Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

10 January 2007: DANGER minimum repayments, £22 Freeview, 4.8% loan, train fare cost cutting, cheap gym loopholes and much more MoneySaving....

This info may be out of date. Read this week's emails

If you just make minimum repayments DANGER,
Cheapest loans at 4.8%,
Save £100s with train fare loopholes,
And much, much more MoneySaving...

MoneySaving Resolutions that won't fail! New Year's resolutions seem a great idea while the passionate fires to change burn in January, yet resolve soon disappears. To help, I've tried to design resolutions where if you do them now the impact keeps going, read 10 instant action resolutions.

My January Confession. This e-mail's aim is to ensure you don't miss any of the latest urgent ways to save. Yet as January's the big “sort y'money” month, as well as that, I'm re-introducing those articles with the biggest savings, even when nowt new's happening.

If you hear someone talking about money. Pls tell anyone you hear talking about sorting their finances about the site; and especially suggest they get this free e-mail by going to moneysavingexpert.com/tips . Why the e-mail? Most people just look for obvious areas to save, the email might point out areas they haven't considered.

MARTIN'S MONEY MUTTERINGS
A video/audio commentary on this e-mail

THIS WEEK INCLUDES: Join me in the human loan calculator club!
Plus get mis-sold endowments compensation and dunk the junk of costly gyms

VIDEO
PSPCast / Podcast / Download (help)

AUDIO
Podcast / Stream: Hi/Lo / Download: Hi/Lo (help)

(Discuss this week's mutterings)

		The Ones Not To Miss	MSE

DANGER! If you only make minimum repayments on credit cards read this. Jan Debt Special
Paying a fiver a month off your credit card bill may sound cheap, but it's so dangerous, on many credit cards it will leave you repaying for forty years! Credit card minimum repayments are mathematically designed to keep you perpetually in debt. If you're saying "I can't afford to pay more" there's an easy three step solution in this fully rewritten and updated article. New Article: Danger: Minimum Repayments (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Best Balance Transfers, Problem Debts, Which Credit Card Is Right For Me?

Train Fares Rise up to 7%. Yet you can save £100s with hidden tricks Fully Updated Article

Massive Gym Savings. £400 off loophole. Get a month's free trial. Two New Articles
To help save you pounds while you lose them, I've written two new articles. The first goes through gym membership pitfalls and alternatives and how to get free trials for up to a month, read the New Article: Gym Cost Cutting. The next is about a major loophole. Get a medical insurance policy from Pruhealth* for as little as £20/month gives six months free at Cannons or some JJB gyms (or Holmes Place for £25 a month); alone this costs up to £70/month, so for some a £50 a month saving is possible, even if you don't want the insurance, read the New Article: Massive Gym Loophole

Freeview TV box, one off £22 for over 30 channels Can you beat it? Related Article: Digital TV Cost Cutting

Cheapest Loans. Under 5% available to top credit scorers Jan Debt Special
If you need a cheap loan to cover your debts, Northern Rock* offers typical 5.8% APR on borrowing over £1,000, with an even lower typical 5.7% APR available from Moneyback*, from £3,000 up and Masterloan from £4,000 up. For those with spotless credit histories who earn over £25,000, Zopa*, the loan exchange allows borrowing as low as 4.8%. For all options and pitfalls please read the Updated Article: Cheap Loans Related Articles: Short Term Loans Interest Free, Your Credit Rating

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

URGENT. Deadlines loom. Claim £1,000s in endowment misselling compensation in just 10 mins.
If you were sold an endowment without being told it mightn't repay your mortgage, you could be entitled to £1,000s. Over the last year, I've had mountains of e-mails saying "I never thought I'd get a payout, hadn't bothered, but then got £6,000!". It's free to do, and the template letters are all written for you. Many endowment providers, including Prudential and Standard Life, have imposed claim deadlines, and the first of those fall in a month. Act now! Article: Endowment Compensation (mini-mutterings) Related Articles: Bank Charges: Reclaim Up To 6 Years Worth, Reclaim Lost Assets For Free

Get 3 copies of Elle magazine plus a £20 manicure set £3 Cute-ickle deal

Mortgages rates are cheap right now, so it's a good time to switch
January's always the powerhouse month for mortgage deals, as lenders are fighting to bring in new business. There are many sub-5% deals available, which considering recent and predicted interest rate rises is hot. There is no ‘top mortgage' as it always depends on your circumstances, but 20 mins of reading will show you exactly how to make big savings. To help, as always, read the full free printed guides. Remortgage Guide (for those already with mortgages): Download a PDF, Printed Guide, Read More. Mortgage Guide (for newbies): PDF, Order Free Printed Guide, Read More. Or read Mortgage Articles

Reminder. Best Balance Transfers Deals; 0% for 15 months or 3.9% for life
Top 0% deals: HSBC* 0% for 15 months with a 2% fee or Smart 0% for 6 months no fee. Top long term deal: M&S &More 3.9% until debt is repaid. To find out which is right for you read the Article: Best Balance Transfers

The Don't Forgets

Cheap Flight Finding: How to grab the very Cheapest Flights
Top Current Accounts: 6.1% interest, 0% overdraft at A&L* or better Read Article
Cut Car & Home Insurance! Car Insurance/ Home Insurance Cost Cutting
Cheaper Gas & Elec plus cashback! Compare plus get cashback via Energyhelpline* or better read the Energy Switching article
MoneySaving Books: Thrifty Ways* and The Money Diet*, Read More
Get your free MoneySavingExpert car sticker Grab one
5.45% Instant Access Savings: ICICI* (min £1), Icesave (min £250), A&L 5.64%, Read Article
Self-assessment deadline 31 Jan: Miss out and you'll be fined £100

