Savings Features

Paying for your white wedding

Fathers worried about footing the bill for their daughter's big day; can breathe a sigh of relief - the tradition is fast becoming a thing of the past. These days, around 80% of couples pay for their own wedding, easing the financial burden on parents but heaping it on for newlyweds. But while money cant buy you love, it certainly helps when it comes to splashing out on your big day. The average cost of a wedding is now an eye watering £19,500, leaving many couples big day memorable for all the wrong reasons.

The Credit Crunch and your mortgage - what happens next?

The credit crunch has bought good and bad news for homebuyers. The good news is that house prices are sliding, bringing homes within the reach of first-time buyers. The bad news is that loan conditions have tightened up so much that only those with the largest deposits and the cleanest of credit records stand a good chance of getting exactly the loan they need.

Winning investments in the face of the credit crunch

Are you among the sellers who believe that financial stocks are 'bombed out'? Do you reckon the 'credit crunch' will continue to bite big lumps out of the valuation of the country's major financial institutions or do you believe that this could be a one-time opportunity to buy into the major players at knock-down prices that will recover substantially over the course of the next couple of years? There are strong arguments for both sides.

Taking advantage of the savings war

Halifax threw down the gauntlet to its rivals in the savings war this week when it launched a regular savings account paying 10% AER. The account trumps other regular savings accounts on two fronts; firstly, the high rate is not dependent on having another linked product with the bank which is a common feature of some headline-grabbing rates from other providers, and secondly savers can deposit up to £500 each month into the account compared with the £250 limit that is a condition of most other regular savings accounts.

Investment Quiz - Are you "A", "B" or "C"?

Like most human qualities, a person's investment mindset is not easily slotted into categories - human beings are far too subtle for that. But in the A-Z of investment, A, B and C could stand for Adventurous, Balanced and Cautious. If you had to line up behind one of those broad labels, which would you pick? In fact, do you even know which one you are?