It’s now less than 100 days until Christmas, so for those of us who like to plan ahead, it’s really not that long to go.
We’ve seen some new research this week which shows consumers start their Christmas shopping as soon as they see festive items in the shops, which can be as early as September, but it still takes 42 shopping trips and 37 hours of planning until they are finished with Christmas shopping.
Lynn and I discuss effective Christmas shopping, gift inspiration and saving money during the festive season.
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Introducing Mrs Mummypenny
My co-host for this episode is Lynn James, otherwise known as Mrs Mummypenny.
Lynn left the corporate world in June 2015 to run Mrs Mummypenny, a personal finance & lifestyle brand.
She launched Mrs Mummypenny in 2013 whilst on maternity leave with her youngest son and kept it going as a hobby when she returned to full time work.
Lynn has always loved sharing her money saving tips with friends, so thought why not learn how to build a website and social platform and go for it!
You can follow Lynn on Twitter at @mrsmummypenny.
Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here.
Personal finance news
- New research by HSBC forecasts two interest rates rises from the Bank of England during the next year. Economists widely expected the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to vote for a modest rate rise at their November meeting.
-Millennials are spending three times more on housing costs than their grandparents did. The Resolution Foundation report found younger people having less living space and have longer commutes to work.
-A growing number of entrepreneurs are planning to downsize, sell or close their businesses. New figures from the Federation of Small Businesses found 13% of those questioned were seeking an exit from their business.
-Nicky Morgan, chairman of the Treasury committee, has urged the government to address the status of cross-border pensions and insurance contracts post-Brexit. She raised fears about expats continuing to be paid once the UK leaves the European Union.
-The average asking price for a UK home fell by 1.2% in September, by around £3,600 to £310,000. New figures from Rightmove show the first recorded fall in autumn asking prices since 2013.
Useful links
Get answers to your personal finance questions
Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?
Email [email protected] or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.
You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.
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