Informed Choice Radio Personal Finance Podcast

It's now less than 100 days until Christmas, so for those of us who like to plan ahead, it's really not that long to go. We've seen some new research this week which shows consumers start their Christmas shopping as soon as they see festive items in the shops, which can be as early as September, but it still takes 42 shopping trips and 37 hours of planning until they are finished with Christmas shopping. Lynn and I discuss effective Christmas shopping, gift inspiration and saving money during the festive season.

My guest on the podcast today is Marion Shoard. Marion is acclaimed for her work in environmental activism. She is best known for her work concerning access to the countryside and land use conflicts. Since 2004 she has also worked in the field of older people's issues, the subject of her latest book and our discussion today. Marion was pitched into the world of older people's issues when her mother lost her sight and developed dementia. She set about assembling the straight-talking guidance she had sought in vain. Her new book is How to Handle Later Life. It's a comprehensive, independent grounding in the whole range of problems and opportunities which come with growing older. Within the book, Marion offers information and guidance on healthcare, transport, end-of-life matters, help in the home, inheritance, funding care, employment rights, nutritional needs, hospitals and much more. Here's my conversation with Marion Shoard, Older People's Advocate and author of How to Handle Later Life, in episode 266 of Informed Choice Radio.

Today on the show, we're talking about what's in your wallet and all things payment cards. It's the tenth anniversary of contactless payments in the UK, and we're also going to look at the pros and cons of charge charges and reward cards. The first contactless cards in the UK were launched in September 2007, with 111 million in issue in June 2017. During the first half of this year the amount spent using contactless technology (£23.23 billion) almost matched the amount spent in the whole of 2016 (£25 billion). Contactless usage is expected to increase four-fold by 2026. Is this growth in contactless payment a positive thing or is it changing our spending habits, resulting in less conscious decisions about our money? Andy Webb My co-host for this episode is Andy Webb, founder of Be Clever With Your Cash. Andy is a blogger, journalist and trainer on all things money and consumer. Alongside Be Clever With Your Cash, he works two days a week as the senior writer for The Money Advice Service’s blog.  Andy also represents the company as a “money expert” on TV, radio and in print. He’s appeared on BBC Breakfast (BBC One), Rip Off Britain (BBC One), Right on the Money (BBC One), Channel Five News, You and Yours (Radio 4), Newsbeat (Radio 1), Rip Off Britain Food (BBC One) and dozens of local radio stations. You can follow Andy on Twitter @AndyCleverCash. Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here. Personal finance news -Price inflation in the UK has reached its highest level in more than five years. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of price inflation was 2.9% for the twelve months to August, up from 2.6% the previous month. -The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a consumer warning about the dangers of Initial Coin Offerings. This new investing trend is being used by companies who issue digital tokens or coins. - More than half of the country has experienced faster wage growth than house price growth during the past decade. Research from mortgage provider Yorkshire Building Society found that 54% of areas in the UK experienced pay outperforming property prices since 2007, including Edinburgh and Birmingham. - Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond has announced the date of the next Budget. It will take place on Wednesday 22nd November. - Citizens Advice has called for a suspension in the expansion of reforms to the Universal Credit system, due to the risk of pushing families into a spiral of debt. The charity has said that those who rely on Universal Credits are more likely to be struggling with problem debts. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Have you ever considered the link between health and wealth that could add years to your life and dollars (or pounds) to your retirement savings? My guest on the podcast today is co-author of a new book that aims to get us all talking about this vital link. Jean Chatzky is a leading personal expert in the US. She's the long-time financial editor for NBC’s TODAY show, an award-winning personal finance journalist, a best-selling author and host of HerMoney with Jean Chatzky - a podcast for women, by women, about money. Jean believes knowing how to manage our money is one of the most important life skills for people at every age and she's made it her mission to help simplify money matters, increasing financial literacy both now and for the future. Her new book, co-authored with the Cleveland Clinic's chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen, is AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip. All the money in the world doesn't mean a thing if we can't get out of bed. And the healthiest body in the world won't stay that way if we're frazzled about five figures worth of debt. You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/264. There's useful links and you can also download the full episode transcript. Here's my conversation with Jean Chatzky, TODAY Show financial editor and author of AgeProof, in episode 264 of Informed Choice Radio.

