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Georgie Frost, Simon and Lee Boyce with their annual review episode: Simon and Lee assess the last twelve months, looking at what's happened to mortgage and savings rates, house prices and investments, and what changes may be to come in 2025. It's been quite an eventful year with changes of government on both sides of the pond ...

House price predictions for next year have started to roll in, so where do the experts think they are headed next? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Lee Boyce discuss the property market - and delve into figures that attempt to tackle the tricky question: is it harder to buy a home now versus 50 years ago? And sticking with property, Halifax has launched a highly unusual fixed-rate mortgage — should borrowers be tempted? With the weather turning colder, we talk how to stay warm this winter without breaking the bank and whether it is worth getting a fixed tariff with your energy firm. We reveal the amount you should have saved in your pension in every decade of your life to guarantee a golden retirement — and how much notice you should pay to these formulas. And lastly, Lee reveals his top tips for avoiding the out of contract rip-off trap — and how he's saving more than £400 in the next 12 months by doing so.

Inflation's spell below the Bank of England's 2% target has been brief and the latest CPI figure came in at a higher than expected 2.3%. Meanwhile, Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey has joined the Office of Budget Responsibility in stating that the recent Autumn Budget is likely to lift inflation, as employers face higher costs from national insurance and the rising minimum wage. On the other side of the Atlantic, President-elect Donald Trump is seen as bringing his own inflationary pressure, which could spread from the US to the rest of the world. So what does this mean for interest rates? Are cuts about to stall — and what happens next for borrowers and savers? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert, talk inflation, rates, mortgages and savings. The team also look at whether those needing to get a mortgage now should fix for two or five years. Plus, why the row over inheritance tax and farmers is symptomatic of Britain's bad tax system — and Simon's plan for a trade-off on IHT-free land. Crane goes on the case of money refunded for a faulty coffee machine much later to an empty gift voucher that had understandably gone in the bin. And finally, the listener question of the week is up and running, and it's one on sticking it to the man and having enough money to quit work for good.

Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane ask: do we have a mortgage price war on our hands — the cheapest market rate is now just 4.29%? Meanwhile the gold price is at a record high, and the oil price has fallen to its lowest for the past five months.

We love the idea of transforming our homes so much that an entire cottage TV industry has sprung out of it, ranging from Grand Designs, to Ugly House to Lovely House and Your Home Made Perfect. For Jaemi and Roly Glancy sketching out how they could renovate their properties turned into a start-up helping others envisage what they could do with theirs. Simon Lambert of This is Money speaks to Roly about how they started the business and where it's going.

The mortgage market is mayhem, with lenders pulling deals and rapidly hiking rates. Average fixed mortgage rates have soared over the past month and we are now at the stage where it looks a lot like the panic after the mini-Budget. At the same time savings rates are going gangbusters and there is barely a day that passes without a new best buy. Meanwhile, UK gilt yields have also leapt, sending the UK’s borrowing costs even higher. What on earth is going on? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert dive in and try to explain why the sudden inflation-driven chaos has kicked off and what borrowers and savers can do. What should you do if you need a mortgage? Is this a prime time to grab a savings deal or should you wait for better rates? How does it compare to the double-digit rates days of the 1980s? What does this mean for the economy? Are we all doomed? Or will this pass? Listen to find out their views and get tips on how to sort your mortgage and savings.

The mortgage crunch has stalled the pandemic property boom and sent house prices down, but could they fall 20%? The risk of a severe house price downturn of that magnitude was flagged by Rightmove founder and property market veteran Harry Hill. Hill’s CV includes setting up property giant Rightmove and selling estate agency group Countrywide for £1 billion a year before the 2008 banking crisis. Hill told the The Mail on Sunday and This is Money: 'My view on the housing market is that it's going down in every direction. Transactions are going to go down. Prices are going to go down.’ He added that a bad recession would mean ‘we could see 20% price reductions’. Could house prices fall 20% from here? Why would it happen? How bad would that be? Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert discuss the prospects for the housing market, how the rapid rise in mortgage rates is affecting it and what prospective home movers or first-time buyers should do. Plus, they are joined by a very special guest: Lee Boyce, now Money Mail editor, is back on the programme to discuss the Wooden Spoon award for the worst customer service of the year. Who are the runners and riders, what did they do wrong, and why does Simon nominate a couple of firms that aren’t even on the shortlist? Savings rates have been a rare bit of good new recently and Simon talks through the attraction of small building societies and how some are offering market beating rates, but you might struggle to secure them. And finally, it’s time for a second special guest, John Mayhead of classic car specialist Hagerty, who is joins Simon to discuss the insurer’s Bull List of ten classics it tips to rise in value next year. How do these classic cars get on the list, what makes them ripe for appreciation and what’s a Citroen BX doing rubbing shoulders with a Lamborghini Diablo?

