At some point in our lives, most of us borrow a bit of extra cash when we need to. And the credit market offers various options for borrowing some extra money when necessary.

Some of the most common forms of consumer credit include:

The internet becomes more and more important in every area of life. People read the news online, communicate via email and chat rooms and even do their shopping via the virtual space. Many professionals have discovered the internet as a new platform to offer their products and services, and new ideas keep emerging regularly.

Brightword Publishing has created a series of books aimed at small business owners, called Business Bites:

Titles in the series so far are as follows:

Finance for Small Business: by Emily Coltman - a straight talking guide to finance and accounting

Selling for Small Business: by Jackie Wade - a guide to what it takes and how to do it

Pitching for Small Business: by Laura Rigney - How to successfully prepare your business, brand and products, and sell to retail buyers

Twitter your Business: by Mark Shaw - A beginner's guide to using Twitter

When starting a business, you need to make sure you have all the bases covered. It’s crucial that you develop a detailed business plan when in those crucial early stages, not only will it keep your goals clear, but it’s what will bring investors to your door.

by Sarah Hamilton of SJH Accounting

As always, the Budget is a trade-off. There are tax savings on the one hand and tax increases on the other. Please read the below questions and answers to gauge how the budget will affect your finances.

We have all seen those pictures that profess to be caricatures of the working mum. She runs her own business, manages a household, takes the kids to school, helps with the homework and then still has time to cook dinner, make the packed lunches and bath the hordes all before bed time.