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Just a few days in Las Vegas had brought about a miraculous transformation in my mother. For several weeks before our trip, her main activity had been fretting about what to bring. "Shall I take a brolly?" she’d asked. I explained the temperature in May should be a balmy 40 degrees. She wasn’t convinced. "How about a mac then?" Surreal: The Bellagio is home to an indoor windmill, cocktail bars and hundreds of slot machines Rich pickings: One of the Bellagio Hotel's five luxurious swimming pools Now, after just 48 hours in Vegas, she seemed an entirely different person. She got up from her sun lounger and said: ‘Right, I’m off to gamble and to have a gin and tonic. Can I borrow a hundred dollars?’ It was 10.30am. My 68-year old mother rarely drank and her total gambling experience had been the penny-in-the-slots at the seaside as a child. What had I started? I had been worried that she would just hate Vegas. Family holidays usually involved European

A quarter of holidaymakers go abroad without any travel insurance, according to the latest figures from ABTA, the travel association. The number of people holidaying without insurance rose from 20 to 25 per cent in just one year from 2011 to 2012. Now ABTA is calling for the Government to review regulations over the sale of insurance in a bid to better protect Britons when they are abroad. Holiday danger: More people are travelling abroad without insurance, putting themselves at risk 'Draconian' measures were introduced by the Government to regulate the sale of travel insurance in 2007, which led to many travel agents deciding against selling policies, thereby forcing customers to buy their cover separately to their holiday. The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) also lulls holidaymakers into a false sense of security, with many unaware about what exactly the scheme covers. While Britons with an EHIC are entitled to free or discounted state medical care in all 27 EU co

Budget airline easyJet has signed a deal to base more of its flights at Stansted airport, with the aim of increasing the number of passengers passing through the airport each year from 2.8million to 6million over the next five years. The agreement will restore confidence in the Essex hub, which has suffered a significant decline in passenger numbers since 2007. The low-cost carrier already has six planes based at Stansted and operates 27 routes from the airport, including new services to Morocco, Egypt and Bulgaria, but it is still only half the size of the operation at Luton and a sixth of that at Gatwick. Taking off: easyJet will be flying more passengers to and from Stansted thanks to a new deal It is not known yet what routes or how many planes easyJet will be adding to its Stansted base. Located an hour north of London, Stansted is still Britain's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick, but had gone into decline under previous owners Heathrow Airport Holdings (

E To celebrate the British & Irish Lions rugby tour of Australia, This is Money has joined forces with team sponsor HSBC to offer readers the chance to win one of 30 of their iconic red shirts.   Our prize draw will run throughout the tour, which sees the pick of players from the British Isles taking on Australia. To enter simply fill in the form below and hit submit.  Try your luck: We've got 30 shirts to give away in our prize draw. Please enter an email address that you are likely to check after our contest closes on 27 June as we're aiming to dispatch prizes in time for the final game of the tournament.   Win: British & Irish Lions model our prize shirts against Barbarians during the first match of their Australian Tour. Terms and conditions 1. The prize draw is open to UK-based readers of This is Money who are 18 years old and over and who are in receipt of This is Money's free weekly newsletter - your subscription will be set up during o

Private investors could be given the chance to buy into Lloyds at a discounted price before the end of this year, as the Chancellor takes advantage of the bank's share price rocketing over the past year. Rumours of a shares sale have emerged suggesting the Chancellor is getting ready to use his Mansion House speech on June 19 time to announce such a move. But that idea could be derailed by a rival plan floated by think tank the Policy Exchange today, which has delivered a fresh call for taxpayers to be given free shares in Lloyds and RBS worth about £1,500. On a roll: Lloyds shares have more than doubled over the past year as investors have shrugged off banking crisis fears. Lloyds shares are currently trading at at 62.4p, having soared from the 28.5p they stood at 12 months ago. RBS shares are trading at 331.5p up 51 per cent on the 220p they stood at a year ago. The Policy Exchange blueprint suggests that up to £34billion of the government’s £48billion of shares in RBS an

