Beginners get money taped: Vivien Goldsmith listens to recorded tips on budgeting for the younger set

A PAIR of audio cassettes, Talking Money with Vincent Duggleby is designed to equip people setting out on their own to tackle all the money issues they face.

The uncharacteristically stern photograph of Duggleby, known to Saturday morning listeners of Radio 4's Money Box, may not instantly attract his potential audience. But if a concerned parent slips one into an unsuspecting Walkman or car tape deck, twentysomething listeners might be surprised at how pleasantly the good advice flows over them. Our readers can order the tapes (below) for pounds 1 less than the shop price.

Each tape is divided into five-minute sections separated by jingly music. It romps over budgeting, the best way to save, renting and buying a home, insurance, pensions, tax and, optimistically, managing a windfall.

Duggleby suggests, for instance, that when a son or daughter is working and still living with parents, an agreement should be reached about contributions to household expenses allowing for an automatic rise when pay increases.

In contemplating a mortgage, Duggleby suggests working out the monthly cost of paying it, adding a little for electricity and telephone bills, and finding out what it feels like to save that amount monthly for a trial period. He warns against getting tied up in unsuitable saving schemes which offer poor value if discontinued.

He does not bang on about pensions, noting that you don't have to get involved in too many details, but that most young people should opt out of the Government earnings-related pension scheme and then start thinking about contributing something themselves.