Category: Retired

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in past decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the first of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1968. This was when salaries - in real terms - were considerably lower than they are now, mortgages were hard to come by and would most likely be calculated only on the male earner's wages. It was also the year when house building hit its peak. So, is their hunch right - would they have had an easier time back then? The experts who guide our couple through 1968 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex. Producers: Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley

Money is one of the top three strains on relationships and it’s a common cause of rift between family and friends too. You might be cautious and risk averse and hate to see your partner frittering their money away on new clothes and nights out; while they might think you should stop being so miserly with your cash and splash out once in a while. In the Money Box Summer series Ruth Alexander introduces ‘The Money Clinic’. We eavesdrop on the conversations of three couples and a mother and son talking honestly about their finances with a relationship counsellor. We learn who they are, about their relationship with the other person, and what financial issues are coming between them. We hear practical tips on how each couple can better to manage their cash, and also how to manage the emotional side of money. We learn that individual attitudes to money are formed in early life, and how arguments about money are often about so much more than just money. In this programme we meet Paul who wants to retire early, but his wife Julie says he can’t afford to. Can they come up with a plan for this next stage of life that they will both agree to? Producer Smita Patel Editor Emma Rippon

Money is one of the top three strains on relationships and it’s a common cause of rift between family and friends too. You might be cautious and risk averse and hate to see your partner frittering their money away on new clothes and nights out; while they might think you should stop being so miserly with your cash and splash out once in a while. In the Money Box Summer series Ruth Alexander introduces ‘The Money Clinic’. We eavesdrop on the conversations of three couples and a mother and son talking honestly about their finances with a relationship counsellor. We learn who they are, about their relationship with the other person, and what financial issues are coming between them. We hear practical tips on how each couple can better to manage their cash, and also how to manage the emotional side of money. We learn that individual attitudes to money are formed in early life, and how arguments about money are often about so much more than just money. In this programme we meet Fiona, who is frustrated by her son James’ feckless attitude towards money. He’s 20-years-old but she feels like he sometimes acts like a two-year-old. How can she get him to change his ways? Producer Smita Patel Editor Emma Rippon

Small businesses and major brands alike rely on Amazon but are increasingly ambivalent about selling on the platform. The Amazon Marketplace is a battle royale of millions of sellers and declining profit margins. Meanwhile, Amazon is building its own branded line of competing products, called AmazonBasics. That, and other practices, make Amazon their frenemy -- a major competitor as well as their most important partner. From a societal standpoint, is this a good thing?

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