Share Sounds. presented by Georgie Frost

They finally did it! The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee raised the base rate from its emergency 0.1% level to 0.25%. That came the day after inflation rocketed to 5.1 per cent - and is forecast to keep rising - and in the week that the International Monetary Fund warned the Bank of England against 'inaction bias'. Markets were cheered by the rate rise and economists were broadly welcoming too, yet the general consensus is that it will make little difference to the inflation Britain is suffering. So, why raise interest rates and was this the right move as the nation stares down the barrel of yet more (potentially overcooked) Covid disruption? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert delve into the rate rise, ask whether it was the right move but maybe for the wrong reason, and look at why inflation is soaring and when it may abate. The team also discuss how this will affect ordinary people and whether it will add to the cost of living squeeze hitting everywhere from the petrol pump, to your heating and the supermarket aisles. Tanya gives an update on delayed state pension cases and her investigations into this and whether the generation in their late 40s will have to wait longer to retire. And finally, it’s nearly Christmas and frantic present buying is the order of the day, but if you were going to give a financial gift to a child would you give Premium Bonds, shares or bitcoin?

The greatest hurdle first-time buyers face after years of house prices rocketing far faster than wages is saving for a deposit. A 10 per cent deposit on the average £273,000 home, according to Halifax’s index, would be £27,300 – roughly an entire year’s average salary. That’s a tough gig to save while paying rent, bills, commuting costs, living expenses and trying to at least enjoy your 20s or 30s a little bit. So what can prospective homeowners do to get that money? How long would it take to save and can the often-maligned Lifetime Isa be a real no-brainer of a booster here. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert talk about trying to buy your first home, saving for a deposit, and whether new Bank of England rules designed to make mortgages easier to get could end up backfiring and sending prices even higher. Those potential rule changes come about because problematically, if a first-time buyer could save that £27,300, they would then need to borrow £245,700 on a mortgage to buy the average home. Even if they were able to find a bank or building society that would offer to lend them five times their salary, an individual first-time buyer would need to earn about £50,000 per year to qualify. A shift to enabling first-time buyers to borrow more would bridge that gap, at the expense of huge mortgages, but could it just drive house price inflation. Also on this week’s podcast, could a savings platform boost your rate, what a damning report into Ofgem’s role in energy supplier collapse said and in the year that is a gift that keeps on giving, Christmas present inflation.

We’ve all felt it, that moment when you look at your bank balance and think ‘I’ve spent how much?’ But what if you looked at an entire lifetime’s worth of spending? What would the damage be and how painful would that number feel? According to a recent piece of research by Atom Bank, the cost of living an entire near 81-year lifetime in 2021 would be a whopping £1,543,834. That includes £169,159 spent on children, £266,742 on buying the average house and £69,793 on Christmases. The bank compared the figures to what the same lifetime would have cost at a 1971 snapshot, with £14,738 on children, £2,371 on the average house, and £4,177 on Christmases. Beyond highlighting just how much house prices have skyrocketed in 50 years – if they had only kept pace with standard inflation the average home would cost £38,000 – what does this tell us? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss that and why a snapshot like this – vaguely precise as it may be – can help us understand how inflation works and how it can drive up prices. Lee picks out the inflation across each decade to show that and Atom’s figures that see the cost of the average lifetime rise to £19.2million by 2071 sharpen the mind. Inflation is looking large again, but Omicron has made it look like a Bank of England interest rate hike may be back off the table this month. The team discuss that and whether the variant and restrictions to tackle it will cause more economic problems and what those with travel plans can do. Next up is the Great Resignation – another phenomenon thrust to the foreground by the pandemic – what’s going on, why are people quitting and should you stay or go to get a pay rise and better working conditions? And finally, is your home hotter than Lanzarote? It’s cold and frosty outside, but inside a surprising number of British homes it’s shorts and t-shirt weather.

What makes a good consumer story to take up the cudgel on and fight a reader’s corner – and why don’t companies and organisations just do the right thing? A year ago, This is Money started its Grace on the Case column, where reporter Grace Gausden fights for reader’s rights and tries to solve their problems each week. Over those 12 months, roughly £381,000 worth of victories have been racked up – more than £1,000 a day. On this week’s podcast, Grace takes us behind the scenes of the column and talks about the cases she has tried to help with. She joins Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert to discuss the biggest issues that have emerged, and how things have played out when This is Money took on firms and organisations for readers. Also, on this week’s podcast, do you know how much tax you pay? Most people only have the vaguest idea based on their headline rate, but what percentage or amount do you actually pay, and where are the sneaky glitches in the tax code that catch people out. Plus, the LitterLotto where you can win money by putting stuff in the bin, whether Black Friday is a con or a golden opportunity, and finally, would you swap items in your shopping or lifestyle to beat inflation?

