The number of people looking to defraud a prospective mortgage lender in the UK increased steeply last year, according to a new report on the subject from the information supply group Experian. The most common scenario in which mortgage fraud is being committed is one in which an individual aims to conceal certain facts about their financial past and particularly an adverse credit history.

Experian’s figures show in fact that the number of fraudulent mortgage applications submitted across the country grew by around eight per cent during 2011 and that the number has more than doubled since 2006. The significant increase is interesting because it would seem to point to a rise in attempted mortgage fraud as the UK’s economic situation at large became increasingly strained. A notion supported perhaps by comments from Experian’s UK and Ireland identity and fraud director Nick Mothershaw, who said: “This kind of fraud tends to originate from financially stressed segments of society.”

There can’t be much excuse of course for attempted fraud but there does seem to be something of a correlation with the nation’s economic struggles as the number of attempted deceptions has grown from 15 in every 10,000 in 2006, to 34 in every 10,000 in 2011.

As an issue however, fraud at the consumer end of the financial services market is not restricted to mortgages and there a number of other industries affected, including notably when it comes to insurance and signing up for current accounts. Attempts at fraud in both these areas increased considerably in 2011, Experian warned, on the basis of its access to extensive information as one of Europe’s largest suppliers of credit check services.

Mr Mothershaw commented further: “It is vital that financial service firms accurately validate and verify the identities of the people they interact with and use every technique at their disposal which includes validating income claims and checking for signs of an adverse credit history. This is essential to restrict the significant damage fraud can do to the bottom line.”

In a separate report released recently, the price comparison company MoneySupermarket.com urged homeowners to take a look at the competitiveness or otherwise of their current mortgage deal as a large number of lenders are currently reshaping the terms of their propositions.

Setting off on holiday is generally a major outlay for households regardless of the circumstances but the latest figures on the subject have shown that foreign withdrawals cost UK tourists a collective total of around £263 million every year. On a one off basis, the charges for withdrawing cash in Spain or in any other European hotspot do not seem all that steep at £2.75 but the costs can easily mount up with repeated visits to the cash machine.

A research report from the online travel agent Sunshine.co.uk in fact suggests that Brits abroad will typically visit the cash machine five times during their holiday. The average added bank charge per individual per trip was put at £13.75 and a majority of the consumers polled by Sunshine said they had a nasty surprise as a result of the charges on their return to the UK.

“There’s nothing worse than getting home from a nice relaxing holiday, which cost a fair amount to go on in the first place, only to be hit extra charges like credit card withdrawal fees,” said Chris Clarkson, co-founder of the online travel agent behind the figures. “To avoid such a scenario, I would recommend making sure you have enough spending money to take with you and look into loading it up on to a prepaid card,” he said.

While Sunshine.co.uk has been keen to warn of the potential pitfalls associated with using credit or debit cards while topping up our tans, the online company has also conducted several rather more frivolous research reports of late. It found for example that British holidaymakers can name on average only four capital cities from around the world and that UK tourists generally consume more calories through alcoholic drinks than through their meals. Findings that perhaps don’t paint British tourists in the most flattering light, but there we are.

A booming rental market is positive in some sense because it means there are more properties available to those who need them around the country but the strength of the sector must also owe something at least to the struggle that many people are having in finding a suitable mortgage deal. Perhaps the most scrutinised area of the market is that in which would-be first-time home buyers are finding themselves unable to land a mortgage and are forced to remain in rented properties for longer than they might like. The point isn’t lost on the government though as they continue to at least make statements outlining their commitment to helping more and more Britons onto the property ladder.

In the meantime though, the influx of houses and apartments being made available for rent around the country continues, with London predictably dominating the industry, according to Experian’s latest numbers. The capital in fact is reckoned to account for as much as a fifth of the entire UK rental market. This particular finding contrasts notably with the numbers for houses that were resold during 2011, with relatively few people making appointments to this end over the course of last year in London.

Part of Experian’s explanation in response to its own findings on the subjects of renting and reselling properties nationwide was that a growing number of homeowners are renting out their own residences and living elsewhere for a variety of reasons.

A separate report from the same organisation, which is among the largest of its kind worldwide, recently revealed that the scale of attempted mortgage application fraud more than doubled between 2006 and 2011. The widespread financial distress and household budget squeeze was offered as an explanation for the growing number of would-be homeowners behaving dishonestly in that particular context.

With the economy struggling for growth and household finances being squeezed by inflation, it is understandable of course that people no longer in work would be keen to keep a tight reign on their outgoings. However, the Prudential report also demonstrates that individuals heading for retirement are not willing to settle for simply getting by and are keen to enjoy their post-work years as much as possible.

