If you are a homeowner with a good credit record then Firstplus will lend you £10,000 over four years at 6.3% APR, meaning that your monthly repayment will be £236. Even if you've had credit problems in the past there are options available - Blemain will offer the same deal with an APR of 11.4% meaning that your monthly repayment will work out at £257.

Ok so you might not be able to avoid the expense of Christmas, but you can be rewarded for forking out. There are some good cashback credit card deals on the market at the moment, which reward you for every penny you spend.

A good example of this is the Alliance and Leicester Premier Regular Saver which offers 12% interest so long as you pay in less than £250 a month. The only catch is that you have to give a year's notice to withdraw the cash. If you do set up the account in your name be sure you can trust yourself not spend the cash!

SHIP members are indicated on the MoneyExpert website. All SHIP's members offer a "no negative equity guarantee" which means when a customer dies their estate will never be charged more than the value of the property - therefore protecting other assets of the estate.

The Co-operative Bank's Think Credit Card gives 25p from every £100 spent to Cool Earth, a charitable organisation devoted to buying and saving the rainforest. There are also cards that donate to charities such as the British Heart Foundation, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, and the NSPCC. You're unlikely to find headline making rates with most of these cards but may well be surprised at the how good a deal you can get whilst helping a valuable cause. Compare charity cards here.

Read the policy through before you commit. All policies have a "cooling off" period off at least a week. If you spot conditions you're not happy with then there's still time to change. It's important to remember that the more you pay for your insurance the more comprehensive the cover is likely to be, so think twice before going for the cheapest option.

The same goes for credit cards. There are hundreds out there, and despite talk of card providers tightening their belts you should be able to find a good deal. But it's no good sticking with an old card only to find in January that you've over spent and are paying the penalty.

If however you had a large deposit and only required to borrow £75,000 then the difference is striking. On the same property, Giraffe will offer you an introductory rate of 5.82% with zero start up fees. The cost of this mortgage over three years works out at £17,329.

Best-paying accounts currently include Penrith Building Society's Junior Saver Shares at 6.3 per cent while Chelsea Building Society, Bradford & Bingley and Swansea Building Society are some of the providers that also pay over 6 per cent.

Answer a few questions and GovLoans.gov will give you a list of the loans that might fit your situation. Click on "Start Here" on the GovBenefits.gov homepage to start. There are several ways to find loans on Newoverloans.com .