Spending

Martin Lewis has warned households against splurging this Christmas, while also highlighting the importance of being honest about their finances in a bid to remain debt-free over the festive period and beyond. Read below and watch the clip from The Martin Lewis Money Show Christmas Special for more. 

Barclays has become the first UK high street bank to allow you to block payments to certain categories of retailer, such as gambling services and premium rate phone lines, in a bid to help vulnerable customers.

Almost 60 million unwanted Christmas presents will be exchanged this year, according to new research carried out by a charity which is encouraging consumers to make donations to a good cause instead.

A new debit card which lets you connect your existing debit and credit cards to it and can help with budgeting has now launched – but there are a couple of drawbacks to be aware of before you get one.

Update August 2016: This news story was written in May 2015, though we've done further analysis on the Mastercard and Visa rates since then, and the logic is still the same – Mastercard still usually comes out the winner. We will do a full update of this article soon...

People living in hot countries will no longer be able to claim winter fuel payments from autumn 2015, chancellor George Osborne has announced in the Government's Spending Review.

Holidaymakers using a NatWest or Royal Bank of Scotland debit card will pay lower fees overseas from June – but the cards should still be avoided.

Cutting back didn't dent the Christmas spirit, with those who spent less having a better time than those who spent more, according to a MoneySavingExpert.com poll.

The squeeze on families' spending power was just as strong last month as it was a year earlier, a report found today.

The UK economy shrank by more than previously thought in the final quarter of 2011, official figures revealed today.