Free cash for first time buyers | The real reason many smart meters don’t work | Money back on flights YOU cancelled

25:14It means my estimate on the cost of this policy is you expect double the number of people would withdraw this way if there wasn't a penalty is going to be around£3.6 million, which in state financial terms is diddly squat. It's nothing. And there is a justice issue here. Many of our young people who've done what the state asked them to by saving for a first time property in a lifetime ISA are being fined by the state for accessing the money to do what the state wanted them to do. That seems to me to be unjust. I don't have an issue with fining people when they want to take it out for other reasons.

25:47That was always the case. So, Sharon, tell us your situation. Hi, everyone. Hiya. I'm Sharon I'm 20 I'm a university student and I'm looking to buy a house in about probably 10 years time roughly when I'm about 30 um I can afford to max out the lifetime ISA like in this tax year but I'm not really sure if there's any point in me using a LISA or if I should instead put money in the stock market or like try invest basically because of the 450 ,000 pound cap since I live in London. So yeah, I just wanted advice really. And what do you think? Should I still go for a Lysa? So the first thing to say is investing in the stock market is possible within a lifetime ISA.

26:32The lifetime ISA is just a tax wrapper. You can choose to have a savings lifetime ISA or you can have a stocks and shares. But you don't get the£1 ,000 bonus, or do you? You get the bonus as well, yeah. But it is. So an ISA is always just a wrapper. It's not a product. You can choose which type of Lysa, whether you go for cash or... The real question for you, you're quite right, is the£450 ,000. Now, if you live in London, I mean, house prices in London have come off over the last year, so there are more properties under£450 ,000. Can I ask at the moment, do you have a Lysa at all? Have you opened one?

27:03So let me be very plain to anybody listening, anybody who has never bought a home, who is aged under 40, and this includes if your children are in that category, you've got to be aged over 18. I would 100 % recommend that you put one pound in a Lysa now. Now, the reason I say this, just before we go on at all, is the lifetime Isa, to get the bonus as a first-time buyer, you have to have had the product open for a year, right? Or you can't get the bonus. The help to buy Isa, its predecessor, didn't have that criteria. So you have to have it open for a year. So by putting a pound in now, even if you don't know if you'll use it, you've got the clock ticking so that if in a year's time you think oh I'm going to buy a house and it's actually only£440 ,000 you've got your£1 in a lifetime ISA you add£4 ,000 for that tax year and the next day you're eligible for your£1 ,000 bonus.

27:59Now you might say to me but what happens if I never buy a house? Well there's a 6.25 % penalty currently you'll lose six and a quarter pence. I would personally say that's a decent risk to lose six and a quarter pence for the opportunity to have a£1 ,000 bonus if you need it. So before we go anywhere I would definitely open a Lysa for a pound. Now, the bigger question is, should you be putting more money in? Well, I don't know. It seems to me, I'm going to make some assumptions and not ask you on air. If you're a student who can afford to save£4 ,000, you're on the affluent side of society because most students can't afford to save£4 ,000 while they're students.

28:33It's not that, actually. I work a lot and I have a scholarship as well. So then I've managed to But again, the reason for being on the affluent side, that still makes you on the affluent side. It's just the reason why you're on the affluent side. And it's all due to your hard work. You're on the worthy side of things. But my point is, that indicates to me, you're probably, if you're in London, going to be buying a first-time property that's average or above average for a first-time buyer, which tends to put it in over the£450 ,000 category. And certainly by the fact you're asking the question, when you've looked at this, you're looking at properties over that level.

29:11Now, what I cannot tell you is what will happen to that£450 ,000 limit. It has not been increased so far. It clearly should have gone up with average house prices. It hasn't done. And that penalty is still in place. Now, I am lobbying hard for a change in this budget, as I did in the last budget and the budget before. And I thought I was going to win with Jeremy Hunt, and I didn't. And I'm going to be lobbying hard with Rachel Reeves that the system is currently unjust. So in your position, I'd certainly put a quid in now. But But because you're in the South East and you're in London where so many properties are above 450 ,000, I would be waiting till the budget.

