In 1988, my then partner and I took out savings policies with Prudential for the benefit of our son. His father and I never married, although we were living together at the time. I was named a trustee on the policies. We separated almost two decades ago, but the policies were left to run. Although I received little in the way of correspondence from the Pru, I assumed they were safe.

Borrowers could find it easier to get on the property ladder as they get older after building societies committed to reviewing the maximum age limits on mortgage lending. Many older borrowers encounter difficulty in getting a mortgage into their pension years, even those with guaranteed final-salary pension income.

Official figures show that the total borrowing on credit cards has soared to £61 billion - an amount that has been increasing by almost 6 per cent every year. This has coincided with a boom in credit cards which allow you to pay 0 per cent interest for up to 37 months on balances transferred from another card.

Alistair Macpherson, from Cheshire, (pictured with wife Lois) has had 22 operations in the past year to prevent the life-threatening bladder cancer he has been diagnosed with from spreading. Yet Alistair has been told he can't claim on the £100,000 critical illness insurance policy he has been paying for the past two decades. The small print states that 'cancer in situ' - cancer that has not yet spread - is not covered.

A block of flats has been snapped up in just under 11 minutes on crowdfunding platform Property Partner, illustrating the relentless appetite for buy-to-let. The buy-to-let specialist crowdfunding platform listed an opportunity to invest in 42 flats in a converted mill - 10 minutes and 43 seconds later they were gone.

Homeowners waiting for the Flood Re scheme's help face astronomical insurance increases if their homes do flood. Helen Godfrey, 57, of Surrey, is one of the flood victims. A flood last year led to a £230,000 claim and has seen her insurance premium rocket by 169 per cent with a new £10,000 excess slapped on.

The £3.25m house has seven bedrooms, a full-sized snooker room and an acre of landscaped gardens. It also boasts a grand staircase, a banquet dining room and a wet room. But it is the the underground showroom that is the real star of the show for car collectors.

In 1994 Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou decided to have a go at 'no frills' air travel. The budget airline has helped change the face of air travel in Europe making it easier and cheaper for people to travel around the continent - and boss Carolyn McCall has hit new heights.

The power transmission company was telling anyone who would listen that its emergency notice asking energy firms to provide more power was not a banshee call signalling imminent blackouts. Still, it was forced to spend at least £2.5m buying power at inflated prices, as producers cashed in on the firm's pressing need.

Ever wanted to scale the side of a mountain but wished you could do it with the wind in your hair? Well now you can, as Land Rover has unveiled the first ever 'luxury convertible SUV'. The Range Rover Evoque Convertible is available from Spring 2016 and will cost from £47,500.

The cashback offer, available until 18 December, is available for those with big retirement savings as you will need a minimum of £100,000 to be eligible. You will need to stay with Fidelity for 18 months or will have to pay the money back, so does this offer make it worth moving your pension?

Nissan's Qashqai has long been the benchmark in the small family SUV sector, but that doesn't mean its position at the top of the tree is assured for evermore. With that said, can it fend off the Renault Kadjar and Peugeot 3008? All three go head-to-head in this compact SUV group test.

Barbara and Harold Manley - who are both in their 80s - have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after being conned last month. The incident, in which they ended up handing over control of their computer and logging into their online banking account, took place the day before the latest TalkTalk hack, but follows a similar pattern to other phishing attempts made by fraudsters.

Booking your flight exactly 53 days before you depart shaves 26 per cent off your travel costs according to Momondo. Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart while flyers leaving on a Saturday will pay 11.5 per cent more.

Central to the China's big plan is a rebalancing from the 'old China' economic model of manufacturing, exports and infrastructure-driven growth to more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption - driven by the sectors of the so-called 'new China'. As China moves from a workforce manufacturing white t-shirts and cheap toys to a white collar workforce with rising spending power, astute investors are adapting their investment focus accordingly.

By using traditional shelters efficiently and taking advantage of new tax-free benefits announced by Chancellor George Osborne this year families could benefit from a significant windfall in freedom from tax - even if the income from their savings and investments amounts to tens of thousands of pounds. For instance, many basic rate taxpayers remain unaware that a new allowance means that interest up to £1,000 from on normal savings accounts will soon be untaxed.

I go round the house turning off lights every time someone leaves a room. Am I actually saving much cash or is all that fuss just for a few pennies?

To clear the average national household debt of £13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of £100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

A sinking oil price, China's Black Monday and the ongoing turmoil in global stock markets could be enough to keep rates on hold for longer, economists predict. That follows figures showing a slight uptick in inflation to 0.1 per cent, but a surprise bigger jump in core inflation.

For many buy-to-let looks an attractive income investment in a time of low rates and stock market volatility. Climbing house prices, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are tempting investors - although they will need a big deposit. Read This is Money's top ten buy-to-let tips

The influence of financial services on the economy is spelled out again as City brokers steal top spot in this year's official list of highest earners. According to the detailed 2014 annual salaries survey, brokers pocketed around 40 times more this year than those at the bottom of the list - the people responsible for keeping children safe on the way to school. Lollipop crossing patrols earned around £3,400.