From the category archives:

Newsbites

Thesis theme marks new direction

by The Investor on July 25, 2008

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Thesis WordPress Theme

Regular readers will have noticed Monevator has had an overhaul in recent days. The new look is based on Chris Pearson’s amazing new Thesis premium Wordpress theme, which I’d urge all you Wordpress users to consider using.

I based the previous incarnation of Monevator on one of Chris’ earlier themes, Copyblogger; I loved the clean typography and logical way Chris had put together that theme. There were also lots of great little extras, such as the pull quotes you more often see in magazines than websites.

When I discovered Chris had Thesis, a very affordable premium package, in the works, I knew I had to try it out and I’ve not been disappointed.

Thesis has all the grace and style of Chris’ previous free themes, but this time it’s backed up by what seems like almost daily tweaks and upgrades (free for life!) and also a lively support forum. All for the price of a decent steak dinner for two!

I’ve tried many Wordpress themes, and this is something special.

A list of advantages to Thesis would run and run, but my favourites include:

  • Super typography, as you can see from this site - I’ve never even seen another Wordpress theme with drop caps, for instance. Your site will look effortlessly great
  • Thesis is easily tweaked, due to its logical structure, even by the less skillful coders out there
  • The Thesis support forums have seen most problems before, so it’s the work of minutes to find a solution to a common customisation query, such as inserting blocks of ads or changing the header
  • Chris is writing excellent Thesis tutorials, which have expanded my knowledge of Wordpress as much as of Thesis. A great bit of icing for the cake…
  • Finally, there are more goodies to come from the Thesis stable, such as a magazine-style Wordpress theme (I asked specifically for it, and Chris wrote back within 24 hours to say one was in the works!)

I hope you stick around for more changes to come with Monevator, and I hope you agree the new look is a winner.

To be honest, Thesis made it pretty easy to smarten up. But don’t just take my word for it, check out these Thesis Testimonials.

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Dexter Fletcher on going bankrupt (and the love of a good woman)

by The Investor on February 16, 2008

The actor from Lock, Stock (and Press Gang, for a certain generation) has given The Telegraph a cautionary tale on the reckless spending and debt-mania that saw him go bankrupt at 31:

[click to continue...]

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Home ownership in the UK lowest it’s been for a decade

by The Investor on February 13, 2008

New government statistics reveal home ownership in the UK is the lowest it’s been for a decade. In London there are an incredible 110,000 fewer home owners than in 2001 (not that surprising if you’ve seen London prices recently). Blame buy-to-let.

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Pay off your mortgage double quick

by The Investor on February 13, 2008

J.D. over on Get Rich Slowly has eliminated his debts and is ready to tackle his mortgage. He reckons you too can pay off your mortgage in half the time. I’m not sure that the technique he suggests works with UK banks, however.

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Will you miss the cheque?

by The Investor on February 3, 2008

Will you miss cheques when they go extinct? (I certainly can’t see new rock signings having their photos taken standing behind a giant debit card…)

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Should you cancel your unused credit cards?

by The Investor on February 3, 2008

The Simple Dollar has sparked a great debate about what to do with unused credit cards. One key thing to watch is your credit rating.

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I’ve nearly maxed out my Zopa lending

by The Investor on February 3, 2008

I’m a bank manager, don’t you know. Okay, I’ve been experimenting with Zopa, a peer-to-peer site for lenders and borrowers. Zopa is like an Ebay for money, in that you deal directly with Joe Public rather than institutions. If you fancy trying it, follow this link to Zopa and we’ll both get an introductory bonus. Please make sure you read the documents and make your own mind up about the pros and cons.

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John Lee says it’s time to buy smallcaps

by The Investor on February 2, 2008

The FT columnist and renowned investor John Lee reckons UK small caps have been battered down so much by the recent mayhem that it’s time to buy. He’s been buying building stocks and hotel micro-chains.

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Egg withdrawing 160,000 credit cards

by The Investor on February 2, 2008

The credit crunch continues to bite.

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