The answers

Isa: Individual savings account. Tax-free account, with a maximum of £3,000 allowed in a cash account, or £7,000 in a shares account.

Tessa: Tax exempt special savings account. Allowed tax-free investment of up to £9,000 over five years. Stopped when Isas were introduced in 1999, but existing Tessa holders can buy a Tessa-only Isa when their current plan matures.

Endowment: A regular savings scheme with life cover invested in shares, bonds and property, offered by life insurance companies. Widely sold in the 80s as a repayment method for mortgages, but high commissions, high charges and lower-than-expected performance have left millions off-target for repaying home loans.

Annuity: An annual income paid in retirement if you have saved through a private pension scheme. The sum of money accumulated in your pension pot buys the annuity, which is paid every year until you die.

Stakeholder: In financial terms, stakeholder means stakeholder pensions, the new government-promoted low-cost scheme aimed at low-income households which allows you to stop and start contributions at will.

FTSE 100: An index measuring share price movements in the 100 largest stock market-quoted companies in Britain. Currently jumping up and down around the 5,100 level, compared to its all-time peak of 7,000 at the end of 1999.

Interest rates: Bank of England base rate is 4.5%, while mortgage standard variable rates are between 5.24% (Nationwide) and 6.5% (Abbey National and others).