This is Money Podcast

After last year's Christmas show went viral thanks to turkey ham, an improbable Christmas dinner product included in the taste test, the 2015 edition had a lot to live up to.This week, three wise men from This is Money - Simon, Lee and Rich - join even wiser Georgie Frost at Share Radio HQ to taste test THREE, three-course Christmas 'dinners' from Lidl, Waitrose and Tesco - live on air! Can cheaper really be better?Meanwhile, thanks to the US Federal Reserve raising American interests rates earlier in the week, the show also features a lot of valuable truths and myths about interest rates and inflation.The world was expecting the Fed to raise rates in 2015 and this was the last chance to do it. So it did. What does that mean for you and me?Also on the agenda...How to buy a home when your mortgage lender insists you insure it through a company that doesn't exist. Plus best Christmas adverts, pensioner bonds, the second hand annuity market.And Bread pudding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not often that a watchdog not only watches but also bites. But that’s what the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has done to our shameful banks. Sorry listeners, it’s bad bankers again! This time it’s the ‘pathetic’ interest rates paid to loyal savers, some as low as 0.01%. Share Radio’s money guru Georgie Frost is joined by editor Simon Lambert and consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce, who name and shame the banks named and shamed by the FCA.And it’s all thanks to a campaign This is Money launched in 2011 to make banks tell their customers what rate of interest they are being paid. Also, on the show…The price of oil is coming down again – they could start giving it away soon, well almost. The main Bank of England interest rate is kept on hold for the 81st month in a row, provoking more debate on the threat of it going up soonCould young people’s dream of owning a home come true thanks to a massive building programme – on the Green Belt?Guess what? We’re overpaying for our gas and electricity bills. Someone has totted up the pennies and it adds up to billions of pounds. Investing in whisky Best and worst fund managersStupidly expensive food and drink Does filling your freezer with newspaper help to cut your electricity bill? And finally…No, it doesn’t. But it’s fun to find out why.#money #saving #interestrates #moneysaving #whisky #newspaper #banks #badbanks #greenbelt #houseprices #bills Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is this the best financial product ever? From a saver's point of view the Help to Buy Isa may just be that.Much of the work at This is Money involves uncovering bad behaviour at banks and other providers of financial products.Anyone would think bankers had no morals. Of course, we also work hard to praise the good stuff. One banker this week, claims a product has been launched that has no downside. Really? Is there finally something too good to be true that is actually true? Editor Simon Lambert and This is Money’s money product expert Laura Whitcombe pore over the new help-to-buy Isa that hands free money to first time buyers. But what’s the catch? Also on the show…It’s going to get tough for home owners for all sorts of reasons.It’s already getting tough for buy-to-letters – but is that such a bad thing?What’s the matter with people and their unhealthy relationship with credit cards?Does anyone care about climate change when you can save a few quid on your ‘lectric?Are you earning less than a tractor driver? Help small shops and small businesses. They’re lovely. And cake. #cake #credit #helptobuy #climatechange #shopping #homes #banks #money #spending Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As shoppers plotted a course this week through the complicated array of bargains spewed into stores for Black Friday, the Chancellor was hatching a plot of his own to keep news of a £91bn tax raid out of his Autumn Statement. Editor Simon Lambert and consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce join Share Radio presenter Georgie Frost for a fun look at this mini-Budget - and shopping. As with all of these things, the devil’s in the retail. Are graduates really going to foot the bill for increased pensions?Are the buy-to-let tax changes going to kill off buy-to-let?What are these help-to-buy Isas? The Chancellor may have announced that he’s going to build 400,000 new homes – but where on Earth is he going to put them?‘I want to see a map, George Osborne!’ demands Lee. Simon admits to getting very excited about negative interest rates, where banks charge customers to look after their savings.Also being discussed: The latest news on Isa ratesWhen phishing scams arrive by SMS and become smishing And shopping. Does anyone actually like the Black Friday shopping event? