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.

The only part of life that comes with no strings attached is that bargain guitar you spotted on eBay. The rest of life comes with terms and conditions and the home for those terms and conditions is in the small print. That's where strings are attached so it's always worth having a closer look:

The real price
Every big headline price splashed on an ad will always have a little word in front of it. That word is 'From'. When you see that 'From' word it's a signal that the displayed price refers to the most basic, no-frills, stripped-down, entry level, low-powered, standard colour, seriously disappointing version of the product. And that product of course is not the one featured in the illustration which has more bells and whistles than the Polar Express. In the small print you'll see the price of the 'model illustrated' which represents the 'To' in relation to the 'From' as far as the price is concerned.

We're all guilty of it - thinking we'll get organised and give our finances an overhaul - and then putting it of for as long as humanly possible.

It's easy to get bills and leave them unopened and ominous - I do it all the time. I genuinely knuckled down yesterday though, opened all my bills and my bank statements and had a good sort out of my accounts. Nothing was as bad as I thought, and I honestly can't tell you what a relief it is to have done it - it's a weight off my mind.

So, if you're going to brave spring cleaning your finances, here's a bit of help to make it just that bit easier.

More consumers complained about the Lloyds Banking Group to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) than any other financial firm in the second half of 2009, according to new figures.

The FOS received 20,190 complaints about Lloyds in the last six months of 2009 including 9,952 about Lloyds TSB and 7,349 about Bank of Scotland.

The FOS received a total of 82,136 new complaints between July and December last year, an increase of 18% on the first half of the year. Barclays received the second most number of complaints.

So, does this mean more people are unhappy with their bank?

The average British household would run out of money in less than 14 days if a wage earner fell critically ill or died, according to new research.

Insurance firm Aviva says one in four Britons could access only £100 of disposable cash within a week if they lost their income due to death or a critical illness. Yet nearly two-thirds (63%) of British households have no critical illness cover or life insurance.

So how should Brits prepare for a rainy day?

With London Fashion week in full swing, you may well be dreaming of snapping up the perfect investment purchase to ensure you're on trend for the season ahead.

But whether you have a passion for designer clothes or your tastes are more Primark than Prada, you are potentially at risk of underinsuring the clothing, shoes, jewellery and accessories in your wardrobe.

So how do you make sure the contents of your wardrobe are sufficiently covered?

If you're in the market for a new credit card, or a new mortgage, it can be hard to know where to start looking. Knowing which kind or mortgage or credit card will suit you best is half the battle, and then knowing where to get is the other.

Find out how you can make at least one step in this process a whole lot easier.