Share Sounds. presented by Georgie Frost related to Economics

This week as Christmas celebrations get going - things can get pretty expensive what with office parties and drinks, dinners out and that's before you include presents and other festive spending. Georgie Frost spoke to blogger Lynn James on how we can keep to a budget, avoid the curse of contactless payments, and find ways to keep things cheap.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. It’s been quite a stressful week both real and imagined. The UK banking system was put through its paces in the Bank of England’s stress test which simulated a range of disaster scenarios from crashing house prices to rising unemployment. The biggest failure proved to be the majority tax payer owned RBS, whilst it was ‘must try harder’ for Barclays and Standard Chartered. Unfortunately not all this week’s stresses have been virtual though and rising fuel prices contributed to the collapse of GB Energy affecting 160,000 customers. When it comes to finding a new supplier there’s certainly plenty of choice at least as more and more smaller firms spring up- so just what is going on with Britain’s energy market? Georgie Frost is joined by Editor Simon Lambert and Consumer Affairs Editor Lee Boyce to find out. Also this week they look at the scams tricking people out of personal data and gig tickets as well as the meaty issue of what else is in the new plastic fiver. This is Money is presented by Georgie Frost in partnership with NS&I.

Georgie Frost is joined in the studio by Share Radio's senior analyst Ed Bowsher. On the agenda they discuss the big story of the day - Liberal Democrats’ Sarah Olney has overturned a 23,000 majority to pull off a shock win in a by-election, against former Tory MP Zac Goldsmith. Elsewhere, train fares in Britain are to go up by an average of 2.3% from 2 January. Plus Plans to save money at HM Revenue & Customs by moving more of its operations online are leading towards a repeat of a catastrophic collapse” in customer service. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Hannah Kinston is student but needed help funding her degree and of course, she was not alone. So a few students teamed together to create an unusual business - a cheese making one. This is to help fund degrees in agriculture, business, and veterinary medicine at Nottingham University. She explains all to Georgie on the line.

What does it take to start up your own business? Guts determination and lots of energy. In the business world, some of the stories are truly inspirational. And in Cheryl Spain's case, it's no different. Back in 2013 Cheryl was a single parent with one dream - to create and run her own fitness studios. No money; very little and now she runs Fitness Fusions in a large building in Clapham. She joined Georgie in the studio to tell her story.

Christmas is an expensive time of year for us. And with it only round the the corner, it means spending money on gifts for many people. But what if you want to reject the pressure to splash the cash and make presents instead? Where would you start? To find out, Georgie was joined on the line by Textile artist Kate Jackson.

Are you hoping for a pay rise in 2017? New research has found 40% of us don't believe we’ll will get one. And, rather gloomy economic conditions combining with predictions British workers probably won't get a pay rise for 10 years. So how financially fit are you for the news year? To find out, Georgie was joined in the studio by Lisa Hardstaff credit expert from Equifax and Nick Hill, Money Expert from the Money Advice Service.

Georgie Frost is joined in the studio by Tom Church, Co-Founder, LatestDeals.co.uk. Today on the agenda, they discuss energy price hikes - and what they mean for millions of people, with it being estimated that four million working families are struggling to pay their energy bills right now before the increased bills. Elsewhere, it's better news for gas prices as British Gas has announced a price freeze for more than six million customers over the winter. Plus, Ofcom has announced a review of the retail market for standalone landline telephone services, to ensure that customers receive value for money. All these stories and more on The News Review.

How would you feel if you were given the push from your job just before Christmas? How would you feel if the new came via tannoy? With just weeks before Christmas, one insurance company allegedly left their staff weeping as it was announced over the tannoy that hundreds of them would be losing their jobs. Kevin Charles is in the studio to explain all to Georgie.

Coding was introduced to the national curriculum for both primary and secondary school students in two years ago. Should the language of technology be considered as important if not more so than learning French, German or Spanish? To find out, Georgie was joined in the studio by Jordan Poulton from Makers Academy.