Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

25 July 2007: Unique Premium Bond calc, £13 1GB MP3 player, call mobiles 6p/min, free haircut and more

This info may be out of date.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

Unique premium bonds calculator,
£8 MP3 players, Free haircut,
Call mobiles anytime for 6p/min,
And much, much more MoneySaving...

Teen Cash Class! ITV1 Tonight Friday 8pm A few weeks ago I was challenged to turn a class of 15-year-olds into MoneySavers in a day! It was eye-opening for all of us. We've a major debt problem in the UK; what better way to break the cycle than to spread the message in school? My lessons covered debts, companies, apathy, loyalty and a raft of challenges. It ended up with sending the kids home to see if they could save their parents cash. You can see if any managed it on Friday (PS if you've got teens, should be worth them watching too).

The other way to break the cycle. I hope this site helps too; trying to educate and empower with information about debts and more. Why not read the ‘How Interest Rates Work’ article, or Your Credit Rating: How It Works. Best of all though, spread the word about the email to friends and family; just suggest they go to moneysavingexpert.com/tips.

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

THIS WEEK INCLUDES: Take a peek at my multinomial tool!
Plus, get your holiday quotes beaten!

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

New Tool. Premium Bond Probability Calculator! Sadly most winners actually lose
The unique new Premium Bond Probability Calculator calculates your exact odds of winning different prizes, then compares them with savings accounts & inflation. The results are shocking, e.g. most people who put £1,000 in over a year will win nothing; and everyone has a less than 50% chance of beating inflation, meaning in real terms your money is shrinking. The calculator’s quick and simple to use, though the underlying maths behind it is so complex I had to recruit a post-doctoral cosmology statistician to devise the algorithm! New Tool: Premium Bond Calculator Full Article: Premium Bonds: Are they worth it? Related Articles: Top Savings Account, Top Cash ISA Nearly half the UK hold premium bonds, please spread the word, so people can clearly see their odds.

Cheapest MP3 players. 512Mb (160 songs) for £8, 1Gb (320 songs) for £13. MP not quite free

WARNING! BT's new 'cheap calls to mobiles' has a catch. Yet you can do it for 6p/min
Next week, on 1 August, BT ‘cuts’ the cost of calling mobiles from 13p/min to 12.5p daytimes, and from 8p to 7.5p evenings, yet its 5p/min cheap weekend rate disappears and you’ll pay the full 12.5p or 7.5p depending on the time you call – a massive increase! However this is all unnecessary as you can reduce the cost of calling mobiles to 6p/min anytime without even needing to ditch BT (it works for other providers’ customers too). Read the Updated Article: Calling Mobiles Cheaply Related Articles: Cheapest Mobile Phones, Voip: Free Calls Worldwide

Buy a £3.30 mag for a free haircut. Cheap as Elle

Best Balance Transfers. New longest 0% card 15 months for debt switching.
While Virgin’s* new 15 month 0% deal for new customers shifting debt to it is longer than NatWest’s* 13 months, it has a higher fee of 2.98% of the debt shifted, rather than 2%. So while Virgin wins for ease, NatWest/RBS is still cheapest for most. Yet only go for a 0% deal if you’ll pay off the card within that period or will shift the debt again before it ends. If not go for Marks and Spencer’s &More 4.9% life of balance card, where the cheap rate lasts until all the debt shifted is repaid (just never spend on it). For full details, pros & cons read the Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers Related Articles: Best For Spending, Top Cashback

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

Flood Help & Info Board. Following requests, there’s now a temporary Flood Help Forum Board where if you’ve questions or want suggestions about insurance, doing up your home, or anything else; the MoneySaving community is on hand. New Board: Flood Help & Info Related Article: Cheapest Home Insurance

LAST CHANCE! Free Egg Tenner offer ends 31 July. Act now to get yours. Full details

Improved 'Beat My Holiday Quote!' System. Cut package holiday and/or flight costs
Today I’m properly launching the new ‘beat my quote’ system, which allows you to post the best deal you’ve found and see if any of the travel agents who inhabit the forums can do it cheaper. It’s slightly changed after testing, as it turned out the system worked best if you already had a specific deal in mind; so that’s now the focus. Start by Reading: Cheap Package Holidays or Cheap Flights articles Then Use: Beat My Quote PS TO TRAVEL AGENTS: Please join in & quote, it’s free for you too (scroll for the rules).

You can use all banks' cash machines for free so why queue? Read m'blog

Act quick! Fixed rates rapidly rising- last sub-6% going?
Cheap fixed rate availability is rapidly diminishing; some predict the last sub-6% rates will end within a fortnight! This is because fixed rates don’t depend on the Bank of England rate but on the City’s long-term interest rate predictions, and those have just jumped up. Yet there’s still time because companies sell fixed rates in batches e.g. £100 million worth and only reassess the rate once that sells out. So if you’re looking for a new deal, go now and you may make it before the cheaper batches sell out. Read the step-by-step 30 page MoneySaving guides to either Remortgaging: Instant PDF download, Order a free printed version, Read more or Mortgaging: PDF, Printed, Read More

Reclaiming Halifax/Bank of Scotland Bank Charges? HBOS Insider Note Full Guide: Bank Charges: Reclaim Six Years' Worth