29:46Because if what they do in the budget is they say, OK, as long as you're buying a property, you won't lose any. You'll get the interest. You won't get the bonus. And you can take your money out. Then you may as well save in a lifetime, I said, in case you buy a property under 450 ,000. But if they don't say that in your narrow London position, not you, not pejorative, but in your narrow position of being in London where first time buy prices tend to be over£450 ,000, then it's taking quite a risk to open a lifetime ISA and be putting more money in. But definitely get the quid in. Does that make sense?

30:20Yeah. Can I just say the second bit of your question? Now we have to look at savings versus stocks and shares. stocks and shares are good investments over the longer term and we are talking the longer term well we are and we are she's saying 10 years the the problem with stocks and shares is when you need to get money out at a moment without a note without a notice your moment you can't pick your moment which you can't necessarily with a house so using generally i suggest to people saving for first-time deposit that they do that in cash because it's safer and you will build it up You know, longer term investment for your future when you can take the money out when it's good for you is great in stocks and shares.

31:03But you're increasing the risk by doing it in stocks and shares if the money is specifically as a first time buyer. It's not necessarily wrong. And with hindsight, it may work out to be the best thing to do. But because you might say, oh, that's the house I wanted. I need the money now. Oh, pants. What I tend to have invested in has just dropped at the moment. Sorry, I'm using Adrian's name. I apologise. Oh, Mr. Pants. then I think that's a higher risk strategy. Not necessarily wrong, but it is a higher risk. Where are you on it, Sharon? You mentioned something earlier in your first point, which was like, even if you put money in, the penalty, I think, did you say the penalty was like 6%, 6.25 %?

31:456.25%, yes. Okay, well then that's not necessarily massive. It's bigger than you think. If you put£10 ,000 in, that's£625. That's not massive to me. I think it's a risk. I think the point is you're not going to gain anything. If you have, you have to do a risk analysis here. So the first thing I'm saying is you don't have to put any money in now because the tax year doesn't end until the 6th of April or the 5th of April and we've got a budget on the 30th of October. So absolutely crackers to put any more money in until we know what's happening on the 30th of October. After the 30th of October, if nothing has changed, then your question is, so let me ask you, what is the percentage likelihood that when you buy your first-time property, it will be above£450 ,000?

32:32Well, where are you looking, Winnie? London. It probably already is. And so what have you looked at? You tell me, you'll know better than I do, what percentage likelihood are you buying a property over£450 ,000? Pretty much almost 100%. Then there's no point in risking 6.25%. There's a point of putting a quid in there, so that if you don't, on the snap moment, you can just add four grand just before you buy a house or if the thingy is raised. Or if the limit's raised. But at the moment, certainly not until October, it seems to me that is very high risk. And you're saying 625 quid isn't a lot. You know, I think that is a high fine.

33:11It's interesting, you have a very different attitude to most people in that position. You seem to, you know, I think, look, my hope is, reading between the lines, you are an ambitious young person who's going to go away, be successful, and actually none of this money will be that much of an issue for you because you're going to go on and thrive for it. But I still think at this point I wouldn't be throwing that much money in a lifetime ISA when I'm going to have to pay a penalty and the main use of a lifetime ISA is the 25 % bonus that you are unlikely to get as a first-time buyer unless they change the rules.

33:40Yeah, OK, thank you. What are you studying, Sharon? Politics. OK. Mainly. Where are you studying, can we ask? Durham. Yeah, actually. Politics at Durham. Okay, well done and good luck to you. You're destined for high office anyway, so you can change the rules when you get there. Yeah, you know, the good thing is you're asking these questions when you're age 20 and that's just huge plaudits. Well, it almost shows you don't have to worry about any of it really. But listen, great, Sharon, thanks very much. Best of luck to you. Some other questions on this. Yeah. What's the position for an individual with a save-to-buy ISA who marries someone who already owns a property?

