Worried about your personal finances? Here’s the latest from money Saving Expert Martin Lewis on what Brexit means for you
Martin Lewis fielded a Brexit Q & A which covered the effect last month's vote will have on everything from petrol prices to your grocery bill
CONSUMER champion Martin Lewis is back, and he has more must-read advice for anyone still fretting about the impact Brexit will have on their personal finances.
The founder and editor of MoneySavingExpert has expanded on what he thinks Brexit will mean for you, and it makes for essential reading.
And if you are concerned about the short-term impact Brexit will have on you and your family, then this latest advice is essential.
Martin was quick to confirm that very little is likely to change until we invoke Article 50, the mechanism for leaving the EU, and agree new terms for how we intend to deal with our continental friends in the future.
He said: "Unless things take a very radical path that’s at least two and a half years away.
“If you’re going to panic the time to panic would be in a couple of years time but hopefully there won’t be any need to anyway.”
How will Brexit affect your bills?
This is a tough one to predict, but Martin believes any hit to the value of the pound could make a difference to your bills.
He said: “The lower price of the Pound means imports are more expensive and that could affect oil, gas and electricity prices. But then again our economy can be boosted by it because we have cheaper exports.”
Of course, this is liable to change when Britain recovers from the initial economic shock and the economy gets back on track.
Will Brexit make a difference at the pump?
This fluctuates all the time anyway, but Martin says: "If the Pound stays low then that will likely hit through into petrol prices, if the pound doesn’t stay low it won’t.
"People have done a lot of absolutes on this but petrol prices move all the time.”
What's going to happen to house prices?
This is a common question, but there's too much uncertainty for Martin to offer a definite answer.
He said: "Whether the result of a vote will be the cause of house prices coming down is not something that anyone can know and it’s worth noting house prices are the only price we celebrate when they go up.
“It hurts those who have never bought a house and it actually hurts those people who are selling their house to move to a bigger house, because it tends to increase the differential.
“The big question that people have been asking me is: ‘I’m in the middle of buying a house, I’m about to complete, should I?'
“My answer on that is quite simple. If it’s the right house for you and you can afford it, the correct human answer is get on with it.
“It may not be the correct financial answer in hindsight but the truth is we are about to go through a long period of uncertainty and you will never know when the right time is.”
Are your savings secure?
If you're worried about your savings, Martin says you should forget about what the markets are doing.
He explained: "Most savings rates are based on underlying interest rates.
“My guess is that saving rates are probably going to come down even further in the short term.
“Savings is no longer about the markets, they’re about playing the product game.”
And if you're worried about your savings being safe, then Martin has some very reassuring news for you.
He said: "It has to be a massive economic catastrophe, and we haven’t had that, for any banks to collapse.