Image source: Flickr (Daniele Leoni)
Editorial
Work commissioned and completed for a variety of print and online publications
EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATIONS
Booking.com glitch leaves holiday let owners owed thousands
Thousands of holiday let owners have been left waiting weeks for money they are owed due to a payments glitch at hotel reservations website Booking.com.
Private care home director took home 120 times more money than front line staff
Exclusive analysis by i of firms’ public accounts reveals some private care home bosses received bumper bonuses during the pandemic
Football ‘cryptos’ slammed for ‘ripping off’ fans
CRYPTO tokens offered by football clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester City, Barcelona and AC Milan have been slammed as a "rip-off" for investors by experts.
Menopause can cause financial hardship for women, legal and employment experts warn
A lack of awareness about the menopause is leaving divorced women with potentially lower settlements and others with smaller pension pots.
Coronavirus: Thousands of holiday plans ruined by birth register delays
Tens of thousands of families are being denied a holiday abroad because of council delays in registering births.
Twitter ‘profiting from posts pushing Bitcoin scam’
TWITTER has been accused of profiting from promoted posts pushing a Bitcoin scam featuring Britain’s youngest millionaire.
Inheritance tax issues
Grieving for his father was bad enough – but then Marc Shoffman had to battle reams of baffling inheritance tax forms...for NOTHING.
Copycat debt firms ‘tricking’ struggling Brits into paying to fix their finances
STRUGGLING Brits are being “tricked” into paying for debt support by ads on Google.
My dad died months ago, so why must he still pay council tax?
A council tax bill landing on the doorstep of my late father's empty property was one of the last things I expected during the pandemic.
TRAVEL WRITING
‘I’m escaping the cost of living crisis by going on a £90k three-year cruise’
Adam, who is in his late forties, has come up with a way of temporarily escaping the economic woes: booking himself on a three-year cruise.
Best afternoon teas at sea
Afternoon tea is a cruising tradition, but which lines serve the tastiest treats?
Why Dunkirk isn’t just for history buffs
THE Dunkirk spirit describes the bravery shown during one of the most significant operations of the Second World War.
Enjoy sexy shows, get a tattoo and rave on Virgin’s adults-only cruise around the Caribbean
A PERFORMER in a white lab coat hands me a condom and asks about my sexual preferences. Welcome to Virgin’s playful, unique take on cruises.
COVID-19 turned our European summer holiday into a staycation. Here's why we'll opt for another UK break next summer — even if travel goes back to normal.
When the COVID-19 pandemic derailed travel plans, Marc Shoffman and his family traded in kids' clubs and breakfast buffets in Menorca for a summer staycation in Norfolk.
UK staycations could boom during the pandemic — but don't expect a breakfast buffet or a turndown service
Here's how hotels and holiday cottages are preparing for the rush.
SETTING SAIL
Sophia Loren opens 19-deck MSC Virtuosa cruise ship in Dubai
DUBAI has a new rival, floating in the sparkling seas of the Arabian Gulf.
COMMENT
How coronavirus stole my grief
Saying Kaddish with others gave Marc Shoffman a communal hug, but mourners have now lost this comfort because virtual minyans are not allowed.
I went freelance so my wife and I could juggle career and childcare even before the coronavirus — here's how I am rising to the new challenges
People around the world have been getting used to working from home after weeks in lockdown, but this has been my lifestyle for the past four years.
Why all dads should read their children LGBT nursery books
After almost four years of bedtime stories there are only so many times you can read about magic mirrors or the danger of red apples or spindles. So when my brother-in-law turned up with LGBT-themed nursery book King and King for his nieces we were intrigued.
FEATURES AND ANALYSIS
How to be an influencer
Expert financial advice for would-be social media stars.
How decluttering became controversial
Marie Kondo sparked a row with the advice that you need to keep only 30 books.
charity and the taxman
You don't need to grow a moustache for a charity to benefit.
We Suffer While They Profit. Diesel Cars - Is The Government Doing Enough?
You may have been one of the millions that have purchased diesel cars since good old Gordon Brown reduced vehicle excise duty on these sorts of engines back in 2001 - but now it turns out the emissions from your vehicle could be causing health issues.
The football swapsies worth holding on to
Your playground pastime could become a profitable hobby
How to make money from petrol station memorabilia
Collectors are harking back to the old days by snapping up old petrol pumps, oil cans and enamel signs.
The motorcycle market is growing at full throttle
Rich baby boomers are buying up the models they covered in their youth.
Small print puts the ouch in gift vouchers
Gift cards offer recipients flexibility, but can come with expiry dates and hidden charges. We look at the pros and cons of these once simple presents.
CASHING IN ON THE US ELECTION
Trump merchandise selling for 100 times the value on eBay, including old Apprentice DVDs, board games and even bottles of water.
It’s time to soak up some truly liquid investments
Returns on rare bottles of wine and whisky are soaring — the biggest risk lies in drinking your profits.
Unhappy with your solicitor? This is how to complain
Consumers have a right to complain in writing or orally about any regulated legal service provider .
How airports are sneakily making millions from charging for luggage trolleys
Top UK airports say the money they take from cash-strapped passengers is used to maintain the service.
Vinyl turns the tables on our music collections
Records have well and truly returned, even popping up in supermarkets, but it is the LPs in your attic that may turn out to be platinum
VIRTUAL LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION: HOW TO VIEW A PROPERTY WITHOUT STEPPING INSIDE
The way you can view a property is changing due to technology that enables buyers to ‘visit’ homes without even walking through the front door.
Landlords: how to cut your buy-to-let costs
Struggling with costs under the Government's new buy-to-let rules? We can help you ease the burden.
beware of portal juggling: home buyers and sellers warned over estate agent trick
Zoopla and Rightmove are among the first ports of call for homebuyers searching for a property.
These property portals provide a vital service for those looking for a new home, trying to find an estate agent to use, or just to get pricing data on an area.
But evidence has emerged of high street and online estate agents manipulating listings to push themselves to the top of email alerts and boost their presence in what is known as portal juggling.
the great mortgage stretch: Should you borrow for more than thirty years to get on the property ladder?
Longer-life mortgages are helping first-time buyers get their feet firmly on to the property ladder by borrowing for more than 30 years.
This is becoming an attractive option to secure a property – but could leave you paying more than £30,000 extra on a home loan.
SPECIAL REPORT: Deborah Lipstadt on the rise of ‘softcore’ Holocaust denial
Against the worrying backdrop of anti-Semitism that has surged since the Gaza crisis, Marc Shoffman talks to Holocaust historian Dr Deborah Lipstadt about the impending challenge facing Holocaust education. How will we remember when everyone who remembers has gone?
Your home insurance holds the key to property disputes
As more people decide to make improvements, many could find themselves facing disputes ranging from boundaries to the rise of iceberg basements.