Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

2 May 2007: £40 Tesco deals loophole, supermarket secrets, problem debt help, 100 quid mortgage fee reclaims, 2for1 wagamama and much more MoneySaving...

This info may be out of date.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

Save £1,000 with supermarket secrets,
£40 Tesco clubcard points loophole,
Problem debt help, Energy price cuts
And much, much more MoneySaving...

Masses of £100 mortgage fee reclaiming successes! Almost everyone who's switched mortgage in the last five years is due a payout as the regulator has slapped banks' wrists for overcharging. I did my LK Today slot on this last week, and have been swamped with instant success reports like "I called up, they said I was entitled to £120, and paid out!". If you haven't done it, it's simple; just read the Mortgage Exit Fee Reclaiming article (and view success reports). And don't forget Bank Charges and Council Tax reclaiming too.

This is a hidden payout: banks are keeping schtum. Spread the word! Banks pay out automatically but only if you ask. Unsurprisingly, they keep very quiet about this; no big ads in their front windows here. So if you know anyone who has a mortgage (or bank charges) tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em. Feel free to send a link to the article. Unless we spread the word, the banks will get away with it.

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

THIS WEEK INCLUDES: Find out why I want you to use cheap loo roll!
Plus check out Tesco’s savings loophole for £40 worth of Clubcard deals

VIDEO
Watch it now/ Podcast/ PSPCast (help)

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

(Discuss this week's mutterings)

		The Ones Not To Miss	MSE

Supermarket shopping secrets: Halve your weekly bill by beating the system. New article
It’s possible to save £1,000s annually on supermarket shopping; this brand new article includes shop at the right time in the day, do the downshift challenge, compare supermarket prices online, grab discount vouchers and more. New Article: Slash Supermarket Shopping Costs Related Articles: Loyalty Scheme Tricks, Cheapest Online Shopping, What's Hot at Aldi/Lidl/Netto

Got Savings? Loophole to get £40 worth of Tesco Clubcard Deals New Article: £40 Savings Loophole

Debt problems: Where to start, what to do and where to get help. New Article, plus Video Guide
When debt goes wrong, it's a nightmare that can impact your life, work and relationships. This step-by-step guide is for anyone worried about debts; it takes you through what to do, when to get help, and the detailed checklist includes every way to get cheaper credit, how to challenge loan agreements and budgeting. Please recommend it to anyone you know in debt. New Guide & Video Guide: Debt Problems Related articles: Best Balance Transfers, Pay Off Debts With Savings, How Interest Rates Work

2for1 Wagamama meals Valid at all UK restaurants, simply click and print

British Gas, Scottish Power & EDF drop prices; don't switch without doing a comparison!
British Gas has again cut its standard tariffs: gas by 3% and elec by 6%. The long awaited EDF and Scottish Power price cut announcements were as dismal as expected, leaving them still more costly than most and they won't actually hit until June. Ignore all providers' advert claims of who's cheapest and simply do a free comparison to find out; my top pick comparison site is Energyhelpline* which, via this link, pays you up to £30 cashback, though more options and greater explanation is in the Updated Article: Cheapest Gas & Electricity Related Articles: Cheapest Home Phone, Cut Water Bills, Cheaper Boiler Cover

Scores of European flights £10 inc taxes and charges. Ryanair extends last week's deal

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

New Cheapest Uninsured Personal Loans 5.9%. Act now while the rates are low. Updated Article
Asda has bucked the trend and lowered its rate to 5.9% for loans above £5,000; yet Northern Rock* at 6.2%, is worth considering too, as it allows penalty free overpayments and early repayment (on a £5,000 loan it's only £44 more expensive than Northern Rock). For full details of the top loans if you're borrowing less, want insurance, have high earnings, or a less than perfect credit history read the Updated Article: Cheap Loans Related Articles: How Credit Scoring Works, Loan Insurance, Cut The Cost Of Existing Loans

Any MoneySavers on Facebook? If so, now MSE's on Facebook too

Great 'Work in a bank? What should we know' Hunt
Following the success of the 'supermarket staff, tell us your reduction policy' and 'disguised own brand' hunts, I want to ask bank staff for their top tips. Are there rules about better products, what leeway do you have, what should people be asking for, can you tell us bank charges pay-out policies? Please let us know (and feel free to be anonymous, though be careful not to break any bank rules telling us). Add your info/read others Past Great Hunts: What Kids Should Know About Money, Free Info and Cheap Ways To Make Your House Safer

