Hiya. I'm on my holidays at the moment and this was meant to be a quiet MoneySaving week, but as you'll see there's a major, new, cut cost way to call mobiles. However, I've also pre-prepared a special tip. If you're off work, tear yourself away from the Only Fools and Horses repeats (but not Make Me Rich) and get cracking on my top ten MoneySaving things to do while you're on holiday, deliberately picked to make best use of this week. Have a healthy, happy and MoneySaving New Year. | LISTEN TO THIS TIP'S
MARTIN'S MONEY MUTTERINGS | No Mutterings this week | as I'm on Hols | Normal service will be resumed | in the New Year |
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MASSIVE PRICE CUT 1p/min to call mobiles at all times, no account needed
This is offered by a new company, Cleverates. Compare it to BT, OneTel or Talk Talk which charge 12-21p/min midweek and 3p-8p at weekends. Better still you needn't set up an account to access it, just dial 0844 721 2525 from your home phone then the mobile's number and all you pay is 1p/min billed on your home phone line. One thing to watch; the mobile number must be in the international format eg 07979 654321 becomes 00-44-7979 654321. It's very unlikely it'll keep this price for long as I suspect it's a loss leader to draw customers in. Yet while it's cheap, use it! Related Articles: UK's Cheapest Home Phone Provider, Sever The Cost Of Calling Mobiles End of year sales: full list of when and where
Let the bargain hunting begin! Sales already on include Debenhams, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. Huge savings can be had but remember, make a list of what you really need/want and stick to it. Don't get sucked in by that lime green mohair jumper two sizes too small. To make life easier I've compiled a full list of when and where the sales are. Sale Away! Give your friends a MoneySaving New Year, suggest they join this email's distribution list URGENT LAST CHANCE Free £30 from Nectar: ends New Year's Eve
Sign up for a new American Express 'Nectar' credit card and you earn 6,000 Nectar points (worth £30) when you spend on it. Yet 'spending' can be as little as a Mars bar and you still get the points! Be careful, 6,000 points are only available via this link Amex Nectar* as it goes through commercial price comparison site Moneysupermarket (otherwise it's just 1000 points). For full pros and cons on the card, and the impact on your credit score read Credit Card Freebies Article (Special mini-muttering) £60 British Gas rebate if you're on benefits ENDS 31 DEC.
British Gas has a little known scheme for customers on certain means-tested benefits. Call it to claim before 31 Dec and grab a £60 rebate to help with winter fuel bills. Check if you're eligible and see how to apply: Gas Dash! Related Article: Switch Gas and Elec Suppliers Plus Get Cashback |
1. Pay more than 5% interest on your credit card? Get late payment fines? Stop it!
Let's stop the fines first: set up a Direct Debit even if just for the minimum repayment (you can still pay more on top). For those whose debts cost over 5%, if you can do a balance transfer, right now the Amex Platinum* card allows new customers to shift the debts to it at a rate of 4.9% for life (Read Best Balance Transfers Article). For those who can't get new credit, then please read my Credit Card Shuffle Technique which shows you how to better use existing cards to cut interest by up to 70%. 2. Don't wait til renewal to change car and home insurance; switch in just 15 minutes!
Don't assume you can only change your insurance at the renewal date. Providing you haven't made a claim you can usually cancel your policy and get a refund even part way through the year (though double check there's no cost). So why not take the time to follow my four step cost cutting strategy to see if you can save. Insurance Cost Cutting Articles: Car/Home
Quick Chat Tips Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly | | |
3. Switch Gas and Electricity supplier and get cashback to boot
On top of cutting your bills by 20% or more, use a utility comparison service and you can get cashback on top. I've compared the comparison services and top of the picks is EnergyHelpline*; it independently finds you the cheapest supplier and pays you £12.50 in cashback. Article: Switch Gas & Elec Supplier and Get Cashback on Top 4. Switch Current Account plus earn free cash
Most high street banks pay a pitiful 0.1% if you're in credit, yet the best current accounts pay as much as the top savings accounts. Alliance & Leicester* and Lloyds TSB* are top for in-credit use and overdrafts, will each pay you a bonus for recommending a friend to join, plus Lloyds gives you £50 just for joining. Switching is much less hassle than it used to be: the new bank can now automatically transfer standing orders and direct debits. Article: Earn 5% interest plus 0% overdraft and free cash 5. Budget, Budget, Budget!