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When banks brought down the global economy in 2007/08, Iceland jailed the bankers responsible.In Britain meanwhile, taxpayers gave our bankers getting on for £200 billion to be paid for by cutting spending on police, armed forces and the benefits of disabled people.We also commissioned a report into multiple scandals committed at HBOS bank that has taken seven years of writing.The report came out this week. It's damning and 'convicts' the bosses responsible - but will anything happen to them?Probably not.HBOS is the abbreviated cover for Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and scandal. This is Money's Rachel Rickard Straus and Lee Boyce despair as they pore of over the revelations in the report. Also this week, with Share Radio presenter Georgie Frost:The great new smart meter rip offThe worst ever cash Isa rates from Government-owned NSandI Bad deflation - what's that and is it heading our way?Britain v Germany - who's winning the supermarket price wars? Surprisingly expensive carsand David Beckham Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happened in the financial crisis? Is it time to forgive the banks and move on? Do we need the City?Simon Lambert and Rachel Rickard Straus join Georgie Frost in the studio for a run through the week's essential money news.This week's show features a potted history of what on earth went wrong in the financial system - and whether eight years down the line it is time to forgive and move on.The team also look at how to fix Britain's tax mess, why the buy-to-let boom could blow up and quite why anyone would want a house with an underground showroom for 25 cars.(The answer to which to a certain car-mad This is Money editor, is obvious). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone has a duty to pay tax – it’s the investment that allows democracy and civilised society to function. But have you tried to contact the tax office lately? In good times, it’s tough enough trying to get a tax refund from HMRC but now people are telling us it’s becoming impossible to even pay their bills. A near-hour wait to get through on the phone is the norm. Also on the agenda: The interest rates rise soap opera continues with the latest will-they won’t-they relationship looking like it’s off until further notice. The UK economy is looking healthy but what do investors looking at fragile emerging markets need to know?Parking your car looks likely to get a whole lot more expensive - £85 more to be precise. Did you know you can now chuck all your spare foreign coins into a machine that instantly converts them into British pounds? And finally…Do you really need to pay extra car insurance and fees to amend your policy if you get promoted?Probably not. But it’s fun to hear why with This is Money’s Simon Lambert and Laura Whitcombe, Share Radio’s Georgie Frost and another fascinating hour of money chat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out what happens when a scammer pretends to be from broadband provider TalkTalk and attempts to take over an unsuspecting customer's computer.And what happens when the customer turns out to be journalist Sam Greenhill, who strings along the conman.(Personal details have been blanked out of this audio) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fraud and overcharging special - This is Money ShowIf ever you needed proof that even the most unacceptable behaviour by financial and consumer 'service' providers can be entertaining, don't miss this week's episode.The great money double act is back: editor Simon Lambert and consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce despair at the TalkTalk data leak and ask whether the company's security is so lax that customers can tear up their contracts and walk away With Share Radio presenter Georgie Frost, they talk about the future of these kinds of frauds - where hackers dip into a company's database and help themselves to customer information, which they sell on to crooks. How bad can it get? Very bad.Also on the show: EU data roaming charges are in the news this week. And it's good news - you'll no longer accidentally pay thousands of pounds to download an episode of Finding Nemo while on holiday with the kids. Quiz of the week: Can you guess what Lloyds is mis-selling this week? There always seems to be something. It's packaged accounts! Staff sell car insurance to people who can't drive and travel insurance to people who don't go on holiday. And this at the same time the bank's PPI mis-selling bill goes stratospheric.There's more banking lunacy, where customers are told they can only settle a dispute by visiting a branch - but the branch has been closed. Well done RBS.Odeon Cinemas - the cinema chain adept at finding ways to annoy customers - has found a new way to rip them off too. There's a new tax on overhyped movies such as the new James Bond Spectre. An extra £1 on already overpriced tickets.And finally, house prices horror, insurance premiums rockets yet inflation is down, petrol is cheaper yet electric cars are growing in popularity. Work that out and enjoy.This is Money Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the Holy Trinity of financial entertainment, This is Money editor Simon Lambert, personal finance editor Rachel Rickard Straus and Share Radio supremo Georgie Frost sit around the digital fire with a mug of cocoa for a winter warmer of a show. On the agenda Putting the heating on and paying less for itHow to prevent burglaries now it's dark a lot Is solar power worth the effort when the sun moves south and the Government switches off the subsidies?And then... How do you solve a problem like tax credits?Current accounts are officially uncompetitive but customers are to blame, says reportFirst-time buyers vs buy-to-letters - who wins in the fight to buy?Equity release - what is it again?And finally You can now check to see if that old car you sold is still on the road Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.