financial advice

This week on the podcast, Martin has a message for people entitled to PIP who might be worried about potential reforms to these payments. You ‘Tell Us’ the best financial advice you’ve received from your parents and grandparents. And finally, there are some new energy fixes to take advantage of - and they’re below the price cap. Martin also shares with us what it was really like hosting Have I Got News For You.

This week on the podcast Martin talks about how you can find out if you’ve been paying too much in Council Tax and how you could get a discount. We also hear from landlords who ‘Tell Us’ what tenants should do to get the best deal. And, as always, Martin shares his latest Money Saving Tips.

With the bills rolling in after Christmas, this week’s episode is devoted to helping listeners tackle their credit card debts on a practical and emotional level - no matter how big or small they might be. Host Claer Barrett hears from experienced debt adviser Sara Williams of the popular Debt Camel blog and Instagram account, Helen Saxon, deputy editor of Money Saving Expert, and Dr Pamela Roberts, a shopping addiction specialist at the Priory Clinic. They give tips on balance transfers and on how to resist the urge to splurge. 

To sign up for Claer's Sort Your Financial Life Out money series, visit FT.com/moneycourse

Links: 

Business Debtline here  

Citizens Advice here 

Stepchange here

Debt Camel Blog here

For the MSE Credit card eligibility calculator, go here 

To listen to the Money Clinic episode about shopping addiction, go here

Follow Claer on social media @Claerb and contact the Money Clinic team via money@ft.com

Presented by Claer Barrett. Produced by Philippa Goodrich. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Simon Panayi, with original music from Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Martin Lewis Podcast is here - he tells you the ten things you MUST know about your pension, from how to find lost money in old pensions, to when you can opt in for extra pension contributions from your employer. PLUS when to ignore your warranty and still get what you want…

Elsewhere in the podcast, Martin reacts to the latest inflation figures, you ‘tell us’ your summer holiday bargains and Martin is challenging YOU to come up with a nickname for new podcast producer Lillie-Mae…

In times of financial turbulence, banks head to the Federal Reserve’s (virtual) discount window for short-term emergency loans. The week after SVB failed, U.S. banks borrowed over $150 billion from the central bank. One listener called in to ask: Why didn’t SVB do the same? We’ll get into SVB’s fruitless attempt to secure rescue funds and answer more of your questions about faux job openings and what really counts as consumer spending. Plus, what should you look for in a personal financial adviser?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “What Is the Fed Discount Window and Why Are Banks Using It So Much?” from The Washington Post

• • “How the Last-Ditch Effort to Save Silicon Valley Bank Failed” from The Wall Street Journal

• • “Job Listings Abound, but Many Are Fake” from The Wall Street Journal

• • “Survey: Job Seekers Beware of Ghost Jobs” from Clarify Capital

• • “The Fed monitors job openings for inflation decisions. But many listings aren’t real.” from CBS News

• • “Why job openings data might not mean what we think it means” from Marketplace

• • “Consumer Spending” from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

• • “Introduction to U.S. Economy: Consumer Spending” from the Congressional Research Service

• • “Fiduciary Definition: Examples and Why They Are Important” from Investopedia

• • “Regulators Revive 401(k) Fiduciary Effort in New Legal Landscape” from Bloomberg Law

• • Laura Adams’ “Money Girl” podcast”

Got a question about the economy, business or technology? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Hasan Minhaj tackles today's headlines, including Prince Charles forcing Prince Andrew out of his mansion, and chats with Roy Wood Jr. about the Tooth Fairy's rates reaching a new all-time high. “Shark Tank” investor and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary discusses his losses and lessons learned from the failed crypto exchange FTX.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does this mortgage tumult mean for individuals? Will borrowers be able to remortgage? How high could rates go? Will there be a property crash? In this special episode of Money Clinic, host Claer Barrett, the FT’s consumer affairs editor, puts listeners’ and readers’ questions to Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco, and James Pickford, deputy editor of FT Money. 

Please note: This is an updated, corrected edition of an earlier version of the podcast which contained incorrect figures on the interest rate mechanism for Help To Buy properties.

Want more? Check out our online mortgage Q&A: https://www.ft.com/content/6dd96b0e-6b39-492e-9040-4f4b4d247a84

Money Clinic is keen to hear from listeners and readers. If you would like to get in touch, please email us at money@FT.com or DM Claer on social media. She is @ClaerB on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. 

You can find Andrew Montlake on Twitter, @montysblog, and James Pickford @MrJamesPickford

Presented by Claer Barrett. Produced by Persis Love and Philippa Goodrich. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claer Barrett chats to Harri about the challenges of building an ethical investment portfolio. The 29-year old is saving £1,000 a month into his retirement fund, and has noticed a growing array of ESG options (a label applied to investments that address environment, social and governance considerations). Are they genuinely doing good — or have they just done a good job on their marketing? And does investing ethically mean he has to sacrifice some investment returns? Experts Gillian Tett and Moira O’Neill offer their tips.

If you would like to talk to Claer for a future episode, please email the Money Clinic team at money@ft.com with a short description of your dilemma, and how you would like us to help. Follow Claer on Twitter and Instagram @Claerb and read her weekly Serious Money column in the FT Money section of the FT Weekend newspaper.

Further reading:

--Gillian Tett chairs the FT’s editorial board, and set up Moral Money, the FT’s online hub for all things ESG. Read the latest stories and sign up for the twice-weekly newsletter at FT.com/moralmoney (the newsletter is currently free for the first 30 days). You can follow Gillian on Twitter: @GillianTett.

--Moira O’Neill is an investment columnist in FT Money, and the head of personal finance at Interactive Investor. Read Moira’s latest column about why it’s a myth that only the “young and woke” are interested in ESG investment at ft.com/goodmoneyweek. You can follow Moira on Twitter: @MoiraONeill.

--The dilemmas of ESG investors are explored in a forthcoming book by Alice Ross, the FT’s deputy news editor. You can read an extract from Investing to Save the Planet via this link ft.com/investingtosavetheplanet and it will be published by Penguin Books in November 2020.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob we’ve got two great questions around location and using the bounceback loan scheme to fund your deposit. Is it a good idea?

It seems a number of people are turning their head towards Liverpool for investing in property right now, and this week we’ve got another question regarding properties in the area.

So let’s get to it.

The first question is from Mohammad. He’s recently acquired £50,000 from the bounceback loan scheme through his limited company and he’s now wanting to know if he can use this money as a deposit for a buy-to-let property? 

There’s been a bit of confusion and uncertainty around this topic as it’s not really been clear as to whether you can use the bounceback loan as a deposit. 

So, do The Robs think it’s alright to use the loan as a deposit or do they think Mohammad should reconsider?

Our second caller of the week is Harry from Bristol. He’s asking if £70,000 is too cheap to purchase a decent property in Liverpool? 

If Rob & Rob think it’s too low, Harry wants to know what they think would be the minimum they’d pay for a property in this location.

Naturally, there was only one Rob to take on this question, so it’s over to Rob B to answer this one.

Does Rob B think that Harry should be looking at paying more than £70,000 to get himself a good investment property? 

Tune in to find out.

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply). 

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours. 

Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.