It's official. Our debt problems aren't just terrible, they are unimaginably awful. A debt charity has announced that for one in three of the people who contact them, there's no traditional solution available. There's no clear way out.

This is already bearing in mind that some of the solutions they are talking about are awful, and include everything from signing up to a strict budget for the next five or ten years, to losing your home in bankruptcy.

What they are saying today is that for one in three people, even if they did all of this, they still wouldn't be able to cope with their debts.

However, the charity, the brilliant CCCS, does point out that there may still be a way out.

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?

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.

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?

Britons are set to waste £9 billion in unnecessary tax payments this year, according to the latest Tax Action report, published by financial adviser network Unbiased.

Areas where taxpayers are set to lose out the most include on unclaimed Tax Credits that will cost the nation's families close to £4 billion and avoidable Inheritance Tax payments totalling nearly £2 billion.

It does not have to be difficult to reduce your tax burden, though.

By following a few simple steps, you could save yourself hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

About one in three British adults believe that the forthcoming General Election will be followed by substantial tax hikes.

But while many would be swayed by the tax policies of the different parties when it comes to voting, 86% admit doing nothing to reduce their current tax burden.

There's a very old adage that everyone is born a Liberal but dies a Tory. So what happens? Is this some sort of natural change as we get older? Do people get increasingly angry about rip offs? Do we get disillusioned with life and start to see things in black and white?

This week, after a particularly passionate post of the topic of Royal Mail - who I can cheerfully say slowly destroyed any faith I may have had in them over the course of the five months of industrial action - I was accused of being a Thatcherite.

I almost choked on my ciabatta.

However, my reaction to news about public sector pensions made me wonder whether there's some truth in the accusation, because I am enraged at the discovery that I am personally paying an annual bill of £516 to bolster incredibly generous pensions for public sector workers.

Weyhay, it's the end of the country's financial woes!

A new service has launched today offering free money advice to everyone. The service, called Moneymadeclear is run by the Financial Services Authority, funded by the money lying unclaimed in bank accounts that people have forgotten about.

The website will provide information on all sorts of things, from how to invest, to how to go about buying a car, getting a credit card or avoiding scams.

Genius. Now we need never wonder about anything money-related ever again.

There's only one tiny flaw in the plan. It's a complete waste of time.

About 5.5 million households in Britain today are in debt to their energy suppliers, with the average amount owed standing at £132, according to new research from price comparison site uSwitch.

That is a 5% increase on the typical debt this time last year and means that collectively we now owe utility companies an incredible £728 million.

Even more worryingly, this amount is unlikely to fall soon, as consumers struggle with the cost of the cold snap, and the fact that energy prices have rocketed over recent years.