Happy New Year! Such as it is. The Icelandic weather isn’t helping to lift spirits and neither is Britain’s increasingly Icelandic-looking economy. Retailers continue to fail apace – Wedgwood was the latest – and consultancy …
With unemployment climbing, house prices continuing to fall, and most retirement funds looking a lot lighter, 2009 promises to be another tough year. So it’s worth taking time now to take control of your finances. …
Tax returns are hardly a festive subject, but hundreds of thousands of us regularly miss the deadline, handing the Treasury an easy £500m, so it pays to plan ahead. The deadline for filing online tax …
Boxing Day is when travel agents start trying to entice you to holiday in far-flung places. But with signs of Christmas excess still littering the house and Santa’s main gift being a recession, how can …
The big sales at Woolworths last week caused a furore. But if you arrived late to find only empty shelves, how else can you bag yourself some bargains in the run up to Christmas? Buy …
Thoughts turn to charity at Christmas time, but make sure the government is doing its bit too. Payroll giving is tax-efficient as the donations are made before your income tax is worked out and deducted. …
Recessions are tough on everyone, but they’re particularly bad news for charities. A recent survey of 362 charities by the Charities Commission shows that as times get harder, 72% are finding demand for their services …
As a rule of thumb, once the Christmas Day lunch conversation strays onto politics, sex or religion, you can kiss familial harmony goodbye. But I think we can add a fourth topic to that list. …
The Government’s Pre-Budget Report detailed “inflation-busting” council tax rises of 6% next year and 4.7% the year after, but the full picture is worse, says the Daily Express. After the general election, Labour plans to …
Go to auctions. As economic woes cause more businesses to go bankrupt, there are rich pickings at auctions. Many firms that go into liquidation sell off their stock and assets at auction. “Everything from fridge …