Share Sounds from This is Money

Is austerity really coming to an end? And are the rich getting richer thanks to the Government? In the This is Money podcast this week, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost analyse the 2018 Budget. Money for the NHS, little extras for schools, cash for roads, help for the High Street and the baby rabbit in the hat - pulling the rise in the basic and higher rate tax thresholds to £12,500 and £50,000, respectively, a year earlier than promised. We also talk about what a no Brexit deal means for interest rates? We heard from the Bank of England this week about the likely impact such a scenario could have on interest rates and how quickly they will go up – or not. Despite sticking this week to 0.75%, the decision came with a few notes of warning – largely that it was based on a 'smooth transition' for Brexit. And finally, we report on the latest in our 'stop the private parking sharks' campaign - how the good people of Essex town Basildon have taken to the streets to protest about one firm running a car park and dishing out charges.

As stock market turmoil spreads across the globe, the advice is to keep calm and carry on, folks. In the latest This is Money podcast, editor Simon Lambert and host Georgie Frost discuss what's causing it, how long will it go on for and how concerned we should be. Because we're a positive bunch, we also reveal the shares that have rocketed over the last five years, some by more than 1,000 per cent. Also, we answer a reader query about state pensions - can couples inherit it from each other and how much might they get? Elsewhere, we take a look at the best way to clear your buy-to-let loan and discover how to bag a property bargain.

With this year’s Budget moved to Monday, 29 October, we bring you a pre-Budget special. This is Money editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost debate the key areas that might feature in Chancellor Philip 'Spreadsheet' Hammond’s tax and spending review. This includes housing, inheritance tax, pensions and a whole host more, as he tries to find £20 billion down the back of the Treasury sofa for the promised NHS boost. But this Budget has some extra spice, with both Brexit and a Labour party whose main policy idea seems to be to force another General Election, which it thinks it can win. We discuss what the Government needs to focus on to stamp out the Labour challenge and just how the economy is looking ahead of Brexit. One time Labour donor Lord Sugar is threatening to leave the country if Jeremy Corbyn comes into power, thanks – in large part – to its threat of a barrage of tax rises. How big is the threat from Corbyn and co - and what can you do to protect your family from a potential overhaul of pensions, Isas, capital gains and even transferring wealth to a spouse?

This week, This is Money launched another campaign - and we have the private car parking sharks and the DVLA in our sights. We talk about the horrific cases of drivers being fined and penalised we have received from readers and listeners so far, ask how the DVLA is able to sell our details on without permission and what can be done about the menace – along with what we want changed. Elsewhere, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost talk about Dave and Marcus. The latter is the Goldman Sachs backed offshoot offering savers 1.5 per cent interest – and has seen 50,000 people sign-up. The former is Dave Fishwick, who has gone on a crowdfunding drive this week to try and raise up to £7million to help get his Burnley Savings and Loans venture a banking licence. We also discuss Isas. We reveal why they are so good, why they should be part of most people's financial planning and how to become an Isa millionaire.

Child benefit and state pension - It’s not the most obvious link. But if you are a parent who is looking after a child instead of working, you need to register for child benefit in order to build up your entitlement in retirement age. Austerity swept away the universal child benefit and those households where one parent earns more than £50,000 have to start giving it back until it is removed altogether above £60,000. Unsurprisingly, many who fall into this bracket simply opt not to take it and see no point in registering. Unfortunately, mums and dads who stopped work to look after children are now finding they’ve missed building up their state pension. It should be easy to fix, but HMRC and the government have been stalling parents affected. That’s why This is Money has started a campaign to get this mess fixed, before it gets any worse. On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost discuss how this all happened and why it matters to not just those affected. And finally, can you really have a weekend away in Europe, flights and a decent hotel for £57? Yes you can, thanks to a very clever new website we tracked down.

The reports of buy-to-let’s death have been greatly exaggerated. That is the view of one of the few professional residential property fund managers in the UK. Alan Collett, who runs the Hearthstone fund, believes for the astute investor there is still money to be made from Britain’s homes. You could answer, ‘well, he would say that’, but for those interested in the property market, his reasons are worth listening to. In this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Sarah Davidson and Georgie Frost dig into the current state of buy-to-let and whether those without an entire property fund at their disposal can still turn a healthy profit if they think long-term. Also on this week’s show, they discuss where the most homes have been built over the past decade, why Goldman Sachs’ new bank Marcus has got everyone talking thanks to an eye-catching savings rate and whether insurers really do spy on you – including if you’re burgled while Instagramming your holiday. And finally, the new 68 registration plate was launched this month and that should have meant a surge in car sales, except as was suggested by one dealer we may already have reached peak new car and that has combined with diesel worries to sink sales. The good news is that means bargains for car buyers, with as much as £10,000 off some models. We reveal which ones.

As banks went kaput a decade ago, the safety of our savings was thrust into the limelight. Most had never considered that cash in the bank was at risk and knew little about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. When Icesave blew up a year after the Northern Rock collapse things changed dramatically. We should all be up to speed now, but how safe are your savings? On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Tanya Jefferies and Georgie Frost we look at savings protection but also how you could end up losing money by sticking with cash. Ironically, worries about banks a decade ago triggered a flight to safety and more people stashing money in savings accounts rather than investing. But had people invested as Lehman Brothers collapsed they would have more than doubled their money by now. Taking the risk as the world appeared to be falling apart would have been the right move. Yet, at that point the stock market was already down 20% and fell by that again before it hit the bottom, so how many would have been brave enough? Also on this week’s show, we discuss how easy it might be to hit the £1million pension lifetime allowance sand whether your car might fail its next MOT.

What do you do about the looming inheritance tax threat when you live with elderly parents along with your own child and the home is worth nearly £10million – and you want to continue living there? It sounds like a champagne problem, but IHT does hit ordinary people – including one reader who admits to being relatively cash poor. How can they make sure they aren't turfed out due to inheritance tax? This is Money editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost discuss the IHT issue. Elsewhere, we discuss the big responsibility of being a trustee with a pot of cash to invest for a younger sibling and why it is never too late to start sorting your pension. With a number of big firms suffering hacks, including British Airways, we discuss what people can do if they are a victim and how to prevent becoming one. And finally, we talk about electric cars as sales continue to rise with the UK pushing for an entirely zero-emissions road network by 2040.

This is Money in partnership with NS&I. What would you teach a student about money? It’s almost time for a fresh year of students to start university and as they find their feet with new friends and a new way of studying they will also face another challenge – being in charge of their financial life. But we don’t have to send them off ill-equipped to deal with that, a few helpful tips can stop students ending up down to their last few pounds before the clocks even change. And as well as offering guidance, it’s perhaps even more useful to tell students about where you went wrong with money at university, or in your younger life. On this week’s podcast Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost have some helpful advice for students and a few candid tales of the money mistakes they made. Also, on this week’s show, we discuss child trust funds and how the free money dished out to children has often been lost track of but could be a nice little windfall.

Host Georgie Frost is joined by Assistant Editor Lee Boyce and motoring Editor Rob Hull. It’s the cash and cars edition. Are reports of it’s death greatly exaggerated? If not, are we as a society and our financial institutions ready to go cashless?! Big Brother claims at Lloyds; Aston Martin Gears up for a £5bn float and £48.5m for a Ferrari anyone? Bad luck, that one has just sold – but don’t worry. What about a Lada for the bargain price of 75 grand?!