HOW are your finances looking? Healthy? OK? A bit ropey? Catastrophic? Mind your own business?

Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m asking. Will this column be all about last week’s Budget, Rachel Reeves’ first?

Honestly, by the time you read this column, we’ll all have had budget overload. I mean, I’m writing it the day after the big announcement, and I’m already fed up with the wall-to-wall analysis and social media memes.

In my view, the bare facts are that we all want better public services. These things cost money, which means someone has to pay. Unfortunately, whoever is chosen will feel unfairly victimised and vocally aggrieved. ‘Twas ever thus.

I recently submitted my tax return on my 2023/24 freelance earnings. That was a pretty good year, until one of my clients dropped me in the New Year due to a change in circumstances. While struggling to find a replacement, I made use of my time to make a few visits to a terminally ill relative up north, meaning I was spending money rather than earning it (I have no regrets - it was worth it to spend time with my loved one, who passed away in August).

The upshot is I face paying a good year’s tax return with the earnings from a more fallow year – and because last year took me over a certain threshold, I must stump up half of next year’s cash up front. Oof, ouch and all sorts of other onomatopoeic words (which are probably not permissible in print).

I complained bitterly. “You sound just like a Tory,” said the Other Half. “I thought you liked tax.” Indeed I do. Nothing comes for free, and some things – like a happy, healthy society with an infrastructure that works - are worth investing in.

Of course, we all have different ideas on the best way to spend the communal pot. Some think they would make better use of their own money; others don’t have enough money in the first place.

Luckily for me, I found some more freelance work. In my second shift, I delved into Talk Money Week (November 4 to 8), which runs in a timely manner the week after the Budget.

It’s an initiative by The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS - an arm’s-length body sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions), to encourage everyone to have more open conversations about their money, from pocket money to pensions.

Research shows that people who talk about money make better and less risky financial decisions, have stronger personal relationships, feel less stressed and more in control in all aspects of life, and instil good lifetime money habits in their children.

I asked Daughter if she learns about money at school. “Sort of,” she mumbles. “In form time. But I don’t really listen.” She has little interest (if you’ll pardon the pun) in the subject.

The trouble is, kids today are largely sheltered from the need to know how to manage their finances. My late gran, who grew up in straitened circumstances, used to tell me with great pride how she left school at 14 out of necessity and got a job as housekeeper for a bunch of adults. Daughter, in contrast, wants for little and would be a millionaire if only TikTok time could be charged by the hour.

The Other Half took her to open her first bank account during half-term. They did this the old-fashioned way, spending 45 minutes in front of a bank manager (well, adviser) discussing financial matters such as account types, savings and interest in simple terms.

A report by a trio of money-lenders – SWIG Finance, Great Western Credit Union and Lendology – found that one third of respondents ranked the ability to discuss their requirements with a human adviser a close second to favourable interest rates (38 per cent).

Their respondents were overwhelmingly confident (84 per cent) in talking about their finances. When I interview small business owners about their pathway to success, I hear repeatedly how the high-street bank formula has been reduced to an online tick-box survey. If you don’t tick the box, an algorithm will deliver the verdict: a big fat “no”.

The report authors, in contrast, aim to disrupt traditional lending by with a human-centred approach, namely advisers who will hold your hand throughout the process, talk to you about your specific needs, and say those all-important words - “I believe in you” - when a computer programme really couldn’t care less.

I’m going to keep talking about money, because I’m now old enough to qualify for a meeting or phone call with Pension Wise - a free and impartial government service that helps you understand the options for your pension pot. I last located my many pensions during lockdown, but four years later have lost track of them again. Wish me luck…