Poor tooth fairy!

No longer worth a threepenny bit - the tooth fairy is getting very generous - the average amount that a child receives for loosing a tooth is £1.22, up 16 per cent on last year alone.

This means that a child will have benefited by over £25 by the time they have lost all of their milk teeth - and also makes the inflation rate for tooth-loss higher than the rise in fuel prices this year.

David White, chief executive of The Children's Mutual, said: "Parents may think that being the tooth fairy is an expensive business, but the tooth fairy can help them talk to their children about the value of money.

"For those parents determined to 'stick to their gums' and avoid fairy pressure, perhaps they can persuade their children to consider saving their tooth money and get into good money habits from an early age."

Homeowners struggling to juggle mortgage or rent costs, utility bill rises and the cost of essentials such as food and home insurance premiums need to control all of their outgoings.

June 25^th 2008

• Cosy up to the government
• A pension worth less than minimum wage?
• Mortgage worries and house price falls - enough to turn you to drink
• You're (hoping to be) fired
• Scared of the switch
• Debt can exacerbate depression
• Keeping hold of the receipts
• Know-it-all teens may not be as "clued-in" as they think
• Pay for 25 years - and it is still not your house
• Still a home owner - with a little help
• The style to which I am already accustomed
• I'm going to work - I may be sometime
• Please Sir, can I have some more?
• How inflation is deflating savings
• More women contributing to pensions
• Spouses will talk about, not listen to, financial advice