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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Have interest rates peaked and what next for savings and mortgages?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Have interest rates peaked and what next for savings and mortgages?
And suddenly they stopped. After 14 interest rate rises in a row, the Bank of England stalled and kept base rate on hold. A lower than expected inflation number and slew of economic reports indicating the heat was being taken out of the economy were credited with staying the Monetary Policy Committee's hand. So, will 5.25% now be the peak for base rate or could rates once again start to head higher from here? And what does the Bank of England's decision to pause mean for savings rates and mortgage rates? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss why interest rates were held, what nudged inflation down, what could happen next and what all this means for savers, borrowers and investors. Plus, what does the government rowing back on Net Zero plans mean for electric cars, EPCs and how we heat our homes? And finally, if your neighbours can see into your garden and you don't like it, can you just stick up a very tall fence or do you need planning permission (and risk triggering a neighbourly battle)?
Guest:

Lee Boyce


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Have we turned the corner on high inflation or it could it bounce back?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Have we turned the corner on high inflation or it could it bounce back?
Inflation falling, wages rising, mortgage rates fall back a bit and fixed savings rates seem to be peaking at 6% - all without a recession (yet)! Is the oasis in sight, or is this a mirage? Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Helen Crane review the prospects looking forward. Also, Rishi Sunak vows to keep the 'triple lock' on pensions, but can we afford it?
Guest:

Helen Crane


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Taxman customer service troubles unmasked and probate problems in the spotlight

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Taxman customer service troubles unmasked and probate problems in the spotlight
Join the latest episode from Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce, Tanya Jefferies and guest Angharad Carrick: business owners experience difficulties with HMRC service — the challenge of being an executor — interest rates rise again, but is it the right call? Plus, the team discuss fake lawns.
Guest:

Angharad Carrick


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Was hiking interest rates again the right move or is the Bank of England in panic mode?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Was hiking interest rates again the right move or is the Bank of England in panic mode?
The Bank of England’s bumper 0.5% rate hike this week was the 13th rise in a row. After sitting on their hands for more than a decade, ratesetters have been shaken out of their slumbers by an inflation storm. By historic standards 5% is not high for interest rates, but unfortunately for borrowers we also started from a historic low and have gone from 0.1% to here in just 18 months. The belated headlong rush into raising rates is also the exact opposite of what the Bank of England spent years assuring homeowners would happen: the party line used to be ‘gradual and limited’. The Bank is hiking rates to try to crush inflation but at the same time this affects a much smaller slice of homeowners than it once did and rapid rise in mortgage costs is crushing a generation of homeowners. So, was another rate rise a wise move? How bad is the pain for borrowers? Is this not a patch on the '80s, or just as bad? Has the Bank of England even given its rate rises long enough to take effect? On this rate rise special podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert tackle all that and more.

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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Money for nothing: Is universal basic income a good idea?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Money for nothing: Is universal basic income a good idea?
Universal basic income is a controversial idea and not just because it's money for nothing. Paying everyone a set amount every month as a baseline level of income has intrigued economists and central bank geeks for years. Supporters say it has the power to improve physical and mental health and the economy and society, but critics say it's the start of a slippery slope to state dependency and control. A new proposed trial for 30 people in the UK to get £1,600 a month has put the topic back on the agenda. So — is universal basic income a good or bad idea? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss it on this episode. Also — why aren't our energy bills lower if wholesale prices have plummeted? What can you do if you are caught in the mortgage storm? And finally, which UK shares have done best and worst so far this year?

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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: Should we stop dragging people into tax designed for the rich?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: Should we stop dragging people into tax designed for the rich?
Almost five times as many people will soon be paying 40% tax than in the early 1990s, when it was seen as a tax bracket reserved for the rich, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned this week. It said that fiscal drag triggered by freezing the higher rate tax threshold would pull 7.8 million people into its net by 2027. The study suggested that the threshold would have to be almost doubled from its current level, at £50,271, to almost £100,000 to return the tax band to the level intended for it. Alongside the report, came the IFS’s warning that 40% tax had stopped being the preserve of high-earning professionals and was now hitting electricians, plumbers, teachers, nurses and more. The taxman nabbing 40p of every pound earned from a pay rise rather than 20p comes at a time when workers are running to stand still, with inflation at just above 10%. So, is it time the government stopped taxing by stealth and using tools like fiscal drag – instead raising thresholds with inflation or wages? And is it time to hike the higher rate threshold and pull people back down to basic rate tax? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss the thorny issue of tax and who counts as wealthy. The debate moves on to inheritance tax – another levy designed for the very rich but now hitting the wealthy middle classes. Why is IHT so unpopular when most don’t pay it and does it need reform? Plus, how much have you lost to inflation, will you get Nationwide’s new £100 Fairer Share bung, and finally, would you buy food two years past its best before date for big savings?

