The recession has meant all of us have had to cut back. We just can't afford all the luxuries that we used to take for granted.

For some, pet insurance is falling into that category. However, it has emerged that one result of this is that their owners are facing unaffordable vets bills. A new alarming (and possibly alarmist) study from Sainsbury's finance, found that 56% of vets have had to put down animals who could have been treated simply because their owners couldn't afford the cost of their treatment.

This has to be one of the most outrageous stories I've seen for a while. The parrot in question belonged to Angela Iannelli of Pennsylvania, and was confiscated when Bank of America contractors entered her home, erroneously believing that she was defaulting on her mortgage and that the property was vacant.

Iannelli is sueing the Bank of America over emotional distress - it took more than a week to secure the release of Luke, her blue Macaw and she needed medication for her anxiety.

As far-fetched as this all sounds, it got me thinking what if, and this really is the stuff of nightmares, the bailiffs were at your house - would you know your rights?

After weeks and weeks of dull, gloomy, freezing, snowy weather, planning the summer getaway is even more of a priority, despite the uncertain economic outlook. We might feel like we can't afford to spend as much on our holidays as in the past, but we're still going to have them somehow. There's nothing like that week or so of sunshine to keep you topped up.

Post Office Travel Money research shows that 77% of us plan to go away as much as we did last year, but eight out of ten say they'll adapt their travel plans to a tighter budget. So how do you take the same amount of holiday but spend less?

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.

My parents have been planning to move for a while now, but with the economic climate as it is at the moment, they've given up all hope of selling up for a while yet. Instead my father (who is, by his own admission, a DIY King) has decided to gradually spruce up their house so that when the time is right to sell, he will have added some value to it.

As well as that, there's nothing better than some redecoration to make you fall in love with your home all over again. I have my suspicions that once he's finished, they're not going to want to move!

So if you're putting off selling, why not add a bit of colour to your home without having to shell out a fortune? You can have some and make your house worth a bit more.

Travel insurance is one of life's little annoyances. You know you need it, but having to sit down and sort it out is a bit of a chore. And unfortunately the older you get, the harder it can become to find a policy to suit you without paying extortionate premiums.

It's fair enough that insurance companies charge more to insure older travellers - you are more susceptible to many medical conditions, a lot of which make you a higher risk when travelling abroad, and particularly when you fly.

That said, as people live longer, and older generations stay more active, more over 50s are embarking on foreign adventures all the time. This means that insurance companies are starting to tailor-make policies more suited to the older age bracket. These policies aren't exactly common, but they do exist so it's just a question of knowing where to find them.

Not the kind of money news you were expecting? It's certainly not the kind of money news I thought I'd be writing about, but it's true, honest!

Urban music performer Tinchy Stryder has been at a school talking to children about investing wisely. The star has been encouraging kids in London to get into the saving habit as part of a new scheme contributed to by the government to start teaching personal finance in schools.

Believe it or not, the 22 year-old partly funded his first album from selling clothes, so is no stranger to the importance of saving.

I don't know if you've noticed, but a whole bunch of new websites have sprung up recently, claiming to harness the power of 'collective buying'. You might have seen we told you about one of these websites recently.

Essentially what they mean is that they use bulk buying to give you a discount. Nothing particularly new or clever then right? Actually, the theory behind these sites is so brilliantly clever and simple you'll wish you'd thought of it yourself.