From Friday, Lloyds TSB customers with variable rate mortgages were able to increase their monthly payments by up to 20% without incurring any financial penalty.

The move marks a doubling of the previous overpayment limit, and will last for one year, coming to an end on March 31, 2011.

But why is overpaying on your mortgage such a good idea? And which other lenders allow you this level of flexibility? Read on to find out.

When you first get engaged, you're in a whirl of excitement, but as you enter the wedding planning stage you need to face the unwelcome truth that unless you're really clever about it, your big day is going to cost you very dear.

The average cost of a wedding has ballooned to £20,000 - but you can have a great wedding on a much smaller budget.

Here are some tips for planning your big day and getting a better deal on food and drink, wedding dresses, flowers and entertainment.

The ISA season is set to turn green - with research from the Co-op revealing 13% of investors are likely to pick something ethical or sustainable with their ISA allowance.

It seems that sustainable investments are no longer just for the principled. Ethical investment has grown steadily during the past decade by almost two and a half times, increasing from £2.8 billion to £6.8 billion.

The Co-op says that sustainable investment is no longer a niche for ethically-minded consumers and is becoming more mainstream. You don't just feel good about yourself - ethical funds often deliver good investment returns.

It's getting round to that time of year again - the end of the tax year is fast approaching and it's time to get your ISA organised, so it's just a little bit scary how little people know about ISAs and what their allowance actually is.

The Co-operative Financial services found that 76% of the over 50s don't know how much their annual ISA allowance is, while Barclays found that 42% of consumers are unaware that the new ISA limits come into force on 6 April this year and of those NS&I surveyed, only 15% understood the new limits.

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have estimated that this ignorance, which has meant people aren't making the most of what they are entitled to, could collectively cost us as much as £13 billion in tax we didn't have to pay.

So, I think it's time to clear a few things up!

I bet you didn't know that if you don't take retirement at the set age and defer your pension for a few years, you'll get free money to put towards it. Which'll mean you have more cash to spend on the things you enjoy when you do retire.

As life expectancy increases and more older people continue to remain active, healthy and work part-time past the set retirement age, deferring your pension can make a lot of sense.

So what's involved?

Eek! You've just read that and thought 'is it Mother's Day this weekend?!' haven't you?

The good news is that you're in the right place for loads of ideas on how to treat your mum with the small margin of time you have left, and an even smaller budget.

I've got loads of suggestions on how to pull off some truly thoughtful gestures without having to spend a fortune.

I always say that eating out on occasions like this is overrated, but a nice meal in will definitely get you in your mum's good books. The BBC Food website has loads of good recipe ideas, as well as how to make the perfect breakfast in bed, and if you want to get the kids involved, there are suggestions for cooking with all the family too.

First-time buyers deserted the housing market in droves in January after the stamp duty holiday came to an end.

The housing market almost ground a halt at the start of the year when the number of mortgages approved for house purchases nearly halved, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The biggest drop was in first-time buyers - down 54% on December at 11,300.

The number of first-time buyers had hit a two-year high in December, suggesting many rushed to complete before the beginning of January when stamp duty was reintroduced on properties costing between £125,000 and £175,000.

As Mother's Day approaches - it's this Sunday, in case you've forgotten - the Office for National Statistics has helped paint a portrait of the 'typical' modern mum in Britain.

While no mother can be 'average', of course, statistics can shed some light on Britain's mums: how old they might be, whether they are married or single, and how they might enjoy the little spare time they have each week.

Women are now just under 30, on average, when they get married, and aged 27 1/2 when they first give birth. But even though they wait longer before having kids, the number of births has hit the highest level in nearly four decades, thanks to older women and immigrants having more babies.

And there has been a big rise in the number of single mums since 1971 - they now make up a fifth of all mothers.

ISA savers who usually leave it until the last minute to invest in a tax-free savings account could be missing out this year.

With Good Friday falling on 2 April and Easter Monday on 5 April – the end of the financial year – savers with money still to invest must act more quickly than usual to ensure they take advantage of their full cash ISA or stocks and shares ISA allowance.

There won't be a rise in VAT or other taxes in the budget in two weeks' time, the chief secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne has promised.

But it's not going to be a "big giveaway budget" either, he said.

Byrne explicitly ruled out a rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% - although this is something the Conservatives have not dismissed. He said there will be no new tax hikes in the 24 March budget, which comes six weeks before the probable date of the election.