Budget book: The Financial Regulator today publishes a new booklet aimed at making us all more responsible with our money. Called Managing Your Money - How to Budget and Plan for the Future, the 18-page pamphlet is the latest in a long line of easy-to-follow consumer guides from the regulator.

It includes a financial health check, a budget plan and a long list of dos and don'ts for the fiscally challenged. For details of how to get a copy, see www.itsyourmoney.ie.

Ring in savings: If you're getting married but are reluctant to spend a fortune on a wedding dress, then a new Galway-based business might have the solution. Lola Gray offers low-cost bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses at half the average retail price.

Maeve Joyce who set up the company's first Irish franchise earlier this year tells PriceWatch she can kit out a bride, with three bridesmaids and a flower girl for under €1,600. See www.lolagray.com for information on Gray. Joyce is at  maevemjoyce@eircom.net.