Turn your 'losings' into a 'savings' account. Top payer 5.15% instant access. New Article
You wouldn't buy a car that only drives backwards so why do so many people have 'savings' accounts which are actually 'losings' accounts? Shift your cash to the top accounts, though, and it's possible to turn this round in just a few mins. For those wanting no tricks the top clean player is ICICI* at 5.15% though account opening can be slow, so best to open with £1 and move cash later. Better still read My totally rewritten and updated article: Top Savings Accounts. (Special mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Where To Start With Savings, Regular Savings Get 40 digital photos developed for free Snap up a bargain! Proof you can haggle on the UK high street. A list of haggleable stores
All prices are flexible and I've long pushed people to haggle in the UK or at the very least ask for a discount. Last week I asked MoneySavers for stores they've succeeded in. The list includes Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Boots, MFI, B&Q, Harrods, Waterstones, Specsavers, Dixons, John Lewis and TK Maxx. Read those/add your suggestions. Of course haggling isn't just about shops. The following articles also use it as a major tool. Batter Down Your Contract Mobile, Digital TV Providers, Home Insurance Cost Cutting and The Credit Card Shuffle MP3 personal music player prices are plummeting Huge 2GB (1,000 song) player spotted at £80 Need a lump sum....? you don't need a loan...! There's a cheaper way
Don't fall for the 'consolidate, consolidate, consolidate' of the hideous debt ads on TV. The real key is reducing your interest rate, and the cheapest interest rates come with credit cards, not loans. With cunning you can get a 'plastic' loan at just 4.9%, less than the market's cheapest normal loan and the flexibility, allowing you to pay it off in full or underpay without penalties. Fully Rewritten Article: Cut Price Plastic Loans Related Articles: Cheapest Personal Loans, Where To Start With Problem Debts, Stoozing, Make Profits From Credit Cards Free eye test (online voucher this time!) Two weeks ago I noted a free D&A eye test voucher was in Tesco in-store mag. Now, may I eat salted chocolate if the same isn't available online!. Well now there's an easier way to get one free Read more SPREAD THE SAVINGS! Pls suggest friends/family/colleagues get this email too 100,000 people've now signed up to the Petrol Discount Card. Cross your fingers!
Pipelinecard's a new consumer bulk buying petrol consortium, promising to get everyone who signs up (which is free) a discount. As my view's "Will it work, possibly? Iis it worth it? definitely!", I've been shouting from the rooftops and my guess's a majority of those 100,000 are MoneySavers. Fingers crossed we'll get our cards in April/May and then see if it's worth it. If you don't know what I'm on about, read my Petrol/Diesel Cost Cutting System Related Articles: Car Insurance Cost Cutting, Drive Down The Cost Of MOTs FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH £20E/W Sales at Ryanair, Thomsonfly BMI Baby
It's a good week for booking a budget flight. All the major players have sales on for 1p or 15p a flight, which after taxes and charges means around £20 each way. Obviously the problem is availability, which is why I had the free FlightChecker developed. It's a non-commercial web tool that finds the flights for you and it's a good week to try it. |
Fight ID Fraud for Free Everyone should consider this!
Capital One's on an advertising spree for its No Hassle Platinum card right now. I'm sanguine about ID fraud, it hits very few people. Skeptically I think the ads are primarily to scare people in order to generate demand for a little used add-on product. Yet as this card includes ID fraud protection for free, it applies whether the fraud's on a Capital One or other card and most importantly you never need to use the card. You may as well grab it. However if you're not a good credit scorer, don't bother as you won't get it. Updated Article: Free ID Fraud Service article ♥♥Great Valentine's Day Gift Hunt♥♥
All those choccys, flowers and candlelit dinners might earn you brownie points, but they can come with an unromantic price tag. So I'm tapping MoneySaver's collective knowledge to find the best ways to treat your loved-one for less, or, even better, show you care for nowt. Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: Internet Dating, Numbers To Dial and Cosmetics Cost Cutting Plus check out next week's tip for info on where to get the cheapest roses offline |
How to get permanent cheap credit card rates if you earn under £20,000. Correction
I'm a huge fan of life of balance credit cards, where if you shift your debt to them the cheap rate lasts until it's repaid in full. A fortnight ago I said the BA Amex card allowed those earning above £12,000 to get 4.9%. Sadly this was wrong, Amex itself had made a mistake on its website. So if you earn over £20,000 the top card is the Amex Platinum* at 4.9%, for those earning less Lloyds TSB Advance is 5.5% and has no minimum salary requirement. Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers Related Articles: Best Card For Purchases, Credit Card Shuffle Post Office boasts about a 40p 118 number: forget it, much cheaper's available
The Post Office just launched a 118 number, boasting it's 40p flat rate per call, yet you can get one enquiry for 27p with 118 390 or pay 30p flat rate for three with 118 848. Better still, it's available free on the internet and free via WAP on your mobile phone. Full details: Cheapest 118 article Related Article: UK's Cheapest Home Phones Provider Board of the week: Scotland MoneySaving
This sub-section was set up, along with England, Wales & Norn Iron for locals to discuss MoneySaving in their area. Recent discussions here include Asian & Indian supermarkets around Edinburgh, Things To Do Around Aberdeen and 44p Lidl's Haggis |
Richard Hammond Show Note
If you've joined the tip after seeing me on Richard Hammond's 5 o'clock show last Thurs here's the info on what I talked about. I'm on this week too, Thur 5-6pm, ITV1 (see notes on last week's show). RADIO 2 NOTE: This Friday, 1pm, I'll be on Jeremy Vine to discuss banking Funniest joke of the week
Not moneysaving, and a wee bit crude, but it made me laugh. Spotted it in the chat forum's funny money section, so thought I'd include it..... Why did the skeleton burp? Because he didn't have the guts to fart! This week's Martin's Musings: When will people learn this is an ad-free site?
'How to be mean to Barclaycard' and 'Two Diet Cokes cost £5.63. How does that happen?' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access) IS MONEYSAVING COOL? POLL: Cool as a MoneySaver! Vote or Discuss. Also, see last week's Who ya gonna call? Poll Results
That's it for this week. However before I go, let's see if you'd make the MoneySavingExpert quiz team. Nationwide is running a quiz night for personal finance publications, so I set heats at MoneySaving Towers to see who'd be on it. Take The Test
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 amazon.co.uk, www.mbloans.co.uk, www.icicibank.co.uk, www.american-express.co.uk. For more on how it works and the site's non-profit driven ethical and financial policy read this. |
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