Fire in a dryer
More than half of Welsh homes have a tumble dryer, but they have been linked to recent spate of fires across Wales, affecting dozens of families.
X-Ray presenter Rhodri Owen met Emma Williams from Prestatyn to hear her story.
Archives for February 2009
Virgin Media
Post categories: stories
| 19:33 UK time, Wednesday, 25 February 2009
It's worrying enough if your post gets delivered to the wrong address. But if your e-mails were delivered to someone else, who knows what could happen to your personal information?
Lucy Owen got to the bottom of a media mix-up which caused double trouble!
Max Your Cash: Second jobs
Post categories: money
| 19:32 UK time, Wednesday, 25 February 2009
A second job doesn't have to involve burning the candle at both ends, as Lucy finds out.
For most of us, holding down one job is difficult enough, but around 1.5 million people Britain have taken on extra work to help make ends meet.
X-Ray 100 Challenge: Give up a car
We see if a family of four can go without their wheels for a week.
Ellen Petts is a busy mum of two from Pentyrch in Cardiff. With husband Magnus she looks after Yasmin, who's six, and three-year-old Callum. Magnus is a quantity surveyor and Ellen works at a recycling network in the capital.
When Ellen agreed to be part of the X-Ray 100, our panel of consumers right across Wales, we thought she'd be perfect for a little challenge, and Rhodri decided to take along some secret weapons to make sure there was no cheating.
Thomson holidays
X-Ray meets a family whose holiday was far from the relaxing break they had hoped for.
Sat navs
There's nothing more frustrating than being stuck in a car not knowing where you're going. When your sense of direction lets you down, you often have to rely on the kindness of a stranger, or you could invest in a satellite navigation system.
As a self-employed lorry driver, Stephen Kalter makes deliveries for lots of companies so knows more than most how useful a sat nav can be. Tired of missing junctions and reading maps at the side of the road, he invested in a Garmin sat nav.
Max Your Cash: Holidays
Lucy looks at how to make the most of your summer holidays on a budget, including the possibilities of house swapping, working holidays and couch surfing.
Flash... ultimate?
We've all seen and heard the claims that cleaning products make but, are they always as good as they seem?
Distance learning
Post categories: stories
| 19:33 UK time, Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Brushing up on your skills is always a useful thing to do, but before you pay hundreds of pounds to a training company it's a good idea to check out the course carefully.
Thousands of home study courses are advertised on the internet. You can study anything from car maintenance to counter terrorism, under the watchful eye of an expert tutor or so you'd hope.
But if you choose distance learning you'll never meet your teacher - so how do you know they're qualified to do the job?
Max Your Cash: Digital Switchover
You may know everything's going digital soon, but do you know exactly what the switchover will mean to you?
Lucy Owen has some top tips for joining the digital age.
Food savings
The cost of staple food items have gone up around 16% in a year. But do you have to compromise on taste to feed your family less?
Always keen to save you money, we thought we would look at the differences, in both cost and nutritional value between fresh, frozen and tinned foods.
Taken for a ride
If you were thinking of hiring a stretch limousine for a special occasion you may check out the cost, the colour and the number of seats.
But, would you think of checking whether it's a safe way to travel? X-Ray investigates stretch limos operating illegally in Wales
Campervans
For many people, a brand new motorhome is a great way to travel and take holidays.
Jerry and Deb Morris from Cwmllynfell near Swansea thought so, and for them a motorhome would also help them visit their elderly parents more regularly.
The couple had plans to travel to Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in February 2009, so last summer they set about finding their ideal wheels.
Max Your Cash: In the gym
Cast your mind back to that New Year's Resolution you made about getting into shape.
If you still haven't acted on your good intentions, it's not too late to start. Lucy finds out how to go for the burn, without burning a hole in your wallet.
Crown Bingo
What happens when you need to produce identifying documents to claim your winnings?
Internet gambling may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for 82-year-old Betty Raby from Bridgend it's an exciting hobby, and a reminder of happy times with her friends and late husband Doug.
