Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

21 February 2007: £32 Breakdown cover, 360 quid 32'' HD TV, Last chance gym loophole, Ditch ING Direct, lost keys recovered free and much more MoneySaving...

This info may be out of date.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

Full breakdown cover for two £32,
1,000,000 bank charges templates downloaded,
32" High definition LCD TV £360 all-in,
And much, much more MoneySaving...

Hiya.

Almost 1,000,000 bank charge reclaim templates downloaded! Staggeringly this weekend the millionth bank charge reclaiming template letter is likely to be downloaded from the site, in just 3 months. Bank charge reclaiming has gone ballistic and this Friday 8pm ITV1 I'll be presenting Tonight on it, including a Bank Charge and Mortgage Fee reclaiming school. More info: Bank and Credit Card Reclaiming, Mortgage Exit Fee Reclaiming, Council Tax Cashback

Don't confuse reclaim culture with compensation culture. I'm proud this site's at the forefront of reclaiming. Have a dispute with a normal company and it bills you and you decide whether to pay or face the consequences. Yet the banks deduct money from our accounts without permission, for what I believe are unlawful charges. This is all about getting our money back, not claiming compensation.

Spread the word. I still hear people say "I thought it was a rumour you could get your cash back", please ensure everyone knows it's real. Tell friends, family, colleagues, even strangers you chat to on the bus and suggest they add themselves to this email's distribution list at www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips

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

THIS WEEK INCLUDES: Obviously ING don't want our money!
Plus the Jaffa cake dilemma, Tesco or McVities, is there any difference?

VIDEO
PSPCast / Podcast /
Watch / Download (help)

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

(Discuss this week's mutterings)

		The Ones Not To Miss	MSE

Cheapest Breakdown Cover: £32 including home start and onward travel. New Article
It's possible to get a full service breakdown cover including onward travel and home start, for you and your spouse, for just £32. This is a totally re-researched and rewritten version of my roadside recovery article and goes through the cheapest of every type of option (all of which have good 'call-out' times). Plus remember you can use your Tesco Clubcard vouchers to get RAC cover at a quarter of the price. Full details and options in the New Article: Cheapest Breakdown Cover (mini mutterings) Related Articles: Cheapest Car Insurance, Petrol Cost Cutting, MOT Cost Cutting

32" High-Definition TV, £360 all-in. Prices are dropping Can you beat it?

Cheapest Personal Loans 5.9%. Act quick loan rates are rising. Updated Article.
Personal loan rates have increased by up to 0.7% over the last few months and may continue to creep up, so if you're going to need to borrow act quick as when you get a loan, the rate is fixed for its life. For uninsured loans over £7,500: Moneyback* is cheapest at 5.9%. As you borrow less, the rate you'll get rises. Over £5,000: The AA at 6.2%. Over £3,000: Moneyback* at 6.4%. Over £1,000: Northern Rock* at 6.5%. For full details and other options, read the Updated Article: Cheap Loans (mini mutterings) Related Articles: Loan Insurance, Cut the Cost of Existing Loans

Free lost keys recovery key ring. Key-sey peasy!

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

Last chance! £300 off gym membership loophole: Ultra cheap Cannons. Ends 28 Feb.
Gym membership can cost up to £70/month, yet until the end of Feb, Pruhealth's* private medical insurance policy, which costs as little as £20/month, offers six months free at Cannons and some JJB gyms (or £25/month for Holmes Place). It's a massive saving and worth doing just for the cheap gym even if you don't want the insurance. Article: Major Gym Saving Related Articles: Gym Membership Cost Cutting, Cheaper Prescriptions, Healthcare Cashplans

Top Comedy DVD £2 all-in! This was so popular last week I've promoted it. There's top comedy from the likes of Peter Kay and Ricky Gervais, all in aid of Comic Relief

Ditch ING Direct! It pays 4.75%, the top savings are 5.8%!
ING Direct launched three years ago offering consistently high rates. Yet now it's a disgrace, having not put its rates up after TWO Bank of England rate rises. Ditch it and switch to a market leader. A&L's DirectSaver pays 5.8% if you've £5,000 plus, while HSBC's Online Saver* offers 5.75% from £1, though neither pay interest in any month you make a withdrawal, so only grab them if you won't regularly access the cash. Otherwise, Icelandic bank Icesave pays 5.7% from £250, while ICICI* gives 5.65% on all balance over £1, both with full free access. For full pros and cons read the Updated Article: Top Savings Accounts (mini mutterings) Related Article: Where to Start Saving

