The modern mobile phone is a vipers nest of trouble.

If greedy networks aren’t forcing you to take out loss/theft cover when you upgrade, shark-ish insurers are writing sneaky clauses into the policy to stop you claiming.

And even if you you do get a replacement for a stolen phone, networks are making it hell getting the charges written off.

Every week I seem to hear more and more of these niggling – but potentially costly – problems. Here’s the latest…

A friend had her Nokia mobile stolen a few months back and reported it in all the right ways – tell network provider to block phone, notify insurer, get to police station – all within the allotted 24 hours (watch out for these time limits).

The criminal had racked up a £300 bill calling the Middle East. Her netw

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The much anticipated and waited RBIs Annual policy announcement happened today. With inflation and current account deficit dipping, the expectations of a rate cut were ripe. The Reserve Bank of India’s Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments for 2012-13 announced yesterday adopted a hawkish stance and said that the room for monetary easing was limited, as decreasing inflation was not as low enough.

The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends money to commercial banks is known as repo rate while cash reserve ratio or CRR is the portion of bank deposits that all commercial banks have to deposit with RBI. Meeting expectations, todays announcement saw RBI cutting the repo rate by 25 basis points but kept CRR (Cash Reserve Requirement) unchanged at 4%, causing disappointment to the industry and stock market.

The repo rates, ie, the rate at which banks borrow from RBI is now changed from 7.5% to 7.25%.  Last cut was seen in March 2013 when the rate was brought down by 25 bps. Al

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The price of oil rose Monday as traders returned to commodities after big sell-offs last week.

Benchmark crude for May rose 41 cents to $88.42 at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contact rose 28 cents to finish at $88.01 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

Analysts said relatively low prices rekindled interest among buyers. Traders cautiously returned to buying certain key commodities Friday, including gold and oil, after big sell-offs.

They also said prices are being supported by the possibility that oil-producing countries could reduce output in order to boost prices. Crude has lost about $9 a barrel since the beginning of the month amid concerns of sluggish growth in China and the U.S., while oil remained well supplied.

Traders were awaiting the release later Monday of existing home sales for March in the U.S., data that will help clarify which direction the U.S. economy is headed.

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One of the secrets to getting out of debt is keeping your spending (and costs) low.  Many of us turn to second-hand items to keep costs low.  Here are a few ground rules for an optimal thrifting experience.

Know the niche shops

Did you know there are thrift shops that specialize in used building materials and even major appliances? Check out surplus stores—Universities, major corporations, even your state government may have a surplus store.  Current State of Washington Surplus items include wheelchairs, chandeliers, thermal long johns (new), File cabinets and art.

Take Your Time

Visit at leisure.  These things take time.  Keep a list in your wallet of the things you are keeping your eye out for, and be sure to check for those items.

Make Repairs

Know how to make some basic repairs.  Tighten a bolt, fix a zipper, re-sew a button. You may

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Eating out can be a much more enjoyable experience than staying in – that is if youre lucky enough not to have allergies or other diet requirements. Weve already seen Lyon restaurant Mon Histoire dans l’assiette offer a completely allergen-free menu, and now Turnyp aims to help diners anywhere find local eateries that serve the food their diet allows.

While most restaurants will at least provide a number of vegetarian options, the same cant be said for vegan, gluten-free or paleo meals. Turnyp scours menus from a range of restaurants to determine what kinds of dishes are available. Users can then search for meals that cater to their diets – as well as other factors such as high protein, low carb, organic or not a salad dish – and discover places that serve what they want nearby. The app

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Finally, the hypocrisy of MPs keeping their gold-plated pensions while the rest of the public sector is hit by excruciating cuts (and lets not start on the private sector) is to end.

After extensive consultation, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will recommend that politicians final salary pensions are scrapped and replaced with something more affordable. No longer will MPs get £30,000 a year in retirement for each 20 years of service, according to a report in todays Sunday Times.

This is long overdue. MPs have been quick to reform the wider public sectors pensions but slow to look at their own expensive perks – all funded by the hard-pressed taxpayer. Either you lump Cameron and co. in with the rest of the public sector reforms, or you leave the whole public pension situation untouched and say its a very expensive extra were prepared to fund as taxpayers because we appreciate the job done by teachers and nurses. I

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