Northern Rock, now the safest place for its existing savers? Northern Rock savers now have safe savings' holy grail: a Government backed product. Interestingly, the Govt’s promise was to protect ‘existing deposits’, meaning those who shfift money out of Northern Rock and now redeposit it, mightn't now be protected. I’m checking this as we speak; updates will be in the Northern Rock crisis article.
What’s the safest place for savings? While it's likely the govt would extend NR's protection to other 'in-trouble' banks, currently, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme only protects your first £2,000 and 90% of your next £33,000, per bank. While I think it's overkill, for total peace of mind, don’t hold more than £35,000 (or more strictly £2,000) in any one bank. The current top three instant access payers are ICICI 6.3%*, Sainsbury 6.25%, Icesave 6.2%; see Top Instant Access Savings.
Mortgage and loan rates may rise! Existing fixed or tracker deals won’t be affected, but if your deal’s ending in the next four months, act quickly; you can get a mortgage now for then (see the Remortgage Guide). This is because the ‘credit-crunch’ behind all this means lenders are paying more to borrow and it’s likely that’ll be passed onto us. With loans, again, existing loans are fixed rates, but for new loans go quick (see Cheap Loans)
Has this site/e-mail helped? If it has, pls help us by suggesting friends and family get this e-mail from moneysavingexpert.com/tips
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MARTIN'S MONEY MUTTERINGS
A video/audio commentary on this e-mail |
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NORTHERN ROCK CRISIS SPECIAL VIDEO
& be a cashback king |
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Act now and bag 4% off everything you buy until Christmas! Plus free travel insurance
The Capital One* cashback card gives 4% cashback on everything spent on it for the first three months (and 1% after that), plus it includes free annual family travel insurance if you pay for holidays on the card. Apply now and you time it perfectly to get the maximum cashback on all Christmas spending and perhaps January sales too (depending on how long it takes to get the card). Just set up a Direct Debit to pay it off in full each month and you won’t pay interest, so it's pure profit. Full pros and cons in the Updated Article: Best Cashback Cards Related Article: Best Balance Transfers Coming Next Week: Best Xmas card if you need to borrow
Nectar holders' free pamper/adventure treat. Inc powerboating, facials & clay pigeons Click'n'print a voucher
New cheapest car insurance. Combine 4 comparison sites for max savings
Tesco has launched its own car insurance comparison service that includes some big names not previously checked by other sites. So use Moneysupermarket*, Confused.com*, Compare the Market*, and then Tesco Compare, and, combined, you check a massive 64 different insurers and 27 brokers in around 15 minutes. No one comparison service alone covers close to half this. More cost cutting in the Updated Article: Car Insurance Related Articles: Home Insurance, Breakdown Cover, MOT Cost Cutting, New Car MoneySaving
Make money if you've got an empty parking space Earn £250 a month by renting it out
New Best Balance Transfer card 0% for 14 months on shifted debts Updated Article
New customers shifting existing credit card debts to Barclaycard* get 0% for 14 mth with a 2.5% fee (of the amount shifted). This just pips Virgin’s* slightly longer 15 mths 0% deal, as its fee is a higher 2.98%. Also Capital One’s launched the first new fees-free card of this year, although the 0% period only lasts a little over six mths; yet if you can pay it off during that period, or are willing to quickly shift the debts again, it’s a winner. For the easy life, forget 0% cards and instead go life of balance deals; here the cheap rate lasts until all the debt shifted is repaid, Citi-Plat* is the current winner at 5.8% for life. Updated Article: Best Balance Transfers Related Articles: Cheapest Loans, Danger Min Repayments
STOP YOUR FRIENDS WASTING CASH! PLS SUGGEST THEY GET THIS EMAIL
Cut the cost of contact lenses & laser eye surgery. Visible savings!
