Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in the Hollywood Hills? LA’s exclusive celebrity district is probably out of your budget, but the next best thing (sweating profusely on a bus next to thirty other star-hunters while you gawp at mansions whizzing by) is only £25!

That is, if you can get yourself to California in the first place. Cheap flights – from as little as £250 return from Cheap Flights.co.uk – to LA are available, and once there, you can embark on your stargazing tour. The Sightseeing World star homes tour is a three-hour, fully narrated trip around 40 magnificent homes. Moving through Bel-Air and Beverly Hills, you will see the fabulous residences of stars such as Madonna, Nicolas Cage, Ronald Reagan and Sean Connery. Vintage stars of yesteryear are also represented, with visits to the former mansions of Humphrey Bogart, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball.

After ascending the heights of the Hollywood hills, to take in a sprawling vista of villas and huge swimming pools, you will take a trip down the legendary Sunset Strip, as well as visiting many famous locales such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, House of Blues, The Whiskey A Go-Go and The Chateau Marmont. The Strip’s Rainbow Bar & Grill is where Marilyn Monroe met Joe Dimaggio, and it’s a good place to hang-out and spot celebrities.

The last stop on the tour will be the upmarket Rodeo Drive, where you can shop where the stars shop, at famous stores such as Gucci and Bijan. Make sure you keep your camera ready at all times; you never know who you might see! The homes of the stars tour costs $43.

American holidays are also available from Travelzoo. If you are looking to buy a house and think Bel-Air is a little out of your budget, Fish4.co.uk have a range of more affordable UK property in their database.

The phenomenon of global warming is putting property in the UK at increasing risk of flooding damage. With crime rates also rising in many areas of the country, now seems an ideal time to take out home insurance. Follow these tips to make sure you’re not paying over the odds on your premium. 

1. Shop around: Take time to find the cheapest deals out there. There are now hundreds of organisations offering home insurance policies, but you can now take the effort out of comparing them by using a price comparison website. CompareThe Market.com will sort through a number of insurance deals to find the best one for you. Another option is to use a panel insurer such as ASDA home insurance or Yes for cheap home insurance – both of these will find you an individualised policy from a range of different insurers.

2. Don’t take a risk: By rendering your home more secure, you can reduce your home insurance premiums and also minimise the risk of a break-in. This is especially in your interest, since any claim made is going to increase your premium in the future. Inexpensive but important changes you can make include installing a burglar alarm and refitting door locks.

3. Don’t accept the first offer: This isn’t simply a matter of comparing the deals out there – by bartering with your insurance company you can often lower the price of your premium. Even the big insurers, such as Norwich Union or Direct Line, will generally be flexible about the deal that they offer you. Returning to your existing insurance company with a lower quote from elsewhere can also be a good way to drive down their prices, particularly if they are keen to keep your custom.

4. Tick the right boxes: The size of your premium will be calculated based on the safety of your home, the excess you are prepared to pay and even your lifestyle. Regular smokers, drinkers and pet keepers can all expect to be charged more, so cutting back on the alcohol can actually save you money on your home insurance. You can also increase the excess payable on your policy in return for a reduced price.

6. Keep records: It is important to insure accurately and to keep proof of the value of your home and its contents. By conducting an annual inventory, keeping receipts and ensuring that individual valuables are covered, you can prevent yourself being out of pocket if you need to make a claim.

With David Cameron’s wind turbine plans and Gordon Browns solar panels idea it seems the idea of eco living has started to attract serious political cachet. Not surprising really; given the ecological doom we seem to be heading towards politicians would do well to position themselves on the ‘striving to save the world’ side of the fence.

Of course there will always be those who dispute the level of damage we’re reportedly doing to the planet (until we’re living in some sort of post apocalyptic dystopia at least) but if you need a slightly more pragmatic reason for changing your ways and switching to a more energy efficient lifestyle then just think of the money you could save.