34:16Can you buy half of it? So I think you mean that's the help to buy ISA, which is the predecessor of the lifetime ISA. If you've got one, you can use it, but you can't open one now. You can only open a lifetime ISA now. With both the help to buy ISA and the lifetime ISA, it is an individual product. If you are buying and it is your first property and you're getting a mortgage with it, you will get the bonus. If you are buying with somebody else who's a first time buyer, you can have one each and you will both get the bonus. Sometimes people say to me, does that mean the property I can buy is£900 ,000?

34:49Because there's two of us. No, the property limit's always£450 ,000. And if you are a first-time buyer buying with somebody who's already owned a property, you can get the bonus. They can't. So it's an individual product. Whoever you are buying the house with is irrelevant. You can use it for yourself. OK, this is an interesting one, I thought. Susan says, my daughter has a toddler and a low income, but she has a lice-up. And as a result of years of frugality, she saved something. But this means she can't claim universal credit. So there was a rumour that licences would be ignored when making a claim for universal credit.

35:27And in a way, they should be, because you could potentially not see that money for another 30 or 40 years. I've never heard the rumour. OK, you think it is going to count against you? It does count against you. I mean, if you have over£6 ,000 in savings, the amount of universal credit you can claim is reduced. If you've got over£16 ,000, you cannot claim universal credit. And a lifetime ISA is a form of savings. It's money in the savings account. Just or not just, those are the rules, and I am not aware anybody is planning to change the rules. OK. I'm afraid. Are lifetime ISAs a sensible investment for parents to start making for their teenage children?

36:02I'm worried that the rules will change down the line or something. OK. Okay, so first question, you cannot do a lifetime ISA. Your child has to open a lifetime ISA. So I need to reframe the question as, are lifetime ISAs sensible of something for me to give my child money to put in a lifetime ISA? Do you see what I mean? I'm just making a distinct point. You can't go and open it for them. It's their product because they have to be the right age and sign up for it. Absolutely, certainly a quid. So let's go back to my quid rule. Yes, if your child is going to, from the day they're 18, on their 18th birthday, give them a quid in an envelope, give them the address of current top paying lifetime Icery's money box, pays 5 % interest.

36:47Let them put a quid in money box on their 18th birthday. Totally sensible strategy for anybody to do. Accept there's a six and a quarter pence risk, but that's all you're risking. Look, I mean, if you're living in the northeast of England, where you would be buying a very large property above£450 ,000, and that's where they're likely to buy, I think it is a sensible option. and I think it is a sensible option in most parts of the country. It's the£450 ,000 risk. But when you start to put serious money in it, remember that has to be towards a qualifying property. Now, if your child may decide not to buy a property or that that's not what they want or they're looking to move and buy in a different country, then you're going to pay the penalty.

37:25So you have to assess that risk. Definitely get a quid in it. Felicity, should my son, Ditchie's, help to buy ISA in favour of a LISA. Okay. And the latter has succeeded the former. So should we have one of each? So you can have one of each, but you can only get the first-time buyer's bonus on one of them. So there isn't much point unless you're losing LISAs for retirement savings, which is generally not recommended for almost everybody except self-employed basic rate taxpayers. High-rate taxpayers, you're better off in a pension. Employees, you're better off your auto-enrolment contribution than using a lifetime ISA.

38:01Which is why, by the way, most banks don't offer lifetime ISAs because they're so worried people use money for retirement savings and they'll get done for mis-selling because of it. Which is why the product, it's a bad structure, the retirements. But we won't talk about that. We're focusing on first-time buyers. So what was the question again? Because I'd over-talked over myself. I have forgotten it. Well, I think you've answered it. Should you have one of... No, so no, I haven't. So right. So you've got money and a help to buy ISA. These days, the transitional arrangements have gone. You can take money out of the help to buy ISA and you can put up to£4 ,000 a year in the LISA.

38:35So if he's got£10 ,000 in the help to buy ISA, it's going to take him quite a while to put that money in the lifetime ISA. The bonus is the same. So it's a question of how much longer he would be saving for. So, you know, because you can only put£4 ,000 a year in the LISA, but if you're buying in 10 years' time, then you'd easily go capacity. Now, let's do the pros and cons. You can put more money each year in a lifetime ISA than a help to buy ISA. So you can put more in. The lifetime ISA gives you the money at exchange. The help to buy ISA gives it you at completion. It is better to have it at exchange because you can use it for the house deposit.

