Share Sounds related to Personal Finance

We've just had Christmas and New Year is on its way but did you realise we're now in Twixtmas. For those that don't know that's the time inbetween Christmas and New Year... Whilst it can prove a bit of a limbo between festive partying one group is trying to promote the 5 days of Twixtmas and get people using them more productively. To explain more Sue Dougan was joined by Val McKie who's involved in the campaign.

Sue Dougan is joined in the studio by web editor at MoneySuperMarket.com Kevin Pratt. On the agenda today they look at the state of Britain's aging railways as well as our spending trends from 2016. Plus what to do with any unwanted Christmas gifts. All these stories and more on The News Review.

Tis the season to be jolly, and one form of festive relaxation is to imbibe with some fine wine. But will your glass be filled with something made in Britain? Lucy Winward from the award-winning New Hall Vineyard in Purleigh, joined Share Radio Breakfast to talk English wine.

With the help of guests, Malcolm McLean, from Barnet Waddingham, Claire Walsh, head of advice at Unbiased, Cleona Lira from 2Plan Wealth Management and Caroline Siarkiewicz from the Money Advice Service. Sarah looks at how you can get a head start on your finances in 2017

Over recent years, finance has been moving into the online world, most of us now bank online, we can get financial advice online, invest online and even sort out a mortgage online. So how is financial technology developing and what does the future of finance look like? To answer this Sarah is joined by Gemma Godfrey founder of Moola, Victor Trokoudes, CEO and co-founder of Plum and Chris Skinner, a writer, commentator and chairman of the Financial Services Club.

Welcome to the This is Money and Share Radio podcast, brought to you in partnership with NS&I. This week we’re getting festive with our annual Christmas taste test. Four retailers will be competing on cost and quality as we sample a full range of festive fare. Will last year’s champion Lidl hold its top place? Or will it fall victim to a resurgent Tesco? Also on trial this week we’ll have the upmarket option, Waitrose, and a mystery wildcard. Georgie Frost is joined by taste testers Editor Simon Lambert, Consumer Affairs editor Lee Boyce and special guest Development Editor Rich Browning. It’s not all eating though and as we delve into the financial stories of the day we’ll be serving up a starter of inflation forecasts, digging into a main course of mortgages and for pudding we’ll be rounding things off with a look at how the supermarkets have fared this year. This is Money is presented by Georgie Frost in partnership with NS&I.

The latest retail sales data for November is in and, as widely expected, Black Friday and other retail sales days boosted the numbers. The figures are nearly 6% higher than the same period last year. But do the figures tell the whole story of what’s going on in retail, especially in light of Brexit, and with sterling in flux? Matt Cox found out more from Mintel’s Retail Analyst, Richard Perks.

ParentPay is an online platform that allows parents to pay online for school activities, lunches, after school clubs, and more. They have helped over 2 million parents pay school bills safely and quickly since their launch. Linda heads down to meet Chief Executive Clint Wilson, to find out how the business works and what's next for them.

Caring for a family member can be a high toll on your life, both emotionally and financially and research recently conducted by the Carer's Trust show that over half of carers in the UK were missing out on the financial support they should be entitled to, negatively effecting their lives and the lives of those who they care for. To talk to Sarah about what you can do if your looking after someone, she is joined by Sarah Mitchell from the London-based Carers Network, Caroline Shola Arewa, a wellness coach and Steve Webb, from Royal London.

This week Sarah looks at how you can save money on your weekly shop, if you need to make your money stretch a little bit further. Saving money on your food shopping doesn't mean eating badly though and joining Sarah to discuss how to get the most for your pound are Kelly Eroglu from the Reduced Grub blog, Caroline Taylor from the All That I'm Eating blog and young money champion, Rachael Healy.