Mortgages cause worry and uncertainty about how to get the best deals. While people with fixed rate mortgages at historically low interest rates are worried about making ends meet when they have to remortgage there are lots of people who took out loans two years ago and now face enormous exit fees if they want to change lender to get lower mortgage payments.

Both problems are tackled by Mrs Mean in today's podcast. One listener faces an £18,000 exit fee to leave his five year fix with more than 6% interest to move to a loan at 3.75%. The exit fee is horrendous but moving now could save £36,000. Brokers should help make such a deal work.

Moving from a very low mortgage rate to the current moderate mortgage payments can be daunting if your wages have not increased substantially in the last few years. Taking a lodger under the government's Rent-a-Room scheme may help to stretch budgets. It allows homeowners to earn £7,500 tax free and cover the higher mortgage payments.

Taking a part-time job can also boost your income, and generally in UK an employer cannot stop an employee from having a second job, unless it is specificaly prohibited in their employment contract or would bring the firm into disrepute. That means no to Only Fans but yes to dog walking.

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Autumn is a time of reckoning and it reminds us of the days when the long summer holidays were over and we had to go back to school to a new class and new challenges The holidays are a memory and the credit card bills have arrived. New jobs, new schools, new students, new rentals,all house purchase beckon as we make a new start ahad of winter.

You also need to make sure you are getting good value for your money and to sort out your finances before the end of the year.

Having a deadline in the calendar is much more likely to spur us into action than the vague notion that we ought to be better with our money.

The cost of renting is rising far faster than house prices and many tenancies are up for renewal in the autumn.

Around a million home owners are facing higher mortgage rates.

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Days are getting shorter and it is time to start thinking about heating and lighting bills after months of no heating costs.

The energy price cap is set to increase again in October, but there are lots of fixed price tariffs that can save you money. It only takes minutes.

It is also time to think about insulation while the foam is cheaper. You can also get boilers serviced cheaper this month and benefit from more efficient heating into the bargain .

Before the heating goes back on there are lots of quick ways to save money and many households can also get help with cost of insulation and new boilers, especially if their council tax band is A to D and their energy performance certificate is D,E, F or G.

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