The Orkney Islands in Scotland are rated as the rural district of the UK with the highest quality of life for the second year in a row. The wild and remote archipelago off the north coast of Scotland won the accolade for the best countryside living after scoring well on employment rate, education, crime rate and overall life satisfaction and happiness. Rutland in the East Midlands shot up the chart to second place from 19th position last year, pushing Wychavon in the West Midlands to third place, according to Halifax's annual survey.

The typical family holidaying this Easter will have with them an incredible £2,300 worth of high-tech appliances among their belongings - from smart watches and e-books to laptops, satnavs and digital cameras. Many travellers may be oblivious to the potential financial loss because they pay for their phone by monthly contract. But a lost iPhone 8, for example, could mean a replacement bill of more than £900. Georgia Pacquette-Bramble (pictured) got a new phone after the theft in Trinidad.

Classical singer Ollie Baines, a member of award-winning trio Blake, would gorge himself in a vat of caviar if he could afford to have any luxury he wanted. He says Shirley Bassey is to blame for his expensive tastes. Baines, who acquired his taste for fish eggs while working on a record with Dame Shirley, also reveals Prince Philip, below, once called him 'bloody useless' to his face because the singer failed to follow his father and grandfather into the army. Baines is pictured left, with his fellow Blake singing stars Stephen Bowman and Humphrey Berney.

I'm yet to get a smart meter but am constantly contacted about getting one. Recently, the stakes were upped - I was offered a £30 Amazon voucher to convince me. As the 2020 government deadline approaches, could energy suppliers become desperate and start offering bigger incentives?

Millions of workers auto-enrolled into pensions will see deductions from wages triple in April, squeezing their spending power and testing the commitment to saving for old age. Only a relatively modest 0.8 per of pay packets is being diverted into people's pensions to date, but this will jump to 2.4 per cent next month, followed by a further steep increase to 4 per cent the following year. We look at who will be affected, and the financial consequences of a decision to opt out or stick with auto-enrolment pensions.

The average gross rental yield on buy-to-let hit 5.2 per cent in the second half of 2017 according to BM Solutions - which is part of Lloyds Banking Group and one of the two biggest buy-to-let lenders in the country. This comes despite widespread reports of the buy-to-let sector's ongoing demise.

The Mustang is also the world's biggest-selling sports car. You get a lot of bang for your buck. The new version looks like a smart contemporary take on the original classic. And it has a loud and growling soundtrack from its exhaust. People hear it before they see it. It marks a mid-life upgrade on the 2015 Mustang; leaner, faster and more user-friendly, but still a gas-guzzling beast of a vehicle. The interior is functional, comfortable and does the job. But it's thirsty - its average 22.59mpg drops to 14.4mpg around town - and CO2 emissions are a whopping 279g/km.

Most of us however don't have the time to spend hours researching online, switching deals or haggling for a better price. Here are six top tools to make sure you always pay the cheapest price from energy and broadband bills to Amazon buys and designer clothes.

The 5 April Isa deadline is fast approaching, meaning time is almost up for investors to make the most of the bumper £20,000 tax free Isa allowance. If you are still wondering where to invest, it might be worth giving passive funds a second look.

All you need to do is make a few simple changes to the way that you spend your money and you'll have found yourself a brand new source of income. You can earn cashback on everything from clothes and homeware to energy bills and holidays. Some websites will also reward you when you shop on the High Street. And if you were planning to make those purchases anyway, then you really are getting something for nothing.

Halifax has launched a new best-buy cash Isa, just in time for the Isa rush at the end of the tax year. It could be the catalyst for other high street names to start offering better savings. It is the only best buy rate from a big bank in This is Money's independent best buy savings tables.

Households up and down England are being slapped with the biggest council tax hikes for 14 years from next week. Properties in the popular Band D council tax category will see their bills rise by 5.1 per cent or £81 to £1,671, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government revealed. The hikes come as councils claim they are facing spiraling social care costs, meaning the majority have opted to levy an average additional £30 charge.