39:09The help to buy ISA can only be used for the mortgage deposit. The help to buy ISA has no withdrawal penalties, so it's much more flexible. If you want to take money out of a help to buy ISA, you can just take the money out whenever you want. It's just like a savings account, although the interest rates are lower. The help to buy ISA can only be used on a property up to£250 ,000, except in London, where it's£450 ,000. So you have a much lower choice. So effectively, help to buy ISA is more flexible. Lifetime ISA, you can put more in and you can buy a bigger property on it. So it simply depends on your circumstances.

39:44And I'm sure you'll be able to find online someone has written an article comparing and contrasting the two. In fact, I definitely know someone has done that, but I can't tell you who's written it.

40:01OK, so the current Money Mastermind score, Adrian has scored one right and none wrong. It is a unique 100 % record that he currently has in our second week of doing Money Mastermind with Adrian. Now, listeners, about a year ago, Adrian regaled me with his plans for a somewhat narcissistic tour of the United States of America. flying first to New York to visit Adrian a small hamlet in Steuben County, New York State then on to Adrian, Michigan the county seat of Linnewee County followed by Adrian, Oregon Adrian, Texas located on Historic Route 66 Adrian, Minnesota and ending it in style in Adrian, Missouri home to Adrian's Frontier Village which hosts the annual Western Missouri Antique Tractor a machinery association gash and steam engine show.

40:55What a trick. I am on this. I tell you what, I tell you what, just spoiler. I just, I don't know about you, but can everybody imagine Adrian doing one of his BBC2 shows where he actually goes and visits all the engine in the US? He'll be pitching this to the commissioners within five minutes of leaving the show. Look, I'll do it anyway. But anyway, go on. What's the question? Unfortunately, two days before he was due to go, he got cold feet and cancelled his flight. My question, Adrian, having cancelled the flight yourself... This is the flight to New York. To New York. We're not going with the rest, yeah.

41:29Because that's just a trite set-up to get me to the question. Two days beforehand, you cancelled the flight. What are you entitled to back? A, a full refund minus admin fee from the airline. B, only the air passenger duty back. C, nothing back. You chose to cancel. It's your fault. It would depend on what kind of ticket I bought. I don't want to overcomplicate that. We're saying this is a non-exchangeable or refundable ticket. The standard, you know, you've bought the cheap fare. I would... So a full refund minus admin fee, only the air passenger duty back or nothing back because you chose to cancel.

42:08Well, I would... I personally wouldn't expect to get anything back. but I reckon I shouldn't be looking for trick questions here but I reckon you might be telling me that I could actually claim the duty back whatever my terms and conditions on the ticket were. Is that your final answer? That's my final answer. So Adrian, if the airline had cancelled upon you and similar if you're delayed and it cancelled within two weeks of you going you're entitled to a full refund or alternative flight and compensation as long as it was the airline's fault. Well, OK. If the airline had cancelled on you but it wasn't its fault, such as air traffic control issues, you would be entitled to a full refund or alternative flight, but no cancellation.

43:02But here, you chose to cancel. Equally, you could have missed your flight, which would have also been your fault as long as the flight was on time. In those circumstances, you are entitled to the air passenger duty right agent you've got two out of two play it i don't know how you're doing it what how's going to be you know i can't imagine how many people don't know that they certainly wouldn't tell you so which is hence why that's what gets me doing the money mastermind question so look air passenger duty is not paid by the airline until you fly Now, there are a few airlines who don't charge you air passenger duty because they get subsidised by the airports they're flying to, but we won't overcomplicate it.

43:48They are not legally obliged to give you a refund, but most do. It's in their terms and conditions. And most, you can go back as far as you like. So if you missed a flight or cancelled a flight 10 years ago, you may still be able to claim. Some, Ryanair especially, and Qantas, have much shorter time limits. Now, the amount of air passenger duty, it's bigger the longer you're flying and the higher economy premium business. So you're flying business or long distance, air passenger duty is more than economy in the UK where it's only about seven quid. Business long distance, it can be up to 202 quid per person.

