Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Boiler & Central Heating Cover Cost Cutting. Save £100s. New Article
There's no need to have boiler/heating cover with the same company that provides your gas or elec. Many people are paying way over the odds - having been duped into costly cover. Savings of £100s are quickly possible shifting to cheaper ones without sacrificing peace of mind. New Article: Boiler/Central Heating Cover Cost Cutting (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Gas & Electricity Switching, Home Insurance, Car Insurance

Gatwick to New York £160 return flight all-in Top chat forum spot Related Article: Cheap Flight Finding

New Top Balance Transfer Card. 0% for 12 months (with a fee)
A balance transfer (BT) means shifting existing credit card debts to a new card at a lower interest rate. The cheapest route is grab the longest fees-free 0% deal (currently 6 mths with the Post Office* amongst others) & shift it again before the 0% ends. However for less hassle, there are longer 0% offers if you pay a fee. The Virgin card* is now 0% for 12 mths, with a 2% fee (i.e. £20 per £1,000 transferred). It's cheapest for shifting less than £2,500; for larger amounts use the GE Money Card, also 0% for 12 months; it has a higher 2.5% fee, but it's capped at a max £50. Easier still, forget 0% and go for the Barclaycard Flexi Rate* at 4.9%, yet this rate lasts until all the debt moved is repaid. Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Best Lend For Spend, Cashback Cards, Credit Card Freebies

Loophole... make £45 in Boots points for getting a mobile contract Takes work but it's good

Reclaim Past Bank Charges Update..... Legal Source Says Banks Still Settling Claims
Had a penalty charge from your bank in the last six years? Many, me included, think they're unlawful, as they should only be in proportion to costs incurred yet it doesn't cost £35 to send an automated letter. Better still, most people who've taken the banks on and threatened to go to Court are finding they're offered a good settlement. An eminent legal source recently told me, "Banks are loathe to put in evidence in defence of County Court claims as they don't want to prejudice dealings with the OFT. So settlement prospects are very good for the time being, usually no signs of any claim going the distance." Thus it's still a good time to go through the process. Article: Reclaim Past Bank Charges Related Articles: Get Endowment Misselling Compensation Please do tell friends about this as they won't hear about it from anywhere else

A poor postie's been suspended for helping people avoid junk mail Find out how you can opt out of direct mail leaflets too. Read the Stop junk mail, faxes and calls article

Cheap MOTs but expensive repairs? Beat the system. Updated Article
Some garages make far more money on doing repairs after an MOT test than doing the test itself. Thus they've a vested interest in being, shall we say 'ultra-pernickety' over problems. Yet you've a right to use council MOT centres; they don't do repairs and many MoneySavers report they're less likely to recommend them, saving you cash. I've updated the list to include many more in the Updated Article: Government MOTs (mini-mutterings) Related Article: Cheapest Roadside Recovery

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

ENDS 31 AUGUST! Cannons/Holmes Place gym membership loophole Possible £40/month saving

Free personal/small biz tax help - self assessment deadline just one month away
Your self-assessment form needs to be on the Revenue?s doormat by 30 Sept, or you may be lumbered with calculating your own tax. Experienced Tax Accountant Tony Tesciuba (aka my Uncle Tony!) has again agreed to answer small biz/personal tax queries in the Chat Forum over the next few days. Ask a question/see how it works Related Articles: Taxing Times 1, Taxing Times 2, Taxing Times 3

Watch this e-mail!! Listen to or watch a video, audio or podcast about the email
Each week I record a 'muttering' commentary on the top tips in this email. You can watch a video podcast or listen to an audio version on Itunes sites. There's also a PSPcast or you can download a Windows Media Player version. Read an explanation and feel free to discuss it

Don't switch current accounts, this week! Improvements urgently due
There are heavy rumours that Alliance & Leicester is due to improve its already table-topping current account (0% overdraft, 5% in-credit interest). Thus don't switch just yet. Keep your eye on my Best Current Account article as I'll update it when it happens, and of course full details in next week's email.

The Great 'UK's Top Designer Charity Shops' Hunt
The celebs of Hampstead and Belsize Park have occasionally been seen dropping off last season's Manolo Blahniks into local charity shops, and the Footballers' Wives set in Wilmslow probably do the same. This hunt is to find the UK's best charity shops for designer goods and labels, so you can keep up with the Jones', but pay like the Steptoes. Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: Tips to cut postage costs, Recycle it for cash and Cut the cost of moving home

Great "How to tell your family we need to MoneySave" Hunt. Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers to give ideas on how to tell family we need to MoneySave. Suggestions you had included Keep a spending diary/spreadsheet, Put a pic of your dream purchase on the fridge and It's do it or no holiday

Sorry RBS it was Lloyds TSB that's raising its packaged account! Mea Culpa
In last week's e-mail, I warned RBS was raising its packaged account fee from £15 to £25 and said 'ditch and switch'. It isn't. It's Lloyds TSB doing it, from 1 Jan 2007. RBS's packaged accounts are staying at their current price, so my apologies to you and to RBS for this genuine error. Having said that, I simply fail to see value in any packaged accounts, the interest rates aren't better than the market's top free accounts and the extras given are rarely worth it. Those paying current account fees should be aware it's possible to get a 0% overdraft and 5% in-credit interest by switching to the best fees free option. Related Articles: Best Current Accounts, Get £100 and the best current account by teaming with a mate

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH  Prague, Malaga & Amsterdam c. £20 each way
Budget airline Thomsonfly currently has a range of destinations at £1.99 each way. 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

Competitions Time: Board of the week
Be in it to win it. Check out the competitions board where MoneySavers list prizes up for grabs. Competitions Time Prizes up for grabs include 3 Night Trip to Lapland, A Triumph Motorbike and England Vs Andorra Footie Tickets Please check out the I Won, I Won, I Won Board to see people's gains

One Show heads up:  I'm on The One Show this Thurs, 31 August talking Equity Release. It's on at 6.55pm, BBC1

This week's Martin's Musings: I'm officially faster than Colin Jackson
'Sometimes I love my job!' and 'Move over Martyn Lewis, here's yet another Martin Lewis' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

BRITAIN'S BEST COMPANY POLL: Which of these 50 companies is your one best pick? Vote or Discuss. Last week's charity vote result: Well it seems MoneySavers are a charitable lot, over half of you giving or volunteering for charity. I did note that 18% tend to just throw money in a bucket, which is a great sentiment but if you call up and donate or give via gift aid, the charity can claim your tax back. Read the Charity, Pay Less Give More Article. See poll results

The Best Thank-You Speech Ever.... That's it for this week, but before I go, I thought I should show you this. In last week's email the Debt Free Wannabee Thread of the Week was "I'm fat, my daughter's got nits and I'm skint". If you read it (or even if you didn't) it's well worth reading MoneySaver Triker's acceptance speech for the accolade of being in the e-mail "I couldn't have got here without the banks & shops..."

I hope you save some money

Martin

*links: Any links with a * by them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free and free to use. You shouldn?t notice any difference, the links don?t impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn?t possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, nothing changes, it?s still included in exactly the same way. As I believe transparency is important, I'm including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: postoffice.co.uk, virginfinance.co.uk, insuresupermarket.com,confused.com, tescofinance.com, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, barclaycard.co.uk, american-express.co.uk, alliance-leicester.co.uk, mbloan.co.uk, barclayloan.co.uk, icicibank.co.uk. Read more about this site and how it's financed.