In November 1994, I bought a ticket for the first ever National Lottery draw. Unfortunately, in those heady days before the Lucky Dip's arrival, I had to pick the numbers myself. 'It could be you,' said Camelot. It wasn't. Yet still I played on, because what if those numbers came up?

In September, the fund was valued at £39,212, which I put down to market fluctuation. Friends Life kept banging on about an annuity and other options but I maintained I wanted to cash it in. I then started a new job that meant I would have to pay much more tax if I took all my pension as cash, so I contacted Friends Life and said I'd just like my 25 per cent tax-free lump sum. The next quote I received, in October, was £23,992.98. Where has my other £17,000 gone? While all this had been going on, I was sent five packages all relating to an annuity I never wanted.

An analysis of the FTSE 100 stocks show those with the best-paying dividends may actually be at greatest risk of having to cut them. Mining stocks have tumbled amid a commodity price rout, and Glencore and Anglo American have already culled payouts. Dividends from GlaxoSmithKline could also be under pressure.

Hundreds of thousands of inexperienced savers sold investments by salesmen in High Street bank branches have been left stranded, a Money Mail investigation can reveal. Our probe has uncovered how the life savings of loyal bank customers are left to languish in duff funds with high charges. Customers have been shut out of getting help with their investments because banks scrapped their financial advice services following a series of mis-selling scandals and the introduction of tough new rules by the City watchdog.

Dr Leah Totton launched her cosmetic skin after starring on The Apprentice. Her prize from the BBC show was £250,000 in start-up capital and business mentoring from Lord Alan Sugar, one of Britain's most famous entrepreneurs. Here she reveals why Lord Sugar proved to be the perfect business partner.

I regularly trade stocks and shares. I recently received an investment report recommending I buy penny shares. Shall I take a punt? We answer a reader's question on whether an eye-catching small cap idea is worth a gamble.

I am planning to remortgage my current property and release some of the equity to buy a new home. I want to live in the new property and rent out my current residence. How much stamp duty would I need to pay from April 2016?

M&S; Bank has improved the rewards it offers for switching to its current account and the account could earn customers just over £316 in the first year.Not only will new customers moving to the account via the Current Account Switching Service receive a £100 M&S; gift card, they'll also get an extra £10 per month credited to card for each of the first 12 months.

The housing crisis is being fuelled by a growing gap between the number of buyers and the number of properties for sale, the National Association of Estate Agents has warned.

Speculation has been rife in recent months that either Japan Tobacco or British American Tobacco and a 'friend' were planning a multi-billion-pound break bid for Imps, which would value the world's third-biggest tobacco group at £48billion. Yesterday, the name of a new possible bidder lit up proceedings. Hot gossip suggested that China National Tobacco, or CNT, which enjoys a virtual monopoly in China and is the world's largest manufacturer of tobacco products measured by revenues, is considering launching a cash bid in the region of £45 a share for Imps.

Buying a second-hand car can be a stressful affair - we all want a good price but sometimes the best deals seem just too good to be true. And in most cases it's because they are. But there are checks you can do to stop you from falling foul to a used-car cock-up.

So called 'subscription traps' - where people are encouraged to sign up to a free trial only to be trapped into making costly monthly payments - are one of the biggest threats facing consumers this year. Personal Finance Editor Jeff Prestridge reports on this growing consumer harm issue. Alice Ridgley (pictured) was a victim of a 'subscription trap' after signing up to a veg box service.

UK stocks had a mixed 2015, with the oil and mining-dominated FTSE 100 down 5%, but the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 ahead 9%. The plummeting oil price and the first US rate hike in nearly a decade are holding major market players transfixed, and the Brexit vote is looming over the horizon. Investing experts round up the likely big market drivers and offer some tips on what they expect to do best.

The luck of Leicester appears to be continuing after a man and woman from the city won the top prizes in the Premium Bonds draw for January. It is the first time there has been two Premium Bonds jackpot winners from the same city or county in a single month's draw according to NS&I.;

Pensions were transformed by the arrival of sweeping freedom reforms last April, but no one should expect any let-up in the pace of change in 2016. A huge shake-up of the state pension this April has already infuriated people coming up to retirement, as just one in three of them look set to qualify for the full £155.65 a week payout. Meanwhile, everyone still saving up for their old age - so an awful lot of us - will be affected by Chancellor George Osborne's wholesale review of the pension taxation system .

I am sending you paperwork I received from Lincolnshire gardening firm Bakker Spalding about its competitions offering cash prizes. I did all I was asked. I stuck the correct labels on return forms, I made an order for goods and have just sent another order worth £80, but it would appear it keeps moving the goalposts. Why tell me a cheque is on its way if it is not?

To use a football cliché, 2015 was a dramatic year of two halves. It began well, following the January announcement of a major stimulus package from the European Central Bank, which set markets alight. For four months they sailed on the crest of a wave of robust economic data, record low interest rates and a mergers and acquisition boom, before being blown completely off course by a tempest from Beijing.

US dominance of financial markets was on conspicuous display at the close of 2015, as traders around the globe awaited the Federal Reserve's first interest rate rise for nearly a decade. We round up investment prospects in the world's biggest economy as it heads into a presidential election year, and in the struggling eurozone, recovering Japan and unloved emerging markets.

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 0.25 per cent move up in the Fed funds rate has set a marker that the Bank of England's ratesetters will be measured against. Economists expect no move here until late 2016 and the money markets say no move until 2017, but the Bank's deputy governor Ben Broadbent says people should not rely on that.

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

Musicians have seen pay rises averaging nearly 20 per cent in 2015, while cleaners are getting 17.8 per cent more, and window cleaners 12.3 per cent. Artists in general are earning 14.6 per cent more in 2015 than 2014, according to the huge annual data dump of pay scales by the Office For National Statistics highlights.