The all new standard of living - and other related problems (and some solutions)

Wherever your heart lies in the debate about Britain’s role in the world, your head cannot escape the fact that we import a lot of what we consume.

From the oil and gas that heats our homes and powers our cars to the hops that add flavour to our pints of beer.

And that’s fine when you have a strong currency.

Thing is, for roughly a year ours has been devalued by about 20% and it affects the price of just about everything. Prices are going up – the official inflation figures released this week show that in black and white in Excel.

But wages aren’t going up. They might be in France and Italy but not in Britain. It means…

…well permit Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and the undisputed king of financial common sense, Simon Lambert, to explain exactly what it means.

Also on the show.

Personal debt is spiraling out of control and set to get worse as our low wage economy bites and interest rate rises now look more likely than they have for a long time.

For heaven’s sake don’t let the crooks take what little money you have! We review the latest scams and show how easy it is to glean personal information from your Facebook updates.

Which card should you use when holidaying abroad? Not Simon’s that’s for sure.

There’s a novelty savings account on the market. You get a bonus if you bet correctly on whether sterling will be higher or lower than 1.15 to the pound in two year’s time.

Are the overheated markets the result of investor boredom?

And finally,

Mobile operators are this week spewing over themselves to claim victory in the Europe-wide harmonisation of roaming fees. It’s nothing to do with them. It’s revolting. Merci the EU for that one.

Enjoy.