Budget airline easyJet has signed a deal to base more of its flights at Stansted airport, with the aim of increasing the number of passengers passing through the airport each year from 2.8million to 6million over the next five years. The agreement will restore confidence in the Essex hub, which has suffered a significant decline in passenger numbers since 2007. The low-cost carrier already has six planes based at Stansted and operates 27 routes from the airport, including new services to Morocco, Egypt and Bulgaria, but it is still only half the size of the operation at Luton and a sixth of that at Gatwick. Taking off: easyJet will be flying more passengers to and from Stansted thanks to a new deal It is not known yet what routes or how many planes easyJet will be adding to its Stansted base. Located an hour north of London, Stansted is still Britain's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick, but had gone into decline under previous owners Heathrow Airport Holdings (

Think of Florida and you’ll probably conjure up images of Disney World and the mayhem of nearby theme parks, maybe the art deco of Miami Beach, alligators of the Everglades and the 100-mile road bridge over the ‘Keys’ islands that spatter southwards almost as far as Cuba. Panama City Beach: Possibly hellish during Spring Break, but heavenly in the quieter months If you know your stuff, you may also recall the home of the space shuttle, Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, or the 200-mile retirement home that forms the east ‘Gulf’ coast, where rich Americans go to wear sun visors, play golf and er, die. But I bet you won’t think about the Florida where the young people hang out these days. The bit you get to if you drive north-west of Orlando for 360 miles into another time zone. The bit along the road from New Orleans; the undiscovered bit – the Panhandle. We’re in Panama City Beach, an up-and-coming family destination with a fancy new airport, modern apartment accommodation and a new cu

Britons have a terrible reputation for speaking slowly and loudly in English while abroad instead of attempting the local lingo, but it seems we are not as linguistically-challenged as expected. Nearly 60 per cent of holidaymakers say they at least try to speak the language of the country they are visiting and we are more interested in minding our Ps and Qs than learning the words for beer and wine. More than three-quarters of Britons make sure they learn the word for "thank you" before travelling, with 55 per cent learning "please" and 31 per cent knowing how to use the phrase "excuse me". Breaking down barriers: The majority of Britons actually try to learn key words in a foreign language before they travel The survey conducted by Travelsupermarket.com reveals that we should have more faith in our language ability. Just 46 per cent of us think we know some basic phrases in another language, but when tested 59 per cent could recognise key words. Mor

National Savings & Investments is today launching a nationwide search to track down the winners of 898,000 unclaimed Premium Bond prizes, worth a grand total of £44million. So are you sitting on a Premium Bond fortune? According to NS&I, there are three prizes worth £100,000, two worth £50,000 and three worth £25,000 up for grabs among the unclaimed prizes. You can check the full list of unclaimed prizes here. Among the 898,000 unclaimed sums are more than 500,000 prizes of £50 valued at a total of £27.4million.  Check your Bonds: Could you have a Premium Bond worth thousands laying around in drawers? The most common reasons for Premium Bond prizes remaining unclaimed include NS&I not being informed of changes in contact details or people losing track of them after being gifted them in childhood. NS&I says it is imperative to keep them up to date if anything changes, including addresses and phone numbers.    More... Premium Bonds Calculator: Have I won? Do Prem

More than 2.6million motorists have failed to update their driving licence with their current address and run the risk of a £1,000 fine if they are stopped by the police, according to research by Direct Line Car Insurance. It found seven per cent of drivers have out of date information on their licences, putting them at danger of a hefty fine from the DVLA. With that number of motorists holding out-of-date details, the DVLA could rake in £2.6billion worth of penalties for something which is free for drivers to change.  Expired licences: Millions of drivers run the risk of a heft fine for simply not updating their details DVLA usually charge £20 to renew a driving licence – but it is free to update a change of name or address and motorists should ensure they take this simple step to avoid a hefty fine. The Direct Line research also found that three per cent of married women still have their maiden name on their driving licence while two per cent of motorists admit they should have

