This is Money Podcast

You have to feel for Rachel Reeves. After establishing a solid reputation in opposition, things haven’t gone to plan as Chancellor so far. Her Autumn Budget led to widespread criticism over tax rises on employment and extra costs for businesses, while questions abound over whether her plans will deliver the growth Labour promised voters. Now, a slow burn rise in the UK’s borrowing costs has led to gilt yields surpassing the levels seen after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated mini-Budget.  Unfortunate, for a Labour party that has spend the past couple of years citing a gilt yield spike as evidence while banging on about Liz Truss ‘crashing the economy’ and Tory mortgage penalties. But is Britain’s current predicament Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer’s fault or do they just find themselves caught out by an unfortunate set of circumstances? Or is it a bit of both? Where did things start to go wrong? Was it the Budget, or was it the claimed ‘£22billion black hole’ and months of miserabilism? And what are gilts and why do yields even matter? On this This is Money podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert dig into what’s gone wrong with Britain’s finances and what it means for people. Plus, in better news Lee looks at the jobs that delivered the biggest pay rises last year and why. Simon explains what’s going on with the US hedge fund staging a raid on seven investment trusts – and why investors should make sure they vote. And finally, Lee catches up with Dave Fishwick as the new Bank of Dave film is released.

In a not very happy start to the new year, Ofgem's energy price cap went up on 1 January from £1,717 to £1,738. Energy experts at Cornwall Insight say it will go up again in April - and by more than they initially expected.  So why are bills rising? After all, we are a long way from the peak of the gas price crisis back in 2021.  This week, Georgie Frost and Helen Crane discuss when they will finally go back to normal - and whether fixed rates are a good deal again.  The team also talk about an Octopus energy customer who was charged £5 to make a cup of tea thanks to a new smart meter.  For homeowners starting 2025 by sticking their property on the market, we get some tips from estate agents on how to spruce up your home - and which renovations aren't worth the bother.  We also discuss whether buyers really care about the smell of freshly baked bread, and what the best colour is to paint your front door.  Helen speaks about the companies This is Money readers have moaned about most in 2024, and her highlights from the Crane on the Case column.  And we finish off with some sensible tips from financial advisers about how to give your money a makeover in the new year.

In a special epsiode, we hosted our first live podcast at our offices to celebrate a  decade of discussing Britain's personal finances. Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Helen Crane talk through 10 years of huge and unexpected financial developments, from Brexit and President Trump to Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Some of our valued listeners were in the audience as we covered major themes that have erupted in our financial lives since 2014, including Liz Truss's infamous 'mini-Budget', the rollercoaster property market – and whether we can truly say we have put the cost-of-living crisis in the rearview mirror. In addition to looking at the bigger picture, we drilled into how these events have shaped our personal finances and affected our savings, mortgages, pensions, investments and aspirations. 'Producing a podcast episode every week for a decade felt like something we should celebrate, so I was delighted to welcome our guests – and especially our listeners – to a 10th birthday celebration,' This is Money publisher, Simon Lambert said. 'Launching a podcast was a fairly unusual move a decade ago and it turned out to be a good idea and also hugely enjoyable for us. 'We always wanted the podcast to make money engaging and accessible, help people improve their personal finances and enjoy the richer life that can bring.'

On this special bonus episode of the This is Money Podcast, Simon Lambert catches up with Alastair Humphreys about his quest to find adventure close to home. Alastair, a genuine global adventurer, who featured on our Making The Money Work Podcast series in 2020 [https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/podcast/article-7951667/How-fund-life-adventure-Alastair-Humphreys-Making-Money-Work.html], recently published his book Local: A Search for Nearby Nature and Wildness [https://alastairhumphreys.com/product/local/]. It told the story of his year spent swapping travelling the world for exploring the grid squares of the Ordance Survey map centred on his home location. In this extra podcast episode, we find out more about why he did it, what he learnt and how you could start your own money saving adventure on your doorstep right now.

How much spare cash do you have to spend? A new index shows we typically have £836 in disposable income each month. That’s the amount of money you have left over to spend or save after taxes and bills have been paid, according to comprehensive research. This week, Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce talk income and ask... does a £100,000 annual salary really not make workers feel wealthy anymore? The annual list of happiest and unhappiest towns to live in Britain has been released, with Slough in Berkshire being labelled the most miserable. Is that a fair tag for any town? Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time. It soared in the wake of Donald Trump's election.  So, have the crypto evangelists been proved right, can you still make money from bitcoin and what other coins are worth looking into? Lastly, wood stoves are back in the news. What are the rules around them - and are they really a polluting menace?