New Top Balance Transfer Credit Card. 3.9% Life of Balance Updated Article
Marks and Spencer's new card offers the lowest 'life of balance' rate there's been for over a year. Life of balance means when you shift debts to it there's no time limit on the cheap rate, it lasts until all the debt moved has been repaid. It's a superb tool for those wanting an easy life. The cheaper but more work strategy is credit card tarting, disloyally shifting from one 0% rate to another. The longest 0% fees-free balance transfers last six months, with the Post Office* (among others), or you can get 12 months 0% at Virgin* but here you pay a 2% fee. Full details, pros and cons in Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Best Lend for Spend, Credit Card Shuffle, Personal Loans
£24 Freeview box Digital TV on the cheap
"Should I pay off my student loan?" New Article
It's one of those questions I'm constantly asked, so I hope this article answers it. Full details on the impact on your finances, ability to get a home and credit score. New Article: Should I Pay Off My Student Loan? (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Should I Pay Off Debts With Savings?, Problem Debts, Start Saving
10,000 free copies of Moneywise magazine blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?
Act now, Loophole to get an instant 4% boost to your Christmas spending. New Article
Many supermarkets have ‘Christmas saving stamps schemes' to squirrel away a bit each month over the year and then they'll add a bonus on top. Yet, provided you have the money in on a set date you still get the bonus. So put cash in a few days before, and get up to 4% instantly added to it. The reason this note's so early is some supermarket's deadline dates are due, so check to see when yours is. New Article: Supermarket Savings Stamps. Related Articles: Boost Your Loyalty Points, Instant Access Savings, Internet Shopping: Time & MoneySaving Techniques
Reminder Free Guides Mortgage Guide: Download PDF, Order Printed Guide, More info Remortgage Guide: PDF, Printed, More Info
Urgent Loophole. Save up to £400 on Cannons/Holmes Place Gym Membership. New Article
Get a private medical insurance policy before 28 Sept. from insurer PruHealth* for as little as £20/month (depending on your age/health) and it'll give you 6 months' free at Holmes Place or Cannons gyms, which usually costs £40 to £100/month. So get it even if you don't want medical insurance. When it ends, simply cancel both or keep going and get the gym at a discounted price. This loophole's been so popular, I decided to write a full article explaining how to do it. New Article: Gym Membership Cost Cutting Loophole Related Articles: Medical Insurance Cost Cutting
STOP YOUR FRIENDS WASTING CASH! PLS SUGGEST THEY GET THIS EMAIL
Savings Shake-up continues, now earn up to 5.5% Updated Article
The Bank of England's base rate rose over a month ago, but it's still making waves as banks slowly catch up. ICICI* remains the top clean payer at 5.15%, yet it's possible to earn more by taking advantage of introductory rates, saving higher amounts or being over sixty e.g. the Coventry BS Sixty Saver* pays a huge 5.5%. For full details of changes, and all your new options, see the Updated Article: Instant Access Savings Related Articles: Top Cash ISAs, Regular Savings, Where to Start Saving?
Are you/do you know a StayWarm energy customer? Massive changes happening. Full Briefing
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
Great "Feed & House Your Pets For Less" Hunt
Even though keeping them healthy, happy and fed can soon stack up, many MoneySavers love their pets. So I'd like to tap MoneySavers wealth of knowledge to find top tips, ideas and sources of cheap food, bedding and toys to keep your moggy or doggy happy without impacting your wallet. Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: What Kids Should Know About Money, Use Less Water and Wine Tart
Turn your photos into arty posters for free! Rasterbater software (that its name, don't blame me!)
Npower Price Hikes 10% Elec and 17% Gas: Time To Switch
Npower, which includes the brand Juice, is the latest provider to boost prices. Now's the right time to compare and switch energy provider. Comparison service Energyhelpline/cashback* pays £15 if it can switch you, alternatively Uswitch/champagne* gives a bottle of champagne worth £20ish. As there's no guarantee prices won't increase again, the article lists each companies last price rise date; if your cheapest hasn't increased recently, as this may be due soon, consider the second cheapest. Updated Article: Cheapest Gas and Electricity Related Articles: Cheapest Home Phone, Cut Water Bills
Great Bit On The Side Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers to let us know about ways of making extra dosh. Tips you had included Dog sitting, Slivers of time, Focus groups, Mystery shopping & more.
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Reclaim possibly £1000s in old bank charges.... now see what you're aiming for
Penalty charges aren't lawful, and many (me included) believe this means banks' £35ish fines for going overdrawn or missed Direct Debits aren't valid. So ask your bank for your last six years charges, and if it doesn't pay out say you'll take it to court. The banks are settling left, right and centre, and thousands are getting cash back. Wonderfully one kind MoneySaver has sent me his settlement letter from the bank and it's well worth a read, so I've added it to the Updated Article: Reclaim Bank Charges (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Grab Endowment Misselling Compensation Quick and Reclaim Lost Asssets
MoneySavingExpert.com Job Opportunity. Junior Web Developer, London Based
Masses of you wanted Ideal Home show tickets..... here's who got 'em?
An overwhelming 2,000 of you asked for the 50 pairs of tickets I'd blagged so I managed to persuade the kind people there to let me have another 25 pairs on top for October's show. Find out if you got lucky
Carpet Bagging. Time to give up for good?
In the 90s many put money in Building Societies (BSs), hoping for a windfall if they converted to companies, a practice oddly known as carpet-bagging. To prevent this, most BSs introduced rules that any new customers must sign away their windfall rights to charity. Still, many people have the odd £100 or more in different accounts paying little interest in the hope of future windfalls. So is it time to give up? Frankly I don't know the answer, no one does, but as Nationwide merges with the Portman there's an interesting discussion in the Forum arguing it through. Read it and take part
FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH Jersey, Paris & Amsterdam c. £20 each way
Budget airline Thomsonfly currently has a range of destinations at 99p 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 |
On the box update: This week I'll be doing my usual Jeremy vine spot on Radio 2 at 1pm this Friday. Then in the evening I'm appearing on ITV1 at 8pm as part of a Tonight with Trevor McDonald on Gas & Electricity.
This week's Martin's Musings: It's very scary to do a TV film and not see it before the audience.
'This site's changed my life' and 'The Australian mortgages that let you spend your house' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)
Ebay & Other Auctions, Car Boot and Jumble Sales Board: Board of the week
Whether you're buying or selling, this board's a mine of info for all you Del Boys out there. Discussions include How to bid on eBay when you're not there, Best time to end an eBay auction and Selling stuff on Amazon.
PICK THE SITE'S CHARITIES POLL: Choose which four charities will get two thirds of the charity fund. Vote or Discuss. Vote result: It seems British Gas tops the chart as Britain's worst company but even more interestingly while last week Tesco was voted Britain's best company, this week it has also been voted the fourth worst! See poll results
That's it for this week, however have a read of this post, these kids are wise beyond their years and seem to have a true grasp on the way of the world! How do you decide who to marry and more
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: talktalk.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, mbloan.co.uk, alliance-leicester.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, virginmoney.com, icicibank.co.uk, thecoventry.co.uk, amazon.co.uk, barclays.co.uk, smile.co.uk. Read more about this site and how it's financed. 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. |
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