Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Slash the cost of your digital TV while keeping the channels you watch. New Article
While filming Make Me Rich I was shocked at the number of people paying £400 a year (£33 a month) for relatively unwatched Sky, so I worked on a five step cost cutting plan. One family cut its bill by £300 a year without losing any regularly watched channels. Article: Digital TV Related Article: Internet Shopping

Possible 5p to 10p per litre reduction in petrol costs
A new scheme's being launched for consumers to club together and use bulk buying power in the same way corporate fuel cards do. The Pipeline card is free, and could cut petrol costs, but it needs a critical mass of people to work. Trying to drive a bargain Related Article: Cutting the Cost of Car Insurance

URGENT ENDS WED 10AM Tesco DVD rental loophole! Make £11 and get it free! Tesco is offering 750 Clubcard points if you sign up for its DVD rental service for three months (which costs £18 in total). Yet spend the Clubcard points on deals vouchers (ie don't just use them for in store shopping) and they're worth £30. Thus overall you're £11 up and get the rental. Full pros and cons (apologies to those who get this email too late).

Festive Fiver Winners: personal page 3, balloon surprise, Guess watch
With hundreds of entries picking the winner was a nightmare, yet it also means scores of top cheap gift ideas for Xmas and I've jam-packed them all into a full article. Article: Festive Fivers

Online House Price Valuation £13 until 13 Dec
Housing website Hometrack has just launched the first online valuation report. It crunches data from estate agents and lenders to give you a 20 page report on any property. It's quite a useful tool if you're buying or selling. The launch price is £20 but I've bullied it into letting MoneySavers try it for £13. Full Pros & Cons and How To Get It. Related Article: House Selling Tips

SPREAD THE SAVINGS! Pls suggest friends/family/colleagues get this email too

Handheld TV screen £40 inc. delivery Spotted this in Maplin - great gadgety Xmas gift Can you beat it? 

Your credit rating: how it works and how to find out for free
With Christmas coming many are borrowing and it's important to understand how banks/car insurers/mobile phone companies check you out to decide if they'll deal with you. Read full article. Both the big credit reference agencies try to charge you for a year's service, but these include a free trial, so sign up for the trial, get your credit rating then immediately cancel. Go to Experian's Credit Expert*, Equifax's Credit Watch Gold. Full pros and cons on this in the Credit Rating Article

Great What Men Want For Christmas Under £75 Bargain Hunt
This week's hunt is a special one. I want to tap MoneySaving men's brains to see what they want for Christmas/Chanukah and where to get it cheapest. Hopefully this way it'll provide research and information for MoneySaving women. Add your ideas/read others Next week: Great What Women Want For Christmas Under £75 Bargain Hunt Past Great Hunts:  Festive Booze, Bit on the side and Free Info

Great Xmas booze hunt: bottle of Baileys-ish £3.99, Kronenbourg 12 pack £6.99
Last week I tapped MoneySavers' collective knowledge to find bargain booze for Christmas. Great Cheap Booze for Christmas Hunt There were some great spots including Baileys equivalent £3.99, 6 Freixenet for £22 and Kronenbourg 12-pack £6.99 

Don't believe the hype! IVAs are only for those in debt crisis
A friend called me, he has debts, and had seen TV ads saying "you may not need to repay all you owe," selling IVAs, an alternative system to bankruptcy. Yet his debts are affordable, and he has a good credit score meaning its easier to make them much cheaper. Yet IVAs providers make serious cash so they were happy to take his custom, even though it was totally wrong for him. Beware they're a final straw solution and crucify your credit score. Related Article: Where To Start With Problem Debts  (Special mini-mutterings)

Annoyed with hideous 0870 numbers.... urgently have your say
Call to complain about a company on an 0870 number and you pay 8p a min and it gets a cut of the revenue. The telecoms regulator Ofcom's launched a(nother) consultation on this. The deadline for consumers to have their say is 6 Dec. Its suggestions are a big improvement, but it could go further. More Info: 0870 consultation Article: Say No to 0870

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH  £20 flights to Barcelona, Verona & Loire Valley each way. Flights are 10p, but taxes & charges are usually c.£20. Use the free FlightChecker to find the seats in seconds.

Reclaim forgotten bank accounts & investments
There are billions of pounds of lost bank accounts, life policies, investments and pensions (especially common are widows who haven't claimed their husbands'). However steer clear of the ‘pay us and we'll find ‘em' brigade. Instead, do it yourself easily for free. Article: Reclaim Lost Assets for Free

Board of the week: Techie Board
There's a wealth of information and a whole bunch of MoneySavers helping others on the Techie board. Discussions include Free webhosting, Sky Keeps Freezing and Free Online Virus Scanners.

JEREMY VINE NOTE:  I'm on Radio 2 1pm, Friday, talking about Christmas

This week's Martin's Musings: UK Music Hall of Fame… Michael Johnson and a n'ked fruit woman
'Talking Tax with Three Celebs in School Uniform', and 'Uh oh... it's the last Friday of the month' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

FUN MONEYSAVING QUIZ Which of these is the best bargain? Vote or Discuss. Also, see last week's Cost of Christmas Poll results

That's it for this week.  I think the young team here at MoneySaving Towers are getting carried away by The Hoff cult that's swept the country recently. They insisted I include the latest funny to hit my inbox.

I hope you save some money

Martin

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