Savers have just a few days to use up this year's £20,000 Isa allowance - so where should you invest for the best returns? Our analysis of the best-selling Isa investments found star fund managers such as Terry Smith and Neil Woodford are proving most popular among savers as the tax year comes to an end. But experts say following the crowd isn't necessarily the smartest option at this time of year.

My daughter, who has special needs, was asked by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to supply all bank statements from April 2015 to the present date. We left Nationwide and Halifax with the requested documents - but NatWest was a different story. On December 6, we were assured that they would be posted in the next week.

Jaguar has revealed the fastest version yet of its F-Pace SUV - with a top speed of 176mph. Powered by a 5-litre supercharged V8 engine, it produces 542bhp and can hit 60mph in 4 secs. Here's what you need to know about the new F-Pace SVR.

Many of us are guilty of sticking with a bog standard credit card issued by our bank. But if you play your cards right, the best credit deals could actually make you money.

Chief executive Diana Hunter left last week after more than five years at the helm following two profit warnings and a 66 per cent share price drop. Conviviality had to suspend trading on the stock market after it discovered a surprise £30m tax bill, which it failed to raise the money for in an emergency cash call.

The asset-stripping firm, based in Mayfair, was not confident that it had rustled up enough support to clinch the takeover they so desperately wanted. Smaller shareholders, largely investment houses that held cash in British engineer GKN through tracker funds, are understood to have been top of the list.

I've read about active funds and passive funds- what is the difference and which is better? An active fund is run by a manager who makes decisions about where to invest money. A passive fund aims to copy a stock market index like the FTSE 100.

Over the long term not investing in shares means you are passing up the best chance of inflation-beating returns. If you already invest, then you'll know what to do to get your money into an investing Isa before the end of the tax year - but what if you are new to the game? These are my tips.

Paul and Sophie Weldin were on holiday with their four young children in April when they learned of the blaze at their East Devon home. They had moved in just two months earlier and had not finished unpacking. But when they made a claim on their home policy, it was declined. Insurer Ageas said the Weldins had wrongly declared that the property had five bedrooms when it had seven.

Britons' debt as a share of income has fallen by almost 20 per cent since its peak before the crisis, with most households currently able to repay their mortgage debts as interest rates remain low, policymakers said. However, a rise of about 1.5 per cent in the base rate could put a proportion of households in a more difficult position to repay their mortgages, policymakers said.

My parents have decided to leave their house to their only granddaughter after their passing. However, my daughter has said it seems a little unfair on me so she wants to split the inheritance two ways, so we both get an equal share of their estate. Can this be done and are there any taxation implications? Liz Alley of Brewin Dolphin (pictured) replies.

When it comes to saving for old age, too many of us bury our heads. There always seems to be something more pressing... until it's too late. But there's no need to let your golden years turn into a damp squib. With our guide, your pension will be back on track in no time and you can make sure you have a richer retirement.

Britain's Jaguar Land Rover has secured deal worth potentially £1.3billion to supply 20,000 of its new all-electric I-Pace cars to Google's self-driving car spin-off Waymo. The aim is to create 'the world's first premium self-driving electric vehicle for Waymo's driverless transportation service', which plans to launch later this year and offer customers the opportunity to hail a driverless car with an app.

House prices are falling in 42 per cent of London's postcodes and are tipped to fall across the capital by summer, according to a new report today. While the capital just about kept its head above water with annual house price growth of 1 per cent, cities in the Midlands and North are seeing a mini-property boom. Hometrack said that Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester all recorded price inflation of more than 7 per cent.

I have two pensions. One starts at the age of 60 and the other at the age of 65. My thinking is this. Can I 'draw' from the first one for 10 years such that there will be nothing left? Five years into this the second one will kick in, and seven years into this the state pension will kick in. Is this possible?

The clock is ticking for homeowners. The Bank of England is expected to hike base rate from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent by December. You can be sure that banks will do everything in their power to pass on these increases to customers who have a mortgage. Here's how to beat them,

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.

The amount you can save into a pension ultimately depends on what you can afford - but the longer you leave it the more you will need to save. We tend to put ambitious targets on our hoped-for income in retirement and then underestimate how much we will need to set aside to achieve that. So how much should you save?