Homeowners in Solihull commuting to Birmingham (top left) fared best as the rising value of their homes paid for their annual train travel in just one week, a study by Zoopla suggests. Commuters in south-west London's Surbiton (top right), Bath (bottom left) Radyr in Wales (bottom right) also fared well.

While managing our income is vital to running household finances, it could be argued that keeping a closer eye on our tax is even more important. Because it's no longer just a matter of how much we pay to the Exchequer each year that counts. HM Revenue & Customs also insists it's our job to make sure we pay the correct amount, too.

Do you have £1.5m kicking around and don't know what to do with it? How about an ultra-rare hypercar? We've got the top five second-hand super-exotic vehicles from as low as £300k.

Kay Burley, the Sky News TV presenter, says she's done well on property but would force every worker in the UK to sacrifice up to 5% of their salary to fund a pension if she were Chancellor. She reveals her financial life and why last year was her best earner, in Me & My Money.

If you are one of the millions of people who have never changed energy supplier, have stuck to the same insurer all your life and still have the same bank account as when you got your first job, then you could save up to £3,000 by following our steps today. You'll be surprised how easy it is to do and how little time it takes. Just set aside a day, sit down - ideally with a computer - and prepare to start switching.

An ingenious system to gain credit card rewards came unstuck and left a savvy spender with £29,3000 of £100 coins, as the Royal Mint launched a crackdown on special coins. It promotes coins on its website as legal tender, but the Royal Mint has told banks not to accept them and the legal definition of the phrase means they do not have to.

Ten million homeowners a year spend a combined £1billion on such cover to fix broken boilers, repair burst water pipes and kick-start the central heating back into life. Most never have to claim - and those that do can spend more on the cover than they would have done if they just called a plumber to fix the problem.

As fed-up customers set up their own Twitter account to blast hapless Vodafone, we reveal how Cliff and Sarah Savage (pictured) lost out on a mortgage over a dispute. The network's own internet-based customer forum is awash with bad experiences. Many are highlighted by a dedicated account set up on social media website twitter - titled 'VodaVictims'.

REDT Energy has created a pioneering method of storing energy, using large storage facilities that are long-lasting, effective and could transform the way energy is distributed to homes and businesses. REDT shares are 7½p and should increase materially over the next three years as the group ramps up production of its units in the UK and overseas.

Prices for sports memorabilia continue to reach new heights. Here, The Mail on Sunday shows how you can make money from sporting collectables without breaking into a sweat.

With faster, more spacious trains, commuting into London is not as far fetched as it sounds. Prices in London are sky-high, with the average home costing a staggering £531,000, and commuting from further west - even taking into account the cost of the rail season ticket - could be a more affordable alternative.

The world is ageing as never before. Fewer babies are being born, and people are living longer. In the UK, the number of centenarians will multiply six-fold over the next 25 years. While it creates concerns for society, it is a great potential source of opportunities for investors. Living longer means more is spent on health - which benefits companies involved in that sector - and it also means more time for older people to enjoy life and spend their money.

The Oculus Rift is the first mainstream virtual reality headset to go on sale to the general public - but will it be the next big thing? Facebook, and a small design studio in Newcastle are hoping so. Hammerhead VR is creating short films for the device, which it predicts will transform social media, gaming, and the entertainment industry.

Markets have had an inauspicious start to the year, but will they succumb to the January effect? Since its inception in 1984, there is a four out of five chance that when the FTSE 100 has made gains in January, it will finish the year on a high.

The Footsie tumbled 5.3 per cent last week - reducing the value of Britain's biggest companies by £85bn in a bruising setback for savers and investors. It was the worst opening five days of the year on record and the losses were echoed around the world with £1.6trillion wiped off the value of global stocks.

People in the South are most likely to pump their money into classics, according to Carole Nash, as it reveals hotspots and favourite cars. And Britain's nation of classic car lovers is not throwing their money at Ferraris, Porsches or Lamborghinis; the most common classic is actually the VW Camper.

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?

I lent my ex-girlfriend £5,000 and we set up a written agreement over email that she would repay it within 28 days. Three months has passed and she's now ignoring me. I want my money back plus interest, but where do I stand? And how do I go about taking her to the small claims court?

TV presenter Kate Thornton - best known for fronting the X Factor and Loose Woman - has launched a cashback website aimed at women, with help from her celebrity friends.
But how does it compare to existing rivals TopCashback and Quidco? This is Money takes a look

Millions of Brits have a Santander 123 account, which offers up to 3 per cent interest and cashback on bills. But from next week its current account fee will surge from £2 per month to £5. Here are some alternative current accounts offering perks for Santander switchers.

How do you heat your home? More likely than not it's by turning on the central heating but a growing number of people are opting for renewable heating sources instead such as wood burning stoves or biomass boilers. These claim to not only be good for the environment but also a way to cut the cost you spend on your energy bills.

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.

Mortgage lenders are trying to woo new customers. Nationwide and Lloyds are offering reduced rates and £500 cashback while Skipton Building Society has cut its big and small deposit deals. With many of us likely to fix our home loans in 2016, how do these rates stack up?

In the same week the US Department of Justice said it was filing a $61billion lawsuit against Volkswagen for cheating diesel emissions tests, the carmaker gave us a first glimpse at how it hopes to repair its reputation with a range of new electric cars.

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.