Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Cheapest UK Home Phones now with totally new free UK Callchecker!
I love new toys and this one's a new MoneySavers' weapon. The UK Callchecker is a unique non-commercial tool which daily updates the cheapest instantly accessible provider for every type of UK call - mobiles, 0870s, landlines, personal numbers - meaning massive savings are possible. Read the updated and simplified: Cheapest UK Home Phones article or go straight to the UK Callchecker (special mini-mutterings) Also see: International CallChecker for the cheapest way to call any country

Cheapest Roses for your snuggly honey bunny on Valentine's. Delivered and in store

Home Insurance Cost Cutting System. New final step possibly cuts cost by £50 more
Regular MoneySavers will be familiar with my four step system. First cut the risk, then use screenscraping websites Insuresupermarket* and Confused* to whizz round and find the cheapest brokers and insurer prices. Then double check the prices and finally haggle. Now Barclays insurance* says if you've not claimed in two years and it doesn't beat your renewal quote, it'll match it and give you £50. So if my system doesn't beat your renewal quote by £50 grab Barclays offer. Updated Article: Home Insurance Cost Cutting (special mini-mutterings) Related Article: Car Insurance Cost Cutting

Valentine's which help sick children. Balloons by post Send balloons and give to charity too

URGENT! 25% price rise predicted for British Gas. Now is the moment to act...
Newspapers predict a 25% price rise (though I think it'll be roughly 15%, read m'blog). If that happens other companies will follow, so should you switch now? Those who've never switched before switch, switch, switch, you'll definitely save (or at least forestall an increase). For others this forewarning's useful; consider a capped tariff, but go quick as capped rates are likely to rise after the price increase is announced. Alternatively wait 6-8 weeks after BG's price rise then hopefully it'll be a level playing field. To find the right capped tariff, comparison service Energyhelpline pays £12.50 cashback via special links, like this one* when you switch. Read full Energy Switching article (special mini-mutterings) Also remember the only certain way to cut your bill is reduce your energy usage.

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

£100 contest for the funniest MoneySaving joke! To cheer up Feb's misery, I want to find the best Money or MoneySaving joke. Read others/enter here

10 year fixed rate Woolwich mortgage at 4.67% just launched... staggering!
The price of long term fixed rates is dropping to almost historic lows. For those looking for surety it's worth urgently looking at these type of deals. I'm not recommending the Woolwich mortgage specifically, it's merely a good example of the very low long term rates available. To help read my 26 page free guide to remortgaging, (Download instant PDF or order printed version), though also on the site are the Sneakily Get Top Mortgage Advice For Free and Fixed Versus Discount Articles

Name and shame: Alliance & Leicester cunning, financial manipulation Read m'blog

BBC1 documentary needs secured loan sufferers A programme I'm involved in needs case studies of people who've suffered due to secured lending. If you're willing please email Steven.Hobson@bbc.co.uk or Read more

Great Cheap Ways To Make Your House Safer Hunt
It's always tricky to balance the cost of insurance, your possessions and security devices. So how can you make your home more secure without spending too much money? I thought I'd tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge to find out... any security gurus (or former burglars for that matter) or common sense planners out there? Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: Spruce up your home, Double use and Letters that work

♥♥Make Valentine's Day go with a bang♥♥ 
Last week I asked MoneySavers to give their suggestions for cheap but romantic Valentine's pressies. You came up trumps. Amongst the top ideas were Valentine's fireworks, Chocolate covered strawberries and Virtual roses

Endowment misselling! How to complain even if there's no one to complain to
Think you were missold your endowment? You may be entitled to £1000s in compensation. One problem some have faced is the company that missold the endowment no-longer exists, yet even then the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may pay out, and it's just launched a new questionnaire to check whether you're entitled. Updated Article: Act Now On Endowment Misselling

Quick! 10% interest on your savings
Bradford and Bingley has launched a new account with a sky-high headline rate, available in branches until this Saturday. It's a Regular Savings account, meaning you have to make a deposit each month, and in this case can't touch the money again until December. Unfortunately, you can only pay in up to £150 per month – meaning the advantage gained is quite marginal. However, if you're a real player, this account can squeeze a few extra pounds of interest out of your savings. Full Details

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH  Brest, Victoria & Parma c. £15 each way
Budget airline Ryanair currently has a range of free and 5p destinations. When you add in its taxes and charges this becomes roughly £15 in total. Use my special free FlightChecker to find the seats in seconds

Egg extends its anniversary offer, but only for new customers
Credit card Egg* has just extended until 2008 its promise to allow you to shift debts to it at 0% for 5 months on the anniversary of getting it. This is only guaranteed for new applicants though it's currently deciding whether existing customers will be allowed to access it for more than two anniversaries. Still it's a good card to add to the arsenal if you've got debts. However beware, transferring to it has some catches. See the Egg Loophole article for how to avoid them Related Articles: Credit Card Shuffle, Best Balance Transfers

Appearances Note: Richard Hammond; 5pm ITV1 Thurs, Wright Stuff daily next week
If you've joined the tip after seeing me on Richard Hammond's 5 o'clock show or hearing me on Radio 2 last week here's more info. I'm on telly this coming week too with Richard Hammond on Thur 5-6pm, ITV1 and on The Wright Stuff, Five, 9am every day next week

Board of the week: Wales MoneySaving
Looking for top tips on cutting costs in Wales? Then the Wales MoneySaving chat forum section is the place to come. Discussions include Good but inexpensive Wrexham pub meals, Garage recommendations in Cardiff and Wrexham Freecycle group

This week's Martin's Musings: The Joke Jeremy Vine and The Editor Wouldn't Let Me Say...
'The most cunning piece of financial manipulation I've ever seen!' and 'And now companies act like politicians pre-spinning announcements… ' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

SECURITY SAVVY POLL: Security Savvy or Safety Sinner? Vote or Discuss. Also, see last week's Is MoneySaving Cool? Poll results

That's it for this week.  Before I go, though, a link to a cracking site dropped in my inbox the other day. Personally I like 'Turned down for a loan Eric' Emotioneric

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.mbloan.co.uk, www.icici.co.uk, www.egg.com, www.american-express.co.uk, www.insuresupermarket.com, www.confused.com, www.barclays.co.uk. For more on how it works and the site's non-profit driven ethical and financial policy read this.

Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Rockley Road, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0DA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.