MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Martin's five-minute Wallet Workout
14 quick financial fitness exercises to GAIN pounds (£100s of them)

The cards and products stored in your purse or wallet (even if it's digital via your phone and watch) are a vivid window on your finances. So each year I like to do an annual check-up (aargh, I'm mixing my analogies) of what you're holstering to see if there's an easy cash boost.

So now I've put my cards on the table, it's time for you to do the same. Get your purse, wallet or phone out and let's get a fiscal sweat on...

1. Are you one of 2m whose photo driving licence has expired? UK photo driving licences usually expire after 10 years - so if you've got one, take a quick look at its 4b 'expiry date' label. If you don't renew, you ultimately risk being fined. Our How to check & renew your photo driving licence guide has full info.
   
   
2. Had your debit card for years? FREE £200 to get a new one. Debit cards, whether physical or digital, are linked to bank accounts. If you've had the same bog-standard one for years, unless it makes you feel special, get paid to ditch and switch.
   
   - NatWest*/RBS* Reward pay a FREE £200, and poss £3/mth cashback.
   - First Direct* FREE £175, rated 90% 'great' service & 7% linked savings.
   - Halifax FREE £175, plus jump a few minor hoops for up to £5/mth.
   
   Do read full details on each account, including their exact eligibility criteria, in Best bank accounts. Plus usually expect to pay in a set monthly amount (eg, your salary) and shift direct debits.
   
   For those willing to play, see how to earn more with multiple bank switches. As Debbie emailed us: "Since last week, I have received another bank switch cashback, and my latest total is £1,335."
   
   
3. Do you have a (digital) donor card? In Eng, Scot & Wales you're automatically considered willing to be an organ donor unless you opt out - Northern Ireland moves to this system from 1 June (you still need to opt-in at the moment). Yet to let loved ones know your wishes, a donor card or digitally registering your decision in Eng/Wales or Scotland is useful. Better still, discuss it with them.
   
   PS: You can be a living donor too. There are many ways to help while living, including blood & plasma donation, bone marrow donation, stem cells (age 16-30) & hair for young cancer patients.
   
   
4. Got credit / store cards and pay interest? Take a 2-minute test to see if you can make it interest-free. Put your details into our 0% Balance Transfer Eligibility Calc and it'll show if it's likely you can shift the debt to a 0% interest card. That way, your repayments clear what you actually owe rather than mostly just cover the interest. Some save £1,000s.
   
   Even if it shows you've only a low chance (but not no chance) and only on one card, don't avoid applying. Cutting debt costs is important. One rejection wouldn't make too much difference, and you may just be accepted.
   
   If you've lots of choice, go for the card with the lowest fee in the time you need to clear the debt. Unsure how long you need? Go long. The longest NO-FEE deal is NatWest's 19mth 0%, while the longest 0% is (Ends Thu) MBNA's 'up to' 31mth 0% (3.49% one-off fee).
   
   As Andrea emailed: "I saw the eligibility tracker link and decided there was no harm in trying. I was pre-approved for a card, then accepted for 30mths 0% with a £9,500 balance, enough for two of my card balances. I only started reading the email after 11pm, this was all wrapped up before midnight!" If you're new to switching debt, do read the full help in Best balance transfers, but just in case, here are the golden rules...
   
   a) Clear the card before 0% ends, or you pay the full rep APR.
   b) Never miss the min monthly repayment, or you can lose the 0%.
   c) You must usually transfer within 60 days to get the 0%.
   d) Don't spend/withdraw cash. It isn't at the cheap rate.
   
   
5. No railcard in your wallet? Check 'em out, there are more than you think. They cost up to £30/yr and get you a third off most train travel, so if you'll spend £90+ annually, even in one journey, you can save. See Is there a railcard for me? You can get them if you're...
   
   

   Under 31 or over 60 | A couple | Disabled | Got children aged 5-15 | Or travel with the same mate a few times (eg, to football).

6. Grab a card/app that pays you £100s just to spend on it. Sign up by May and the Chase* app debit card pays an unlimited 1% cashback on normal spending for a year (eg, it excludes buying a car or gambling). While it's a bank account, you don't need to switch to it, and there's no hard credit-check (so it has no impact on your ability to get credit in the future).
   
   Use it like a prepay card - just pay money in from your normal account. It also gives near-perfect exchange rates, so is also the top card for spending abroad. The linked savings is also one of the highest for easy access, rising to 3.1% next week.
   