Savings and mortgage rates rocketed after what must now always be known as the 'ill-fated mini-Budget', but even as the Bank of England continues to raise rates have they already peaked. The top fixed rate savings deals have edged down from their highest levels - a five-year fix can no longer be had above 5%, for example, while the best two year fix is at 4.75%. So, if you want to lock into a good savings deal, should you grab one now? Or did rates simply race ahead of the Bank of England and the next round of base rate rises will bump them up some more? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert look at the potential future of savings rates and why even if they are slightly off their peak, you should still move your money from old accounts. But if a dip in the top savings rates is bad, the easing of mortgage rates is good news. Average two and five-year fixed rates rocketed all the way to above 6.5%. The best five-year fix is now down to 5.95%. But this is still way higher than it was, so where will mortgage rates settle and is it worth holding off? The team discuss that and the implication for both house prices and first-time buyers. And finally, an energy double header: on a serious note, the energy price cap (which we won't pay due to the energy price guarantee) has jumped again, this time to £4,279 for the average household over a year. If we won't pay that, why does this matter? And on a lighter note, what happened when Harry Wallop (who refuses to let his family turn the heating on) tried out a bunch of oddball devices designed to warm the person not the room, ranging from an odd foot warmer, to a heated gilet, and a wearable sleeping bag that makes you look a bit like a crazy caterpillar?

Rocketing rates have sent the average two and five-year fixed rate mortgage through the 6% barrier. This is a level that would have been considered unthinkable a year ago, when there were fifty mortgage deals on the market at below 1%. The Bank of England belatedly playing catching up with inflation has sent base rate from 0.1% last December to 2.25% now - and with inflation far from tamed and the US Federal Reserve going in all guns blazing on monetary policy, rates are likely to keep going up from here. But the catalyst for the past month's big jump in mortgage rates has been the turmoil triggered by the Chancellor's ill-received mini-Budget and the flurry of borrowing Britain will have to do to fund it. So, what happens next to mortgage rates, what should people who need to fix now do, and will this send house prices sinking? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert dive into the mortgage market to look at what is happening and why - and what borrowers can do about it. Are expensive fixes now worth taking, what should you do if you are buying a home and is a variable rate mortgage really now the answer? They answer these questions and more. Plus, while rate rises are bad for mortgage borrowers they are proving good news for savers, who have been starved of decent deals for many years. The top fixed rate savings are knocking on the door of 5%, but how high will savings rates go and should you fix and risk losing out on better ones in future? The ill-fated mini-Budget also brought about the abolition of the 45p tax rate, except that's now been abolished itself as Kwasi Kwarteng staged a screeching U-turn this week. Nonetheless, Simon has some middle-class tax cutting ideas that he reckons make more sense and could be popular. And finally, a reader wrote to This is Money telling us they had some letters written to them in the 1960s by a rock star who then died young and they could be worth £20,000... but will they have to pay tax if they sell? More to the point, who could the mystery rock star be?

A mortgage stress test designed to stop borrowers overstretching themselves will be scrapped, it was revealed this week. The mortgage industry has long bemoaned this supposedly unrealistic test that makes lenders check if borrowers can afford their repayments at a level higher than the fix or tracker deal they may be taking, their lender's standard variable rate plus 3%. Yet, isn't a bit of an odd time to finally get rid of this, just as interest rates are finally rising and the base rate has jumped from 0.1% to 1.25% in six months? What's more, it's forecast by some to keep rising and go as high as 3% by the end of the year: meaning almost that entire 3% rise which the stress test uses. Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce discuss why the Bank of England is doing this and whether it is the right move, or could lead to risky lending and even higher house prices? Also, the team discuss inflation and how to (at least) try to do something to combat it with your savings - and also, why investors are finding it so hard to buy the dip and be greedy when others are fearful in the inflation storm. The renewed fervour for offering bumper deals on current accounts also goes under the microscope, but is a bung to join, an interest rate on your balance, or the ability to categorise your spending the best readon to switch? And finally, you live in an end of terrace house, someone wants to build next door using your wall and making your home a mid-terrace: surely that couldn't be allowed? Or would it? Listen to the end to find out.