Parents take out loans to pay for the cost of caring for their babies. Prams, baby clothes, toys and home improvements are paid for through loans by parents-to-be. Expectant parents have borrowed £2.32 billion in loans to prepare for new arrivals to their family unit over the last five years, according to research from Sainsbury's Finance Personal Loans. The study showed that parents-to-be need an average of £2,890 to pay for items like buggies, car seats and nursery renovations.

A junior ISA allowing parents to save for their children's futures is in the pipeline. Plans for a simple children's saving account are being finalised. A tax free savings account for children will be introduced in Autumn next year under proposed government plans, following the decision to scrap Child Trust Funds (CTFs). Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban said money deposited in the junior ISA account will be owned by the child and locked in until adulthood. All the returns will be tax free, although annual contributions will be capped, and, in contrast to CTFs, no contributions will be paid in by the government.

NEST - advice regarding the newest government pension initiative planned for next year. An outline of the new pension scheme to be introduced in 2011. As part of a series of announcements on pensions the government has confirmed that all employers will have pay into a pension for their employees. Unless a comparable scheme is offered by the employer, employees will have to be enrolled in NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) and an employer must contribute. We thought we would take a look at this issue in more detail and see just how it affects both employees and employers. What is NEST? NEST will be a large money purchase scheme, the contributions it receives from employers and employees will be invested to provide a pension for the member at retirement.

Nationwide has reported a drop in house prices across the last two months. First-time buyers are still finding it difficult to buy a house despite a drop prices. House prices fell by 0.7% from September to October, according to the Nationwide building society, but first-time buyers are being "shut out" by the demand for high deposits in securing a mortgage. The quarter on quarter comparison, which is a more reliable reflection of the state of the property market, showed that prices fell by 1.5%. However, the average price, which now stands at £164,381, is still 1.4% higher than last year.