Francesca Lagerberg, Head of National Tax at Grant Thornton offers the following tips to help you through the credit crunch:

1) Use all your allowances - Each member of the family, even a minor, is treated as a separate taxpayer and has his or her own personal allowances and exemptions. Spreading assets and income around the family can therefore reduce the overall tax bill. However, there are pitfalls to avoid. For example, if parents give capital that generates income of more than £100 a year – excluding income from child trust funds and National Savings Children’s Bonus Bonds – to children under 18, the parents are then taxed on that income until the child either becomes 18 or marries before reaching that age.

Keeping on top of your finances is pretty much a lifelong affair and along the way, both obstacles and priorities will change all the time. But generally, these key financial milestones should either be schedule in or ticked off depending on your stage of life.

The Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) is conducting the first ever UK Financial Planning Week (8-14 September). This is a completely impartial and independent campaign which is one of the most important personal finance initiatives conducted in the UK for many years.

Financial Planning Week aims to get people to think about their financial situation, the importance of planning to their daily lives and their future, to help them to work out their life goals and to take some positive steps towards achieving them.

Overall retail sales fell by 3.9% in June, the steepest monthly decline since records began in 1986, but Britain’s 15 million broadband users are turning increasingly to online retailers.

Web sales total £26.5bn so far this year, and independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com predicts that this trend will accelerate. Online sales are expected to reach £163bn a year by 2020, accounting for a 44% share of the overall retail market. The figure for this year will be about 19%. Based on these figures, uSwitch.com forecasts that online shopping will overtake the high street in 2026.

It’s that time of the year again, when romance hangs thick in the air and sends an estimated 275,000 couples in the UK down the aisle to get hitched. According to Alliance & Leicester Personal Loans, the average cost of a modern wedding has now soared to £19,400, which, when put in the context of average earnings of couples, is likely to be more expensive than Wayne and Coleen Rooney’s £5 million bash last month.

But, according to research from financial website Fool, one in 10 people would be prepared to slap the whole cost on a credit card or personal loan in spite of the worsening credit crunch. More worrying still is that, despite house prices falling – by 2% in June, according to Halifax – a further 3% of couples would take out a remortgage or second loan to enable them to foot the bill.

But on the top of a mountain of debt is no way to start married life – so what measures can you take to achieve a perfect day on a less than perfect budget?

Using less petrol is one of the key ways you can save on the cost of driving. With petrol prices going up almost daily, cutting consumption is becoming an ever more urgent priority.

Here are some ways of saving money on petrol, suggested by Confused.com, the price comparison website:

The average family is now paying 18% more for petrol than last year, so saving money on motoring is a pressing concern for everyone. Here is a brief guide to simple ways of reducing fuel bills.

1. Be a smooth operator.

Avoid sharp accelerating and braking, particularly at high speeds. Driving smoothly and intelligently can save up to 30% on fuel consumption.

2. Lighten the load.

Extra weight, such as unused roof racks, old damaged tyres and general clutter will reduce fuel economy.

3. Watch your speed.

55-65mph is typically the most fuel-efficient speed for driving. Go any faster and fuel consumption will increase.