“Today’s retirees are likely to spend longer in retirement than previous generations so it is encouraging to see that they understand the importance of saving money to ensure they can live comfortably,” said Vince Smith-Hughes, a retirement income expert at Prudential.

“Saving shouldn’t be regarded as something that suddenly stops once you retire, and the current generation of retirees seems to be more aware of this than ever,” he went on to say. “It’s not only about saving though – many retirees in the Class of 2012 are determined to spend money on enjoying themselves and travelling the world, which seems a fair reward for all their hard work during their working lives.”

One worry perhaps for anyone approaching retirement or in the process of saving for the prospect could be that Bank of England’s decision to effectively print more money through its quantitative easing project that has been revisited several times in recent years. There have been widespread claims, not least from a Government Treasury select committee, that the easing has dented the value of savings and pensions held by many thousands of UK consumers.

Interestingly, Prudential’s report on attitudes to saving among retiree Britons noted that women are generally more likely to prioritise setting money aside for the future than their male counterparts.

The findings suggest that optimism about achieving life goals runs along a U-shaped curve, with people aged from 18 to 24 and from 55 onwards feeling notably more upbeat about life and money than those in their middle years from 35 to 55.

Financial worries tend to peak around the same time, with individuals in their late 30s and early forties among those most worried about not being able to cover their costs and about being made redundant from their jobs. The average estimate from people within that age group was that an extra £600 per month would be enough for their concerns to be effectively alleviated.

Commenting in response to the report entitled ‘Times of our Life’, Aviva’s business development director Simon Warsop said: “Either side of middle age it’s pleasing to see today’s twenty-somethings are still striving and ambitious, while the baby boomers and those over 65 say they are most satisfied and content with their lot and currently the average homeowner’s net wealth peaks at 65 plus.”

“And while 35 is the age most Brits say they want to be, increasingly the ‘squeezed middle ages’ are feeling the pinch – weighed down with responsibility and making ends meet – it’s no wonder these age groups feel the most pessimistic.”

Looking at the question of where finances and wealth management rank on the list of concerns for UK consumers, Aviva found the issue came in third behind family and health. So while money clearly matters very much to most of us there are still at least a few areas of life considered more important.

Aviva’s spokespeople also stressed that whatever financial goals any of us have in life and however we choose to spend our hard-earned cash, it is important to secure the right kind of insurance to protect our property in the most appropriate way.

One way of giving yourself a better chance of getting away on holiday this year is to use a travel rewards credit card like the one being offered by American Express right now. There are other loyalty card and discount schemes run by rival credit card companies as well and while you will have to spend considerable sums in order to qualify you could make some really worthwhile savings as well.

Economic conditions around the UK don’t seem to have improved much over the past year but there is evidence to suggest we are becoming more adept at managing our holiday money. Figures from American Express on the subject in fact show that while 21 percent of Britons said last year that they planned to go without a holiday, only nine percent said so in the latest poll. Credit card reward schemes are believed to have played their part but there is evidence as well that a growing number of Brits are keeping their holiday costs down by getting involved with so-called ‘house swap’ holiday schemes.

A separate study looking at similar subjects from the insurance company LV= recently suggested that there are many thousands of British parents in perhaps less advisable but nonetheless common ways. The report from LV= shows that roughly one in ten UK parents pull their children out of school during term time so they can take advantage of discounted holidays. And when you consider that there are potential savings of almost 50 percent available as an incentive for doing so it isn’t difficult to understand why.

In any case, British consumers are set to spend close to £36 billion on getting to and enjoying their holidays this year, according to American Express. Always one of the key issues in making savings in this context is to find the best possible deal you can on your travel money. Meanwhile, grabbing a good price on your travel insurance can help keep your costs down as well, while drawing out cash on your credit card and in some case your debit card can often prove rather more costly than most of us would like.

According to the price comparison service uSwitch.com, there are close to four million households around the country currently in debt to their energy supplier, with the average level of arrears at just over £140 in early 2012. On a collective scale across the UK energy debts are now believed to be worth in excess of £478million and rising.

The growing scale of the issue reflects the general financial struggles that virtually every family in the UK felt over the course of last year, as well as the significant and remarkable rises in the cost of paying for gas and electricity around the country. For its part, uSwitch laments the problem to some degree and describes the average annual household energy expenditure of £1,252 as “eye-watering”.

