Your financial advice, as always, is second to none … but this short email is to confirm you also scored a bull’s-eye with your suggestion a few weeks ago to Bella to buy Allen Carr’s book to help her husband give up smoking.

I’ve been meaning to write to you for some time now. I work as a police officer and, as you could imagine, I have developed what might be called a bit of a habit of drinking. I never thought I had much of a problem, yet time went on. I read your response to a lady who wrote in asking about giving up drinking as a New Year’s resolution.