If there's one thing filming Make Me Rich taught me it's the importance of understanding your finances. So many families were shocked at spending more than they earn, the start of the path towards problem debts. The best New Year's start you can give yourself is understanding your money situation and dealing with it. Gather your last three months' bank statements then use my specially designed Free Budget Planner to get the true picture. 6. Slash your home phone bills by up to 60%
There's more misinformation around telephone pricing than anything else. Some companies' tariffs are needlessly complex, and internet price comparison services miss out the cheapest providers. I've done the analysis though and come up with a two-provider solution to pare down the costs. Read: UK's Cheapest Home Phones Provider
7. Download m'free remortgaging guide to get yourself in shape for the New Year
Remortgaging is the biggest single MoneySaving activity possible, the financial equivalent of liposuction, saving you £1000s. For each 1% you cut off the rate on a £100,000 mortgage you'll save around £80 a month. If your current mortgage deal has ended or is about to, grab my free guide. It takes you through step by step, including how to get free advice. Download it/Printed version Read more: About m'free Remortgaging Guide 8. Make sure your 2006 holidays are cheap but great! Sitting in the cold wet weather what better time to think of the sun? It's always a huge chunk of expenditure but there are lots of ways to get away for cheap. If it's a package you want then major savings are possible by Bartering for a Bargain Break. If you're after a flight most people don't realise there are three different types of bargain flight sites to save you cash. See my How To Get A Cheap Flight article. Plus remember the add-ons with Cheaper Travel Insurance, Cheaper Spending Overseas, Calling Home From Abroad, FlightChecker 9. If you're debt free, or pay your cards off in full each month, MAKE FREE CASH!
There are two ways to profit from plastic. Get the top cashback credit card and set up a Direct Debit to pay it off in full each month. This way there's no interest to pay and you get up to 2% of your spending back in cash. The Amex Platinum* is best for those spending more than £9k a year on it, and Amex Blue* for those spending less (See Best Cashback Credit Cards). Uber-MoneySaving nerds can become stoozers, borrow money at 0% and then save it to earn 5% interest. Getting it wrong is costly, so please carefully read my Revenge Make Free Cash from Credit Cards Article 10. Child Trust Fund Vouchers: Don't chuck your kid's money down the drain
Don't let your child's money drip away! The £250 voucher you should've received is there to be used, and anyone who doesn't is effectively wasting free cash – a cardinal sin in my book! There's no doubt Child Trust Funds are a wee bit complicated. If you can't decide which type of account to use; at least dump the cash in the best paying deposit account, you can switch it out instantly if you want to. Read the Child Trust Funds Article for the full lowdown 11. Make sure you're receiving this weekly tip
So important I added a no. 11! This totally free weekly email tip contains all the latest MoneySaving deals and loopholes, 30% of them urgent, grab-them-while-you-can type bargains each week. The more people who get it, the more of us there are to stand together against big companies, and start taking our money back out of their pockets. Get the Money Tips Email |
This week's Martin's Musings: Fuming about sales calls to my Grandma:
Not too many blogs this week as I'm on holiday but there are still a couple there. Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)
That's it for this week and indeed this year. Now some of you may recently have read my blog about dancing with one of the Strictly Come Dancing pros, an ambition fulfilled. On the back a cheeky site user's decided to create a 'make Martin dance' site. Scarily enough it's not that far from the truth! Watch me strut my stuff!
Have a very Happy New Year and... I hope you save some money
Martin
*Affiliated link: Click via this link and a contribution is made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free, sponsorship-free and free to use. This in no way impacts any editorial decisions (what I write), costs you anything or changes the product. For an identical link which doesn't help the site go to www.egg.com, www amazon.co.uk, www.alliance-leicester.co.uk, www.lloydstsb.com, www.american-express.co.uk, www.energyhelpline.com/cashback, www.moneysupermarket.com. For more on how it works and the site's non-profit driven ethical and financial policy read this. |
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