National Insurance - a tax millions of working age people pay on their wages - is being cut this weekend, for the second time this year. The main rate of National Insurance has now fallen by a third - from 12% last year to just 8%. The Treasury says combined with above-inflation increases to personal tax thresholds since 2010, this will save the average earner over £1,500 compared to what they would otherwise have paid. What difference will it make to your pay?

The debt charity StepChange has told Money Box a third of people they helped last year were behind on their Council Tax payments with an average debt of more than £1,700. What can you do if you're struggling to pay?

Plus, changes to Child Benefit mean it will become available to thousands more families from this weekend - how will that work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 6th April 2024)

April is a big month for our finances, some bills go up and one or two even come down.

A big relief for many households will be the that energy prices are dropping, but one bill that is still going up is rent.

UK rent prices rose 9% in the 12 months to February.

Research shared exclusively with Money Box Live has revealed you're more likely to be in your overdraft if you're a renter compared to people with mortgages. You're also less likely to have savings to fall back on in an emergency.

Meanwhile government plans to scrap no fault evictions for tenants in England have been delayed. Neither tenants nor landlords are happy with the current position.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance specialist at Royal London, Dan Wilson Craw, Deputy Director at Generation Rent UK, and Richard Donnell, director of research at the property platform Zoopla.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast on the 3rd April 2024)

April brings many changes for our money, and this programme has all you need to know.

From Monday 1st, there will be higher pay for people on the various minimum wages. For the first time 21 and 22 year olds join people aged 23 and over in getting what's called the National Living Wage. It's going up to £11.44 an hour, a near 10% rise. 18 to 20 year olds get a bigger boost with minimum wage up nearly 15% to £8.60 an hour, while 16 and 17 year olds and those on apprenticeships get the largest increase of more than 21%, taking their minimum hourly pay to £6.40.

On the same day, the Energy Price Cap set by the regulator Ofgem will fall reducing the typical annual bill in England, Scotland, and Wales by 12% to £1,690 per year. That is the lowest it has been for two years. So will it be worth switching suppliers for a new fixed deal?

It's 25 years since the introduction of tax-free ISAs. You have just a few days to make use of this year's allowance and there are some big changes next tax year. we’ve got all you need to know.

Plus, what’s changing next week for childcare, why some people need to do a meter reading, and how to save money on stamps.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 30th March 2024)

More than half of adults don't have a Will according to new research from insurance company Canada Life. The main reason people say they haven't sorted one is that they don't think they have enough money to leave behind.

So what types of Will are there and what do they mean? We'll be hearing from one man who says he was disinherited over changes to a Mirror Will. We also speak to a mother concerned about digital assets following the death of her son.

Plus, what happens if you don't have a Will at all, where will your estate go?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Nina Sperring, Partner at Price, Slater, Gawne solicitors and is a member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners which specialises in estates and Wills and Jade Gani, Chief Executive of Circe Law and a Director of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first broadcast at 3pm Wednesday March 27th 2024)

This week marks 10 years since a landmark shift in the way we could all use our pensions. Back in the Spring of 2014 the then Chancellor George Osborne announced plans for new freedoms, allowing people over the age of 55 to take 25 per cent of their pension tax-free and use the rest as they wished. What impact did that have?

Hundreds of survivors of economic and physical domestic abuse have been helped by a new scheme set up by one of the UK's biggest banks. TSB's "Flee Fund" was launched just over a year ago to offer financial help to people trying to escape abusive partners. Dan Whitworth reports from Preston.

There was a rare U-turn from HMRC this week. On Tuesday it announced it was planning to close its self-assessment phone helpline for six months of every year. The tax authority said it wanted people to use a chatbot and access its online services instead. Then, just over 24 hours later, HMRC changed its mind and halted those plans. It says its "listened to the feedback and is halting the helpline changes as it recognises more needs to be done to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met, whilst also encouraging them to transition to online services.” What does that mean?

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 23rd March 2024)

Mortgage customers face rising rates, vanishing deals and latest figures have shown more people are struggling to keep up with their repayments.

Mortgage arrears, hit a seven-year high in the final quarter of 2023. So what can you do if that's you?

Felicity Hannah is joined by Charlotte Harrison of Skipton Building Society, Sally Mitchell from the Mortgage Mum, and Richard Lane from the debt charity Step Change - to discuss what's going on in the mortgage market and what you need to know.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(First broadcast 3pm Wednesday 20th March, 2024)

The number of people falling victim to fraud involving cryptocurrency has more than doubled between 2020 and 2023 according to Action Fraud. The value of such fraud has also increased. Our reporter Dan Whitworth has met one such victim, an 86 year old in South Wales who lost over £70,000. Following a Money Box investigation she's now had her lost life savings refunded.

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast Saturday 16th March 2024)

New arrangements for childcare payments come into force in April in England. How will the new arrangements affect parents? Are they going to be better or worse off?

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced extended support for parents of pre-school children in 2023. But many parents say the payments are still too low or that there aren’t enough places available.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Ellen Broome of the children's charity Coram, and Jonathan Broadbery, Director of Policy at the National Day Nurseries Association.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

The Chancellor has delivered his Spring Budget for 2024 announcing a 2p National Insurance cut for millions of working people under the age of 66. Jeremy Hunt says this will save the average worker £450 a year.

But, analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility says maintaining a freeze on the personal tax allowance - the amount earned before tax is paid - will mean 3.7 million extra people paying income tax by 2028, when the freeze comes to an end. So will you be better or worse off? We'll be looking at the numbers.

What would you do if you got a letter through your door asking for almost £2000 owed by a complete stranger? That's what happened to one of our listeners who spent weeks trying to sort it out with a debt recovery company. We hear from a senior MP calling for tougher regulation.

And an investigation into car finance agreements taken out before February 2021 could eventually lead to compensation for millions of motorists. Discretionary commission agreements meant some lenders allowed car dealers to adjust interest rates on finance deals. The Finance and Leasing Association told us: "In practice, having discretion to move the interest rate often meant that dealers lowered it to be more competitive."

Presenter: Paul Lewis

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 9th March 2024)

As Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presents his Spring Budget, Money Box Live sifts through the details - and the impact on all our finances.

Expectations included a 2p cut in National Insurance contributions but will that look like on your payslip? Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth answers those key questions.

Felicity Hannah is joined by Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at Hargreaves Lansdown; Simon Gammon, Managing Partner at the mortgage broker Knight Frank Finance, and Dawn Register, Tax Partner at the accountancy firm BDO.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah

(This episode was first aired on Wednesday the 6th of March at 3pm on Radio 4)