According to some new research, people in the UK are underestimating the cost of elderly care by £7bn every year. That's according to research from Scottish Widows’ independent think tank, the Centre for the Modern Family. On average, UK adults estimate that residential care would cost £549 a week – when in reality it costs on average £866 for a place in a nursing home – leaving a shortfall of £317 every week. In this episode, we talk about why people often underestimate the cost of care in later life, the tough conversations you need to have with family members, and where you can go for help and information. Introducing Faith Archer Faith is an award-winning money journalist who writes the blog Much More with Less, about moving to the country, living with less and making the most of it. She was Deputy Personal Finance Editor at The Telegraph and continues to write today for a wide range of publications, including The Sunday Times and Mirror Online. You can follow Faith on Twitter @MuchMore_Less Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here. Personal finance news - Consumers lodged the most complaints about any UK financial business in the first half of the year against the Bank of Scotland, according to the latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service. FOS dealt with 20,541 complaints about the Bank of Scotland, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group. - One in four UK adults is considering buying an electric car within the next five years, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Loans. The supermarket bank’s latest Car Buying Index, which tracks consumers’ car purchase intentions, reveals that recent Government announcements designed to boost the switch to zero-emission vehicles are convincing large numbers of motorists that their future is electric. - The UK's factories are experiencing record order books, boosted by the weak pound and stronger eurozone economy. A new survey found firms' expectations for the third quarter showed output rising in 34% of businesses surveyed. - A new study has revealed that 31% of tenants in rented accommodation cannot imagine ever owning their own home. The research, commissioned by GoCompare Mortgages, also revealed that 21% of renters think that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties, which came into force in April 2017, will reduce the supply of rented properties in their area. - As Freshers get ready to leave the family nest for university this September, research from American Express has revealed UK parents spend an average of £3,662 during the course of their child’s degree, purchasing everything from bedding and books to groceries and gadgets to ensure their offspring have the best campus experience possible. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

What happens when you get trapped in a cycle of financial frustration? When it feels like everything you try to get out of debt and back on track financially is failing? My guest on the podcast today is Erin Odom, founder of The Humbled Homemaker, a blog dedicated to grace-filled living and designed to equip and encourage mothers in the trenches. Erin joins me today to talk about reaching her own financial breaking point and the lessons it taught her. After growing up in private schools and upper middle class America, Erin and her family were thrown into financial difficulties following the global financial crash. As you'll hear in this interview, she was a stay-at-home mum and her husband was supporting the family on a teacher's salary, and they were scrambling to make ends meet. Erin tells me about her low point, standing in line for food stamps, and (most importantly) the story about their comeback. Here's my conversation with Erin Odom, The Humbled Homemaker, in episode 262 of Informed Choice Radio.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, what are the real world maths skills we should be teaching in schools? I'm joined by Katykicker to chat about new research that has found that more than three in five millennials in the UK have never used GCSE maths skills in everyday life, things such as algebra and trigonometry.  There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and the aftershow segment too. Introducing 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. Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here. Personal finance news -Companies are returning the new one pound coin by mistake, hampering efforts to phase out use of the old one pound coin. The old £1 coin stops being legal tender on 15th October and Treasury officials estimate around one billion of them have already been removed from circulation. -British and German trade bodies have urged Brexit negotiators to put shared economic interests first. The British Chambers of Commerce and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce have warned that uncertainty over "business critical" Brexit issues - including workers' rights, tax and customs arrangements - must be tackled as a matter of priority. -Homeowners ready to take their second step up the property ladder say it’s harder than getting on it in the first place. This is according to the latest Lloyds Bank Second Steppers report, which tracks the ongoing plight of home owners looking to sell their first property whilst buying their second. -Most of the five million people who have rights in a salary-related pension from a former employer are not receiving timely information and advice about the many choices that they have to shape their pension in a way that works best for them. This is the key finding of a new policy paper jointly produced by pensions consultants LCP and mutual insurer Royal London. -Weeks without windows, sinking patios and waste water pouring down walls are just some of the home improvement disasters people are reporting to Citizens Advice. The Citizens Advice consumer service helped people with 40,000 problems related to home maintenance and improvements last year, two thirds of which were about substandard services, such as jobs being completed late or poor workmanship. Real world maths skills Last Thursday was GCSE results day. New data released by free-for-life credit reporting service, Noddle, has found that more than three in five millennials in the UK have never used GCSE maths skills in everyday life, things such as algebra and trigonometry. When asked what would have been more useful to learn, nearly half (46%) would have liked budgeting, over a third (37%) would have wanted to learn more about mortgages and more than a quarter (27%) would have benefited from extra knowledge about taxes. Respondents believed these would have helped with key financial milestones, especially those that they suggest signify adulthood such as paying taxes (59%) and getting a mortgage (54%).

