Low public spending means women are worse off

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What to read right now…

Forget about the headline for a moment – this article offers a fascinating insight into wealth-gap relationships where the women have more money.

Meanwhile, campaigners say that low public spending means women in particular are worse off.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinks automatic pension enrolment should start at 16. But given you have to earn at least £10,000 a year before you start paying into a pension, I’m not sure how helpful it would be for the majority of 16-year-olds.

The energy price cap has gone up again so here’s something on how to save on your energy costs.

And finally, from 7 October, victims of authorised push payment fraud – where you’re duped into sending money to a person or company that doesn’t exist – will be able to claim back up to £85,000 within five days under new rules.

A good time to share this guide to what to do if you have fallen victim to a scam.

The deal that’s a steal…

This is a little different.

Wowcher* is currently selling a 24-day diamond jewellery advent calendar for an early bird fee of £17.99.

The normal discounted price is £22.99, and the jewellery you get is worth £79.99 according to Wowcher.

You get a different item behind every door.

Most are rhodium or rose gold-plated charms but you’ll also get a synthetic Moissanite diamond necklace and a Swarovski crystal necklace as part of it.

I think it makes for a fun pre-Christmas present that isn’t going to break the bank.

Note that there’s also a £4.99 postage fee to pay on top.

And an actual freebie…

Fancy some free underwear?

Dutch subscription underwear company On That Ass* is giving out free samples, as it were.

When you go to their website, it’ll all be in Dutch – just change the language and location on the top right to get to the right page.

You can choose from either a pair of boxer shorts or bra and knickers.

Now, here’s the thing – you have to enter your payment details because they want you to sign up for their subscription.

But once you receive your underwear you have 14 days in which to cancel your subscription and then you won’t have to pay anything.

Or of course you can keep subscribing if you like their product – it costs £11.99 a month for men and £12.99 a month for women.

If you only do one thing…

Now is a great time to have a clear out.

EBay scrapped its sellers fees on 1 October for individuals, which means now when you sell something on the platform, you’ll get 100% of your profit.

The only exception is second hand cars.

The move is in response to competitors such as Depop and Vinted, which only charge buyers a fee.

I’ve long given up on eBay because of its extortionate sellers fees but now I may just try again.