44:24Most airlines don't charge you an admin fee. A few charge you an admin fee for getting it back. So here's the point. If you've cancelled a flight, especially if it's long haul or especially if you weren't flying economy, either of those two would help. Get in touch with the airline. This is if you chose to cancel and it wasn't refundable or you missed a flight and ask them for the money back. Well, I mean, that's easier said than done, getting in touch with the airline. It's not. There's lists on the web. That's all I can say. There's lists on the web. Most of these are just a contact form on their website if you know where to look.

44:52You fill in the form and you will just get the money back. I had someone who got£376 back the other day. If, however, they cancelled the flight, then you're talking what used to be EU Regulation 261-2004 that's now been incorporated into UK law. and you have, if it was their fault, depending on certain criteria and the amount you get is how long you fare and when they cancelled, then you're not only entitled to a refund, you're also entitled to compensation. Golden rule, folks. If you have a problem with your flight, go online and check your rights. There are a lot of different rights that people don't know about when your flight is cancelled.

45:26Some are written into law, some are standard industry practice, but even if you chose to cancel, you may be entitled to the air passenger duty pack and in some cases it can be 100, 200 quid. It's worth having. I've got an airline-related question. A friend of mine keeps having weekend breaks, him and his wife cancelled, because a well-known budget airline just cancels. They said, we're not flying, the flight's not happening. So what happens if you've paid non-refundably for a hotel in wherever you were supposed to be going and you can't get that money back? Is there any consequential loss payable by the airline?

46:02Consequential loss is always difficult. It's always difficult. And I've used the right words there, haven't I? You absolutely lose it. Right phrase is consequential loss. It's a knock-on loss and it is a contractual law. And generally, you're probably going to want a no-win, no-free compensation firm to do it for you. So you're going to lose quarter of the percent. You're going to go to court unless you know what you're doing legally. But you would if they're cancelling. Clearly, it's their fault. And they're cancelling more than two weeks, less than two weeks before your flight. Or even if they're giving you an alternative flight that they're moving earlier or later, less than two weeks before your flight, then you're entitled to a fixed amount of compensation depending on where they're flying to and what the timing duties are on top that would hopefully cover.

46:42And might your holiday insurance, you've got annual travel insurance, might that? Might is the right term. It depends. The problem with travel insurance is we're insuring for eventualities that we don't know what they are. And so the difficulty on choosing a policy is do you choose the right one that covers your eventuality? So yes, it might, depending on what you chose and which policy you chose, but it won't necessarily. So first port of call is in that circumstance, as I suggest, your friend starts booking refundable hotels. And interesting, just a quick note and a side note while we're talking travel on that.

47:14One of the advantages of booking free cancellation hotel rooms is always a couple of weeks before you go, go and check the price of the room. Because if they haven't got great occupancy, they tend to bring the prices down just before travel. and in which case go and rebook the room and then cancel it and you'll get it cheaper. We get lots of people. The rebook and cancel trick is a really strong one that I get lots of great feedback from people from. So if you've got cancelable hotel rooms, you've also got the benefit that you have some flexibility on price and you can choose to go in at a lower price later.

47:48But in your friend's case, they may well be entitled to compensation from the airline, assuming it's the airline's fault that the flights are cancelled, which it sounds like it almost certainly is.

47:58Right, I'm here now with podcast producer Simon. We have lots more things that we need to go through, don't we, I think? Yeah, yeah, we've been inundated. So let's start. Any Lysa questions, let's get those over and done with that we haven't dealt with yet. I've had this one from Michelle. My son has a help to buy ISA with the Halifax. The interest rate is rubbish. Is this the best option for savings for a house deposit? So hopefully you will have heard earlier in the show that I talked about the pros and cons of help to buy ISA versus a lifetime ISA. Now, the first thing to say with both these products, you're not doing it primarily for the interest rate.

