Should people cash in on their homes to enjoy life or help their kids?

Should you cash in on your home to help yourself or your kids? As a generation retires with more money in their houses than the bank, this question will only become more pressing. And it’s been a topic of much debate on This is Money this week, as we revealed how a new wave of retirement interest-only mortgages could be about to emerge. Homeowners could use one to have a more comfortable retirement, clear some debt, or hand the kids or grandkids an early inheritance – perhaps to buy a home for their own young family. Is that a good idea or a recipe for disaster – and how did we even end up here? In a conversation that tracks all the way back to the mortgage boom of the Thatcher years, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost dive into the homes as a cash machine question on this week’s podcast. Plus, they also take a look at what happens when an inheritance doesn’t materialise as thought – can you contest a will if it’s all left to the dogs’ home. The TSB meltdown is also up for discussion, including why it happened, what next and what people’s rights are. And finally, we’re fans of money saving at This is Money and value for money – so a luxury car for the price of a Ford Fiesta sounds pretty good. Big luxury cars depreciate hard, but that is good news for the canny second-hand buyer who can pick up vehicles that might have cost £50,000 for £10,000 a few years down the line. But we’re not talking shed money here, so it needs to be reliable. This week we looked at the best bargain barges as scored by What Car? reliability tests. Which one would you have? Enjoy.