A Fin24 user looks to an expert for help in improving his credit score by paying off his debt.

A retired Fin24 user is looking at investing in a retirement annuity to provide him with a cash payout of R500 000 to ensure that he lives within his means. An expert responds.

A Fin24 user is looking to start a retirement savings plan as it does not form part of company benefits, he would have to pay out of pocket.

A Fin24 user asks whether saving is better when debt is paid off or not.

A Fin24 user wants to know whether paying off a car loan or credit card will make her credit score 'look better.'

A Fin24 user who was forced into early retirement is struggling to pay credit card debt amounting to over R109 000. An expert responds.

A Fin24 user set to retire in August this year is looking at options on where he can invest his pension payout.

A Fin24 user urgently seeks guidance on how to pay off debt owing to the amount of R82 000. An expert responds with workable solutions.

A Fin24 set to retire this year is looking to invest his R1.2m savings in order to receive a monthly payout.

A landlord asks if his current tenants will still be able to move out at the end of the month as planned and whether his new tenant would be hindered from taking occupation. An attorney responds.

A Fin24 reader looking to invest in a living annuity, was shocked to find that she would have to pay fees of up to R110 000 per annum. She wants to know if there are other options. An investment expert responds.

WELL, I don't know about you but my central heating has already been on twice in September and although I don't need much of an excuse to delve into the big heavy reds, two heating days is my current one.

IN THE winding lanes of Barcelona’s historic Barri Gòtic it’s no surprise to find a little cheese shop tucked amongst the boutiques and antique shops. What is unexpected though is that this shop, Formageria La Seu, the only one on the Iberian peninsula to feature artisanal cheese from all over Catalonia and Spain, is owned and run by a Scots woman – Katherine McLaughlin.

RIESLING is perhaps the most famous, unappreciated, abused and generally misunderstood wine of all time and it’s probably also the one most of us cut our teeth on many years ago.

ONCE a staple of drive-thrus and fast food restaurants, burgers have had something of an image overhaul in recent years.

Quiet, crisp and clear winter days are perfect for exploring Scotland’s most spectacular coast and countryside scenery – especially with the promise of a wholesome, heart-warming meal and a cosy room after a day exploring. While Munro-bagging at this time of year might be a little too ambitious, Scotland has no shortage of shorter and more gentle winter walks, all within a stone’s throw of some of Scotland’s best foodie destinations. Here is a selection of Scotland’s top 10 winter walk

A NEW bar and fine dining restaurant offering dishes with “Glasgow at its very heart” is to open in a historic City Centre building.

Nearly four years on from the day when Ellie Harrison's chips caused a national outcry, the artist is back to tell us more about why she did it – and how she survived that year in Glasgow in the media firing-line

"I'M hungry."

IF there's one thing that online news proves without any shadow of uncertainty, it's that there's no knowing what will capture the popular imagination.

ALASTAIR Stewart’s “resignation” is a good example of how anti-racism has moved from the streets into the boardroom. Anyone involved in anti-racist campaigns in the 1980s will remember the left wing nature of many of these campaigns.

Try to make sense of this if you can. The other day, a fund-raising event for the Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, was disrupted by protesters. But they weren’t the kind of protesters you’d expect to get angry about a gay candidate. The protesters were gay themselves. It was a protest against a gay man staged by gays. It was gays against gays. It was pink on pink. It was confusing.

IT is a truth universally acknowledged – at least by its advocates – that all things inexorably advance the cause of independence.

The Importance of Being Earnest

In conjunction with the soft launch, Apple uploaded 10 YouTube videos that explain how consumers can apply for the credit card and use it. Sign up in the iPhone's Wallet app.

That killer app only helps you if you can find it on your iPhone when you need it. Productivity expert Jill Duffy tells you how to keep your apps tidy and organized so they're always at your fingertips.

The iPhone offers a highly polished user experience, but iOS does have some quirks that you might find irritating. Our quick tips can help you shut down some of the biggest culprits.

Apple's stellar iOS 13 mobile OS brings new visuals and new privacy features to iPhones, with dark mode, improved efficiency, and a healthy dollop of machine learning on top.

MY heart was beating as if it were trying to escape my body. My mind was racing and hands shaking. All from what would usually be the comfort of the sofa. Was I ready? Ready as I’ll ever be, I told myself. I was standing at the greatest watershed moment of my life and was acutely aware of it. I was about to come out publicly as gay to more or less everyone I knew, all at once, through a post on Facebook.

Tristan Hugh-Jones, oyster farmer

Andy Lowndes, music detective for dementia charity Playlist for Life

Nirmal Purja, mountaineer

Sandra Brydon, director of Home Group Scotland

GREAT news. I think. Glasgow is a great place in which to be looking for love, with 44 per cent of the city single, according to an online dating company.Why does this matter? Flash back to Valentine’s Day. There I was, lying in a pool of poetical blood, having been shot in the heart with the killer question no single man over a certain age wants to hear: “How many Valentine’s cards did you get?” asked a friend.

Not since the Second World War has attention been so firmly focused on food. Before coronavirus we took a steady availability for granted. Now after coronavirus we’re wondering just how secure our food chain really is.

THOSE last times.... we all of us have memories our minds keep running back to in these social distancing times. The last time we gathered, last time we swam together, the last drive to a beach. One of mine is the post-swim hot tub at the Scottish Winter Swimming Championships in the chilly waters of Loch Tay – around 30 of us crammed in there, many in fancy dress, some in swim make-up, a great, crowded bath of joy.

Ryanair has said it expects up to 3,000 jobs to be lost as part of a restructuring of the airline.

COMPLAINTS about holidays have overtaken job concerns as the number one issue for hundreds of Scots contacting two independent national advice services every day during the coronavirus crisis.

RIGHT now, Shahbaz Majeed should be heading to Glencoe. Or flying over central Scotland. Or making his way to Harris which he has been trying to get back to since his first visit in 2018. Or maybe visiting some other part of Scotland so he can capture it in a photograph. Instead, he is at home in Dundee (where he is web development manager at the University of Dundee), “climbing the walls,” and looking forward to life after lockdown.

What is it?

IT’S not everyone who’s given the chance to design their own tartan so when the opportunity arose, Vixy Rae didn’t need to give it a second thought.

Alan Scott, creative director at Johnstons of Elgin

Beth Pearson, author of The Coorie Home

ANNA ACQUROFF, MODEL/MUSICIAN

Ingrid Newkirk isn’t sure exactly how many times she has been arrested. “Definitely a few dozen,” she’ll say, if you ask. I’ve just done exactly that, so right now the British-born founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is running me through a sort of greatest hits of her law-baiting exploits and the jailtime they have brought her in the name of animal rights.

It was the highest catwalk show on earth, 300 metres above Everest Base Camp - and the Herald was the only paper in Britain to have a front row seat.

WHEN you are a 6ft 3in tall, world-class tennis player with long arms, broad shoulders and a slim torso, buying off the peg is far from easy.

IF ever we needed to indulge in a bout of collective escapism, if only for 60 minutes on a Sunday night, then that time is now. Thankfully ITV has just the thing – Belgravia, the latest big budget costume drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and a series that positively ripples with dimples, quiffs, honey-coloured chiffon frocks, eye-popping millinery and glamorous uniforms.

This season's colours and cuts mix up the wardrobe-staple trench, says Prudence Wade.