48:30Lifetime ISAs have better interest rates because they're a live product. Help to buy ISAs are a legacy product so the interest rate on those aren't as good. But either way the prime reason for doing it is for the 25 % so don't let the interest rate tail wag the dog. You need to do whichever one is better for you, the help to buy ISA or the lifetime ISA and I've already talked about the differences. Now if you are sticking with the help to buy ISA, then the best interest rate is offered by HSBC, but only for existing customers with a current account at 3.5%. Halifax, where you have it, is next best on at 2.75 % on up to£12 ,000, which is the maximum you can get a bonus on in a help to buy ISA.

49:12So unless you're with HSBC, you're already in the best possible place. Now you can transfer a help to buy ISA. So if you have a help to buy ISA, you can open one in a new provider. Obviously, you can't open a new one because it's a legacy product, but you can open one elsewhere and ask them to transfer your existing help to buy ISA across, which is a way, and you do that by completing a transfer form. So if you did happen to have an HSBC existing current account or flexible saver or premier saver, or your son did rather, then he would be able to apply to do a transfer at HSBC to shift his Halifax account across to get the 3.75%.

49:49Anything else on lifetime ISAs or have we done that? No, you've covered everything now. Okay, so let's move on now. We talked about smart meters and not enough smart meters working at the beginning of the programme. I asked you to get in touch. Have people got in touch? It's going to be a bit damp squibb if they haven't, haven't they? Oh, no, they haven't. No one's interested in smart meters. It was completely pointless. Anyone been in touch during the show? No, no, you've got the temperature of the nation just right. So they have been in touch. Loads of people have been in touch, yeah. We've had this one saying that British Gas changed our account number at the start of the year.

50:18Since then, our smart meter hasn't worked. When I rang to report it, British Gas said it was a known problem. They'd resolve it. Eight months later, it still isn't working. That's Sam in Swindon. Well, that seems to be a systemic problem across a number of different providers. And this goes back to my point. There are not that many qualified smart meter installers and repairers because firms have financial penalties if they don't install enough. They pump all the resources into installations and not enough into repairs, which is why so many are broken. And that's why, going back to the start of the show, that's why I wrote to the Secretary of State for Energy, Ed Miliband, asking him to change the targeting so it is of working smart meters, which targets both installations and much needed repairs.

51:03What else have you got? Jane points out that she moved into a property with a smart meter but couldn't find the in-house display. Eon informed her they can't get a replacement display because the smart meter was installed over two years ago, even though they could see that she didn't live in the property at the time of the installation. It's just not good enough. I refer the lady to the reply I gave a few moments ago to use parliamentary speak. There is a systemic problem here. Let's keep going. We had a good one here. Our smart meter has been great from day one, broke once and was fixed within a week.

51:30Marvellous for keeping an eye on costs. That's Mark in Chesterfield. So I go back to look, I like smart meters when they work. They work well for people. It is great, especially with an expensive winter and energy prices going up by 10 % on the 1st of October. to be able to see what you're using, see if you're using too much. People who have a working smart meter get in tune with it quite quickly to think, hold on, that's a bit more than it should be. I must have left the lights on upstairs. I mean, it's a really useful tool. I know it intimidates some people because they don't like seeing how much they're spending, but it's a useful tool if you want it.

52:01So generally, conceptually, I like a smart meter. The problem is when they're broken, they don't work and how much we've all spent collectively as a nation to install them. So it is nice to have a positive one to finish on that. Now let's go back to ho-ho, oh no, Christmas being less than 100 days away. We want to know your worst ever Christmas financial mistakes, hopefully so others may be able to learn from them. And we had so many of these. Let's do a few more of them now. Simon, you've got some. I've got Facebook ones. I think you've probably got Twitter ones there. I'll start with Emma. The Christmas, my dad bought my mum an iron and ironing board and my sister and I a dustpan and brush set for our new Wendy Househead builders.

52:43If someone hasn't asked for practical gifts, don't give them, she says. Wise words there, Emma. Marie got in touch saying, allowing our kids to access the Smiths toy shop catalogue. Impulsive choices they forgot about as soon as they cut out and glued the contents to their letter to Santa. This year, my husband smuggled it out of the house like he was dealing contraband. Yeah, I mean, that's always the problem with kids. They go on the most exciting thing for the moment, even if they're not going to be thinking about how many use minutes they're getting out of it. sometimes kids behave like children.

