Share Sounds presented by Sarah Pennells (1)

It’s been three years since the Government sold off the Royal Mail, when shares in the group were eagerly bought up by shareholders. But how do you know if buying shares in a company being sold by the Government, or floated on the stock exchange, are a good deal? And how do you go about it? Sarah and her guests offer tips and advice; she is joined by David Thorpe of What Investment, Tom Wilson from Moneywise and Justin Urquhart-Stewart of 7 Investment Management.

This week Sarah and her guests look at saving and investing for your children. The array of cash ISAs and funds can be baffling, so how do you work out which one is the best four child? Research shows that two thirds of parents take out cash ISAs, but is this always the best option? Sarah is joined by Michelle McGrade of TD Direct Investing, Richard Stone from the Share Centre and Claire Walsh of Unbiased.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association ran a challenge as part of its annual conference this year; two teams had to come up with ways to get people to save more for their retirement. Sarah is joined by some of the team members – who were all in their 20s and early 30s - to discuss the ideas they put forward.

There are plenty of surveys which tell us we’re not saving enough for our retirement. Sarah and her guests look at how you can top up your pension and what you need to consider for each of the options. Sarah was joined by Michelle Cracknell of the Pensions Advisory Service, Malcolm McLean from Barnett Waddingham and Steve Webb of Royal London.

As winter approaches, many young people living in shared houses will be switching on the heating for the first time. But how do you split heating bills without arguing – and how do you agree when to turn it on in the first place? Sarah also considers whether there are alternatives to having the heating on constantly, and looks at how to switch suppliers if your provider has raised its prices. Sarah is joined by Young Money Champion Rachael Healy and Ben Wilson of GoCompare.

As the deadline for secondary school applications approaches, Sarah looks at all the things parents need to consider when applying for a school – the cost of schooling, trips, fees, scholarships and bursaries, and how living in a good catchment area can boost the value of your home.

The FCA recently extended the deadline to submit claims for mis-sold PPI, and this week Lloyds Bank announced it’s set aside a further £1 billion to cover to compensate people. So Sarah and her guests offer advice and tips if you think you might have a claim.

This week financial journalists Lindsay Cook and James walker enter the ring to fight for your rights in the financial world. We take a look at cold weather contracts - they are battling for your rights when it come to boiler breakdowns. Also on the agenda, are Black box insurance boxes the right way to go and ask if couples should have joint bank accounts?

After Lloyds and TSB cut the rates on their current accounts, Sarah and her guests look at where to get the best rates for current and savings accounts. With rates generally tanking since Brexit, are the high-interest accounts still worth it, and are there any alternatives to the high street banks? Is there any point switching accounts when rates across the board are so low? Sarah is joined by young money champion Amelia Murray, Hannah Maundrell of money.co.uk and Anna Bowes from Savings Champion.

According to a study by the FCA, 1.6 million people only make the minimum repayment on their credit cards each month. Research released this week by savvywoman.co.uk this week bears this out; it found that 4 in 10 adults grossly underestimate how long it will take to pay off credit card debt if you only pay back the minimum every month. Sarah discusses the findings with her guests, Jane Clack from Pay Plan and the freelance finance expert Martyn James.