8 money changes coming in March including spring budget and final £67 energy discount

We're all thinking about our money more than ever, and there are plenty of financial changes coming in March that you should know about and report to your journal Couple having problems with bills and money (

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The cost of living crisis means we are all feeling the financial effects.

We're all thinking about our money now more than ever, and there are a lot of financial changes coming in March that you should be aware of.

The biggest event will be the spring budget, where Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will outline plans to try to grow the economy.

The statement will be made in the House of Commons, along with a forecast from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Other dates to mark in your diary include rail fares rising again, as well as monthly inflation figures and the Bank of England's interest rate announcement.

March will also be the last month that households will receive a £67 discount on their energy bill. Here's everything you need to know.

New License Plates Released - March 1

All new cars will be branded with "23" license plates from March 1.

This will replace the "72" plate which arrived in September 2022.

The new '23' number plates will remain in place until September 2023, when new '73' plates will be introduced.

Rail Fare Increase - March 5

Rail fares in England will increase by 5.9% from March 5.

Train tickets are generally rising in line with the previous July retail price index (RPI) inflation measure, which for 2022 stood at 12.3%.

However, the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that rail fares will instead be capped at 5.9%.

This applies to regulated tickets, such as: season, all day, off-peak and super off-peak.

GDP figures - March 10

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will release its latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures on March 10.

GDP is a measure of the size and health of the economy, to show whether it has grown or fallen over a certain period.

Last month the UK narrowly avoided a recession after the economy recorded zero growth between October and December last year.

But not so good news, analysts say the UK could still fall into recession in 2023.

The economy is estimated to have shrunk by 0.5% in December, partly due to strikes in several sectors.

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters - therefore six months - of economic contraction.

Spring Budget - March 15