53:15Julie didn't pay my mortgage in the September and the December, wanted to make sure my family had what I thought they needed, still owe them money. Now, look, this is one of the big issues. Borrowing for Christmas or not paying other debts for Christmas in this particular case is always a mistake. What is going to improve in your finances to enable you to pay that money back. And certainly many people are then owing it the next Christmas, which means they have even less disposable income. They're into a debt spiral and they can't afford it. It is far better to work out if you can afford, if you want to spread the cost of Christmas, save for Christmas.

53:54We're still in September. You know, you can take a little bit, if you've got any room, out of September, October, November and December's income to pay for your Christmas. And if you don't have a little bit of room, Christmas is one day. It doesn't have to be perfect. You can just eat food and sit in front of the telly and be together as a family or be by yourself if that's what you're doing this Christmas. Christmas is often a very lonely time for some people too. But do not ruin your new year and do not ruin your finances for Christmas. That will mean overall you are net down, you're net miserable, you've net suffered.

54:29And Christmas isn't meant to be about having a negative time. It's meant to be about having a positive time. So, Julie, I really appreciate your honesty in that one. And I think it's a really salient message for anyone sitting out there who's feeling the pressure to have the perfect Christmas. You don't need a perfect Christmas. Have a pleasant Christmas. Have a nice Christmas. Have a Christmas that shares time with friends rather than spending the money and ruining your finances. If you can't afford to spend this Christmas, then go spending cold turkey, if you like. Simon. Well, Bean Organised has caught out Peter in this one.

55:04He says buying a load of Christmas cards in the January sales for the following Christmas and then not being able to find them in December. Oh no, you were doing so well. There were loads of people who do a lot of their Christmas shopping in the January sales, especially for those sort of, you know, fairy lights and Christmas cards and all the Christmas specific stuff. And then they go put them in their Christmas cupboard. Yes, people have Christmas cupboards, cupboards specifically for things for Christmas in them. And then over the year, if they see a present someone likes, they buy the present, they wrap it, they stuff it in the Christmas cupboard and then they're super prepared.

55:33And many of those people have done most of their Christmas shopping by now. And you were so on it. I was so proud of you. You got your cards, but you didn't know where you put them away. Next year, what was his name? I forgot. Peter, was it? Peter, yeah. Peter, you need a Christmas cupboard, mate. Paddy, worst mistake ever is playing keeping up with the Joneses. Hear, hear. Especially when going into debt to match the amount your spouse has spent on you. I think it says it itself. Simon. There's been a bit of a miscommunication here. A former partner asked for a jigsaw, so I got them a lovely 2000 piece one of Dartmouth railway station.

56:04They meant the power tool. I like that. We actually got a voice note in from Lindsay. Hi, Martin. Lindsay here. I used to use buy now, pay later companies or credit cards a lot of the time for Christmas buy-in. Now I just buy two to three gifts per month generally start buying around september time i set a budget stick to it i start by writing a list of what i'm buying everyone so i know what i'm actually getting which means no overspending no pointless or random buying for anyone and i stick to that as well tick them off as i go don't have to worry about what i'm paying who i'm paying back when it's all done there and then and don't have anybody chasing me for money months after christmas that's me giving you a round of applause i love to hear that you know getting a list planning preparation getting it right doing it based on a budget that is the way to have a happier christmas yes there's more admin time spent but there is so many financial problems that causes misery in january on the back of people not being disciplined about their christmas that even though it sounds oh come on just enjoy it actually that will lead to greater happiness so it's wonderful to hear the transformation there and I'm so glad that you got in touch.

57:23You're doing absolutely everything right. It's well done. You know, I don't want to do any more. Let's stop there. I don't want to hear any more, Simon. That's a perfect way to finish.

