This scenario is seen each week on a show called ‘Heir Hunters’ – it is about what happens to the estates of people who die without making a will…their money goes to distant and far-flung relatives who often never even knew the deceased was even alive. I would hate that to happen to me and it is a very sad thing to consider. One lady’s money went to a cousin who happened to be the last person she would ever have wanted to have her money due to a long running family feud. But she never made a will…

Make a will and ensure your money goes to whoever YOU want it to go to.

The doodles were a UFO and strange crop circles and had the online world abuzz as to what Google were getting at. Each day has seen different drawings but each carried a clue pointing towards the birthdate of Wells – the final being a scene from War of the Worlds. Old Herbert George would be pleased; he would be 143 years old and he fooled people back in 1898 with his stories of mars and martians just as Google flummoxed a more sophisticated audience today.

We always purchase our auto insurance online but ran into problems when we discovered that our make of car is not sold in our home country. Net result is we are having problems finding cover for it. We have narrowed things down to just two companies who may be able to assist us – otherwise we will be looking at selling and repurchasing when we get home.

Talk about a headache!

The shops are now holding huge discount sales and even staying open 24 hours until Xmas Eve – even top designer boutiques such as Oscar de la Renta are feeling the pinch and offering massive bargains.

It is a ’shoppers paradise’ for whoever has the money at the moment – but how many people actually DO…?

That’s a big mistake as you end up paying for just about everything that’s often free elsewhere. Now, you’d expect to pay for the credit card machine itself obviously (and they’re not cheap) and you’d expect to pay some kind of percentage per transaction too. However, ”obviously” the bank would set up the machine for you, wouldn’t they? Not always: some charge $50 or more to do that. You’d also expect to be able to handle mail order transactions as standard? Nope, the “customer not present” facility is often a chargeable option.

However, a non-bank outfit like authorize.net omits almost all of these charges, and in particular those that you’d be surprised at your bank charging you.

But how many people these days manage to do that? I had a friend who was always trying to find new ways of making herself some extra money. One time she decided to venture out and make pet beds - those baskets with the cushions for pampered pets. She run up a few and sold them quickly at the local weekend markets.

It was a great idea until one of those huge pet supermarkets opened nearby and sold the same items…at half the price she was charging for her handmade efforts. Despite that fact that they put her out of business at the markets she ended up selling them on consignment at the shop. So it worked out in the end.

Just recently we had a baby nappy lotion which was said to smooth the face and did brisk business for a few days before it pertered out; before that there was that stuff which resembled egg white which formed a film on the face and cost over eighty dollars. So popular that it sold for hundreds on Ebay. Let me advise you. If you want to buy an anti wrinkle cream and want to find out which one will work and which one will simply empty your wallet then follow that link and read the reviews first.

It’s updated frequently.

How would they cope with things like the mortgage, debts, education…even the smaller things like a vacation if your salary was no longer there? we tend to insure readily the important things in our lives, the material things such as our car, furniture, home…but what about US ?

A life insurance policy is not just a form of security for your family should the unthinkable happen unexpectedly; it is a sign that you think ahead to the future. A good policy can cost as little as one dollar to cover you for as much as $50,000 – that is pretty cheap life insurance when you think about it.

I’ll bet you have made a will to ensure loose ends are tied after you are gone – but how about your family and their financial needs? this is something well worth looking at.

It’s no wonder that the payday loan companies are doing a roaring trade right now; being a relatively new and alternative form of borrowing they obviously suit the circumstances of the average person. You borrow a small amount – up to £750 – no more than that though, and the repayment is debited via your bank account either at the end of a fortnight or a month. The concept of payday loans is not original, being kind of based upon the principals of the pawnbroker, but the interest is usually lower and you can only borrow a relatively small amount of cash and the loan is ’set’ for a short period of time.

One thing though – you really need to be disciplined when opting for this as you could find yourself in the position of needing to defer your repayment. In this case you face additional charges and not only that, but you could find yourself trapped in a nasty cycle. However having said that, if you need a quick loan for an emergency and have your head screwed on right you might find them to be an easy option.

He got standed in Hamburg, Germany.  We needed to reorganise his flight and could not have done this had he been solely reliant on a few coins in a phone box. Consider though that most phone booths do not accept coins these days – a phone card, indeed, international calling cards are really the way to go now if you or your loved ones are travelling abroad.

Don’t risk it. You always need to be able to make a phonecall no matter where you are in the world.