As much as I love that Pink Floyd song ‘We Don’t Need No Education’, we could probably all agree that a little education would go a long way. I went to Target last week to buy some cleaning products. There were so many choices it was hard to decide and I just wanted someone to come along and point to one and make the decision easier. Sometimes wading through all the financial options and services available to consumers is a similar experience. There are more and more short term loan options, a myriad of options for prepaid, debit and credit cards, not to mention all the options available for traditional banking services.

Research shows that often people make financial decisions based on emotions, or with pieces of information without having the whole picture. Durin

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A new report published by Friends Life has revealed that British women were less well informed and more confused about pensions than their male counterparts.

The study stated that UK females face a rougher ride than men over retirement years due to pension ignorance and gave a number of tips aimed to help women to become more familiar with pensions:

What is your current pension position?

A good place to start would be finding out what you’ve already got in terms of pension. How much are you currently paying in? How much does your employer contribute? Have you joined a pension scheme? Knowing what your starting point is would be a great help in order to move forward.

Learn where your money goes

From now on, it could be worth trying to figure out where your pension money goes. T

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Groceries are the second-largest expense for most households – just behind housing. While you need to eat, you don’t have to spend too much on food. Here’s how to save big money on groceries:

• Switch stores. Use online flyers to find the best deals on groceries this week and shop by discounts, rather than by convenience or habit. As well, check out discount gourmet grocery stores, grocery store outlets, and farmer’s markets – these tend to have lower-cost foods.
• Shop with a plan. Find recipes you would like to try and look for recipes that have simple ingredients that are affordable. Then, check your pantry and your freezer for ingredients, noting just what you need to buy. Making your weekly meal plan and then buying just what you need helps prevent food waste and over shopping.
• Be prepared to shop. Shop alone, after you have had a big meal. This will help prevent impulse buys caused by hunger or kids’ nagging.
• Build meal ideas around your budget. Work to fin

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There has been a huge growth in the number of companies offering pay day loans in the UK, as more people are being rejected for a more traditional loan by banks and building societies. But as the number of pay day loans being taken out increases, so do the number of customer complaints about their loan.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has now said that it will carry out an investigation into the practises of some pay day loan companies after the number of complaints about these expensive loans has soared.

The OFT has reported to the government that the number of complaints made via the Consumer Direct helpline about pay day loans has more than doubled over the course of the past twelve months, with a total of 1,535 separate complaints in the first eleven months of this year, compared with just 700 loan complaints for the whole of 2010.

As a result of this, the OFT is conducting investigations into several pay day loan companies and taking action against those who have failed to comply with advertising standards and rules on their websites, regarding the terms and conditions of pay day loans.

The OFT have also found that a number of firms do not carry out adequate affordability checks on pay day loan customers, or advise loan customers on the charges associated with their loan if they fall into arrears.

Joanne Elson of the Money Advice Trust said “Many families are feeling the strain caused by low wage growth, rising unemployment and increasing prices. T

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