As we stagger out of recession, you'd be forgiven for thinking that charity begins at home, and that you can't afford to give what you would like to charity. But donating does not always have to impact the amount you have coming in each month.

Virgin Money has this week launched a new charity credit card that donates up to 1% of the money you spend to the charity of your choice - meaning you can give without it costing you a penny.

And there are lots of other easy ways to increase your charitable giving without feeling the pinch yourself.

Parents are being encouraged to sign up to school computing schemes that do not offer value for money, according to a new report from Which? Computing magazine.

It claims that schools are pressurising parents to agree to donate money each month to give children access to laptops in their homes, even if they already have a computer at home and could get the same laptop for less elsewhere.

The report also raises concerns about commercial schemes such as Tesco's Computers for Schools, under which a parent would have to spend £265,000 on groceries to earn enough coupons to get an Apple iMac available to buy online for £660.

Premium rate mobile phone service operators are targeting schoolchildren with ringtones and games that the kids subscribe to without having any idea of the cost, shocking figures show.

A third of 11 to 17-year-olds who subscribe to premium rate services on their mobiles have no idea what they cost, according to new research from phone paid services watchdog PhonepayPlus.

It hopes that its PhoneBrain initiative, which takes place in schools and teaches children how to use mobile phone services safely, will help to prevent kids spending more than they can afford.

Modern day life moves too fast to bother with small kindnesses such as carrying an elderly neighbour's bags or giving up a seat for a pregnant woman on the local bus, according to a shocking new survey from healthcare provider Simplyhealth.

It indicates that two thirds of Britons aged under 35 know only two of their neighbours by name, and more than eight in 10 would not offer to carry someone else's bags if they were struggling.

But having a bit of community spirit can improve your health and increase your wealth - so maybe it's time you started helping others to help yourself.

Many people in debt are only claiming a third of the welfare benefits they are entitled to, according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

On average, a family on benefits missed out on £5,000 last year because they didn't claim everything they were entitled to. A whopping £16 billion of welfare benefits went unclaimed.

The cost of a nanny or nursery place can be forbiddingly high and make it uneconomical for many mothers (and sometimes fathers) to return to work after having a child.

So what is the cost of childcare and can you afford to work?

I find the whole debate about working mums misdirected. Everyone always focuses on the mother when there is a baby and whether she should go back to work or stay at home - but what about the father?

I think every couple should sit down and think about how they can jointly juggle kids and work. This could mean one parent working part-time for a while, or both, or one parent staying at home until the kids are older.

The problem is that in many cases men are still the main breadwinners, which means that their career usually comes first while their partner's suffers when they stay at home with the kids. As a result, women earn much less than men over their lifetime and often face poverty in retirement as their pensions also suffer.

No one gets through this life experiencing universally wonderful standards of service. But being British, we don't like to make a fuss when our toasters break within a week, or our charming rented cottages on the outskirts of Rome turn out to be a flat in a high-rise in Milan.

But if you know your rights and go about it in a determined, efficient manner, you should get the money back and compensation you deserve.

It's worth following this checklist to make sure you are covering your bases:

1. Check what you were promised. Look at the contract if you have one, or description on the box/catalogue. Write down specifically how you have been failed

2. Check your legal rights. Go to Consumer Direct for a low-down on your rights under the Sale of Goods Act and various other statutes. You probably have more rights than you realise.

A typical smoker could save themselves more than £40,000 over the next 25 years by stubbing out the fags for good, according to new research from price comparison website Moneysupermarket.

It found that Britons kicking the habit could save on average £6,044 on combined critical illness and life cover taken out over 25 years, or up to £1,685 on a single life insurance policy covering the same period.

Based on the current average cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes at £6.13, a smoker could also save themselves around £1,508 a year by taking the decision to go smoke-free.

It's not all about money, though. About 80,000 Britons die every year as a result of smoking - making the case for quitting on No Smoking Day, which falls on March 10, even more compelling.

We women know that we are far from the weaker sex. Not only can we multitask - often juggling careers and childcare - we also tend to live longer than our male counterparts.

In fact, women are likely to live on average nine years longer than men in retirement.

But these extra years are unlikely to prove enjoyable unless we start thinking ahead and making long-term financial provisions for our later lives.