The following is text of the weekly Martin's Money Tips E-mail sent 14 March 2006
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Hiya, after weeks of shouting 'stop, don't switch energy provider' my best guess is now's the time to do a comparison and move. The old 'always compare and save' logic has been made flaccid by the continuing churn of companies hiking prices. The aim's now to time a switch correctly to get as cheap a deal for as long as possible - and currently it's helped as you may get some bubbly too. Remember a key tenet of MoneySaving is helping others to take on companies too, so please do tell colleagues and friends - 'switch your energy today' then we all win.
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MARTIN'S MONEY MUTTERINGS | | | | |
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TIME TO SWITCH! Find the cheapest Gas & Elec supplier and earn cashback/champers
Npower's increased its energy prices, meaning all main suppliers have announced rises. Thus my best guess turns from 'don't switch' to 'it's time', as hopefully it's a level playing field for comparison. My usual top pick comparison service Energyhelpline* pays £12.50 cashback if it switches you, though Uswitch/champagne* currently sends a bottle of Piper Heidsieck champagne, worth approx £20, so pick your preferred freebie! As there's no guarantee prices won't increase again, the article lists the price rise dates; if your cheapest hasn't increased, consider the second cheapest. Updated Article: Cheapest Gas & Electricity (Mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Cheapest Home Phone, Cut Water Bills
MAJOR BARGAIN SPOT!!! 3.1 Megapixel digital camera £20 including delivery. Snap it (up)! (pls remember this email goes to 500,000 people, the company has no idea it's coming, so it may sell out/crash its website)
New longest 0% balance transfer cards; 9 months no fee! Updated article
A fortnight ago I reported the demise of the last, open to all, credit cards allowing you to shift debt to them for 9 months at 0% without paying a fee. Now a raft of little-known charity and affinity cards are offering just that for new customers. Remember though, the 0% game is only for the financially active; if in any doubt don't be a tart – go for a stable relationship. Full details and explanations in Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers (Mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Best Lend for Spending on, Cashback Cards, Ditch your Charity Credit Cards. Postage prices go up on 3 April Buy stamps now as they'll still be useable Letter's Save URGENT! Last chance to use your tax free ISA allowance. New article
The tax year ends April 5 and if you don't use your ISA allowance you lose it. If you've any savings, quickly dunk them in a cash ISA, which is just a tax free savings account. Read the New Article: Best Cash ISAs Related Articles: Top Instant Access Savings, Where to Start with Savings? SPREAD THE SAVINGS! Pls suggest friends/family/colleagues get this email too URGENT! Sky TV Customers' Warning. Ability to haggle may be ended soon
I've heard numerous rumours from a number of sources that Sky wants to stop people benefiting from this site's insider info on haggling down the price. As such there is a possibility it will soon change the customer retention's department policy. All Sky users are thus urged to urgently get the available discounts while they can. Read the Article: Digital TV Cost Cutting 2 for 1 meals at Harry Ramsden's A top Chat Forum spot. Your Plaice or Mine? 2005-2006 tax year - the end is near (5 April). Free personal/ small biz tax advice
If you've questions about tax that need answering before the end of this tax year then there's help at hand. Experienced tax accountant Tony Tesciuba (aka my Uncle Tony!) has kindly agreed to answer small biz/personal tax queries in the Chat Forum over the next few days. Ask a question/see how it works or read previous answers: Taxing Times 1, Taxing Times 2. |
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Great Mother's Day Pressie Hunt
Anyone can click onto a website and order flowers, yet often it's the free things that Mums really treasure: breakfast in bed, cute homemade cards, a day without the kids fighting. Mother's Day's on the March 26th so I want to create a database of your sweetest, most thoughtful, good value pressie ideas. Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: What Shops Don't Want Us To Know, Laser Eye Surgery and Bit on the Side
Great Job-based Discount Hunt: Cut-price pizza for 999 staff
Last week I asked MoneySavers to band together to find job related discounts. Once again you came good. Discounts you found included £50 off Eyecare for BT Staff, Cheap Pizza for 999 Workers and an AA Discount for Chemistry Boffs. |
Quick Chat Tips Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly | |
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Return of the daily top bargains hunt list
A while ago the site featured an updated list of the previous day's most popular Chat Forum discussions, focusing on top bargains. It's been sadly absent due to changes in monitoring software... but now it's back. Grab'em now. It's also always linked to from the top chat tips section. Related Articles: Freebies Gold, Chat Tips Gold. FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH La Rochelle, Frankfurt & Oslo c. £10 each way
Budget airline Ryanair currently has a range of destinations for free each way. When you add in its taxes and charges this becomes roughly £20 for a return. Use my special free FlightChecker to find the seats in seconds Ideal Home Show tickets comp results See if you've won here
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Board of the week: Ebay and other auctions
Where MoneySavers discuss anything and everything Ebay related - from how to flog your stuff to avoiding rogue traders. Discussions include New Ebayer in a muddle, Ebay titles - best words to use, and Do you refund postage? This week's Martin's Musings: Give me big, chunky and processed any day
'£3.99 for all you can eat pizza - bargain?', and 'Sometimes the maths just doesn't add up' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access) POLL: Which freebie would you prefer: £30 now, £75 in 3 months or £100 in a year? Vote or Discuss. Also, see last week's regifting Poll results
That's it for this week. Before I go, though, I discovered a link to one of those very annoying web games, that look naff at first, but turn out to be instantly addictive; Don't call me square!
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.alliance-leicester.co.uk, www.lloydstsb.com, www.morganstanley.co.uk, www.american-express.co.uk, www.energyhelpline.co.uk, www.uswitch.com. 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. |
MoneySavingExpert.com is journalist Martin Lewis' website focused on the very best ways to save money on everything. Martin is the presenter of 'Make Me Rich' on ITV1 and is also the regular Money Saving Expert on ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald and Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show, amongst others. He also has a weekly column in the Guardian. More about the site and its funding.
Disclaimer: This e-mail is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to your own specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research Full Terms & Conditions.
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