The awkward money faux pas I made at work party that could make YOU richer: RACHEL RICKARD STRAUS

It may be seven months since the work Christmas party, but I still cringe every time I remember something I said to a colleague.

I forget about it until I spot him across the office or pass him in the corridor and it reminds me with horror of my social faux pas.

The drinks were flowing, the dancefloor heaving and I got talking to someone I didn’t know from a different department. 

The polite chitchat was going well until I blurted out at top volume over the thumping music: ‘So which workplace pension are you in?’

How to stop a party conversation flat. He looked surprised, promised to check another time – and I let the conversation move on. 

Perhaps it wasn’t the best setting to bring up pensions but I think we’d all be wealthier if we shared our money knowledge, tips and tricks with each other more often.

In this case, I knew of an even more generous pension scheme he could switch to – and couldn’t help but tell him about it.

It strikes me that everyone is largely trying to achieve the same things with our money – we’re working hard, trying to get by, budgeting, saving and eking the best value we can out of our hard-earned cash.

We all find our own methods to do this – deals to cut our bills, accounts to make our money go further, budgeting techniques to make life a little easier.

So why not share our wins with each other so we can profit from others’ experiences?

I’m not saying you should accost people at parties. But if you’ve just switched energy supplier and have a friend or family member who could benefit from doing the same, show them how to do it.

There are countless people out there with ‘switch energy supplier’ on their to-do list but are daunted by navigating through the world of fixed and variable deals, exit fees and standing charges. If you’re a switching whizz, give one of them a hand.

I’m often asked how to start a pension or get investing. Sometimes I just cut to the chase, sit them down and show them how to open an account.

Practical help can be more useful than all the hypothetical advice in the world. It’s not just a selfless act – you may thank yourself further down the line.

If you have family members without long-term savings, it may cost you more to help them out in years to come than it would cost you now to help them put a savings plan in place.

Some financial products even come with referral offers – so you get a cash incentive when someone opens an account on your recommendation.

Last week, reporter Rosie Murray-West revealed in Money Mail that she has already made £3,000 this year by taking up offers and deals from banks, building societies and DIY investment platforms.

A few hundred pounds of that was from referral deals, such as £50 every time she referred a friend or family member to open a Chase bank account and £200 for referring her husband for a pension with Interactive Investor.

I’d love to hear your tips and strategies, too. Money Mail readers are a savvy bunch – please let me know yours and we can all get richer together.

It turns out that my colleague did check his pension. A couple of months later he told me that on scrutinising his plan – and with further prompting from another money journalist – he moved to a better scheme.

He will end up thousands of pounds better off in retirement as a result – so worth the embarrassment after all.

• You can email me at rachel.rickard@dailymail.co.uk or write to me at Money Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY.

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