My guest on the show today is founder of a charity which exists to get people talking, thinking and moving towards what really matters. Liz Zeidler is chief executive of Happy City. Her mission is to improve lives, our society and our planet through an increased focus on happiness and wellbeing. This may all sound sweet and fluffy but that is only because what we mean by ‘happiness’ has been corrupted. Happy City wants to reclaim happiness from commercial triviality and make it a guiding, radical principle for society. In this episode of the podcast, I chat to Liz about the difference between short-term and long-term happiness, who should take responsibility for our wellbeing, how to measure happiness, the correlation between income and happiness, and much more. Here's my conversation with Liz Zeidler, chief executive of Happy City, in episode 260 of Informed Choice Radio.

This week on the show, I'm talking about demystifying car finance and I'm joined by Stuart Masson, founder of The Car Expert. There's also the aftershow segment, which this week includes an important announcement about this podcast, so stay tuned to find out more. Stuart Masson Stuart founded The Car Expert in 2011. Originally from Australia, he's got a passion for cars and the car industry. He spent a decade in automotive retail, and now works tirelessly to help car buyers by providing independent and impartial advice. Personal finance news -UK savers are putting less money into cash savings accounts. The latest figures from High Street banks show personal deposits grew by 2.3% in July. -Identity theft levels in the UK have risen to "epidemic levels", according to the fraud prevention organisation Cifas. Nearly 500 identity frauds are reported daily, with victims most likely to be in their thirties or forties. -A care home chief has warned the sector is "teetering on the edge" as a result of a chronic shortage of funding which risks "catastrophic failure" within the NHS. Dr Chai Patel, chairman of care home operator HC-One, has predicted in The Times that six national chains could dominate the market. -New research from MoneySavingExpert has found household expenditure is rising more slowly than price inflation. It suggests the so-called "cost of living squeeze" might be less pronounced than previously believed. -Consumer group Which? has reported a sharp rise in small homes. Which? reports the number of new build micro-homes in the UK grew by 40% last year.

My guest on the show today is Humphrey Bowles. Our conversation cover two main areas, which Humphrey and his team have brought together through GUARDHOG; that's insurtech and the sharing economy. You're probably already familiar with the sharing economy, but insurtech might be a new term for you, like it was for me. Insurtech refers to the use of technology innovations designed to squeeze out savings and efficiency from the current insurance industry model. Humphrey's business GUARDHOG is a start-up on-demand sharing economy insurtech platform providing B2B and B2C insurance solutions for platforms and users of the sharing economy. They offer on-demand, pay-per-stay ‘full-fat’ insurance that covers the risks of having paying guests to stay, renting tools and kit, or storing your stuff with neighbours. In this episode, I chat to Humphrey about defining insurtech and how it fits into the wider fintech sector, concerns about safety in the sharing economy, insurance considerations when opening your doors to strangers, making your participation in the sharing economy safer, and much more.