Still don't know who to trust with your money? We compare the personal finance policies of the 3 main parties fighting for your vote so you can decide which will do more for your finances.
No time to wade through the lengthily manifesos? No problem.
We've set out the key promises that the 3 main political parties make about how they'll lighten the load on your wallet if they are elected.
So have a read, get informed and vote accordingly!
Savings
Labour:
- Raise the annual ISA limit in line with inflation.
- Make it easier to transfer ISAs by issuing portable account numbers.
- Boost savings for individuals on middle incomes.
- Introduce a Savings Gateway for people on low incomes. This will contribute 50p for every £1 saved up to a £300 maximum.
- Introduce a matched savings account for all 18 - 30 year olds who pay income tax at the basic rate.
- Maintain the Child Trust Fund scheme and contribute an additional £100 a year for disabled children.
Conservatives:
- Reduce contributions to Child Trust Funds for all but the poorest families and families with disabled children.
Liberal Democrats:
- Stop government contributions to Child Trust Funds.
- Increase the income tax threshold to £10,000 so more people pay less tax on their savings.
- Open a UK Infrastructure Bank that will offer stable, long term returns via government bonds.
Banking & Lending
Labour:
- Make basic bank accounts available to all.
- Turn the Post Office into a 'peoples' bank' that will offer a range of competitive and affordable financial products.
- Introduce portable account numbers to make switching accounts easier.
- Stop credit card companies increasing credit limits and interest rates without notice.
- Introduce the right to reject credit card interest rate rises.
- Crack down on the interest rates and fees charged by instant loan companies and provide affordable alternatives via the Post Office.
Conservatives:
- Set up a new Consumer Protection Agency to protect bank customers & penalise banks that break the rules.
- Conduct a review of fairness in the banking sector.
- Introduce clearer cost illustrations on credit card statements.
- Ban excessive interest rates on store cards & introduce a 7 day cooling off period.
- Launch a free national finance advice service - the Consumer Protection Agency.
- Ensure no one is made to sell their home to settle unsecured debts of less than £25,000.
Liberal Democrats:
- Ban unfair bank charges on unauthorised overdrafts and failed transactions.
- Introduce a PostBank to provide fair banking for all.
- Introduce a maximum interest rate cap on credit cards and store cards.
- Introduce a banking levy so banks pay for the financial assistance they've received.
- Break up the big banks so as to separate retail and investment banking.
- Encourage the development of local and regional banks.
Home owners
Labour:
- 2 year suspension on stamp duty for first time buyers on homes under £250,000.
- Maintain the Home Buy Direct scheme.
- Introduce new affordable housing schemes to help working families on modest incomes rent affordable housing at below market rates while they build up a deposit.
- Maintain the current level of assistance for home owners struggling with repayments.
- Review the current council tax bands.
Conservatives:
- Permanently increase the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for all first time buyers.
- Give local communities a say in the type of developments carried out in their area.
- Stop Home Information Packs.
- Build on the current shared ownership schemes.
- Pilot a new Right to Move scheme that allows individuals in social housing to relocate.
Liberal Democrats:
- Replace Council Tax with a local tax that's based on people's ability to pay.
- Push the Home on a Farm scheme whereby farmers are encouraged to convert outbuildings into homes.
- Introduce Equity Mortgages where the council contributes to, and owns a share of the property.
- Provide individuals with empty homes a grant or cheap loan to renovate them.
- Regulate the supply of mortgages.
- Legally force mortgage providers to use repossession as a last resort.
Pensions
Labour:
- Restore the link between state pensions and the average earnings from 2012.
- Provide grandparents who stop working to look after their grandchildren with National Insurance credits towards their state pension.
- Introduce automatic enrollment in occupational pensions and Personal Pension Accounts for all employees.
- Increase the state pension age for women to 65 by 2020 and to 68 for both men & women by 2046.
Conservatives:
- Hold a review to bring forward the date at which the state pension age starts to rise.
- Restore the link between average earnings and the basic state pension.
- Work with employers to support auto-enrollment in pension schemes.
- End the obligation to buy an annuity at 75 years of age.
Liberal Democrats:
- Scrap the compulsory retirement age.
- End the obligation to buy an annuity at 75 years of age.
- Introduce a Citizen's Pension paid to all UK citizens who are long term residents.
- Annually update state pensions by the higher of the average increase in earnings, the increase in prices or 2.5%.
- Introduce the flexibility to access personal pension funds early.
Tax
Labour:
- Increase National Insurance contributions by 1% in 2011.
- Freeze the basic, higher and new top rate of tax throughout the next Parliament.
- Maintain the current tax credit system.
- Introduce a new 'toddler tax credit' of £4 a week for children aged 1 and 2 from 2012.
- Freeze inheritance tax thresholds until 2014 - 2015.
Conservatives:
- Stop the planned increase in National Insurance for those earning under £35,000.
- Increase the National Insurance threshold by £24 a week to £7,100 and the Upper Earnings Limit by £29 a week to £45,410.
- Freeze council tax for 2 years.
- Stop tax credits for families with household incomes over £50,000.
- Raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1million.
Liberal Democrats:
- Increase the income tax threshold to £10,000.
- Tax capital gains at the same rate as income.
- Give tax relief on pensions at the basic rate.
- Introduce a 1% mansion tax on properties over £2million.
- Restrict tax credits.
The manifestos
