Astounding facts, sound advice and utterly crucial information, culled this week from investors chronicle

* "There's just a few more weeks to go until the end of the 1998/99 tax year". So don't forget.

* "Credit cards and loans enable us to acquire goodies we can't afford right now, paying for them later when there's more cash in the pot."

* If you are in serious debt you should "consider ways of increasing your income". Paying off existing loans with more loans taken out at a higher rate of interest "is the worst possible way to try to get out of debt".

* "Bonds represent a contract between a borrower and a lender. The borrower makes a firm commitment to reward the lender, typically by means of a series of interest payments Blue-chip companies are less likely to default on bond interest payments than smaller, less established ones."

* "Love it, hate it, buy it or sell it, but you must understand volatility."