The Don't Forgets

Cut Car & Home Insurance! Car Insurance/ Home Insurance Cost Cutting
Top Current Accounts: 0% overdraft at A&L* or or 6% interest and £100 for joining with Halifax, even better Read Article
MoneySaving Books: The Money Diet and Thrifty Ways, Read More
Free Mortgage Guide: Download PDF, Order Printed Guide, More info Remortgage Guide: PDF, Printed, More Info
STILL DON'T SWITCH Gas and Electricity! The market's in flux Find out more
14 month 0% deal: Cheap debt switching HSBC*, or long term 3.9% with M&S. Read Article
Free MoneySavingExpert car sticker Grab one
Free CDs + DVDs, flights or £15 Read the article

		More MoneySaving	MSE

Great Disguised Own Brand Hunt Revisited
Want to know if there's any real difference between Weetabix and Asda's own brand, or a Sony DVD player and an unbranded box? Me too! So two years ago I aimed to use MoneySavers' collective knowledge to answer the question and it's been hugely popular, with thousands getting involved. Do you/did you work in a factory making any product? Add to the collective wisdom, or read others' tip-offs (mini mutterings) Past Great Hunts: How Much to Tip Overseas, Cut The Cost of Moving Home and Free Info

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH Prague, Amsterdam & Paris c. £25 each way
Budget airline Thomsonfly currently has a range of destinations at 49p each way. When you add in its taxes and charges this becomes roughly £25 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

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Madge flog Harold's stuff on eBay?
Madge's neighbour, Harold, is having a clear out and has left a heap of stuff in the street for people to help themselves to if they want. After having a bit of a gander, Madge spies some items that would make a killing on eBay. Should Madge fess up to Harold or grab the stuff and make a small fortune? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Madge flog Harold's stuff on eBay? Previous MMDs: Should little sis get a holiday too?, Would you lend to a friend in need? and Should Jenny kick them out?

Had problems with DirectSight? More info

Great 'Re-use From The House Into The Garden' Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers how to recycle household items to give them a second life in the garden. You best ideas included: Recycle ladies' tights, Re-use rubber gloves and Second life for an old washing machine

Quick Chat Tips

Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly

Daily Bargains Update

Chat Tips Gold

5 Robert De Niro DVDs for £9 You talkin' to me?
Ensure your home electrics are Up to date
£1.70 Tesco Direct delivery loophole Get it for Less-co!
Wide selection of Amazon annuals, calendars and diaries £1
Free pairs of Ideal Home Show Tickets Did you get one?
Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Ever eat out and wish you hadn't bothered?
Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: The 365-day Buy Nothing Challenge
Nominate post of the month for February

Board of the week: Student MoneySaving
Often students need MoneySaving more than most. If you're at uni/college, the Student MoneySaving board will help you cope with life on a budget. Discussions include Earn £3,500 in 30 mins, How much do students spend in a month? and Flatmate's moved her boyfriend in

Andrea's Freebies
Freebies Gold

Aussie Hair Conditioner, Nestle Chocolate Heaven,

Wildlife Handbook, Twinings Sample, Always Sanitary Towels

		Odds and Ends	MSE

On the box this week: BIG PROGRAMME ITV1 8PM BANK CHARGES. This Friday I'm presenting Tonight with Trevor following up last year's bank charge reclaiming programme. I'll be looking at how it's developed, spread to mortgage exit fees and running a reclaim school.

JEREMY VINE FRIDAY 1PM RADIO 2. Also on Friday I'll be doing my regular phone-in on Radio 2, this week on motoring cost cutting, plus of course I'll be doing my usual LK Today slot on Wednesdays at 8.45 - 9.15 on ITV1. Keep updated on appearances

This week's Martin's Musings: Getting a penalty charge while filming about penalty charges.
''Bravo HSBC! Top player for two products'' and ''£10 fare and £10 tip. I don't think so". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

This week's poll: Biscuit Bonanza! After quizzing you on your favourite crisp flavours a fortnight ago, I thought I'd ask another highbrow moneysaving question: which biscuit would your cup of tea not be the same without? Vote or Discuss.

Last week's poll result: Over 60% of you are overdrawn? It seems the majority of MoneySavers sadly go into the red at some point during the year, with only 38% saying they're never overdrawn. It's important to understand overdrafts are debts too, often more expensive than credit cards, though luckily at the moment you can get a 0% overdraft (see best bank accounts article) See poll results

Can you nail jelly to a wall? That's it for this week, but before I go if you've ever thought sorting out your finances was like nailing jelly to a wall, have a look at this bloke attempting the impossible

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: mbloan.co.uk, northernrock.co.uk, pruhealth.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, alliance-leicester.co.uk and icicibank.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.