Families going abroad this summer are being warned that they could lose hundreds of pounds exchanging their money at the airport bureau de change.

Currency prices can be up to 9% more expensive at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted compared with other foreign exchange outlets, a survey by leading foreign exchange firm Currencies Direct has revealed.

This means a family changing £1000 for a European holiday are £104 worse off buying euros at the last minute, rather than ordering in advance from a specialist firm which can find the best available rate.  Read more... (695 words, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

Most people use social networks of one form or another – whether that’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or others. However when it comes to finding a new job, are these social networks of any use? If you are on the lookout for a new job, it pays to do some research and to ensure you look as employable as possible. Here are MoneyTowers top tips for helping to find a new job on a social network.  Read more... (599 words, 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Most of us would love to work from home – maybe not all the time but at least one or two days a week. But the reality is that a lot of us don’t think that working at home is a ‘luxury’ that they can afford.

But do you think that you could truly do your work at home and be just as effective and productive? If the answer is yes, here is MoneyTowers.com’s step by step guide to help get your boss to say ‘yes’ to your request to work from home.  Read more... (626 words, 1 image, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)

New research has shown that a fifth of people over the age of 55 are expecting to have to work past their 70th birthday. Many of these are continuing their working lives because they have a large mortgage and/or no savings or private pension. Many will opt for ‘part-tirement’ and will switch from working full-time to part-time work.

Aviva interviewed over 1,400 people over the age of 55. More than half said they intend to retire between the ages of 66 and 74. Indeed, 18 per cent said they expect to retire between 71 and 74. The most common reason for continuing work was to improve their finances, although other reasons included to stop getting under their partner’s feet or to help keep their mind active.  Read more... (268 words, 1 image, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

New figures have shown that couples need around £600,000 in the bank if they want to retire. These figures show that the average pensioner needs an income of around twice the basic state pension in order to cover everyday costs such as food, clothing and petrol according to MGM Advantage.

The figures are a third higher than five years ago, and form a double blow when falling pension income and rising living costs are taken into consideration. This means that people need to start saving from an early age if they wish to save enough money to ensure they are able to retire on a sensible income. Pension incomes have started to decline thanks to ever-increasing average lifespans and lower returns currently from the financial markets.  Read more... (282 words, 1 image, estimated 1:08 mins reading time)

When you start a new business few people have the whole cash reserve required – and so one of the big questions about new companies is whether to choose debt or equity.

Firstly, it is important to understand the difference between debt and equity financing. Some of the key features and differences between debt and equity financing are outlined below:

Debt Financing  Read more... (561 words, 1 image, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

• Must be repaid/refinanced

For years now the most popular theory of investing has been the theory of efficient markets. However a new theory – the adaptive markets hypothesis – is gaining momentum and many people believe that it has important points for investors.

The efficient markets theory first came to prominence in the 1960s. However the major problem of the theory is that although it looks good on paper, markets are rarely as efficient in real life as investors do not always make fully rational choices and investments.  Read more... (374 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)