57:36Okay, you lucky, lucky podcast listeners. It's that time in the programme where I do tips that are just for you. I should cocoa how marvellous. I know you're very, very excited for it. These did not appear in the Five Live show. I've got all. We talked last week about it being time to fix energy as the energy price cap is going up 10 % on the 1st of October and that type of price is expected to stay for the next year. Now, if you fix at the moment, all the prices out there right now, all the cheapest fixes are more expensive than the current price cap, but up to 7 % cheaper than the October price cap, which is, of course, effectively only 10 days away.

58:15So by the time you switched across, It'll almost be the 1st of October anyway. And this week, we have had three new fixes launched that are cheaper than they were from the same companies and are the cheapest standalone fixes on the market. One from E.ON, one from British Gas, and one from Outfox the market. The cheapest of those is 7 % less than the October price cap. So if you're one of the 80 % of homes in the UK, or I should say more specifically in England, Scotland and Wales, who are on a standard tariff that's price capped. Basically, if you're not on a fixed tariff or you're not on a special tariff or you don't know about it, you're almost certainly on a price cap tariff.

58:56Then you can, from the 1st of October, cut the cost by 7 % and be guaranteed that your price will not rise again for the next year, which on my analysis based on the current predictions, some crystal ball gazing, looks like it will be a winner. If you want more details on the concept of fixing, It was in last week's podcast where I go through it in detail. But this is really just an update to say this week, three of the big providers, Eon British Gas and Outfox, have cut their fixed prices. So it is even more attractive to fix now than it was last week. And my next one. There is a Pizza Express two for one for one pound voucher available.

59:35So it's great if you want to save a bit of dough. No, OK, I'll carry on. Now, look, you might be thinking, yeah, they're available all the time. Well, they used to be available all the time. Pizza Express vouchers used to be totally ubiquitous, but actually we've seen far fewer of them in recent times. This one is available to use until Thursday the 26th of September. If you are a Pizza Express Club member, just log into the Pizza Express Club app, and then you'll need to check in via the app at the restaurant and enter your table number when you get there. If you're a non-Pizza Express Club member, then go online to Pizza Express and enter your details, your name and email address to be sent a code, which again, you'll need to show to staff.

1:00:12Now this is for classic pizzas so there are some exclusions that it's worth reading and there might occasionally be a restaurant exclusion but generally you get two pizzas for the price of one pizza and you pay a pound on top because it's two for one for a pound. And finally an important one for anyone who's on tax credits, housing benefit, employment support allowance or similar. Do not ignore a crucial letter that is coming, you may lose your benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions is sending letters to many people saying you must now apply to switch to universal credit from your current system.

1:00:46Do not ignore it. Tragically, and these are rough stats, I have not 100 % verified them, DWP stats are showing over a third of people have had their benefits cut off after they've not applied on the back of these letters. So do not ignore the letters. Now, some of those people may have been cut off because they're no longer eligible, but it's likely many people this is just an administrative issue. So please, if you're on tax credits, howding benefits or any other similar non-universal credit benefit, watch out for the letter from Department of Work and Pensions. Make sure all your address details are up to date and then deal with it.

1:01:22You do not want to have your benefits cut.

1:01:27That's it for this week. If you enjoyed it, please tell your friends you've been listening to the Martin Lewis podcast. If you didn't enjoy it, I've said it before, I'll say it again. there is absolutely no reason for you to be listening at this point. So if you didn't enjoy it, either you're making it up and you did enjoy it, you're just a curmudgeon who doesn't want to accept it, or you're trying to waste time for some reason. We don't have time to waste, just like we don't have money to waste. You need a new attitude and a new outlook. Anyway, that's enough for me. We tend to put out a new episode every Wednesday.

1:01:56Do subscribe to keep up to date, and then your pockets may just be pleased with you.

1:02:05I gotta pay. So I'm gonna work for the world. I gotta pay. I gotta pay. So I'm gonna make sure everybody eats. Martin Lewis is the founder of moneysavingexpert.com. But of course, other consumer and price comparison websites are available. You can get in touch with Martin's podcast production team by emailing martinlewispodcast at bbc.co.uk. The offers and rates mentioned in the podcast are correct at the time of recording. However, if you are listening on demand, it's worth double checking as details can date. Remember to subscribe on BBC Sounds and leave us a review however you listen.