Useful posts from around the web over the past couple of weeks.

To see the last roundup click here.

Festivals for free from MoneyMagpie

Ten top tips for first time buyers from FT Money Matters

How to Teach Teens About Money from Frugal Dad

Top 10 property websites from LoveMoney

Top 10 products that save you money and save the planet from WalletPop UK

Five Tips to Making Better Financial Decisions from Financial Highway

Five Ways to Bargain Your Way out of Debt from SimplyFinance

14 cheap ways to show your family you love them from WalletPop

How to Learn Another Language on the Cheap from SimplyBlog

The 15 tax code blunders to look out for from This is Money

6 Steps for a Woman’s Financial Self-Defense from Wisebread (geared toward Americans but still some useful advice!)

8 websites that will save you money this weekend from SimplyFinance

E has been a bit uninspired about putting £s in the Iceland Fund since it looks like it won’t fit into our holiday schedules until next winter. We were almost finished filling a second jar so I decided to count it and get him excited again!

E’s guess? £215

Actual total? £296!

We’re nearly a third of the way to our goal!

We’ve dumped the second jar into the Big Tin and are starting a fresh jar with, hopefully, a bit of renewed enthusiasm for the project!

Loads of interesting data on the UK economy and the financial habits of Britons. Have a look!

Source: Credit Report Guides

Thanks to CreditReport.org.uk for the tip!

Useful posts from around the web over the past couple of weeks. Given that it’s Christmas, a couple of these are a bit late but since the tips are pretty evergreen, I thought I’d include them anyway!

For the last roundup click here.

Top ten tips on retirement planning from FT Money Matters

Seven steps to a frugal xmas lunch from Love Money

Save on books with Read It, Swap It from WalletPop UK

Where to save children’s Christmas money from This is Money

The easy guide to reading your credit card statement from SimplyFinance

Ten things you can get for free this Christmas from Love Money

36 green gift wrapping ideas from Wisebread

E and I have been dreaming of a holiday in Iceland practically since we met. Neither of us has ever been there (airports don’t count) and for lots of reasons it’s on the travel wish list for both of us.

Rather than chuck it on the credit card we thought we’d actually save up and devised the Iceland Fund. Basically, we put every single pound coin we come home with in a jar.

I’d like to go in winter, in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights, so if we plan to do it next year we’ve got plenty of time. We reckon we need at least £1000 for a long weekend. We haven’t allowed ourselves to count it yet.

About two months in, we’ve filled the jar (see below), dumped it in an intimidatingly large amaretto tin, and started again. I thought I’d keep you all updated on our progress, each time we fill a new jar. Good luck us!

A few more useful posts I’ve found around the web over the past couple of weeks. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so the list is long!

To see the last news roundup click here.

Twitter and Facebook for the Best Online Deals from WalletPop UK (disclosure–I got a mention in this one!!)

4 Critical Money Question to Ask Before You Get Married from Kiplinger’s

Top 10 Tips for Saving for Retirement from the FT

20 Money-Saving Ways to Reuse Old Pantyhose from WiseBread

Top 5 Airline Reward Strategies from WalletPop

16 Recipes for Leftover Turkey from Frugal Upstate

Best Way to Teach Kids About Money from Budgetpulse

Christmas tips:

Some Great Savings for Xmas–A Roundup of the Deals Available from Recessionista

Tweet Your Way to a Festive Bargain from This is Money

How to Cut Costs this Christmas from the Telegraph

Best Online Deals: Toys for Christmas from the Telegraph

Cut Down on Christmas Bills from MoneyWeek

More Christmas Codes and Bargains from Money Magpie

Shoppers Urged to Get Online for Christmas Discounts from the Telegraph

Pop Chart: Seven Ways to Save Money this Christmas from WalletPop UK

And some helpful home-buying advice:

How to Choose a Real Estate Agent–Top 10 Tips from FruGal

How to Get on the Property Ladder from This is Money

MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis Gives His Top Mortgage Tips from the Telegraph

I overheard two younger work colleagues discussing how much they spend each month on groceries. One was very conscious of her budget. Newly married and currently living on one income, she’s diligent about tracking everything she spends. Impressive!

She uses The Budget Planner from Money Saving Expert and finds it really useful. I haven’t tried this yet (I’ve got my own, less impressive tracking system) but I like the look of it and I thought I’d pass the tip along to you.

About the budget, the site’s editor, Martin Lewis, said:

It’s oft said… “In debt? Do a budget!”, “Skint? Draw up a budget!”, “Wife run off with the milkman? BUDGET!” The problem is most budgets don’t work; they only look at a month’s spending and miss too much out. This is a unique budgeting guide, including the free budget planner tool, with special techniques to manage and control your cash.

If ’saving money’, ’spending less’ or ‘minding my budget’ are familiar New Year’s resolutions for you, this would be a great time to check out The Budget Planner and see if you can fit it into your life come January.

You can download it here and find loads of tips on filling it out here. Good luck!

A few more useful posts I’ve found around the web over the past couple of weeks.

To see the last news roundup click here.

How to find the cheapest train fairs from WalletPop UK

Thrifty gardening tips from Miss Thrifty

How to save money on music online from This is Money

Holiday ideas – Winter snow from Money Magpie

Get started early with some free festive fun from WalletPop UK

And loads of Christmas tips:

New Christmas voucher codes from Money Magpie

How to be a debt free Santa from FiLife

7 ways to save on your holiday party from Bargain Briana

Shop safely when bargain hunting online this Christmas from SimplyFinance

Recessionista tips for a well-planned and frugal xmas from Recessionista

Spread the cost of Christmas without spending a penny from Money Magpie

A few more useful posts I’ve found around the web over the past week or so.

To see the last news roundup click here.

Sneaky restaurant tips you need to know from Money Magpie

How to buy a slow-cooker or crockpot from Squakfox

Cheap tickets to theatre, sport and gigs from This is Money

9 weekend home projects that will save you money from My Life ROI

Are rewards cards worth it? from WalletPop UK

Keeping after school activities frugal from Frugal Upstate

How I paid off $15,000 in 9 months by selling my ’stuff’ on eBay from Man vs Debt

And some Christmas tips:

Christmas voucher code round up from Money Magpie

8 ways to save time and money on holiday shopping from WalletPop

9 great gifts to give without blowing up your budget from The Quicken Blog

So truth be told I don’t actually HAVE an iPhone, nor any plans to buy one, but I’m fascinated by all of the really great apps out there and thought I’d do a post on some of the ones I just might use:

RedLaser – Swipe your iPhone over the barcode of an item and RedLaser’s built-in scanner will search Amazon and Google Product Search for the top online prices for that item. (£1.19)

Ocado on the Go – The first UK online shopping app from Ocado lets you browse through thousands of household groceries, then place your order for delivery in a handy one-hour time slot. (free)

Pennies – Input what you’ve spent and what you’ve spent it on and Pennies will track your it against your overall budget, give you a daily average and chart your expenditures over time. (£1.79)

Meter Readings – Track your household energy usage and how much you’re spending on gas, water and electric.You can also chart your energy usage by day, week and month to see how you can change your patterns. (59p)

Twenga – Find and compare prices and technical specifications on millions of high tech products before making a purchase either in-store or online.

Bento – A personal organiser, Bento manages contacts, schedules, images, finances and more. It can even be used to track exercise regimes or store recipes. (£2.99)

For more suggestions, check out the Times’ Top iPhone Apps to Save You Money and the Independent’s How iPhone Apps Can Help Save and Manage Your Cash.