Dear LPG, 

I will have decided to put pen to paper (or finger to computer keyboard about a month ago by now because I have just worked out that today (if LPG has been able to post my message on the day I asked them to) will be budget day; the day when the Chancellor of the Exchequer lets us know the result of the calculations of the financial rules that he, and the rest of whatever government is in power when we get to the date in question, have decided we need to live by.  

I have to admit that most of that goes over my head, and I am one of those who skips the long-winded afternoon-long speech in favour of the edited highlights on the evening news. Still, I always think it is an excellent time to take a serious look at our budgets.

Most of us, pensioners or not, are often just about getting over the effects of buying all those Christmas presents while life is just getting back to normal, and news about any increase in the pension that might be on the cards is likely to be made known.

We, pensioners, have usually spent many years working out how to budget and that sudden drop in income that comes with retirement often offers us a brand-new lesson in making do. Still, I think it is much more difficult for today's children.

I know their maths is as good as ours, even if they need to use calculators and computers for the tasks we called mental arithmetic when we were young. Still, I feel that more and more of them have working mums and dads that employ the 'ask and get given' parenting policy these days. So many of our grandchildren miss out on learning the skill of making financial choices when they are young.   The fact that they often have to work with the theory of figures rather than the practical and visual medium of actual coinage has made the whole process more challenging to grasp. 

So, perhaps while the Chancellor is doing his enormous sums, today might be one for any hands-on grandparents to focus on this vital life lesson with their little ones somehow, and a review of our budgets would not go amiss either.   

Co, Ladywell.