Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast

Today on the show, we're talking about your Bill Free Day and how to make it happen earlier in the year. I'm joined by personal finance broadcaster Georgie Frost who shares a few tips. If you ever feel like you're spending too much money on household bills, and not enough on fun or the future, then this episode is for you.

Today on the podcast, I'm chatting to playwright Kieran Lynn and theatre director Dan Ayling, two of the creative team behind The Trap, a hilarious new comedy that's receiving its European premiere at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham from 31st October to 19th November. Kieran Lynn is an award-winning playwright. In 2012 he won the Nick Darke Award for his play Wild Fish. His play, An Incident at the Border was performed at the Finborough Theatre; a critical and commercial success the production transferred to the West End. Dan Ayling is a theatre director specialising in modern plays and contemporary opera, with a particular interest in text, space & gesture. He's also Equity Councillor for Director's, Designers and Fight Directors. The Trap, which we discuss in this interview, is a biting new comedy about the financial perils of a capitalist world. Here's my conversation with Dan Ayling and Kieran Lynn of The Trap, in episode 276 of Informed Choice Radio.

In today's episode, I'm looking at interest rates - how likely are they to rise next month, and what would any rate rise mean for your personal finances? There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow, where I share some news from the world of Informed Choice.

Today on the show, I'm joined by Robert Carver, to discuss his new book, Smart Portfolios: A practical guide to building and maintaining intelligent investment portfolios. Rob is an independent investor, trader and writer. He spent over a decade working in the City of London before retiring from the industry in 2013. Rob's new book Smart Portfolios is about building and maintaining smart investment portfolios. At its heart are the three key questions every investor needs to answer; what to invest in, how much to invest, and when to make changes to a portfolio. Rob addresses these three areas by providing a single integrated approach to portfolio management. He shows how to follow a step-by-step process to build a multi-asset investment portfolio, and how to rebalance the portfolio efficiently. Here's my conversation with Robert Carver, author of Smart Portfolios, in episode 274 of Informed Choice Radio.

Can money buy you happiness? That's our topic for this episode, with some new research aiming to place an actual monetary amount on being happy. The latest research from SunLife reveals that while cash and happiness are related, you don’t need to a millionaire to be happy – just £82 spare per week. In this episode we talk about how money is linked to happiness, some ways to find that extra spare cash each week, and why spending money on experiences leads to greater happiness levels than simply buying stuff. Personal finance news -Behavioural economist Richard Thaler has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. Professor Thaler is co-author of the best-selling book Nudge, which examined why people make bad or irrational choices. -Car insurance premiums have fallen for the first time in more than three years, but drivers are unlikely to feel the benefit for long. Analysis by price comparison website Confused.com shows insurance prices fell by 1% in the third quarter of the year. -Retailers are planning to defy the Royal Mint's deadline and continue accepting the old £1 coins. The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents 170,000 small shops, has advised members to continue accepting the round pound after the 15th October deadline. -The latest figures from Visa UK show a continued decline in household spending in September. It's the fourth monthly fall in expenditure in the last five months. -Younger savers are increasingly likely to want responsible investment choices for their pensions. A YouGov poll of 2,100 people found 13% of 18 to 34 year olds said it was their job to make sure their money was invested ethically.

Today on the show, I'm joined by Scott Mautz. Scott led several of Procter & Gamble’s largest multi-billion dollar businesses before becoming an award-winning speaker and author through his business Profound Performance. He was named a “CEO Thought-leader” by the CEO Executive Guild and a “Top 50 Leadership Innovator” by Inc. Magazine, He also teaches leadership and employee engagement at Indiana University. Scott's new book is Find the Fire: Ignite Your Inspiration--and Make Work Exciting Again For many employees, feeling burned out and uninspired is nothing new. But going through the motions impairs more than just work performance--it affects your well-being. Wouldn't it be better to feel as engaged and energized as you were on day one? Fortunately, everyone has the ability to rekindle inspiration. The key is to quit waiting for it to happen and take control of the process yourself. Whether you're wrestling with fear, disconnectedness, boredom, lack of creative outlets, overwhelm, or other issues, Find the Fire helps shake off the malaise and dial up the motivation. Here's my conversation with Scott Mautz, author of Find the Fire, in episode 272 of Informed Choice Radio.