70p manicure, pedicure or facial Best by spa

Reminder. Top 0% balance transfer cards. Tesco* 0% 12 month 2% fee, Barclaycard Plat* 0% 14 months 2.9% fee. Read Article

The Don't Forgets

Top Current Account plus £50 refer-a-friend cash: Alliance & Leicester* Read Article
12 month 0% on new spending: Halifax*, Read Article
Cut Car & Home Insurance! Car Insurance/ Home Insurance Cost Cutting
Reclaim six years' unfair bank charges: Read the full Bank Charge Reclaiming Guide
MoneySaving Books: The Money Diet and Thrifty Ways, Read More
Free MoneySavingExpert car sticker Grab one
5.8% Savings: Don't often withdraw money? A&L 5.8% (min £5k), HSBC* 5.75% (min £1) Need regular access? Icesave 5.7%* (min £250), ICICI 5.65%* (min £1), Read Article

		More MoneySaving	MSE

Vodafone Live users beware! From 1 June it will charge for browsing its own site 'Foney Costs

Don’t blame the campaigners for the end of free banking. Read m' blog

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Frodo give Sam the money?
Frodo collects cash off his friends Sam and Pippin and buys them all tickets to see a folk gig. Yet something comes up so Sam can’t make it and asks Frodo if he knows anyone who wants a ticket. Frodo advertises the ticket around his office and manages to make £40 on it. He tells Sam the story and gives him his original cash back, but Sam thinks he should get the money as it was his ticket, yet Frodo insists he did all the hard work, so should keep the extra dosh. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Frodo give Sam the money? Previous MMDs: Should Jack claim cashback at his company's expense? and Should Darth take money from his kids' accounts?

Mortgage free in three years? Are your finances in good shape? Join the Forum Challenge

Quick Chat Tips

Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly

Daily Bargains Update

Chat Tips Gold

4 weeks of the FT for £1 (repeated from last week as there was a glitch)
Free kids' ticket to Legoland Save an arm and a Leg-o
£15 prescription sunglasses Spectacular!
Free disposable emails Slam the spam
Ebay half price listing day Auction hero!
10 Doctor Who fiction books £10 Who-ray!
Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: The Unnecessary Challenge
Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Which 'value' things are decent?
April Post Of The Month Winner: Kipper for Competitions posts, See all nominations
Nominate post of the month for May

Scottish Life Customer? Last chance to claim your payment after demutalisation. This was also included last week, but a technical glitch meant the link didn't work for some people. Scottish Life payout details

Great 'what to buy on a day trip to France' Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers to let us know about the best value bargains to pick up on a trip across the Channel. Your pointers included Mustard and sausages, Butter, wine and tyres and Le Creuset kitchenware

Greenfingered MoneySaving: Board of the week
This board was launched in January and it’s really blossoming (sorry!). There are hundreds of gardening enthusiasts exchanging tips on anything and everything to do with Greenfingered MoneySaving. Discussions include Homemade compost is so exciting!, Stupid potato questions and How to stop cats going in my garden

Andrea's Freebies
Freebies Gold

Radio 1 Big Weekend Festival, Bournville

Printable Kids' Party Invites, Organic Spa Sample, Lucozade

		Odds and Ends	MSE

On the box this week: I'll be doing my regular slots on LK Today (Wed between 8.45am and 9.15am) and Classic Gold (10.15am Thursdays) Keep updated on appearances

This week's Martin's Musings: The kindness of strangers just made me cry
"For the first time in three-and-a-half years on Vine I blanked!" and "The case of Tom Brennan and bank charges leaves me in two minds". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

This week's poll: What could you live without? If money were tight and you had to live without one of the following 'necessities' of a modern lifestyle, TV, mobile phone, internet/computer or foreign holiday, which would you choose? Vote and Discuss

Last week's vote result: Only a quarter of you would boycott a retailer for using sweatshops Last week I asked how you’d respond to a report that your favourite cut-price clothing retailer used child labour. I was surprised that just a quarter said they'd immediately stop buying there and one-in-10 said it doesn't matter as long as it's cheap. See poll results

What does MSE Towers look like? That's it for this week, but ever wondered what MSE Towers looks like? If you haven't, some people have!

I hope you save some money

Martin

Explanation of * Links

How this site is financed. 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, 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: energyhelpline.com, northernrock.co.uk, barclaycard.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, icesave.co.uk, icicibank.co.uk. Read more about this in how this site is financed.