Something of a revolution is under way in terms of what we eat, with growing numbers of people opting to go vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian. But what about the food we give to our pets? What’s in it, and is it worth spending more on premium brands? My two cats are generally not fussy eaters, but last year, after one became ill, I started to look into the ingredients in their food. Oscar and Dennis are two-year-old moggies and, apart from killing sprees of the local wildlife in our London neig

When she had her first child, Buster, Steph Douglas received eight bouquets of flowers. She found it overwhelming - eight more living thing that you needed to care for. But flowers are one of the most popular gifts for new mums - with friends, relatives and colleagues frequently heading straight to a florist when choosing a gift. Steph - now a mum of three - disagreed, and has gone on to build a business based around sending anything but flowers to new parents. “When friends had babies, I wou

Lightfoot promises to save drivers around £150 a year on petrol, but how does it actually work, and could it actually save you any money? We test it out. Do you think you’re a good driver and if so, why? Maybe you’ve avoided having any accidents and don’t have any points on your licence, or you’re generally confident in your driving skills. What would you say if you could buy a small black gadget to fit into your car, which would monitor how you drive and possibly save you money? Lightfoot, a

Are Aldi’s copycat products any good and should you switch to them? Rebecca Goodman tested out 10 to see how they stack up. Aldi is well known for beating the high street supermarkets for cost and is often praised for creating products which are better than the big brands. Since the first shop opened in 1990, it’s gone from strength to strength. It has hundreds of new shops planned and this year was named the Best Grocer of 2019 and the best supermarket for Own Brand Range products by Retail

Water, gas, electricity and broadband are essential household utilities, but a large number of new homes are being built without the infrastructure for a decent broadband connection – or, in some cases, with no service at all. Jennifer Offord, 36, bought her new-build flat in Hackney, east London, in February 2018, four months after it had been completed, only to find out she was not able to sign up to any of the standard providers. “I had assumed it would be fine as I had never had a problem b

Energy bills have been rising steadily and now cost an average of £1,137 a year. But what if you could generate your own solar power? We do the sums to see if it’s worth the initial outlay There are currently 920,000 homes in the UK with solar panels installed, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It is also possible to store self-generated electricity in a home battery pack, reducing the need to buy it from the national grid even when the sun isn’t o

You’ve booked your ski holiday and packed your bags but what happens if you arrive at your resort and there’s not enough snow? Usually your winter sports travel insurance will cover lost days under piste closure. This will include prepaid ski passes or lessons, and extra costs for travelling to a different resort, of around £30 per day up to a limit per person of around £400. But because the Easter holidays fall later than usual this year, from April 8 to 22, at least 10 insurers including Sag

“I wanted to take time off so I could experience first-hand the important milestones in my youngest son’s early life,” explained Ewen Murray, 37, who took shared parental leave when his second son was born. Ewen, who lives in Kent, took a month of leave at full pay when Arlo was four months old, and then tagged on a month of annual leave giving him two months at home. He admits he was slightly naive beforehand. “I had no idea how difficult it would be to look after two children all day long, s

There’s no escaping it: having a child is an expensive business, with surveys suggesting it costs the average couple £75,000 to raise someone to the age of 18. But there is a world of freebies and discounts available to help parents cut the costs and here we’ve rounded up 10 of the best. If you have a weekly, monthly, or annual season train ticket it might be possible to get a free first-class upgrade for your journey. Most train companies will offer a “mums-to-be” pass which lets pregnant wo

If you’ve overstretched yourself and are struggling to meet your credit card repayments, there are a number of steps you can take to get back on track. The sooner you take action, the sooner you’ll start paying back what you owe, and always remember no debt is unsolvable. 1. Work out exactly what you owe Grab a cuppa and sit down with a pen and paper or laptop and list out all your outstanding credit card balances. • The total amount left on each card • The interest rate you are currently pay

The quickest way to compare a number of different credit cards in one place is with our Eligibility Checker tool. All you’ll need to do is enter a few details about yourself and not only will you be able to compare a range of cards, you’ll be able to see the ones you’re most likely to be accepted for. Using our Eligibility Checker won’t harm your credit score. You can then choose the card that matches your needs best. Let’s take a closer look at how to compare cards on MoneySuperMarket. 1. P

If you’ve overstretched yourself and are struggling to meet your credit card repayments, there are a number of steps you can take to get back on track. The sooner you take action, the sooner you’ll start paying back what you owe, and always remember no debt is unsolvable. 1. Work out exactly what you owe Grab a cuppa and sit down with a pen and paper or laptop and list out all your outstanding credit card balances. • The total amount left on each card • The interest rate you are currently pay

A look at the countries looking to cure poverty by effectively paying an income to those who need it. One in 10 people around the world live on less than $2 (£1.50) a day, according to the World Bank. While this is a reduction from 36% of the global population in 1990, there’s clearly still a long way to go to properly tackle poverty. A controversial method being tried out by a few countries is universal basic income payments. These are handed out to poorer people to make sure everyone has a

If you are self-employed, or you run a business hiring contractors, you will probably have heard about IR35. It’s the legislation in place to make sure contractors pay the right amount of tax and national insurance and it was first introduced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in 2000. It is designed to stop workers using an intermediary, such as a limited company, to pay less tax, when they should instead by employed directly by the client they are working for and treated as an employee. These wo

“Necessity is the mother of invention” says Helen Rankin, 45, and it couldn’t be truer when it came to the creation of her reusable wet wipe business, Cheeky Wipes. Helen has always suffered with eczema and when she had her first child, Archie who is now 14, she soon realised she couldn't use any of the disposable wet wipes she could find on the market as they aggravated her skin too much. The only thing that worked was cutting up old towels and using essential oils. Helen stored these in plas

Tempted to turn up the thermostat in biting cold weather? Then think again… there are other ways to keep warm that could slash your heating bills and save you hundreds of pounds Many of us started the year off with a big freeze, as plunging temperature left most of the UK covered in snow and ice. At the same time, energy bills have soared, and all of the Big Six energy firms, along with a number of smaller providers, have raised prices leading to higher energy bills for households across the c

Wondering whether you can afford to have a baby or how you’ll cope with the costs of supporting your newborn? Read our guide to making the most of the financial help on offer There is no escaping it, having a child is an expensive business and from birth until the age of 18 it can set you back just over £4,000 a year – or £75,436 in total for a couple – according to Child Poverty Action Group. However, there are many ways to cut the costs of having a baby. These range from finding the best dea

To get an appointment at my local doctor’s surgery you must call on the day at 8am to snap up an emergency slot, no matter how mild – or severe – your illness. It’s not possible to book in advance; even for a routine check-up, this is the only way to see your GP. This isn’t unique to my practice, and across the country, waiting times are frustratingly long. It’s partly why a wave of online apps have appeared which offer 24/7 access to GPs via phone and video calls. The apps allow you to see