Consumers looking to apply for credit cards and personal loans could benefit from new government proposals which aim to promote responsible lending and borrowing.

The Department for Business has published ideas for draft regulations that could make lenders check the credit worthiness of consumers before they are allowed to borrow money.

Meanwhile, the measures also suggest that consumers should be able to withdraw from credit agreements within 14 days if they are concerned about things like future debt management.

Consumer affairs minister Kevin Brennan commented that the changes should help a range of people who may have debts.

He added: "These changes will build on the real help we’re already providing for homeowners, savers, pensioners and people with debts."

Under the measures, credit lenders will have to fully explain products they are offering to potential borrowers.

The Financial Services Authority has also focused on consumer protection in recent months, by developing better regulations for the sale and rent back property market.

Under the FSA’s new framework, homeowners looking to ease debts through sale and rent back schemes could benefit from more ethically-minded providers.

More than half of those aged over 50 (58 per cent) believe that the government should pay for care for the elderly, research has shown.

A quarter may risk debt management problems attempting to fund their own care during retirement, claiming that their state pension is not enough to cover costs, the Saga survey revealed.

Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of those aged over 50 have admitted that they would rather opt to live in a care home rather than burden their families.

Alex Edmans, care funding adviser at Saga Personal Finance, explained that old people would prefer not to rely on family for their long-term needs.

He said: "If long-term care is required we would urge families to talk about this critical issue as early as possible, and seek professional advice as there are things that can be done to ensure that fees can be met for life and also to protect assets as far as possible."

The research comes after comments from Richard Dodd, spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, who claimed that people are "nervous" about spending money they do not have in the recession.

Teenagers can develop good money and debt management habits by using a pre-paid card, it has been claimed.

Szu Ping Chan, personal finance writer at Motley Fool money advice website lovemoney.com, indicates that pre-paid cards are good for teens because "you can’t spend more than you have".

Her comments follow the launch of two pre-pay cash cards by O2 Money and NatWest.

The cards are designed to allow owners to spend no more than is preloaded on to the cards and can be used in most places that accept Visa payments.

Ms Chan explained that parents can top it up for children or teenagers can top it up for themselves with their own pocket money.

She said: "Parents are safe in the knowledge that the kids are not going to go wild and run up too much debt.

"It could teach kids valuable lessons and they also feel independent and responsible for their own cash."

People are still making donations to their favourite charities despite the economic downturn, new research shows.

The survey from ibuyeco revealed that people may be putting their debt management problems to one side when it comes to being charitable, as one-third give £5 on a monthly basis.

"We were really pleased to see that charitable donations in the UK have largely remained untouched by the recession," commented Lucy Bailey, head of ibuyeco.

The findings revealed Wales and the north-east to be the least charitable areas in the UK, while those in west Midlands and the east of England are the most philanthropic.

Those over the age of 45 are the most charitable age group, ibuyeco revealed, and 53 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds also make regular donations.

This follows research from the Charities Aid Foundation, which found that 68 per cent of children would be prepared to give up a birthday or Christmas present to charity.

Furthermore, 86 per cent said everyone should give money to good causes, although 56 per cent of adults donate regularly.

Older people often lack an awareness of which products could help them make the most of their money, it has been said.

According to Adrian Lowcock, senior investment advisor at Bestinvest, Isas may be a good place to invest money, as people can benefit from "massive" returns.

"A lot of people who aren’t in retirement, who are 20 or 30 years away from retirement, they could get quite a large nest egg in ISAs and then therefore avoid paying tax on that," he suggested.

Mr Lowcock told older generations that they can invest £3,500 in a cash Isa, which will grow in value to £4,100 in 12 months.

He added that this was quite a large saving to make on an income, especially if people are reliant on it.

Savers who rely on the interest they receive on their savings deposits for a significant proportion of their income, have been hit hard by the recent decline in interest rate, the Halifax recently said.

It revealed that only a third (33 per cent) of savers over 65 are registered to receive gross interest.

