Question Time: My energy’s fixed: refix early to beat hikes? Will our wedding hit our mortgage? How to switch joint savings?

Martin Lewis (0:00)

The new prediction for the energy price cap in January is, I can't even say it, up 24%.

Matthew Burnham (0:07)

I'm a bit torn, I'm aware that I should try and look for a new gas and electricity tariff.

SPEAKER_3 (0:11)

So it's just a question about a mortgage application and a possible wedding.

SPEAKER_4 (0:16)

Who would be responsible and whose insurance would be responsible?

Martin Lewis (0:19)

Hello and welcome to the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast. I do wonder what that's going to be about. And this is our Question Time episode, where you are Esquire's extremely savvy questioners. Get to ask me your questions on absolutely anything and everything. Open brackets within reason, close brackets. This week, you ask me, my energy fix ends in December with huge price rises coming. Should I ditch it to refix now?

Our wedding coincides with the end of our mortgage fix. Will the extra spending cause problems? How do I switch joint savings accounts?

If two families are travelling together, should we each get family travel insurance or a group policy? Then we've got a success. Maddy was missolder data plan, but got over a grand back from it. And then Matt asked me to do some accents. I don't know why. Play the theme tune.

Hello and welcome to this The Question Time episode of the podcast where I answer your questions on anything and everything. Let's all say it together. Open brackets within reason, closed brackets. And joining me, of course, is the one and the only, the curator of questions himself, Professor Sir Dr Matthew Burnham Asquire. Pew, pew, pew.

Matthew Burnham (1:53)

That's my big, that's my big.

Martin Lewis (1:56)

That was quite Buck Rogers' Biddy Biddy Biddy. You're too young to know that. Do you remember?

Matthew Burnham (1:59)

It was supposed to be like laser sound effects.

Martin Lewis (2:01)

Older listeners will know the Buck Rogers... I can't remember what the name of the little robot that did Biddy Biddy Biddy. Maybe it's called Biddy Biddy. Biddy Biddy Biddy. Anyway, Matt, welcome.

SPEAKER_5 (2:11)

You got your full title today.

Matthew Burnham (2:12)

Yeah, the professor's back. I thought I had to drop that.

Martin Lewis (2:14)

No, no, no. That was just for one week. It was a one week punishment because of your row with GDPR Rosie, who's sitting here, but it's fine. We're all through. We're all friends again now. Good. And of course, it is worth saying for new listeners, all of Matt's titles are hard-earned and legal within the canon of this podcast, just not outside. For now. For now, of course.

Matthew Burnham (2:33)

You never know.

Martin Lewis (2:34)

For now.

Matthew Burnham (2:34)

I might get a doctorate.

Martin Lewis (2:35)

However, I have a couple of other names I've been thinking of for you.

Matthew Burnham (2:38)

Oh, go on.

Martin Lewis (2:39)

So they're sort of portmanteaus. They work together.

I was thinking, obviously, you are the producer of this podcast.

Matthew Burnham (2:47)

Yes.

Martin Lewis (2:48)

But are you a podducer?

Matthew Burnham (2:51)

No, I don't like that. No, sorry.

Martin Lewis (2:53)

Well, I'm just looking at Rosie and Isabel, who are live fact-checking in the room. Podducer?

Matthew Burnham (2:58)

Podducer.

Martin Lewis (2:59)

The Rosie's are no. Isabel?

No, they're no. OK. The other one I had was because you were both the producer of the podcast, but also, in a way, your co-presenter.

SPEAKER_5 (3:14)

Yeah. What is it? On-air producer?

Martin Lewis (3:16)

I mean, the official title for what you do is an on-air producer. Yeah, you're an on-air producer. But I was thinking of Prod-Zenta.

Matthew Burnham (3:24)

Prod-Zenta. I like that.

Martin Lewis (3:26)

Oh, Rosie.

Matthew Burnham (3:27)

Prod-Zenta.

Martin Lewis (3:28)

Rosie's middling. Isabel put a genuine face. She did a full gurn on that.

Matthew Burnham (3:33)

Of horror.

Martin Lewis (3:34)

Of horror. I quite like.

Matthew Burnham (3:36)

Prod-Zenta.

Martin Lewis (3:36)

I like it.

Matthew Burnham (3:37)

Prod-Zenta. Yeah, it's got a better ring to it than on-air producer.

Martin Lewis (3:41)

I wonder if we start saying it. Do we think that other podcasts, Ellis and John, they have one, don't they?

Matthew Burnham (3:48)

Dave.

Martin Lewis (3:49)

I wonder if we can persuade Dave that he is a Prod-Zenta as well.

Matthew Burnham (3:53)

Shall I email him?

Martin Lewis (3:54)

I think you should email Dave and see if they're willing to use the term, and we could like be. And then think in the dictionary, in 70 years time, when the whole world are content creators, I mean, literally, it's moving that way that everybody in the world now defines themselves. Think of something like a quarter of people in the US consider themselves to be a content creator. When the entire world are content creators, because AI does everything and all the rest of us do is create content for us to listen to, in our leisure time, that is not a real prediction. I don't think it's going to happen. It wasn't a serious comment.