I’m not necessarily advocating a full on eco-home; before you start installing that wind turbine there are a few more straightforward measures you can take to cut down on your energy consumption and slice a considerable chunk off your bills.

Firstly, take a look at your boiler, if it’s older than fifteen years it could be time to consider a replacement. Aging boilers are not only likely to be considerably less efficient they can also be dangerous. Obviously a sensible first step would be to get in a qualified gas engineer (in fact you’d be well advised to get it checked on an annual basis) to assess the state of your boiler.

Whilst an older boiler might still be functional it’s unlikely to be performing particularly well, by upgrading to a high efficiency model you could save as much as £240 a year. Make sure however that you’re getting a decent replacement – British Gas “A” rated new boilers should offer over 90% efficiency compared to around 65% from older models, a properly qualified CORGI engineer should be able to provide you with decent boiler installation.

There are three main types of boiler - the conventional boiler, the condensing boiler and the combi boiler– the type that’s right for you will depend on your home. Combi boilers are great for smaller houses or flats, because they heat water as you use it rather than store it they are a compact, space saving option with no connecting pipe work. They should also offer good value for money. The appropriate boiler for houses with a traditional gravity heating system is a conventional boiler which heats up and stores water in advance of your needing it, a condensing boiler is likely to be more expensive than a conventional model but, because it extracts heat from water vapour, is a less wasteful and therefore more efficient system.

There are few things more exciting than being handed the keys to your new home. Buying a home and getting onto the property ladder can an important step toward eventually owning your own home and financial security. In fact, research for the BBC Two series, The Truth About Property, found 53% of respondents believed owning property is safer than cash as an investment.

It’s likely to have been quite a journey from spotting the perfect new house on a property website like Fish4 all the way to moving in. What were the most important steps along the way?

From house hunting, making offers, making home decisions, acquiring a quality contract, negotiations and home closings, it’s likely that the most critical consideration in making a success of buying a new home is the choice of mortgage.

With the right help, home buying is easier than you think.

There are numerous online resources with plenty of sage commentary for homebuyers such as the FSA website or BBC.co.uk business the world of mortgages is a veritable minefield. Perhaps the best advice though is to take the advice of an industry professional.

A visit to a professional broker or mortgages lender such as Natwest for example could save you paying thousand of extra pounds unnecessarily and avoid putting yourself at increased risk of falling behind with repayments, which could ultimately end in repossession and the loss of your home. A professional will also clearly explain financial industry terminology and references that so often confuses those not familiar with it.

Some of the most important considerations will address the differences between interest only and repayment mortgages. The most common type of mortgage is the repayment mortgage (capital and interest) whilst an interest only mortgage is a mortgage on which the monthly repayments go solely towards paying the interest on the loan. At the end of the mortgage term your full loan amount minus the interest is still outstanding so additional provision must be put in place to pay back the initial capital sum – a with-profits bond or other investment.

There are a variety of both fixed and variable rate products that you can choose from. Most options are variable rate such as standard variable rate mortgages (which is where interest rates can go up or down in line with the base rate set by the Bank of England), discounted variable rate mortgages, and base tracker mortgages. When interest rates fall your repayments will also fall. However, if interest rates rise, your repayments will also rise.

A fixed rate mortgage on the other hand is a mortgage on which the interest rate is fixed for a specified period depending on the lender and the particular product, normally for two, three, or five year fixed rate deals, after which the interest rate reverts to the lender’s standard variable. Longer deals are available though one should be cautious of becoming locked into an arrangement that stops being beneficial.

Clearly there are no concrete rules with regards to which mortgage to go for, as individual circumstances and needs vary. For example, interest only mortgages can be risky but for some might be the only realistically affordable option.

Fixed rate deals can offer increased financial stability, but will lock you in to rate for a certain period. If you wish to get out of the contract expect to pay financial penalties. Weigh up your options carefully and be sure to take the best and most experienced advice you can find.