Manchester council tenants 'better off purchasing' - 2004-02-18
Manchester city council has freezed council house rents after complaints that it is cheaper for tenants to purchase their home or a private house than pay the rents.

Tenants can be £15 a week better off making repayments on a £35,000 mortgage than renting a council house. It is cheaper for them to buy a £40,000 house with a 25-year mortgage, with a 5% deposit, than pay the council's average rent of £51.58 a week.
Read the full story at Guardian Unlimited

Free wheeling parents leave little inheritance - 2004-02-18
More and more older people are skiing and it has nothing to do with snow and mountains: this type of skiing stands for Spending the Kids Inheritance, or SKI.

"When you get to retirement age and your kids are off your hands and the mortgage is paid, my opinion is: go and enjoy it," said 60-year-old John Hynd.
Read the full story at BBC