

17 November 2022

If you collect Avios and were planning to convert your rewards currency into Nectar points, you should do so before 16 November when the value of the conversion is set to plummet. Below we explain what's changing, and what you can do about it.

3 November 2022

The new Chancellor makes an emergency fiscal statement to calm the financial markets

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reversed a host of tax reforms and scaled back energy help previously announced in September's mini-budget in an effort to reassure markets and ease financial turmoil that has triggered a spike in mortgage rates. Here's what the shake-up means for you.

17 October 2022