Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Got/had a loan or credit card? You could be owed £1,000s. Reclaim the PPI cost!
Anyone who’s got or had a personal loan, secured loan, credit card or store card may be able to reclaim £1,000s. The mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) on these products has been so severe some people actually have policies without realising; others have incorrect and inappropriate insurance. If so, you should be able to get the cost back. This could be big money; on a typical five year £5,000 loan it costs £1,500. This is a full new guide including template letters on how to get your cash back. New Article: PPI Reclaiming Related Articles: Cheapest Loans, Mortgage Fee Reclaiming, Cheapest Loan Insurance, Cut Existing Loan Costs

Free Dollond & Aitchison eye test. Available nationwide until 11 Sept. Just print out a voucher

Cheap Flights: Cut the cost of flying. Perfect for last minute Summer get aways
Want to fly, anywhere, anytime, but at the cheapest price? There are three distinct types of websites for finding cheap flights, and to save time and money you need to know which one is right. Even then it's possible to undercut the web's best price e.g. using specialist ethnic community linked travel agents. This is a totally re-researched and rewritten guide to slashing the cost of flying, also including how to carbon offset. New Article: Cheap Flights Related Articles: Cheap Hotels, Travel Insurance, Travel Money, Spending Overseas

Vehicle HPI checks for a fiver. £20 off the usual price to check a car's history

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

30 mins Wi-Fi access in Wetherspoons. Just buy a (cheap) drink. Chin chin!

Do you phone abroad? Don't waste cash; do it for free or for pennies!
An e-mail I just opened reminded me to yell about one of the biggest wastes of cash possible. It said "Thanks for the help with international call charges… my wife calls Romania and Italy at least twice a week; we have saved OVER £150 in the last month alone on our BT bill".  It's simple to save a fortune without changing home phone line, just read the Article: Cheapest International Calls Related Articles: Free Calls From Mobiles, Cheapest Mobiles, Cheapest Home Phones

Free mini Clarins £8 Mascara. For the price of a magazine...flutter your lashes!

New Top Bank Account. 8% interest in-credit if you earn over £15,200 Updated Article
The new top pick bank account for those who are always in-credit is the Abbey* which pays a huge 8% interest on any balance up to £2,500; providing you earn over £15,200 and pay your salary in. Yet if you’re ever overdrawn (or earn less) the winner is Alliance & Leicester’s Premier Direct* account which pays 6.5% interest and offers a 0% overdraft for the first year (and its still the cheapest after that). Full details in the Updated Article: Best Bank Accounts Related Articles: Refer A Friend Loophole, Top Savings Accounts

Were you using your NatWest credit card for Airmiles? Don't pay for its new scheme!
While new NatWest* credit card customers get one of the longest 0% deals on the market (see Best Balance Transfers), long term cardholders who once used it for its now defunct AirMiles scheme are being offered a replacement. Frankly the old scheme wasn’t particularly good value, but some of those who spend under £12,000 a year are being informed they’ll need to pay £36 annually to access the scheme! It is very unlikely to be worth it. You’d be far better off switching to the Top Cashback Card which could earn you £100s a year instead. Related Articles: Credit Card for Spending, Loyalty Schemes

Reminder. Energy Saving Lightbulbs 39p. In-store at Morrisons but only until 2 Sept

If you haven't ditched ING Direct yet; it's time! You can earn much much more on savings
I’ve said it before, and it’s worth saying again; if you’ve got savings in ING Direct’s standard savings account, ditch it quick.  Once the top consistent player on the market, over the last year it's consistently failed to increase its rates despite five interest rate hikes. It's now paying just 5% when interest rates are 5.75% and the top equivalent instant access savings account ICICI* pays 6.3%.  If you’ve got money with it, leave; don’t reward it for selling its customers short. Related Articles:  Best Instant Access Savings, Top Cash ISAs

Going on holiday? Get a personalised 'to do' checklist. Handy get organised tool

Great 'Cheaper Caravanning and Camping' Hunt
If you’re a regular on the camp site, or in your caravan; then I want to tap your knowledge. What are you top camping MoneySaving tips? How do you cut the cost of tripping out both in the UK and abroad? Add your ideas or read other people's: Great Cheap Caravanning & Camping Hunt Related Hunts: Things to do with the kids this summer, Free audience tickets, How much to tip overseas

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Fernando pay for Lewis' service?
Lewis gives his colleague Fernando a lift to work most days of the year, as otherwise Fernando would have to get an hour-long bus journey instead of the 20 minute car ride. Lewis rarely uses his car outside work, and come MOT time, there are a number of maintenance costs; new tyres, new brake pads and an oil change, totaling £300. As Fernando is in the car during most of its use, Lewis thinks he should shoulder half of the cost, but Fernando thinks as it's Lewis’s car, it’s his cost. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Fernando pay for half the repairs? Previous MMDs: Should Walter's mum pay for Dennis' temper trantrum? and Should flood ridden Rhett and Scarlett get free catering?

This week's Martin's Blog: The money Godfather. Babies, babies, everywhere!
"The worst bit of writing I've ever done". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

Would you pay higher taxes for NHS drugs for all? This week's poll. Vote and NHS Drugs For All Discussion

Is global warming happening? Erm, probably? Last week's vote: The stark options we gave for the vote really polar-ised opinion. While the slight majority (47%) of you believe humans are indeed causing global warming, 41% don’t believe it’s happening at all, and 12% are waiting for more evidence. Global Warming Results & Discussion

Free Game of the Week. How hard is it to fly a helicopter? Avoid crashing in the never ending tunnel

Save money by speaking 'txt'! That's it for this week, but before I go, here's a way to save bills. Simply use a web text translator, which will help you send much shorter messages; thN u cn gt dwn w/yr kdz n seem ded QL. Text Speak

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, abbey.co.uk, natwest.com, rbs.co.uk, talktalk.co.uk, energyhelpline.com. Read more about this in how this site is financed.