“And although suppliers have cut their prices this year, the average reduction of £41 or 3.2 percent doesn’t come near the average increase of £224 or 21 percent seen since the end of 2010 – as a result consumers will continue to struggle to pay their bills and debt will continue to grow,” commented Ann Robinson, director of consumer energy policy at the comparison website and company.

The message from uSwitch on the issue in general is that consumers should carry out some research to establish whether they might be able to find less expensive energy tariffs via alternate suppliers. In fact, the organisation maintains that there are very often quite dramatic savings available to consumers who move from one energy supplier to another.

“Consumers should also make sure that they or their supplier are taking regular meter readings as relying on estimated bills can be a shortcut to debt. Anyone who is concerned about managing their energy bills should contact their supplier to discuss the options,” Ms Robinson concluded.

Rising energy bills contributed significantly to overall increases in household inflation over the course of 2011 but economists, including those at the Bank of England, are convinced that rises in the cost of living will fall back notably throughout 2012.

Setting money aside as savings can be a real struggle for many of us, and the UK’s economic difficulties of recent years mean these efforts have become both more challenging and more important than ever. So, while it seems perfectly understandable that many millions of British consumers find themselves genuinely worrying about their finances, doing so can apparently prove counter-productive.

In fact, in an equation between the savings successes and failures of ‘worriers’ versus ‘planners’, the latter came out very much on top in a survey carried out by NS&I recently. The numbers speak for themselves with planners managing to set aside around £600 more on average than the self-confessed worriers in the research.

“Britons seem to be getting into a cycle of financial fret. Time is spent worrying instead of focusing on money management and finances suffer as a result, causing more stress,” said John Prout, NS&I’s savings spokesperson. “By planning ahead and taking active steps, we can take more control of our money and work towards saving. So if you’re getting money worries, take some time out to review the situation and take action,” he said.

Mr Prout went on to advise people who find themselves regularly worrying about money to seek advice from friends or family members who seem to have more of a calm and considered approach to managing their finances.

Another key piece of advice for anyone worried about the way they are using their funds is to start using price comparison websites to ensure that you are not missing out on loan, credit card, savings or current account products that could offer you a better deal. The competitive nature of the UK’s consumer finances market means that there are very often rival deals being made available in just about every product category and it is well worth knowing about them. So doing some homework online on a regular basis can really help you to save money and make sure your cash is working as hard for you as it possibly can be.

So the offer is on the table and it remains to be seen whether students across the country will be tempted by such an obvious appeal to their pockets. In any case, the option is available between 16 April and 30 June 2012. The accounts offer an interest-free overdraft facilities that runs up to £2,000, which may also tempt hard-up students to make the switch but they will need to pay one percent interest on credit balances worth up to £500.

“Money’s always tight during term time and an extra £50 could come in very handy,” noted Santander banking director Liz Chang. “Switch your student current account to Santander and not only will you get £50 from us but you’ll also get the benefit of all the branches we have on campus,” she said, in reference to the 34 university campus branches that the bank now has around the UK.

Ms Chang also added that student account holders, like all other Santander customers can now make use of mobile and online banking regardless of the technology involved, whether its a phone box or an iPad. The remaining good news for anyone tempted by the offer of £50 for what promises to be a simple switch is that you can transfer any standing orders you have in place with your current bank service provider.

As many of us will be only too aware, being a student can prove a remarkably tough financial challenge, regardless of how savvy you are with your current account or your savings. And the issue, unfortunately, very often has the knock-on impact of draining the capacity of parents to save money for their own retirement, as a recent report on the subject from Standard Life made clear.

It is no secret that the UK and European economies are struggling for growth at present and small business are finding it tough to increase turnover and to grow their operations. The bottom line for many is that they find themselves unable to maintain profit levels and are forced into making staff cuts. Undoubtedly a stressful position for the leaders of these small firms but as many as one in ten across the country are now believed to have taken out a remortgage in order to keep their business going.

“It’s sad that so many small business owners have had to remortgage their homes and take hefty pay cuts, but at the same time it shows real compassion on their part that they’re prepared to sacrifice personal gains for the sake of their staff,” said Janet Connor, More Than’s managing director.

The same study from the insurance company also found that many small business bosses around the UK have given themselves substantial pay cuts in order to avoid making redundancies. However, while these findings paint a more positive picture of small business owners than some people might’ve expected, the news for sector as a whole and for the wider economy is mixed at best.

The trading environment for small British businesses remains very tough indeed, particularly with the Eurozone economies seeming to lurch from one crisis to the next at present. However, there was some positive data to emerge from More Than’s look at conditions for the sector, with its measure on inflation showing only a marginal increase during the final three months of 2011, the most recently assessed quarter.