Question Time: Are Premium Bonds right for me? Should we get our child a pension? How many credit applications kill a mortgage?

Aman (0:02)

If I'm applying for a mortgage in March, when should I stop applying for credit?

Martin Lewis (0:05)

You smile at your dad and say, you've made 100 quid from helping grandparents, and you smile at your grandparents and say, you've made some money helping you, do you want to put a little bit of it into my bank account? And now it's a read, because it's an odd number and life is good.

Mike (0:17)

What happens to the regular saver account if I switch banks?

Matthew Burnham (0:21)

That answered the question and I now understand it.

Martin Lewis (0:24)

Hello and welcome to the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast. I do wonder what that's gonna be about. And this is our Question Time episode where you are Esquires, extremely savvy questioners, get to ask me your questions on absolutely anything and everything, open brackets within reason, close brackets. And this week, you ask me, are premium bonds right for me? I've got 50,000 pounds, should I be putting them in there? Or is it a waste of money? How many credit applications will kill my ability to get a mortgage?

Should we consider a pension for our children?

Will they close my high-paying linked regular savings account if I switch my current account? And where would I set the safety net on who wants to be a millionaire? Play the theme tune.

Hello, and welcome to the Question Times edition of the podcast. It's the one where you can ask me anything and everything. Let's all say it together. Open brackets within reason, close brackets. And I'm joined today by the unabridged, no titles taken off him, Professor Dr. Sir Matthew Burnham Esquire, the one and only. Hello, Matt, you got the full titles. You were off last week. I did think, do I dock you for absence? But no, you've got all your titles, which as we all know are perfectly legal and legitimate titles within the canon of the podcast.

Matthew Burnham (1:58)

Yes, thank you.

Martin Lewis (1:59)

I'm back. You're back.

Matthew Burnham (2:00)

Did you miss me?

Martin Lewis (2:01)

I did, although PPS, podcast producer Simon, just to keep the rivalry between you two going, did a very good end question last week.

Matthew Burnham (2:09)

I've heard.

Martin Lewis (2:09)

He had two athletes, British record holders he brought on the show. I love athletics. You've never brought me an athlete on the show.

Matthew Burnham (2:16)

Is he just showing off?

Martin Lewis (2:17)

Well, no, he's just putting the work in, Matt.

Isabelle (2:19)

OK, right.

Matthew Burnham (2:21)

He's actually trying.

Isabelle (2:23)

How am I supposed to do that?

Martin Lewis (2:24)

Yes. So how's your week been?

Matthew Burnham (2:26)

Yes, very good. Thank you. I have been totting up the votes for...

Martin Lewis (2:32)

Is it yay, is it nay day?

Matthew Burnham (2:34)

It's yay nay day.

Martin Lewis (2:35)

OK, so in case you don't know, our new live fact checker is the brilliant Isabelle. Now, her predecessor Rosie was a quiet presence in the podcast. She never spoke, but her influence was felt. And we have opened it up to you to decide whether we continue that with Isabelle, or during Isabelle's live fact checking tenure, does she, do we turn the green microphone on, push the fader up, and let her say yay or nay when it's appropriate, and talk. And we've given you the vote, which format you would like, but that won't be revealed till the end of the podcast. And if it isn't is a yay, you will get to hear Isabelle for the first time. I mean, it's just so exciting.

Who needs celebrity traitors? Who needs Strictly? I mean, this is proper live entertainment, even though it's recorded, going on right now.

Matthew Burnham (3:22)

And we've had a very extra special person vote.

Martin Lewis (3:26)

Who? Oh, wow.

Matthew Burnham (3:27)

I'll have to tell you at the end, won't I?

Martin Lewis (3:28)

Oh, I mean, I don't know who that is. No, you don't.

I'm intrigued.

Matthew Burnham (3:31)

No one knows.

Martin Lewis (3:32)

All right, let's get on with the proper stuff now and do some questions.

Matthew Burnham (3:35)

Yeah, shall we?

Martin Lewis (3:35)

What's the first one?

Matthew Burnham (3:36)

There's a question here from Donna. She's emailed in to Martin Lewis Podcast at bbc.co.uk. She starts, High M&M in brackets, no bias.

Martin Lewis (3:45)

Oh, you see, she likes M&M's and we like kebab, so we like you, Donna. She says. Sorry, that was just really poor. But it was quick.

Matthew Burnham (3:52)

It was quick.

Isabelle (3:52)

It can't be funny to be quick.