   As Laura emailed us: "I received my first full month's interest of £90.64! Thank you so much for making me aware of this account. I have also received £29.60 in rewards so far for the 1% cashback on my current account."
   
   After your first year, you can get up to £15/mth cashback as long as you then pay in £500/mth, at which point you may want to combine it with another top cashback card (usually credit cards, so pay them off IN FULL each month).
   
   
7. 50+ (thankfully mostly digital) coupons... including free £1.75 energy drink, £1.70 off Cathedral City cheese, £1 off Kellogg's & more. Our regularly updated 50+ coupons collate them for you. A decade ago, purses and wallets were stuffed with restaurant vouchers and coupons, yet I doubt you've many now, as the days of clipping coupons are nearly at an end. Online codes and cashback apps have taken over, meaning you can access coupons wherever you are in a 'virtual wallet' - a good way to save.
   
   
8. Overdrawn even occasionally? Your debit card is likely WORSE than a credit card. Credit cards get a bad rap, but if you're overdrawn, debit cards' interest are usually double that of typical credit cards, as most now charge 40%. So see if you can sort it, even if you only overdraw a few times a year.
   
   - Small or occasional overdrafts: First Direct* pays accepted new customers £175 to switch to it, and gives many an ongoing £250 0% overdraft (40% AER above that). So for a, say, £375 overdraft, the free £175 clears some and the rest is interest-free.
   
   - Larger overdrafts: Nationwide FlexDirect* offers a year's 0% overdraft, the size of which depends on a credit score, but some can get more than First Direct. Aim to clear it within the year or you're back at 40%. Alternatively, another option is to shift it to a 0% money transfer card.
   
   Do treat overdrafts like any other borrowing though. Try and repay a set amount each month, eg, £50 (so you should start the next month with a £50 smaller overdraft than the one before). More help, tips and info in How to cut overdraft costs.
   
   
9. Travel in London? Are you due £100s back on Oyster or contactless cards? There's over £500m of unclaimed credit on old Oyster cards. Plus if you paid via Oyster or contactless and either failed to touch your card at the journey's end, or were delayed 15 mins by Tube, you may be due speedy money too.
   
   It's easy to do - see our quick Oyster & TfL contactless reclaiming guide for help. As David replied to my tweet about this yesterday: "@MartinSLewis Excellent. Just got £21 back that I didn't realise was sitting on a first generation card that has been languishing in a drawer for years."
   
   
10. Need new borrowing? Don't just pull a card from your purse. Be very wary, but if you must, try to avoid interest. Our 0% purchase cards guide shows you how to borrow interest-free (& warns when you should and shouldn't).
    
    
11. Lighten your wallet by chucking loyalty cards. Unless you need it for a bench press, a heavy wallet's a pain. All the major loyalty schemes (eg, Nectar, Clubcard, Boots Advantage Card, Morrisons More) now let you scan a virtual card using their apps. You can also add them to Apple Wallet or Google Pay.
    
    Loyalty schemes can provide decent rewards, but don't let them dictate where you shop. Yet rewards are getting less lucrative...
    
    - Tesco axes triple value Clubcard deals
    - Boots to cut Advantage points earned on spending
    
    So check our loyalty points boosting guides - we've tips and tricks for Nectar | Boots Advantage Card | Tesco Clubcard.
    
    
12. Got expense receipts packed in your purse? Get on with filing them, especially as some employers have time limits. Plenty of apps let you scan and digitise your receipts, so that may be easier. Better still, see if your firm lets you pay for expenses on a cashback or rewards card, then you can gain on what you have to shell out for.
    
    
13. Got condoms? Are they still in date... Safety counts. Remember though, condoms have use-by dates, so as you're doing this workout, it's a good time to check. Use the NHS England free condom search, and there's info for Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland too.
    
    
14. ... and for a different protection, spend a penny. Under the Section 75 law, buy something costing £100.01 to £30,000 and pay for any of it, even a penny, on a credit card, and the card firm's jointly liable with the retailer for the WHOLE amount. So if you make an important purchase, if you can, put at least some of it on a credit card (paid off in full, obvs).
    
    This is powerful voodoo if the retailer goes bust, won't play fair with faulty items, or you buy abroad and taking an item back would be tough. Full info, including when it doesn't work and how to claim, in the Section 75 guide.
    
    Debit card purchases, and credit card purchases under £100, do have the lesser, though still decent, chargeback protection. Cash payments, Bacs payments and cheques have little to no protection, so be very careful using them for important purchases.