"A slow savings account would work exactly like a regular account -- I could pay money into it, and transfer money out. The difference would be: when I pay money in to a slow savings account, it appears in the available balance exactly one year later." I want one of these.

Had some good recommendations for these people.

I like this. "A quick note to say that I am really disappointed that you have still not paid me the [..] that I'm owed for the work I did for you. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot of money, but actually I think that this is more a matter of respect."

"Here’s a pricing technique that sounds, at first, like the dumbest newbie move of all time. Call it ‘fill-in-the-blank’ invoicing. Or ‘pay what you want’ pricing. The notion is, you do the work first, then let the client decide how much to pay for it." Heavy caveats.

"An interesting (though obvious, after-the-fact) consequence of increasing our hourly rate, is that the customers that were left tended to be exactly the type of customers we’ve always wanted to work for — they appreciate, value and demand high quality, and are doing interesting things."

"When you start dealing with people with unpredictable lifestyles and with income that might be variable month by month, you can't just use the same computerised systems of default and interest that you use for people in regular salaried employment. Muhammad Yunus's microfinance model, which operated in parts of the world where everyone's lifestyle was precarious, had shown that. You had to know exactly who you were lending to, and establish more intimate and flexible models based on that knowledge."

"What I really need is some kind of subscription model that makes the disintermediating depradations of Google strictly irrelevant. So this leads me to ask what new business models exist that I can monetize and that aren't going to (a) be devalued by Google, (b) undercut by infinite free bandwidth, or (c) require an old dog to learn new skills (like cat-emulation, or screenwriting)?"

Mushrooms and roots in a paper or cloth bag; "bananas avocados, melons, marrows, courgettes, peppers, cucumbers and beans all become mushy and blackened much faster in a domestic fridge than a fruit bowl at room temperature."

Beautiful. Need an iPhone version.

For PH.

"If the fear of losing clients is holding you back from raising your rates, here are some pointers to help you broach the thorny subject of asking for more…"

"Makes it easy to better understand how you spend your money and links you to a community of people dedicated to helping each other make better financial decisions."

"Our aim is to re-vitalise local communities by offering an affinity scheme to customers using local shops and services."

"Independent contractor filter: what is the best way to simultaneously raise my rates and not lose the business?"

"Many self-employed/freelancers/small businesses face the same problem. You've done the work - yet your corporate clients haven't paid on time. Yet you have a legal right to charge interest if companies don't pay you."

Online credit reports and free credit file monitoring

"Existing Orange customers were surprised to discover that itemised billing is now going to cost them £1.50 a month."

"Welcome to gosummer.com — the place to find fantastic money-saving vouchers including 2 for 1 deals and free child places."

"Connect with friends and collect funds for a birthday gift, office pool, neighborhood fundraiser or any other group purchase."

Handy tips from Giles

"The Taxman has recently announced a cash incentive for businesses who set up a payroll giving scheme. Is it worth it?"

"The best books seem to have the same goal in mind: not wealth, not riches, but financial independence."