Martin Lewis arrived in Liverpool last night to film the Money Show Live's end of season special.
I applied for tickets as soon as I saw the ITV programme would be coming to St George's Hall and was thrilled when I landed a place to see the live broadcast. I was one of hundreds of people who braved the rainy conditions to queue outside the famous landmark to see the finance guru in the flesh.
The consumer champion has established himself as one of the UK's most important voices as many have relied on his valuable financial advice to help them navigate through the cost-of-living crisis. The 50-year-old has developed the sort of universal appeal modern day politicians can only dream of, which is why he often finds himself batting away demands to become the next Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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It's easy to see why the Money Saving Expert has become so popular as the latest campaign he spearheaded prompted the Conservative government to U-turn on ludicrous plans to lift the energy price guarantee. The three month extension of the energy bill support will come as a welcome relief to millions, but Martin was keen to stress in last night's show how the outlook for April is still bleak.
Martin appeared on a podium next to a grand organ inside St George's Hall as he warned of devastating price hikes. He said: "Forget April showers, the raft of cost increases will make it feel more like a storm peeing down on the nation's bank balances."
Martin's mission in the show was to help people steal a march on next month's price increases before the start of the new financial year. The Money Saving Expert provided those in the audience with the best tools to deal with steep increases in Council Tax, water, broadband and mobile bills.
The finance guru delivered his tips with typical passion and panache as he rifled through how to check if you're in the correct council tax band, the benefits of switching to a water meter and how people can identify a cheaper broadband or mobile deal.
The breadth of content shows how the cost of living crisis doesn't discriminate and it was reassuring to see the Liverpool crowd comprise of people from all ages and backgrounds, all who had come together to learn new tools that may help during an expected turbulent April.
Before filming began, the show's warm up act praised the Liverpool crowd for being "opinionated" - and Merseyside's defiant spirit was on full display as people probed to discover new methods to fightback against the financial crisis in the way they best possibly can.
It is, of course, staggering the UK finds itself in a position where people have to be so conscious of their purse strings and more government support is required to help those vulnerable people through a grim period.
However, the valuable tips Martin shares are designed to be best practice measures people can implement to help manage their money. The key to the consumer champion's appeal is how he tailors tips to be relevant to people of all backgrounds and he ended the broadcast with an important plea. He said: "Everyone here, just take care of your finances. Everything you do, just think, can I save money on it?"
The wide range of people in attendance filled me with a degree of hope that the Money Saving Expert's financially savvy advice is striking a chord with those across the region. Despite the alarming April warning that opened the episode, I left St George's Hall with a sense of optimism that people across Merseyside are arming themselves with the right tools to once again come together and fight their way through what looks to be another difficult period.
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