S7 Ep 1: Financial FAQs, 1: Inflation, Cost of Living & Recession

'Where Your Treasure Is...': The Podcast where Faith and Finance Meet

In the first episode of this season on financial FAQs gleaned from the Internet, Bex picks Simon’s brain on the topics of Inflation, Cost of Living & Recession.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• Bex and Simon introduce this new season of the podcast by explaining that it is based on which questions about finance are asked most frequently on Google. [00:35]
• Bex asks Simon to start things off by providing some introductory comments about inflation and cost of living. [03:02]
• Bex delves deeper into the potential causes of inflation, asking why prices in the supermarket have gone up when people have had less money to spend. [08:19]
• Bex’s next query is to ask how the Bank of England’s interest rates tie in with inflation [12:09], which prompts Simon to explain how ‘a basket of goods’ is used to calculate the annual level of inflation [14:08] and how the Bank endeavours to use interest rates to keep inflation at desirable levels. [17:17]
• Simon draws attention to the difference between ‘deflation’ and ‘decreasing inflation’ [20:59] and goes on to explain why it is regarded as being beneficial for an economy to have a modest level of inflation on an ongoing basis. [21:45]
• Bex asks Simon to explain and comment on the term, ‘recession’, which has been used widely recently in connection with the cost of living crisis. [24:26]
• Simon provides three top tips arising from this week’s discussion. [27:37]
• Points mentioned in response to a question about the options available to people who are feeling overwhelmed by the cost of living include seeking professional help from charities that provide debt support, such as CAP (Christians Against Poverty) and Citizens Advice. It was also noted that this podcast’s Season 2 Bonus Episode on ‘Providing Support during the Cost of Living Crisis’ might be of interest. [30:35]
• The focus of next week’s episode will be on credit scores and credit cards. [34:09]

Suggestions or feedback arising from this episode can be sent via email to [email protected] while messages via Instagram should be directed to @whereyourtreasureispodcast.

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