This week on the show, we're talking about how to declutter your personal finances. Katy and I chat about why it's so important to declutter when it comes to your personal finances, before sharing a few of our own tips for decluttering. Katy Stevens Katy Stevens is a money blogger known online as Katykicker. Katy started Katykicker because she was making money online and people wanted to know how. She’s happy knowing that she is able to share money making and saving websites and tips with her readers. Katy also loves to share product reviews, frugal recipes, the odd craft and much more. You can follow Katy on Twitter @katykicker. Personal finance news -Monarch Airlines has gone out of business, leading to the cancellation of 300,000 flight booking. The Civil Aviation Authority says around 110,000 customers of the airline are currently stranded overseas, in need of repatriation on UK government charter flights. -The latest Markit/Cips UK manufacturing PMI index shows signs of a slowdown in manufacturing sector growth. Despite a boost for exporters from a weak pound, higher production costs and Brexit uncertainty is hampering growth prospects. -Prime Minister Theresa May has promised an additional £10bn of funding for the Help to Buy Scheme. The money will help another 135,000 people buy their first home. -Bank of England governor Mark Carney believes interest rates could rise in the "relatively near term". Speaking to the BBC, Carney suggested that it was time for the bank to "ease its foot off the accelerator". -Lack of financial protection among women is leaving families in a precarious situation. According to new research from Scottish Widows, despite saying that their households could only pay the bills for seven months should they not be able to work or pass away, only three in ten women have life insurance.

My guest on the show today is behind a beautiful new book called Walking in the Rain. Ruth Williams is Managing Director at Department Store for the Mind. She's a business psychologist with a Masters Degree in Occupational Psychology. The Department Store for the Mind is described as a place to explore the world inside your head: a vast and unique terrain of thoughts, ideas, emotions and memories. They believe think the journey into our own minds is the most challenging but worthwhile adventure any of us can embark on. As with any great adventure, it helps to have good kit. The products from Department Store for the Mind are designed to help you navigate your inner landscape, discovering and celebrating your best capacities. Their book, Walking in the Rain, shows readers how walking is "medicine for the mind", complete with stories from artists, designers, writers, psychologists and speakers who have been inspired by the effect of pacing outdoors. Anecdotes range from walks in the city to hikes through woods at dawn and epic adventures involving long journeys on foot, with writers offering up the relateable lessons they learned as a result. Here's my conversation with Ruth Williams, managing director of Department Store for the Mind, in episode 270 of Informed Choice Radio.

This week on the show, we’re talking about stemming the tide of rising consumer debt. This is for you if you’ve got any unsecured consumer debts – things like store cards, credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, car loans. We also discuss some of the issues with rising debt levels in the UK and how you can tackle any debts you might have. Introducing Kalpana Fitzpatrick Mummy Money Matters was launched by Kalpana Fitzpatrick, a well-respected financial journalist, broadcaster and parent, after she discovered that mums were often overlooked and kept out of the loop when it came to money. Finance can be unnecessarily complicated – MMM aims to keep it simple and relevant. As well as editing and writing for Mummy Money Matters, Kalpana appears regularly in the media as an expert commentator on personal finance and is often seen on TV (BBC, ITV and  Sky News). She is also often on most of the major radio stations. You can follow Kalpana on Twitter at @KalpanaFitz. Personal finance news -Consumers need to shop around when using price comparison websites, according to a review by the Competition and Markets Authority. The CMA suggested consumers should use a variety of price comparison sites when searching online for the best energy deals, holidays or insurance policies. -Happiness levels across the UK have improved, according to the latest official wellbeing figures. The figures from the Office for National Statistics, which are based on data to the year to the end of March, show rising satisfaction with life overall, but anxiety levels remaining the same. -Equifax chairman and chief executive Richard Smith has stepped down in the wake of a massive data breach earlier in the summer. As many as 143 million US customers had data exposed to hackers during the security breach, along with 400,000 Britons. -As many as 1.4 million low paid families are failing to claim Pension Credit. The state pension top-up is worth up to £2,000 a year. -Despite European gender equality laws, men are still being quoted more for car insurance than women. Research by Comparethemarket found this insurance pricing gap is widening, with men typically quoted 27% more than women for the cheapest cover.

  Beth Kempton is lifelong adventurer whose quest for freedom has taken her to the ends of the earth, and given her a catalogue of wild and crazy experiences. Beth has lived, worked and travelled in 50+ countries on every continent. She has worked with UN agencies, global brands and NGOs all over the world, advising on corporate social responsibility, instigating projects that have raised over $10 million for charity and earning a Master's degree in Japanese. That was all before she founded Do What You Love, which delivers transformational online courses to help people find personal, professional and financial freedom. Her new book is Freedom Seeker: Live More. Worry Less. Do What You Love. It’s the story of a woman who went from high-spirited, risk-taking adventurer to grown-up, settled-down, stressed-out mother, wife and business owner, before realizing the life she had built was actually suffocating her. Beth discovered she was far from alone, finding women everywhere feeling stuck, anxious, depressed, exhausted, disconnected and sad. Individually it was heartbreaking. Collectively it was a huge waste of potential. So she set out to change it. Here's my conversation with Beth Kempton, author of Freedom Seeker: Live More. Worry Less. Do What You Love, in episode 268 of Informed Choice Radio.