Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Say no to 0870 numbers! Fight back against these hideous beasts! New Article
Phone numbers starting 0870 may be called 'NationalCall rate' but are more akin to premium rates, with calls costing up to 8p/min, massively more than normal. Worse still the company you're calling often gets a cut of this, even if you're complaining! This is my fully re-researched article on how to avoid these numbers, cutting the cost when you do and the newly announced regulations. New Article: Say No To 0870. (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: UK's Cheapest Home Phones Provider, Directory Enquiries

England Footie Shirt £12 instore. A great Chat Forum spot Three Lions

Family income under £60,000? Take a 3 minute benefit check!
Benefits spread far and wide, but many don't know they're entitled to them eg 1.6million pensioners sadly fail to collect the pensions credit. A great site called entitledto does benefit checks for both the under and over 60s. Check your entitlement (mini-mutterings)

Gourmet Special! Feast on a fest of 2 For 1 vouchers
A raft of restaurant chains are offering vouchers for much cheaper nosh; including Harry Ramsdens, Wagamama, TGI Friday, Chez Gerrard so I've collated them together for you to print off. Fatten your wallet

Reminder, you can shift your debts for 9 months at 0% for no fee
A spate of charity cards offer new cardholders balance transfers for 9 months at 0% interest without a fee making them the market leaders. Anyone can apply, but must do it via a special charity website to get these terms. These cards aren't mentioned elsewhere in best buy tables, hence why I'm doing this reminder. Full details, alternatives and explanations in Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers Related Articles: Best Card For Spending On, Best Cashback Cards, Credit Card Shuffle (Cut Debt Costs Without New Credit)

STOP YOUR FRIENDS WASTING CASH! PLS SUGGEST THEY GET THIS EMAIL

Junk the Junk: How to stop unwanted mail, texts and calls
There's nothing more annoying than being bombarded with junk mail and incessant phone calls. Yet there is an easy way you can stop most of them. Updated Article: Stop Unwanted Phone Calls, Junk Mails and Faxes Related Articles: Phishing; Avoid Financial Scam Emails

Scuba dive, bungie jump, snowboard 2 for 1s When you grab a £2 Bic razor Cut-throat deal

Now it's Parliamentary! Motion about 'mathematically skilled' celebs endorsing secured loans!
The petition to ask Carol Vorderman to stop doing adverts for secured loans has now had nearly 80,000 signatures. View/sign the petition. Read more. Plus in Parliament there's an Early Day Motion, already signed by 49 MPs, called ‘Celebrity Endorsement of Secured Loans.' It starts, "This House is concerned about rising levels of secured debt, due in part to celebrity endorsement of such products, particularly from individuals who are well known for their mathematical skills which gives the impression that such products are financially safe." Read full text

Free 'Texting' From Your Mobile! Want to test it out?
A new system's been launched allowing you to download some software onto your phone and use it to send messages to others at no charge (barring your network's data charge). This can mean messages at roughly 0.2p. The system isn't without drawbacks, so I've written provisional notes and would love your feedback before a full article. Provisional Notes: Free Texting Related Articles: Mobile Cost Cutting article, Batter Down Your Mobile Contract

Great 'How Much To Tip Overseas' Hunt
When abroad do you tip? Is service included? How much should you tip? Do you tip restaurants or cabs? What rate country by country? In some cultures tipping is an obligatory custom, in others you needn't bother - so how do you obey local cultures, but not spend too much? I thought I'd tap MoneySavers' collective knowledge. Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts:  Fake Tan, Airport Parking and Double Use

Teach kids the meaning of money
Last week I asked you to let me know your ideas on teaching kids the meaning of money. You came up with some great suggestions including Costs of Uni, Mend and make do and It's not "only"

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH  Parma, Turin & Oslo c. £20 each way
Budget airline Ryanair currently has free flights to a range of destinations. When you add in its taxes and charges this becomes roughly £20 in total. For a full briefing read the How To Find a Cheap Flight article or go straight to the special free FlightChecker to find the seats in seconds

Perhaps my favourite Make Me Rich this week
It's very close, but overall my favourite MakeMeRich episode is the Sillahs, being shown this Saturday, ITV2 at 4.30pm. They're a gorgeous couple with two angelic girls, whose relatives live in Sierra Leone. Debt free and good budgeters, they wanted to buy their gifted daughter a computer. It was strife-free, pure MoneySaving joy. His quote, "these big companies have been taking so much from our pockets, with just some of the amount we got back today we could fund many teachers for a school in Sierra Leone". And they plan to help do just that. Programme Notes (mini-mutterings)

Quick MoneySaving Thought. Shorten your answerphone message!
Calling mobiles is the most expensive type of common UK call. Many people have long answerphone messages, and include a 'leave your message after the tone' though the same info's repeated by the automatic announcement. So let's save each other money; and agree to keep messages short. Discuss this Related Articles: Calling Mobiles: Sever The Price, Mobile Cost Cutting Plan

Did you like Celebdaq or fantasy football? Now try Alexadex
OK I admit it, I'm hooked. Alexadex is a stock trading game where you buy and sell the world's websites based on the web ranking company Alexa's popularity ratings (as Celebdaq did for celebrity trading). It's just started a new season, so you can get in and trade immediately. Of course it's totally free, and as I enjoy it so much I wanted to share. Alexadex info

Board of the week: Competitions (Stumpy won a car!)
Be in it to win it. Check out the competitions board where MoneySavers list prizes up for grabs. Current ones include Eurostar travel for life, Holiday to Barbados and Dell Laptop. Plus regular site user Stumpy has won a Ka Congratulations!

This week's Martin's Musings: Just multiplied a 10 digit number by 12 in my head!
'Happy Birthday to you' and 'The President of Liberia needs my help.... how can I say no?' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

A PENSION FOR EVERYONE POLL: Vote or Discuss. Vote result: Fuel Tax.... it seems cheaper prices overruled environment concerns with 65% of you voting for a cut in prices compared to only 20% for an increase. See poll results

Avoid the red arrows experience. That's it for this week, however I've just watched the funniest video online. It's of a US TV reporter who bravely thought he would take a trip with their equivalent of the red arrows. The machismo soon faded. I know I'd be exactly the same (except I'd probably say no to going in the first place). You spin me right round!

I hope you save some money

Martin

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