2018

If there was a big red CANCEL CHRISTMAS button, would you press it? While the festive season is usually portrayed as unerringly joyous, not everyone feels that way. It can put stress on you and on your pockets. So, forgive me, but to relieve that pressure, and possibly increase happiness, it is worth considering going cold turkey.

Harry Potter's got nowt on the pharmaceutical industry. It's full of real wizards - both those who make drugs that help, and the marketers who have a raft of tricks to persuade us there's hidden magic in their brands. Drug companies spend millions promoting 'only-use-the-name-you-know' messages... but it's often marketing baloney, balderdash and any other 'b' words you can think of.

Criminals aren’t always thugs with meaty arms and little between the ears. In our ever more interconnected world, these days many thieves wear suits, have charm, act in a sophisticated manner and make out they are on our side.

The old adage – that banks will lend you an umbrella when the sun shines, and ask for it back when it rains – feels like a modern reality for many with overdrafts. 

The sun has got its hat on – hip hip hip hooray. The sun has got its hat on – check your bills without delay. Well, it almost scans, but at least my message is on point. 

A couple of months ago I became a patron of the PSU charity, which helps those facing civil or family courts. I went along to the Royal Courts of Justice to explain why and to meet a superb collection of volunteers – who provide a mix of hand-holding of scared people, to providing excellent guidance to help them navigate the court system. 

The new energy price cap (following on from the prepay price cap) for millions of customers on a standard tariff will begin on 1 January 2019. It's already been wrongly reported, but there's a bigger worry that it will make the savings on comparison sites wrong.

Update January 2020:  We now have a new how much should you save for your child to go to University calculator and my updated parental contribution briefing.  Please go there as that’s more up to date than this blog. This is a warning for parents of all teenagers. Now over 50% of our young people go on to university. And while you commonly hear that you don’t need to pay for that upfront, it’s no longer true - there is a hidden parental contribution. 

I always suggest, when you’re doing an energy comparison, to enter the kilowatt hours (kWh) figure from your bill, if possible, as it gives a more accurate result than entering the cost. (Though the sin of inaction is far greater than the sin of inaccuracy – so if you’re unsure, don’t be put off.)

Like everyone else, over the years I’ve had a good number of spam texts and calls telling me I was owed “£3,728” or whatever their baloney lie is (these neither mean you aren’t or are owed PPI, they’re just random spam). And occasionally I’ve had the odd call, usually those auto-dial auto-message horrors.