Raising children has always been a costly affair and parents are now shelling out hundreds of thousands to raise their little ones under the best conditions possible. According to the January annual Cost a Child Report from protection and retirement specialist LV= it costs parents £218,024 to get children from birth until the age of

Figures released by the Bank of England have shown that approval rates reached their highest level for two years in January. The figures show that British lenders approved more than 58,000 new mortgages in January this year, an increase of 7% on December. The total number of new mortgage approvals stood at 58,728 in January,

Britain is a nation steeped in debt and, to honour World Maths Day, consumers could do worse than having a thorough review of their financial situation. A study by Barclaycard, CARE International UK and Plan UK revealed that although women in Ghana live on less than $2 a day, they still manage to save more

Credit and debit card fraud has fallen to the lowest levels since 2000 and in the last year alone it has dropped by 7%, to £341 million. The latest figures from The UK Card Association found that fraud levels have fallen to a ten-year low and this is largely due to an improvement in credit

With changes to the calculations of insurance premiums and fuel price increases on the horizon for motorists this year, keeping your car on the road could prove to be an expensive business. This means that keeping motoring costs minimal will become a priority for drivers – but how can you drive these expenses down? 1.

Rising living costs have meant that families have had to make cut backs in several areas. In fact, according to the latest figures from Family Action, the leading charity, some UK households have less than £2 per person, per day to spend on food. Families are even removing fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and cheese from

The Bank of England has announced its decision on UK interest rates, once again opting to maintain them at 0.5%. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Sir Mervin King, voted to keep interest rates at the record-low and not increase the programme of quantitative easing. The announcement this month marks three years since the

According to the latest monthly statistics from Credit Action, personal debt now totals £1.456 trillion – almost the same amount produced by the country over the whole of 2011. The national money charity released these latest figures which detailed the dire financial situation of British families who face high levels of debt. Interest payments alone

The nation’s poor levels of numeracy may be pushing them further into debt. Nearly 50% of the UK’s adult population currently has the mathematical ability of a primary school aged child. According to research by Nationwide Building Society, 17 million adults are being held back by a lack of mathematical understanding. Graeme Hughes, corporate affairs

Homeownership comes with many highs and many lows. Brits are often left battling the elements against the ever-changing housing market, as well as the fluctuating economy. The UK housing market has experienced a turbulent few years following the global economic meltdown and mortgage regulations have become tighter. Over the last 18 months, the market has