Share Sounds. related to Personal Finance

With just one month to go before the Budget, Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce discuss what you might consider doing to prepare for it? Give money away, use allowances (CGT, ISA, pension contributions) to the full, or leave the country? The team reminds us that 'don't panic' is often the best way forward. There's also a couple of interesting readers' questions, about ignoring a father's will and re-marriage to save tax.

It's Migraine Awareness Week! Adam Cox is joined by Dr. Peter Chadha, Chief Scientific Officer at MigraSoothe. With 1 in 5 UK adults suffering from migraines, Dr. Chadha explains how vitamin B2 can help both prevent migraines and reduce their severity. https://www.bespokebiotics.co.uk/collections/migraine/products/premium-vitamin-b2-riboflavin-400mg-per-capsule-120-caps-migrasoothe-b-highest-manufacturing-standards-uk-made-migraine-support-stress-tremors-and-energy-vegan-nice-recommended-formula?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxsm3BhDrARIsAMtVz6MhutLbgGQmYbWyRq5AupPOtq4hSt8GG8E648J7fyVgGvmknEuPwc0aAvOWEALw_wcB

40% of everything sold online in the United States is through Amazon. Its web services division owns almost a third of the worldwide cloud infrastructure. Amazon is a goliath. Dana Mattioli is an investigative journalist at the Wall Street Journal and the author of “The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power.” Mary Long caught up with Mattioli for a conversation about Amazon’s early days and how it withstood years of sustained losses, how Amazon makes Wall Street look genteel, and the lengths that the company went to get information from competitors. Companies discussed: AMZN, TGT, EBAY. Host - Mary Long; Guest - Dana Mattioli

Do you keep savings in your current account? It’s an easy trap to fall into, with a third of people admitting they do it in a recent poll. If you do keep a savings pot in a bank account you are likely to be missing out on a big chunk of interest you could otherwise earn. But even if they don’t do this, there’s two more mistakes people make — using convenient ‘insult’ accounts with their existing bank that pay pitiful interest and not using a Cash ISA and losing out to tax. Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at how to make more of your savings and avoid handing over returns to the bank or taxman. Plus, are you playing into the hands of shoulder surfing fraudsters or phone snatchers, why are more larger detached homes hitting the market and how can you get Steve Webb to answer your pension question on next week’s podcast?

Adam Cox is joined by Jason Howlett, the CEO of GivEnergy. They discuss rising energy bills and costs in the UK, as well as some new research that was carried out by GivEnergy which saw some interesting results. https://givenergy.co.uk/

The oldest recipient of a Child Trust Fund turned 22 on Sunday 1st September, but the great majority of those allocated by HMRC (due to no action by the young person's parents by their 1st birthday) are unclaimed. This is the story of Joe, who really needs his money to get started in adult life — but he doesn't know anything about his good fortune. The Share Foundation has already enabled over 60,000 young people to claim their accounts, but that's a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of accounts lying dormant with account providers. So The Share Foundation is now asking Government to implement its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' proposal for HMRC-allocated accounts. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

A bad news Budget looks to be on the cards after Labour continued to pour cold water on optimism following its election victory. Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a gloomy speech saying the Budget was going to be painful, hot on the heels of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' own gloom-mongering. But having made a promise not to raise the rates of income tax, national insurance, VAT and corporation tax, where will the Government try to raise cash? Starmer said tax rises would target those with the 'broadest shoulders' but who are they — and are there really enough of the very wealthy to target or will the burden be more likely to fall once again on those in the rich middle? We look at what taxes could rise and what a capital gains tax, pension, inheritance or other raid could mean for people. Plus, Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax is upping what it will lend first-time buyers, Crane goes on the case of an Evri bungle and asks: shouldn't you be within your rights to expect a parcel to arrive? And finally, with the Oasis ticket scramble in full effect and ticket prices sky high, can you protect against a potential Gallagher brother blow up or anything else that would stop you going? (If, that is, you can get tickets in the first place, of course!).

Gold has hit record highs this week and has rocketed so far this year. What’s driving the price and how do you invest? Tanya Jefferies, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce turn their attention to the precious metal — a notoriously volatile investment, but yet seen as a safe haven. Energy bills will be back on the up, with the new Ofgem price cap announced for October. Is it worth fixing before the hike comes in? And one in four are expected to struggle this winter with their energy bills — just as the new Winter Fuel Payment is taken away for millions of households. We bust some myths on inherited state pension and ask how DWP can be dishing out incorrect information and also question whether annuity deals have peaked. Plus, we run the rule over two juicy reader questions. Firstly, what are your rights if you drunkenly lend money to a friend? Secondly, what can you do about a property next door being converted into an HMO with six students?

Last week, the consumer prices index measure of inflation nudged higher to 2.2%. But what does this mean for future base rate decisions — and then in turn, mortgage rates and savings rates? Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost discuss the latest inflation figures and what the rest of the year has in store for the economy. Meanwhile, experts predict a busier housing market this autumn - but what makes them so sure? And watch out if you plan on taking your kids out of school during term time — you could face big fines, with the first change to the system since 2013. Is it fair that parents get fined for taking children on holidays and should there be a better system devised? We look at the supermarket winners and losers over the last decade — just how bad have things been for ASDA. And our reporter Angharad Carrick takes a visit to west London Tesco to test its new anti-shoplifting measures. Is it any good? We also run the rule over Aliexpress... and the bargain items that are almost too good to be true.

Since the suffragette movement, women have had to work hard to gain autonomy in what was once very much “a man’s world”; and when it comes to finances, women are yet to achieve equality. Vicky Sayers is joined in this episode by Tamara Gillan, founder of the WealthiHer Network: created to inspire and empower women to grow and protect their wealth. They discuss the continuing economic inequality of the sexes, and the initiatives put in place by the WealthiHer Network to work towards equality. Replay from 20th March 2020