Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

The following is the text of Martin's Money Tip E-mail sent on 1 April 2004. 

All-time cheapest credit card, Cheap Holidays Special, Telephones, Cash ISAs, £4,000 caviar BATH and more money saving

Welcome to all the new MoneySavers to this tip.  And thank you to all the old'uns who came the first anniversary party.  Enough pleasantries onto the MoneySaving.

Wow! Lowest ever standard rate credit cards 5.9%.   This deal runs close to turning the credit card market on its head - a 5.9% standard (i.e. not introductory) rate for both purchases and balance transfers is unprecedented.  You must be 21, earn over £10k, and not already have a Capital One card to apply.  I've fully updated my ‘best card for purchases' article to incorporate this and explain when it's appropriate.   Article: click here

Special Holiday & Travel Section: (Oooh I feel like Judith Chalmers) As its holiday booking season I thought I'd collate the holiday MoneySaving info.  First Articles:  Minimise package holiday prices; cheapest way to spend when abroad; cheapest travel insurance.  Then Chat Forum discussions, there's an entire Travel, Trips, Days Out & Holidays section, which has some remarkably knowledgeable people volunteering answers and info in it.  Plus I've collated info in the specific cheapest budget airline flights thread.

Major Changes To Telephone Prices:  BT, Talk Talk and Toucan all made major announcements last week, my review in short is ugh, mmmm and hmmm in turn.  Anyone with Carrier Pre-Select (i.e. BT line but using another company for calls) is getting a price rise.  Full details in the updated home phones Article: click here

New top cash ISA, just in time for the April 5 deadline.  Abbey has just launched a 4.6% cash ISA in time for the April 5 tax year end.  If you don't have a cash ISA sort it quick.  Full article: click here  ISA Guide click here

Amazon £3 off voucher and The Money Diet:  Massive thanks to all Money Diet book buyers – I'll find out about ‘whether it's a bestseller' this week! The Smith's pre-publication deal has ended, the cheapest way now is via a £3 Amazon voucher (useable for other things too). Click here.  To read more about my Money Diet book click here. 

New Deal: Cheapest way to buy funds (just in time for ISA deadline).  Never buy a unit trust or shares ISA fund direct from the fund manager, do that and you'll pay up to 6% for advice you don't get.   The cheapest way is to use a discount broker & I've surveyed them to find the UK's cheapest.  Full Deal: click here

Quick Chat Tips

Donate water to the developing world for free: click here

BBQ & Coffee Maker £4.50 together! Click here

Finding decent plumbers, builders etc discussion: click here

Cheap Norton Software by Downloading from Canada click here

1000 Boots Clubcard points online code: click here

Cheap Sex (in the City DVD) click here

Andrea's Freebies/Samples:  Twinnings Infusion Teabags, 3 Nescafe sticks, Windows security update CD, Footcare cream, Car Valuations, Biz Startup tickets

March post of the month £50 prize. Click here to nominate

Quick way to find provider's websites:  The site's ‘Provider A-Z'  (compiled externally by Find.co.uk) has a new function, a search tool.  This is a quick and easy way to get to different financial service providers websites.  It's pretty comprehensive, though I have spotted a few substantive omissions.  Do try it click here and let me know if it's useful.  If it is I will add it to the main site template, so its on every page – click here to feedback.

Champagne Contest – a £4,000 Caviar Bath!  My challenge?  Find the world's most ridiculous, over expensive, worst MoneySaving offer.  The winner will get a bottle of champagne.  I'm setting the benchmark with a £4k Caviar Bath available in Fulham. Click here 

Reminders of Popular Articles & Chat Tips

Extra Sky Movies now over:  The extra Sky Movies channels scam (a past regular ‘popular chat tips' has now been stopped).  Those already signed up will continue to receive it for the time being, original tip click here.

Martin's Money Poser:  You've all been getting too good.  So this is tougher, what numbers are X and Y in this series 1, 3, X, 15, 30, 70, 150, Y, 1500, 3000, 7000.  To answer click here.  To see the last two Posers click stick or switch and where's the other pound

Bigger than Asda! Thank you x 70,000.  The 70,000^th e-mail member signed up this week and there were 320,000 site visits this month.  The sites now bigger than Asda's website according to www.alexa.com  (its tool bar ranks every site you visit).  For a site just over one year old, this is amazing. More importantly it means consumer power is potent.  The more MoneySavers, the bigger our reach, the more tips are found, the more companies quake. Please email everyone you know and recommend they check the site out and sign up to this e-mail.  To quote Citizen Smith ‘Power to the People'. Huge thanks.

I hope you save some money

Martin

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Questions? Pls don't email, instead ask here. Technical problems: please e-mail forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com Martin's Next Broadcast Appearances List: click here

Read Martin's NEW Book 'The Money Diet'. 
To read more click here.  To compare shops prices and buy it for less click here.    To discuss it click here

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