Family Life

As Christmas approaches, local charity Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau is helping people avoid a Christmas debt hangover by sharing their top ten tips for keeping festive finances in check.

Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau Chief Executive Steve Barriball, said:

“We all want to have the best possible Christmas. It's important to be savvy when shopping and to be aware of how spending pans out.”

The top tips are:

1. Plan early Be realistic and budget accordingly. Work out how much you are going to spend on each person– and stick to it. Manage expectations as to what...

Following a recent report by The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), predicting that half a million elderly UK residents could spend Christmas Day alone, NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, is concerned that the problem of isolation is much greater for elderly people living in rural areas due to a lack of access to reliable broadband.

While the Government is keen to encourage elderly people to use social media and video-calling to contact distant relatives, such systems are reliant on access to reliable and affordable internet access, something which can be a postcode lottery in...

With a growing number of children coming into the care system than ever before, there has never been a more crucial time to find potential adopters.

Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council are working together as part of National Adoption Week 2014 (3 November to 9 November) to encourage more people across the county to consider adoption.

Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Skills, Councillor James McInnes at Devon County Council said:

“The most important thing is that we are looking for people who can offer unconditional love and...

A survey of women living in Exeter has revealed that nearly 80 per cent have received unwanted presents with more than half practising a pleased face before being given a gift.

The poll, by Persimmon Homes South West, also revealed not only the ultimate list of bad presents but who are the worst gift givers. A quarter said some presents had caused a row while more than half have now told people not to bother giving them gifts as they know they will not like them.

A circuit board, tin opener, ironing board cover and a toilet seat made the worst presents list. Of those...