Podcasts from Women & Money related to Personal Finance - Family Finance

In need of a little extra cash for your Christmas present fund this year? Sarah Pennells is joined by Jasmine Birtles, Founder of money saving website Money Magpie, Naomi Willis from the money blog Skint Dad, and Abigail Dickinson, Communications Executive at cashback site Quidco, to look at ways to make and save those essential pennies for the Christmas shop.

Sarah looks at the best options for travel currency, and where to look for the best holiday deals. Sh'es joined in this endeavour by Andy Webb of Be Clever With Your Cash, and Mirror Finance Journalist James Andrews.

Around 1 in 5 parents will forego a meal this summer in order to pay for childcare, according to the Trussell Trust, a charity which runs foodbanks. And 40% of parents are worried about the extra costs of paying for childcare this summer holiday. Sarah talks to Mandy Garner of Working Mums and Anne Danks of the Trussell Trust.

In 1966, Barclays sent out over a million credit cards to customers. And so began a revolution in the way we shop and pay for goods. None of the customers had asked for these cards - and it was an entirely new product in the UK. Many of those who received these credit cards were women, and it meant that women could get credit without having to get a man to sign for it or act as a guarantor. Sarah Pennells and her guests discuss how credit cards have changed over the past 50 years and look at current rates and deals available.

Sarah Pennells looks at what's changed for women in the last 90 years. She's joined by Jane Moore, from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; Fiona Tait, from Royal London, and employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon Jasmine van Loggerenberg. From maternity pay in the 1970s to today's debate on equal gender pay, Sarah and her guests analyse the changes that have occurred throughout history to improve women's working rights.

If your son or daughter is planning to go to university in the autumn, are you planning on how you'll help them pay for it? Are you going to be supporting them with help towards their rental costs or will you be paying some of their bills? And if you're off to university, are you wondering how much debt you'll leave with? Sarah Pennells is joined by Annie O'Leary from the parenting website Netmums, Jane King who's from Ash-ridge financial planning and James Seymour who's from the Complete University Guide.

Sarah Pennells looks at how to create the perfect work/life balance with guests Neil Shah, Chief De-Stressing Officer at the Stress Management Society, and life coach Karen Perkins, who discuss other factors that can increase stress, and Sarah Evans, an Employment Lawyer with Slater and Gordon, who looks at whether people should have the right to work flexibility and what employers should take into account.

An increasing number of people are choosing to live together, rather than get married or form a civil partnership. But, while it’s becoming more commonplace, the legal status of cohabiting couples remains something of a mystery to most of us. Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Mary Marvel of Advicenow and Law for Life, Paula Myers, a lawyer with Irwin Mitchell, and over the phone by Christine Webber, a writer, broadcaster and psychotherapist, to discuss the various different issues moving in with a partner can have, and how best to deal with them.

This week Sarah looks into weddings and the costs they can accumulate. Although for many couples it is the happiest day of their lives, it is often also one of the most expensive. Joining Sarah are Andy Webb from Be Clever With Your Cash, Charley Beard from The London Bride, Rachael Southwood from Wedding Ideas Magazine, Alison Hargreaves from Guides for Brides and Rosie Ames from Green Union.

With the state pension age changing, it can be tricky to find out how much you can get. Is it giving women a better deal? Malcolm McLean, a consultant with the actuary firm Barnett Waddingham, Harry Rose, the editor of WhichMoney, and John Shearer, from The Pensions Advisory Service, discuss whether the new state pension will affect carers. Sarah will also look at what are the changes for women who take time out of the workplace to bring up their children. She also speaks Lin Phillips from WASPI who are campaigning for the government to offer concessions to women caught out by these rises who didn't get enough notice.