Lloyds TSB is the first high street bank to introduce plans to cut overdraft charges. The banks will introduce the new charges on the 2nd of November. They plan to cut the interest rates for unauthorised borrowing by a third as well as reducing the charges for going overdrawn. They will also reduce the charges for bounced cheques. Lloyds say they are reducing charges in response to customer feedback. They will still charge customer £15 a month for going overdrawn and then a daily rate of between £6 and £20 depending on the size of the overdraft. I think the fact that they are reducing charges is a positive step, it will be interesting to see if other high street banks follow suit.

Many things affect the cost of your insurance but the main reason you are paying more could be your post code. I was reading this article that suggests residents in South Norwood pay more than three times as much for building and contents insurance as someone who lives in Barnstaple. The website also provides a post code checker so you can see how the area in which you live affects what you pay. The results show you a typical annual premium for a house in your area, as well as where it ranks in the country. My breakdown was as follows:

Your postcode breakdown:  
•    Your league position: 1365 out of 1659
•    Your premium: £190.25
•    The national average is £169.45

I just opened a bottle of Vashon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. This is a really fruity full bodies red wine. It has a slightly oak like taste. I thought this was a really nice wine and good for the price of £6.49 a bottle. Slightly strong at 14% volume but it still gets five stars.

Pingo is a company that offers a virtual calling card with really low rates. They have a number of different plans including Pingo Mobile which is designed to save you money on calling international cell phones. They also offer a Pingo Business plan which allows you to buy a long distance service directly from iBasis, one of the largest carriers of international phone calls.

You can currently use Pingo in 35 countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. When you sign up you receive $5 worth of free calls. They currently have a special phone card discount coupon if you quote the code ppp3. This entitles you $3 off at Pingo. They offer come of the best competitive rates worldwide including a cheap calling card to India. Their international calling cards have a small monthly fee of 98 cents a month but no additional fees. Their service also includes Pingo RateWatcher which means they are always looking for ways to reduce their costs and pass these savings onto their customers. In additional if you can receive a $5 bonus for every friend you refer to Pingo, and if you refer three friends they will give you an added $5 bonus, so you get $20 worth of calling time.

It’s good news for the traditional British pint, which was due to be scrapped under EU rules. The EU have now announced a U-turn on the policy which would have meant grocers would be unable to sell produce in pounds and ounces and pubs would have to stop selling pints. The EU has now ruled that pubs can go on serving beer in pints after 2009. Personally I couldn’t see myself ordering a litre of beer, mines a pint landlord.

It’s getting to that time of year when I start thinking about buying Christmas presents. I usually find it’s less stressful to do all my Christmas shopping online to avoid the crowded shops. I was having a look on the Coupon Chief website the other day to see whether I could save a bit of money on my purchases. I came across some Only Natural Pet Store deals, after all pets’ need Christmas presents too. In their gift range I found a peek and play toy box and some gourmet meals that should  make the cats happy. I also found some My Wines Direct coupons. They do some nice wine baskets which are perfect for Christmas gifts.

I have reading with interest the news surrounding Northern Rock and the fact that is has recently had to ask for the Bank of England for emergency funding. As a result its shares have now fallen by 25%. Customers have also been unable to access their accounts on the website to increased demand. There have been reassurances that the business is stable but in some areas worried customers have been queuing outside branches.

Primark have been fined £15,000 for selling tops that breached safety regulations. The hooded tops have cords that run through the neck. Tops that have free running neck cords were banned in 1976 after several fatal accidents involving the cords getting caught in play equipment. The judge also ordered the seized tops to be destroyed.

Its bad news for farmers who must have thought they were lucky to survive the first foot and mouth outbreak a month ago. It appears foot and mouth is back again, this time in Egham, about five minutes walk from my house. It appears the disease is the same strain that was found in Pirbright, near Guildford last month. So far, it has affected two farms in Egham, with the nearby footpaths being closed off. There is also a noticeable increase in traffic where I live due to the fact that several roads in the area have also been closed off. Let’s hope they can contain this latest outbreak quickly before too many farms are affected.

This is a pleasant enough wine with a slight taste of oak. Its not the most exciting wine, I have tried recently, and could almost be called bland. At £8.99 a bottle I think it’s a little overpriced for what is it. I give this one a rather generous four stars, pleasant but unexciting.

Toymaker Mattel has issued another recall of some of its products. Around 850,000 toys are being recalled due to fears the paint contains dangerous levels of lead. The toys include seven Barbie products and three toys from the Fisher Price range. The full details of the recalled items are listed below.

J9485 Barbie Dream Puppy House
J9486 Barbie Dream Kitty Condo
K8606 Barbie Table & Chairs Kitchen Playset
K8607 Barbie Bathtub & Toilet Playset
K8609 Barbie Desk & Chair Bedroom Playset