Budget 2010: how it affects you

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

hannel 4 News has been looking through the chancellor's speech with personal finance expert Jasmine Birtles to see how it affects you.

First-time buyers

Good news for first time buyers. The stamp duty threshold on homes doubles, up from £125,000 to £250,000.

But personal finance expert, Jasmine Birtles, believes buyers are still struggling to get a mortgage at the moment: "Unless you have an excellent credit history, a really large deposit (at least 20 per cent) and a regular, strong income it's very difficult to get a mortgage."

This increase will funded by an increase in stamp duty on properties worth more than £1m from April 2011. "Now there is more reason for the very rich to leave the country", says Birtles. "Wealth does trickle down so that could actually harm the economy."

There is also help for unemployed home owners. They get another six months of mortgage support.

Accounting for the "un-banked"

The chancellor has given a guarantee that everyone will have access to a bank account. The aim is to fight financial exclusion.

There are 1.75m adults in the UK who do not have a traditional bank account, more than half of whom are among the poorest fifth of the population, according to the treasury.