Many people are failing to claim their tax credits, leading taxpayers to make considerable overpayments, it has been said.

Research from unbiased.co.uk showed as much as £2.4 billion in credits will go unclaimed this year, with eight per cent of families failing to claim their child tax credit.

Furthermore, over a quarter of pensioners are not claiming what they are entitled to.

"We are urging people to get their financial planning in order and review their current situation today," said David Elms, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, which may include going to a debt management specialist.

The website stressed that now is as good a time as any to start claiming the credits, especially with belts tightening during the credit crunch.

Research from NS&I recently showed Britons have saved an average of £86.35 each month over the last year, ending on a high of £90.12 during the winter months ending February.

Despite the current economic climate, the number of people who save money regularly each month remained constant throughout 2008 at almost half the population (47 per cent).

The level of debt owed by the government currently stands at £798.9 billion, making it the highest on record.

Public deficit has also increased, now standing at 18.98 billion as of last month, increased by £4.1 billion when compared to the same period of last year.

"The figures are modestly better than expected. It doesn’t take away from the fact that the state of public finances is dire and that a considerable degree of fiscal tightening will be required," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec.

This follows recent news that personal debt is also on the rise, as statistics from Credit Action showed that it totalled £1,459 billion at the end of May.

Secured lending on dwellings stood at £1,226 billion, while total consumer credit lending equated to £233 billion.

Credit Action revealed that the average household debt in the UK stands at £58,360 when taking mortgages into account, with £181 million in interest paid in the UK every day.

Private landlords whose properties are affected by falling values may find their mortgage lenders demand extra equity, it has been claimed.

Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association Alan Ward said this may be the case if loan-to-value ratios need to be put back in line.

"If you borrow £500,000 on a 100 per cent mortgage and the value of property drops by 20 per cent, the lender can demand £100,000 from the borrower," he said.

Landlords at the moment are demanding steady and reliable tenants, Mr Ward suggested, as this can help guarantee a sustained income.

The FindaProperty.com Rental Index, from June 23rd, found that the average rental price increased in June for the first time since August 2008.

The average asking rent increased by 0.5 per cent to £823 per month in June compared to the previous month, although it is still 5.3 per cent lower than June 2008.

Rental yields remained stable at 4.56 per cent in June, with average yields at 4.33 per cent for houses and 5.24 per cent for flats.

Plans have been unveiled to replace the current council house finance system with a more transparent way of putting authorities in control.

Announced by housing minister John Healey, the plans are aimed at improving services for tenants, while allowing finances to be more easily managed.

Councils will be encouraged to finance their rents and revenues and will be subject to a one-off allocation of housing debt.

"The proposals I am publishing today will free councils from annual funding decisions so they can plan long term and improve the management of their homes, secure greater efficiencies and improve the quality of services to their tenants," Mr Healey commented.

According to the latest Survey of English Housing, 13 per cent of households with a mortgage reported falling into arrears or having difficulties with payment in the last 12 months.

Some household groups had 30 per cent of people facing problems with payments, including unemployed households, those with one sick or disabled member and those which had been repossessed in the past.

Many company directors are taking advantage of their workers during the recession by expecting them to make sacrifices, it has been claimed.

Director at the Institute of Employment Rights (IER) Carolyn Jones said the expectation is "outrageous" and should be up to company directors and shareholders to ease the situation.

She continued: "It seems to me that workers are being asked to pay for a crisis that is not of their making

"I think it’s fear and insecurity in society and ‘your money or your job’ seems to be the slogan."

Pay freezes are likewise an inappropriate way of dealing with cashflow problems, Ms Jones believes, instead suggesting that the crisis should be dealt with round a table.

The CBI recently advised that the government is soon to implement an alternative to redundancy (ATR) scheme, which will give companies the choice of whether they make workers redundant or place them on a 12-month programme.

This would mean the employee would not work during that time, but would be paid an ATR allowance equal to twice the rate of Job Seekers Allowance, paid half by government and half by the employer.