Your Money: The constant in your personal finance is you

Recession and austerity taught us to take more control of our own finances, but even as the economy improves, it will pay to remain vigilant

Personal finance has a certain ebb and flow to it, that is oft-reflected in the media.

The hardy perennial topics repeat on cue: budgeting for Christmas, spending wisely at back-to-school time, watching out for travel insurance small print in the summer holiday season, and so on, so cyclical.

It can be easy to ignore the message; you’ve heard it before. But what does change is the landscape – and your circumstances. The topography ...