2018

When you think about Blue Peter, whatever your age, its highly coveted pin badges likely spring to mind. You might assume they're hard to get hold of, but with a bit of effort, kids can earn a badge fairly easily...

The deadline for postal and online Christmas deliveries may be sooner than you think. We've collated top retailers' own final cut-off dates, which in most cases comprise two separate deadlines – firstly, for cheapest standard delivery, and secondly, faster 'express' or next-day delivery that usually costs more. We'll update this info as more retailers announce their cut-offs.

Nothing beats the feeling of a new pair of shoes, but this can quickly turn into heartache if they get scuffed the first time you wear them. So why not save yourself the misery (and some dosh) with a pair that isn't quite immaculate in the first place?

At MSE, we’ve challenged you to ‘downshift’ your grocery shop for years (check our Downshifting Guide), but you can also save on make-up and beauty products by downshifting from brands to much cheaper ‘dupes’ – lookalike products, where often even the packaging is similar to the expensive brand.

Most of us want to do our bit to help the planet, yet beauty products often come in packaging that isn't easily recycled. You might not know, however, that a few big brands will reward you with freebies or discounts for returning your empty containers.

I don’t know about you, but I’m already thinking about my holidays for 2019 and where I could jet off to. Luckily for me, and anyone else who works Mon-Fri, there’s a way to get a massive 18 days off in a row this year – for just nine days’ annual leave.

With the return of The Great British Bake Off last week, many have been bitten by the baking bug - whether that's making cakes or just eating them. Yet baking can often become quite expensive once you start looking at all the ingredients you'll need. 

If you've walked down the supermarket's biscuit aisle recently, you'll probably have seen 'Thins', sold by brands such as Oreo and McVitie's, seemingly offering an identical treat - other than the fact each biccie's a bit thinner than normal.

Seasoned MoneySavers will know all about yellow sticker reductions – where supermarkets reduce short-dated food at the end of the day – and the times their local supermarket starts slashing prices… but did you know you can grab clearance foods outside the ‘big-four’ supermarkets?

Plastics and waste are big news with the Government proposing plastic-free supermarket aisles. But outrageously we’ve found that many of the plastic-packaged fruit and veg sold at major supermarkets are actually cheaper than buying the exact same produce loose.