Inflation hit its highest level in a decade this week off the back of soaring energy costs and petrol prices. Why is the cost of living on the rise, when will interest rates go up, and how will all this affect the pound in our pocket? This week, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Mike Sheen take a look at the 4.2 per cent CPI figure and how it is becoming harder to ‘inflation proof’ your finances. It looks like the state pension triple lock could be doomed – that 3.1 per cent rise pencilled in for next year doesn’t look generous considering the rise in the cost of living. There is a special delivery for Royal Mail shareholders while major banks are not only shuttering branches, but are increasingly telling customers to serve themselves. And finally, TSB is the latest bank to offer a prize draw, is it a good alternative to Premium Bonds or simply a gimmick.

Is it better to leave the heating on low all the time, or switch it on in smaller bursts? Does an electric heater cost less to heat a room? Is the electric blanket cheaper than a kettle-filled hot water bottle? On this week's podcast, Georgie Frost, Grace Gausden and Simon Lambert, tackle the burning questions of our time (well, the common energy saving ones people often debate at least). The team reveal a cunning way to work out when you can use Avios points to book flights. Plus, Simon explains why he's not a crypto investing genius, why you probably aren't too and what the point of regularly reminding yourself that you aren't an investment guru in crypto, shares, or anything else is. And finally, a This is Money reader recently moved home and doesn't have a doorbell and their landlord won't provide one, do they have to... and exactly who is this reader?

Did the Bank of England bottle raising interest rates or should a rate rise have never been on the cards in the first place? Inflation is mounting but hiking the base rate will do little to tame soaring energy prices, an oil price spike or the supply crunch. On the other hand, the emergency 0.1 per cent base rate arrived at the start of the coronavirus crisis and the economy looks far better now than was expected then. So where should rates be? And did the Bank of England make the wrong decision for the right reason? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert dissect the Steady Eddie move that got the Bank of England labelled an ‘unreliable boyfriend’ again. Plus, our pension agony uncle Sir Steve Webb joins the podcast to discuss state pension delays and what has happened since he and Tanya Jefferies exposed the situation. And finally, it’s time for some council tax rants… just why is the tax so seemingly crazy and in terms of fixing it, should we be careful what we wish for?

In 1971, a group of friends set off to sail into a nuclear test zone in a boat called Greenpeace, and their protest captured the world’s imagination. In 2015, a new documentary called 'How to Change the World' reveals the archives which bring their story to life. In this episode recorded in September 2015, Georgie Frost talks with director Jerry Rothwell.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered another Budget alongside a Spending Review. Much of what it contained had previously been revealed, including the forthcoming National Insurance hike, frozen income tax bands, triple lock suspension and a flurry of information over the weekend. Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce run the rule on the latest Budget and updated figures on inflation and base rate predictions, alongside where the economy is at… and potentially heading. The Chancellor didn't reinstate the Universal Credit uplift, instead lowering the taper while also rising the minimum wage to £9.50 an hour – will that help working families? With a cost of living crisis that seems to be looming with petrol, food and energy prices rising, were there any measures to help combat this? Could base rate really reach 3.5 per cent by 2023, and should homeowners be worried about potentially rising mortgage costs? And what about the threat of rising inflation, now predicted to be plus-4 per cent next year? There was an update about cladding and changes to short haul flight taxes alongside a promise to fix a tax quirk that deprives low-paid workers of pension cash which is paid to better off colleagues – but not until 2025.

Going green used to be presented as a way of saving money, but the stark reality that dealing with climate change will mean us spending more is dawning. The carrot of £5,000 grants to help people ditch gas boilers and install air source heat pumps or other more eco-friendly heating was dangled by the Prime Minister this week. There was a hefty caveat though, there is only enough cash for 90,000 being made available and it seems like the rest who want to get greener heating will need to foot hefty bills themselves. People can stall but eventually the stick will come, with banks encouraged to only give the best mortgage rates to those with efficient homes. Likewise, another carrot was dangled in the form of green savings bonds from NS&I, so savers could put their money to work helping the nation’s green projects. Once more, there is a big caveat: the rate on the three-year bonds is a measly 0.65 per cent. That compares to the best standard three-year savings fix of 1.81 per cent. Maybe Kermit was right, it’s not easy being green. But will our good intentions overcome the higher costs and lower returns and people be willing to pay the price for going green? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert, discuss green bonds and better alternatives and greener homes, their costs and whether there is also better options that we are being presented with right now. Plus, we had closure on the axing of the triple lock this week, with an inflation figure that set the next state pension increase, and bitcoin hit a record high. And finally, Lee explains the This is Money headline of the week: ‘I fished my daughter's third birthday present out of a skip’