The Don't Forgets

Cut Car & Home Insurance! Car Insurance/ Home Insurance Cost Cutting
Top Current Accounts: Overdrawn? 0% overdraft at Alliance & Leicester*. In-credit? 6% interest and £100 for joining with Halifax, Read Article
Cheapest personal loan: Best Buys From 6.2%
Switch Gas & Elec And Get Upto £30 Cashback! Energyhelpline* or Gas & Elec Article
Save £100s/yr at Virgin Active/Cannons/LA Fitness: Read Article
Top Clean Savings Account: ICICI 6.3%*, Read Article
12 month 0% on new spending: Read Article
Reclaim Mortgage Exit Fees In Minutes MEAF Reclaims
MoneySaving Books: The Money Diet and Thrifty Ways, Read More
Free MoneySavingExpert car sticker Grab one

The easiest way to ensure you don't miss out, is to get these tips e-mailed to you each week (it's free)

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		More MoneySaving	MSE

You predict house prices will DROP by 0.6% over the next year. Last week's poll
Almost 10,000 of you voted last week to predict what’ll happen to house prices over the next year. It’s particularly interesting because public sentiment has real impact here. While more people thought they’d rise rather than fall, the average result was a drop of 0.6%, as many of those who thought it would drop predicted big falls; in fact 13% predicted a crash (a drop of 10% plus). View Results: House Price Poll Discuss: House Price Vote Discussion Related Article: Free House Price Valuations

Student working over the summer? Make sure you're not paying too much tax. Study tax-breaks

Do you use Facebook, Bebo or MySpace? Warning, personal details help fraudsters
Social networking sites are great for sharing info; the worry is sharing with the wrong people. For example, mothers' maiden names are common passwords, as are exact dates of birth – so publicly listing them alongside your name & identity isn’t wise. Nor is indicating that you’re out of the country or away, as it's an open invite to burglars. Be careful. Related Articles: Free ID Fraud Prevention, Cahoot Webcard Want to be my friend? All MoneySavers are welcome at my Facebook profile (you must be logged in to Facebook for the link to work).

Great 'Things to do with the kids this summer' Hunt Revisited
If the thought of keeping the kids busy throughout their six-week summer holiday fills you with dread, help is at hand. This time last year I asked MoneySavers for their top tips on keeping the little 'uns entertained for free. Be it indoor or outdoor activities, games that can be downloaded from the net or free places to visit, there were some great ideas. So have a read through, and feel free to add some new ideas for this summer. Add your ideas/read others

Help a MoneySaver get from Staples to Naples! Phil's Charity Challenge

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Gordon pay to have Tony’s eggs?
Recently retired, Tony has started to keep chickens, allowing them to run free in his back garden. He mostly eats the eggs himself, but sometimes sells them. However, a couple of the chickens have developed a penchant for nipping over the low fence and nesting in his neighbour Gordon’s garden before returning to Tony’s for their feed. Gordon's started eating these yummy, big eggs as they're laid in his garden, but Tony says he should pay for them. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Gordon pay to have Tony’s eggs? Previous MMDs: Should Hermione contribute to Harry's little dog Ron? and Should Jeremy and Kirsty come clean?

Quick Forum Tips

Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly

Forum Tips Gold

Virgin Mobile customer? Quick £2 free airtime Web Cred
50% off days out attractions booked through Lastminute.com Family Fun
3-in-1 iPod car kit: holder, charger and FM transmitter £8 Cargain!
Nintendo DS battery & charger kit £3, was £15 Can you find one?
Plan your walking route around London, Birmingham or Manchester Nifty Site
Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: The change jar challenge
Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Do you actually use your microwave?
Nominate Post Of The Month for July

Great 'Self Discipline' Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers to share their top tips and techniques to resist the urge to spend. The discussion yielded some innovative ideas, including Get a wish box, Find out the real cost, and Only use cash

FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH Billund, Friedrichshafen & Gdañsk £10 all-in
Budget airline Ryanair has extended its £10 summer flight sale until Thursday 26 July; unusually and importantly this price includes all taxes and charges, yet there are baggage fees. Depending on which of its 19 UK airports you decide to fly from, there’s a raft of European destinations to choose. Read the find the £10 flights note Related Articles: Cheap Flight Finding, Cheapest Travel Insurance, How To Spend Overseas

Andrea's Freebies
Freebies, Freebies, Freebies

Downloadable Craft Magazine, Aunt Bessie's Family Mealtime Book
TomTom Scenic Route Downloads, Tampax Skirt Sample

		Odds and Ends	MSE

MoneySavingExpert on the box/wireless
If you like to watch as well as read about MoneySaving, I’ll be appearing on the following programmes over the next week or so.

Classic Gold 10am this Thursday. I'll be discussing this week's MoneySaving in my regular Classic Gold radio slot.
Tonight, ITV1 8pm Friday. It's Teen Cash Class week, where I'll be trying to turn a class of 15 year-olds into MoneySavers.

Watch Back from last week: View last week’s LK-Today MoneySaving Watch it here
Keep updated on appearances: Changes and updates go in the Updated appearances list

This week's Martin's Musings: "Heard the one about the MoneySavingExpert & the Weather Girl?"
"Want to be on telly?", "Free cash machines" and "Super Scrabble". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

Can you be a second class friend? This week's poll Vote and Discuss

What would happen if the web crashed? That's it for this week, but I thought you might enjoy this spoof news report on the day the internet crashed

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: alliance-leicester.co.uk, icicibank.co.uk, natwest.com, virginfinance.co.uk, marksandspencer.com, energyhelpline.com. Read more about this in how this site is financed.