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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?

The tense situation between tenants and landlords is escalating: the former have seen rents spiral but the latter have faced a big jump in costs jump too. Meanwhile regulation has become a bugbear between the two sides, is there not enough of it or too much? What can be done to improve things in the rental market and have we come down too hard on buy-to-let? That’s the question asked on this week’s episode, as Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert debate the problems in the rental market. But before that, it’s time for Rishi Sunak. He was once the Chancellor tasked with calming our nerves during the pandemic, but now Rishi is the Prime Minister expected to settle things down after a bout of financial chaos. Will he be able to pull that off, soothe jittery markets, navigate Britain through a painful cost of living crisis winter, and somehow please the nation while taking money off people instead of dishing it out? The team look at what Prime Minister Rishi could mean compared to Chancellor Rishi – and what the implications for our finances could be. Also on the agenda, there was good news for savers from NS&I this week, as rates were raised across the board, but they can get better deals elsewhere, so what should they do? Plus, what can you do to track down old pension pots and why is John Lewis annoying its loyal credit card customers?

Adam Cox is joined by Will Rice, Founder & CEO of Generation Home, to discuss the recent uncertainty and turmoil within mortgages in the last few weeks, and how Gen H are helping to make owning a home more accessible. They talk about why it is better to loan a deposit, rather than gift it, and what deals are out there for first time buyers. https://www.generationhome.com/

Adam Cox is joined by Natalie McAllister, from Dyno-Rod, for Unblocktober to talk all things drains. She reveals some of the more ridiculous things she's found down drains, and what should and shouldn't be flushed. She explains why it is important to take care of drainage, and how Dyno-Rod can help anybody in need. https://www.dyno.com/

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?

Adam Cox is joined by seasoned journalist and independent mortgage specialist, Paula John, to discuss new research from Pepper Money that demonstrates the impact the current rise in interest rates has had on Brits. She provides some advice to listeners on how to improve their finances, and what it means to consolidate debt. www.pepper.money

Inflation is up again with CPI now measured at 10.1%, the highest since February 1982, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. How does this bout of inflation compare to then? Lee Boyce, Helen Crane and Georgie Frost discuss the higher than forecast inflation rate and what is driving it. With that rate of inflation soaring, a majority of economists believe another 0.5% increase in base rate is on the cards next month. But what would a base rate of 3%, 5% or 7% do to mortgage rates and property prices? Britons are estimated to have billions 'lost' in pension, investment and bank accounts – how do you go about tracking it down? And, with thousands of students opening their A Level results this week, Lee reveals how he has already built a £10,000 investment pot for his three-year-old, in case she decides to go into further education.

Adam Cox is joined by Robert Lyon, Managing Director of Playfair, to discuss the new law stating that landlords will legally need to provide a carbon monoxide alarm for their tenants from October 2022. Robert explains the dangers of carbon monoxide, and why it is so important to have an alarm, in addition to why a change in the law is being put into place. https://www.coalarmssavelives.com/

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.

Boris Johnson clearly hopes that an increased focus on home ownership will restore his fortunes as we approach the next election in the United Kingdom: we've certainly slipped a long way from the focus on ‘right to buy’ and popular capitalism over the decades since Margaret Thatcher was in power. Politicians often speak glibly about ownership as if it's a definitive term, but the sense of ownership depends on a whole range of features. We look at a number of different styles of, and pressures on, ownership, and how they weaken or strengthen that sense of connection for which Boris Johnson is no doubt seeking. Background music: Timeless by Slenderbeats