Personal Finance

We've never been in financial trouble or hardship, but have picked up some useful pointers in a few specialised areas.

• Money Transfers One of these is How to Wire Money Across the Atlantic. It certainly isn't straightforward, and don't expect anyone to help - even those you're paying for the service.
• Tax Credits We also hope to put up some pointers on Tax Credits, which were introduced in 2003 and have been criticised ever since. The biggest problem was initially getting through to the helpline, and later on the system managed to make mistakes if circumstances changed. All in all, a bit of a mess, with some people getting nothing when they needed it, and others getting far more than they were entitled to (but having to pay it back of course!).
• Mortgages We certainly aren't mortgage experts, but we are happy with our choices made and would like to explain the rationale behind our decisions.
• Savings Saving money is very important, but do we do it enough? Probably not.