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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: How high will interest rates go — and why are they still going up?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: How high will interest rates go — and why are they still going up?
And there it was, another interest rate hike. Another quarter point move up seems almost commonplace now, but cast your mind back to the era after the financial crisis and we had to wait nearly ten years for the base rate to climb above its 0.5% 'emergency level'. It cut first and then base rate got all the way to the heady heights of 0.75%, before it was cut again when Covid hit. Yet, less than 18 months since the Bank of England started raising rates in December 2021, base rate has rocketed from 0.1% to 4.5%. The rate itself is still relatively low in historic terms, but the magnitude of the rise is not. So, are the Bank's ratesetters right to keep voting for hikes, has the full pain been felt yet, and why would you do this when all the forecasts suggest inflation is soon to nosedive? Georgie Frost, Tanya Jefferies and Simon Lambert discuss the latest rate rise and how high interest rates will go. Plus, is the return of the 100% mortgage absolute madness, a helping hand for trapped renters, or something in the middle of all that? Why people should claim pension credit or help their friends or relatives? And finally, not only will it lack the crisp one-liners of Succession, but an inheritance drama is not something you want to get into, so how can people avoid one?
Guest:

Tanya Jefferies


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: It's got easier to win big on the Premium Bonds but should you invest?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: It's got easier to win big on the Premium Bonds but should you invest?
Premium Bonds are a national institution and their prize-giving place in British savers' hearts was only cemented further through the low interest rate years. But now interest rates are on the rise and Premium Bonds offer not only the chance to win £1 million but also a much better rate of return. The average prize fund rate on Premium Bonds has reached the heady heights of 3.3% - going head-to-head with top easy access savings deals. But what many savers may not realise is that their chance of winning a big prize of £100,000 or £50,000 has got much better too. So, is it time to back Premium Bonds even further, or would you be better off with a standard savings account? Georgie Frost, Sam Barker and Simon Lambert look at the numbers and the pros and cons. Plus, an even better return of up to 4.6% is offered now by five year fixed rate savings accounts, but are they worth going for and choosing over stocks and shares? This week brought yet more news of annoyingly high inflation, as CPI stubbornly stuck above 10%; but why are food prices still rising so rapidly, are supermarkets or producers cashing in, and what can you do about it? And finally, supermarkets have a new loyalty card wheeze - lower prices for those with them and more expensive groceries for those without. Sainsbury's Nectar Prices has followed Tesco's Clubcard Prices and now the Co-op has member prices too. Is this enough to change Simon's mind on loyalty cards?
Guest:

Sam Barker


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: How long should you fix your mortgage for - and what next for rates?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: How long should you fix your mortgage for - and what next for rates?
As if buying a home wasn’t enough of a lottery, borrowers are now facing a major gamble on their mortgage. Whether buying or remortgaging, they need to work out how long to fix for and try to assess what might happen next to interest rates. On the basis that even the world’s top economists and investors didn’t spot the past year’s sudden interest rate spike coming and can’t agree on what central banks will do next, that’s a tough task. Five-year fixed rates are cheaper than two-year fixed rates, but borrowers worry they risk locking in at higher rates for longer. Meanwhile, trackers are pricier but could fall if the base rate comes down, although there’s not much agreement on when the Bank of England will stop hiking or how swiftly it will lower rates when it eventually does. Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert discuss the great mortgage gamble and what people can do. Also, the house price hotspots of the past decade – and why living in a place where home values has doubled may not be a good thing. Simon takes a look at UK shares, why they are considered cheap and whether they are a decent investment or not. Helen talks through her latest 'Crane on the Case' and how it involved a loyal BA customer locked out of a staggering number of Avios points and getting a raw deal from the airline on sorting it out. And finally, here is a test of your age: how well do you remember the Ford Orion, Austin Maestro and Vauxhall Nova — and did you ever believe that one day they’d be classic cars?
Guest:

Helen Crane


Published:
Georgie Frost

This Is Money: State pension goes above £10,000 — but has something got to give?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: State pension goes above £10,000 — but has something got to give?
The state pension is getting a boost this week, meaning many pensioners will see their payments go above £200 per week or £10,000 per year for the first time. The Government has also recently announced that it is delaying a decision on hiking up the state pension age to 68 until after the next election – perhaps influenced by protests across the channel. Pension commentators said move would be 'incredibly unpopular', and likely 'political suicide'. Governments don’t like to upset retirees because they vote in high numbers — but maintaining the status quo is incredibly expensive. Has something ultimately got to give when it comes to the state pension age and maintaining the triple lock? Georgie Frost is joined by Tanya Jefferies and Helen Crane to discuss. We also look at one lucky This is Money reader who is getting an even bigger rise, seeing his pension go up by more than 16%. It sounds like great news — but he is wondering whether it means he has been short-changed in the past. Elsewhere, research this week has shown Britons are still dragging their feet when it comes to making a will. The team looks at why it’s important, how to do it — and why it isn’t just about money. Also, E-Toro’s Sam North provides the latest update on the markets as we head into the long weekend. We also discuss why broadband companies have been able to get away with ignoring instructions from regulator Ofcom to make switching easier for customers. It told them two years ago that they needed to make it possible to swap providers in just one day — so why are most of us still left languishing without an internet connection for up to two weeks? Finally, do you fancy a sabbatical from work to travel? Some big firms are offering the extended time off as a perk to long-serving staff — but would your boss let you go, and how would you afford it?
Guest:

Tanya Jefferies


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