I have worked in the same company as my partner for a number of years. In fact we have both worked there for longer. However we only started dating after a number of years and yes, I should have made a move earlier but I didn’t. Nor did she, so we are equally to blame for not starting the rest of our lives earlier. Still, as they say, you can’t change the past so I’m not going to beat myself up too much; suffice to say, I wish I had. Society would describe me as a professional ...

A colleague of mine at work has recently had the news that her partner is about to be made redundant and like so many people her age had been spending virtually all their combined income without saving anything for a rainy day. I suppose they are relatively fortunate that she still has a job and that he’s quite prepared to do anything to bring in some money and believes he can pick up some temporary shift work in a factory but it won’t make up for the shortfall. They were faced with a scenario of having to save ...

Like most people I find balancing the household finances at the end of the month a struggle. With three children all under eight and me not in full time work we need to watch every penny and I have become adept at making the money last and would be described by the popular press as a “Thrifty Mum”. I am probably not alone when I’m not only able to list all of my direct debits but also able to say the amounts I pay each week for each of them and the day they come out of our bank ...