But if I thought my Paddy Power account account was in a poor state – George Osborne’s books are a horror story.

The Chancellor must have a bit of affinity with this column after taking a reckless punt on the country’s future with his housing gamble.

The answer to our economic woes seems to be encouraging people to buy houses they can’t afford by handing them government loans.

I thought the sub-prime scandal was what got us into trouble in the first place but Osborne is betting the farm on rising house prices to keep homeowners happy.

It will be tin hat time when interest rates return to normal levels but i doubt George will still be occupying Number 11 by then.

MPs got very excited about the 1p cut in the price of beer.

But there was less jubilation in my City of London local where the price of a pint of Peroni has hit the £5 mark.

Not much of a deal at buy 500 get one free.

Charging a fiver for a glass of Italian lager is enough to turn a man to drink and it’s no wonder we’ve become into a nation of stay-at-home boozers with mark-ups like that.

So let’s try and make a few bob to keep us in premium beers with a winning bet for the weekend.It’s World Cup qualifiers time and England take on the might of San Marino on Friday.

What is the point.

I love all sport but I’ve got as much interest in watching this one as Rio Ferdinand has playing in it.

Sport is about competition not a one-sided farce and the sooner countrys are seeded to stop this sort of mismatch the better.

Another tie which jumps off the page is Cyprus v Switzerland where two ends of the banking spectrum will be battling it out.

If a Cyprus player scores I’d recommend he keeps his shirt on for fear of losing it.

But for our bet this week let’s take a chance on Wales beating Scotland at what looks like a very generous 7/2.

Scotland are at home but Wales have the edge in quality spearheaded by Gareth Bale and look overpriced to me.

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Running Total for all 2013 bets to a £10 stake:   £-100.00