		More MoneySaving	MSE

Londoners want a fun TV check up if you're overpaying council tax? ITV1 are looking for volunteers

What to do when a spouse/partner dies? Your help needed
Very sadly, two days before Christmas one of the Forum's user's husband died, and other MoneySavers provided great support and advice through it. It made me realise that right then, help is needed to sort out money, logistics and organisation, as thinking straight at such a time is very hard. So I need your assistance, those who've been through it, please feedback your experience and advice, in a Great Hunt style; I'll then combine this with my own notes and make a checklist article available to everyone Add your ideas/read others Past Great Hunts: What Kids Should Know About Money, Free Info and Cheap Ways To Make Your House Safer

Are you a Talktalk 'free broadband' user? Feedback needed, good and bad
While TalkTalk's free broadband and phone package is seriously good value on paper (see cheapest home phone article), the same can't be said for its customer service. As the papers carried massive negative publicity, 4 months ago, I surveyed MoneySavers' experiences. The results were better than expected, showing that while a very substantial number had suffered problems, they were still in the minority. Now I want to see if things have improved. If you have it, even if you answered last time, please take 30 seconds to help. TalkTalk Feedback Poll

How to calculate the real cost of a loan in your head.... read m'blog!

Got a gas & elec capped rate? If it's about to end, switch, save & get cashback
If you've previously capped or fixed the price of your gas and electricity, many of these deals are ending soon, so diarise the date as once it finishes you'll move to your providers' expensive standard rate, at that point ditch and switch. Related Article: Get the cheapest gas & electricity and £30 cashback

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Lisa exchange her gaudy engagement ring?
After four years together, Michael proposed to the love of his life, Lisa. She said yes immediately, and he handed her a huge diamond ring. It had cost two months of his salary, a stretch, but he thought she was worth it. Unfortunately, while Lisa loves Michael she immediately hated the ring; to her it was gaudy, over elaborate, tasteless and totally against her usual style. Should she grin and bear it, as it's the sentiment that counts, or ensure his hard earned money is spent on something she adores? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Lisa exchange her ring? Previous MMDs: Would you lend to a friend in need?, Give Santa the sack and Would you take the job?

Last week's giveaway of 'Fattitude' DVDs - have you been lucky? Find out here

Quick Chat Tips

Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly

Daily Bargains Update

Chat Tips Gold

Boots money off vouchers Boots Bounty
Roald Dahl 27 CD audio set £23 all in A revoltingly good deal
Millies' 'Supergourmet' Cookies BOGOF Eat me!
Cheap London Eats & Drinks 50 % off
eBay fee calculator See if you're quids in
Students: Win £9K with the Ifs Uni Investor Challenge
Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: £9,435 savings per year
Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Handwashing cashmere
Nominate post of the month for January

Great 'Counter Seasonality' Hunt Results
Companies often hike up prices for products at popular times of the year, when they know everyone wants to buy their wares, yet by doing the exact opposite of what they expect us to do it's possible to save a packet. So last week I asked MoneySavers to share the inside goss on the best counter seasonality tips. Tips you mentioned included Get your Xmas gear now, Sort out the kids school uniform and Lawnmowers on the cheap

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH Jersey, Amsterdam & Paris c. £20 each way
Budget airline Thomsonfly currently has a range of destinations at £1 or less 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

New Forum Board! Special Occasions & Celebrations
With Christmas done and dusted, I've morphed the Winter Festivities board into the Special Occasions & Celebrations Board; a minefield of information for cutting the cost of birthdays, Easter and other special events. Discussions include Valentine's Day - Do you bother?, Dilemma about recycling gifts and Ideas for Valentine's hamper

Andrea's Freebies
Freebies Gold

100 Free Nectar points, Tickets To See Terry Wogan - Now & Then

Mock Theory Test Practice, Cold Sore Patch, Smoke Alarm & Safety Check

		Odds and Ends	MSE

On the box this week. As January is typically money month, I'm in a lot more demand than usual…. so here goes… (Keep updated on appearances)

BBC Radio 2. Vine Friday 1pm-1.45pm. Cutting Debt Costs Phone In. My regular slot on Jeremy's programme answering your debt questions.
ITV1 Tonight with Trevor, Friday 12th Loanbusting. This Friday night (12th) at 8pm I'm presenting a programme investigating loan insurance, how it's sold, why it's often far more costly than is necessary and how to potentially save £1000s.
ITV1 LK Today MoneySaving Special. From Monday to Thur next week (15th to 18th, sometime between 8.45am and 9.15am) I'll be doing slots on lots of ways to save cash and cut debts.

This week's Martin's Musings: I like my Sunday Times column, but perhaps I went too far'.
'Not alone loanbuster' and 'How to calculate the real cost of a loan in your head' Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

How big are your balance transfers? Vote and Discuss. Last week's vote result: How good is your money maths? MoneySavers seem to have a good grasp of money maths with the vast majority of you only getting stumped on questions D & E, which are certainly tricky. Well done to the 22% that got them all right, genius!. See poll results

A MoneySaver walked into a bar... Champagne joke contest. For a bit of festive fun to start the New Year, I thought I would offer a bottle of Champagne to the person who can come up with the funniest joke starting, "A MoneySaver walked into a bar...." Add your suggestion/read others

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: pruhealth.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, zopa.com, lowrateoffer.co.uk, northernrock.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, mbloan.co.uk, amazon.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.