Time to save for kids’ uni? Time to refix your energy tariff? Plus more back-to-reality issues

**Martin Lewis** (0:00)
I was sick every day on the first day back at school. I always felt ill and panicky about it. I've got a reply from Susie Dent before we do anything else. I would suggest that you check now how much you will need to save. What counts is the final delay. Finding 7,000 pounds a year after tax is very hard out of a salary.
Hello, I'm Martin Lewis and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast. I do wonder what that's going to be about. And this is our Big Topic episode, where each week we lead on one main subject to help you save. Now, usually most of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Charles, but there's also bonus money saving tips, tricks and hacks for you lucky, lucky podcast listeners. In today's podcast, Back to Life, Back to Reality, a potpourri of important September savers. From a warning to all parents of senior school children about future university costs, to your entitlement to hundreds of pounds of compensation if your flight was delayed or canceled this summer, as well as tax back if you wear a uniform to work, and far, far more. It's an important checklist. You do need to listen to that. Then we go on to Energy. And with the price cap rising, there are urgent deals available that can cut your costs. And crucially, it's the biggest thing I've had questions on. What do you do if you're already on a fixed tariff? Should you refix now? Spoiler. Be careful doing that, and we'll explain why. Energy is also the subject of this week's Mastermind. Will Adrian get it right?
Then the tellers, and please don't hate me, but it is about the C word. You tell us how much pre-Christmas preparation you've done, and some of you even started last November.
Plus, what do I sound like on double speed? Play the theme tune.

**Adrian Chiles** (2:04)
Martin, I saw that the new chancellor was lucky enough to get an audience with you yesterday.

**Martin Lewis** (2:11)
I think it is certainly the other way round.

**Adrian Chiles** (2:12)
Did he ask nicely for that?

**Martin Lewis** (2:14)
He did, actually. To be fair, he messaged me asking, could we meet? I think it was on his first day after he'd been appointed. He got my number and he sent me a message and I said, I'd love to.
And we got round to getting a date that worked in both our diaries yesterday. Now, I need to be straight. These are closed meetings. That's nothing nefarious about that. It's just a private meeting. If not, when you go in a meeting and you're doing one of these things with a politician, they're scared that they can't say anything. I mean, the truth is, a chancellor pre-budget tends not to say much anyway. They tell you it's a listening exercise and they want to know what your priorities are. And I am one of very many stakeholders, I'm sure, that will be going in with the chancellor. What I did there and what I agreed with the Treasury, because they like these meetings to be private, and I said, well, my mate Adrian will probably ask me, have you met the new chancellor at some time? And I can't lie if he does. So I agreed with them that in advance, I could put out a note saying I was going to do it. And the things that were on my agenda that I would want to talk about, if you understand the formula there.
So I shall read you that list. Student loans, especially the plan T repayment threshold freeze, which I've been very, very against. The Cliff Edge on Care's allowance, the lifetime ISA penalties, which are penalising young people buying a house if they've been priced out of the market. The cash ISA changes. I'm pushing for a new starter investment ISA, where basically I think if you're going to try and encourage people to invest for the first time, I think there should be a boost on top for say the first £2,000 you put in. Obviously, everything that's going on with energy bills, we'll be talking about later in the pod. Council tax, how you challenge your council tax, the unfairness of the fact that the system is fundamentally broken, tackling scam adverts, mid-contract price hikes and more. That was the list I went in there with, and I tend to talk about what I want to talk about. Lots of people have said to me, did you ask him about defence spending? What about this? I'm a consumer finance specialist. I stick within my lane. I am not in there to give my general view on everything the government should do. I'm in there to talk about the stuff that I have a specialist knowledge in and research team in.