Novice investors who have turned to shares in the past few years in search of income are facing their first test. Having enjoyed four years of virtually uninterrupted gains, investors are experiencing a market of stomach-churning ups and downs. The FTSE 100 index, which by last month had almost doubled in value since 2009, has fallen five per cent in a fortnight. Other leading markets have fared worse. For armies of savers who recently turned to shares because of the appalling returns on their savings, this is the ‘first real test of their mettle’ say commentators. But investors should resist panic and the impulse to sell. Keeping calm: Sophia Joyce, with husband Christopher and Max, says she has invested for the long term Sophia Joyce, 42, a part-time PA, is among those who decided to try the stock market because of the dismal returns that are on offer elsewhere. Sophia, who lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire, with her teacher husband Christopher, also 42, and their Norfolk ter

More than half of prospective borrowers are likely to be turned down when applying for credit, new research shows. At the same time, three-quarters of the population believe they are creditworthy, so for many the rejection, which is usually without any explanation, comes as a shock. Amanda McNally, 33, from Hampton Hill, South-West London, still doesn’t know why she was turned down when she applied for a Halifax zero per cent credit card in September 2011. Mystery snub: Amanda McNally, with her husband Michael and baby Beatrice, always pays off all her bills Amanda, who lives with her husband Michael, 52, a new-business developer for a private music academy, and their 11-month-old daughter Beatrice, wanted the card to pay for house improvements. Not for a minute did the part-time personal assistant think she would be rejected as she had paid off her previous credit card and had no other debt apart from their mortgage, where the payment history is spotless.   More... Does usi

Growing numbers of older homeowners are expected to tap into the value of their home to release cash and boost poor pensions, while others will be forced to do the same to clear their debts. Debt is a growing concern for older people, with one in ten over the age of 50 paying £85 a week servicing credit cards or loans. More than one million carry ‘problem debt’ that they struggle to repay, according to research by the International Longevity Centre UK think tank, together with charity Age UK. Holiday fun: Brian and Janice Gilbert used their house to finance holidays including a visit to Egypt The solution for many will be a lifetime mortgage – the most popular form of ‘equity release’. It allows over-55s to borrow against their home, paying interest only at the end of the loan when they sell up or die. The proportion of the property value that can be borrowed is linked to the owner’s age. Not all borrowers are forced into equity release. Some use it as a means of freeing up mone

The importance of drawing up a will is often highlighted as one of the biggest financial planning steps you will take. But, making sure your will has been properly written and is legally binding is often something that is overlooked - even though it can have the same effects as not having one at all. Without correct legal terminology, following strict witnessing rules or picking a reliable service to write your will, you risk leaving your family with nothing but a legacy eaten away by legal bills or unnecessary tax. Cowboy will writers: Avoid the risk of an invalid will and make sure yours is written properly Will writing can have a touch of the Wild West Gillian Guy, of Citizens Advice, says: ‘When wills go wrong, people may lose their only source of income, children may be left without a carer, property is left in limbo and the financial and emotional cost of dealing with the fallout is massive.' Last month, the Ministry of Justice decided to reject calls from the Legal Se

Whether you have booked your summer holiday abroad, have yet to book it, or are planning to join the growing numbers who prefer to have a ‘staycation’ here in Britain, you can save yourself a fortune by doing nothing more arduous than following our invaluable guide. Dollar deal: Alison and Paul Reeson, with their schnauzers Mitzy, left, and Dora SPEND ON THE RIGHT CARD Credit cards can be the cheapest way to spend on holiday – but only the right ones. Halifax’s Clarity credit card has no loading of foreign exchange fees when you spend on the card and no fee for cash withdrawals. Anyone with a Nationwide current account has access to its Select credit card, which also waives foreign exchange fees, though there is a 2.5 per cent fee for cash withdrawals. Alternatively, some prepaid cards are good value.   More... Half of travellers still falling for currency con that adds £4 to every £100 spent on holiday Play your cards right: The best credit cards for spending, holidays,