It's possible to save up to £100 a year on contact lenses by buying from specialist phone-order and online discounters; you needn't even switch brand! This fully re-researched article lists the cheapest places to buy both here and abroad, and shows you how to get laser eye surgery for a price that won't make your eyes water. Read Article: Cheap Contact Lenses Related Articles: Glasses Buying Cost Cutting, Cheap Online Shopping
£15 Amazon voucher for a £4 DVD rental trial. Will you be one of the lucky ones? £11 profit
TalkTalk’s by far the cheapest, but is customer feedback any good? Poll results
TalkTalk*'s phone and broadband package, at £18/mth all-in for broadband, line rental and evening and weekend calls, is unbeatable. Yet 18 months ago at launch, customer service issues were dire. Last week I polled existing users… the result? Roughly 75% say it's mostly working well now, leaving a quite high 25% unhappy. Then again many broadband providers suffer bad feedback. So, for those for whom price is most important, it’s a clear winner, but if you want faultless customer service, avoid it. Related Article: Cheapest Home Phone Provider Poll Result: TalkTalk poll
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Ensure you don't miss out, get these tips e-mailed each week
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The Don't Forgets |
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Save £100s/yr at Virgin Active/Cannons/LA Fitness: Gym Loophole
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URGENT! Over 60s, don't delay on your winter fuel payment! Claim!
Winter may seem a long way away, but if you're over 60 it's vital you send your winter fuel payment form off soon, if you want to receive your free government cash in time for Xmas. Those who've received it before, or are on a state pension or other social security benefit don't need to take action: you'll get it automatically. However, if you've never claimed it you must apply before Friday 21 Sept to get your £200 (£300 if you're over 80) before Christmas. Winter payments info Related Articles: Benefits Check-up, Reclaim Lost Assets, Get Endowment Misselling Compensation, Cheapest Gas & Electricity
Reminder Self assessment deadline if you want them to do the tax calculations is 30 Sept
Great 'Local Discount Cards' Hunt
Many councils offer discount cards giving residents money off local facilities such as cinema tickets and leisure centres. Some are free, while others have an annual fee. In some cases, councils give them to all residents, but sometimes you need to prove you're on a benefit to get one. I thought I'd tap MoneySavers' wealth of knowledge to collate a list of these cards. Add your ideas/read other people's: Great Local Discount Cards Hunt Past Great Hunts: Audience Tickets, Cheapest UK Holiday Locations, and Medical Tourism
MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should David and Victoria pocket the pizza?
David and Victoria go to Pizza Hut’s all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch. Once they’re both full, Victoria goes back for more, wrapping up pizza slices in napkins to take home for later, taking a few extra for the kids as well. David is shocked and says the flat price only applies to all you can eat in one sitting, but Victoria argues that she didn’t eat much anyway. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should David and Victoria pocket the pizza? Previous MMDs: Should Jordan pay Peter to go away? and Should Mrs Robinson leave all her cash to Garfunkel?
FLIGHTCHECKER SALES WATCH Barcelona, Valencia & Bratislava £10 all-in
Budget airline Ryanair is still dishing out £10 winter flights, but you must book before Thursday 20 September. Unusually and importantly, this price includes all taxes and charges, yet there are baggage fees. Use the special free FlightChecker to find the seats in seconds. Related Articles: How To Find a Cheap Flight, Cheapest Travel Insurance, How To Spend Overseas
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Quick Forum Tips
Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly
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Great 'Secure your home on the cheap revisited' Hunt Result
Last week I returned to a previous hunt, already full of great ideas on keeping your home secure without breaking the bank. This hunt proves that the words 'budget' and 'security' aren't mutually exclusive; there are some great suggestions in this hunt, including Use Illusion, Tips from a crime scene officer, and Everybody needs good neighbours.
Board of the week: eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales
Whether you want to pick up a bargain or declutter and earn some extra dosh on the way, eBay can be the answer. The eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sale board offers a wealth of information and innovative ideas on how to turn your junk into cold hard cash. Discussions include Car bootsale booty, Typo Trawler and Ebay fees calculator.
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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.
Watch Back from last week: View this week’s GMTV MoneySaving on Northern Rock Watch it back
Keep updated on appearances: Changes and updates go in the Updated appearances list
Feedback on appearances: Discuss or add your thoughts on MoneySaving in the Media
This week's Martin's Blog: "Do you trust your bank?"
"Plugging a Marc Almond concert on ITV!" and "Northern Rock: What should’ve happened last Friday". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)
Who’d you trust: Politicians, the papers or banks? This week's poll. Vote and Who'd you trust discussion
MoneySavers split over the monarchy: Last week's vote: 50% said we should deconstitutionalise them or get rid of them completely, 40% said we should leave things the way they are and, staggeringly, 10% said we should put them back in charge. Monarchy poll results
Archna's Free Game of the Week! Gridlock
Google's hidden flight simulator. That's it for this week, except to say that, did you know, hidden inside Google Earth, there's a secret flight simulator
I hope you save some money
Martin
Explanation of * Links
FSA NOTE: 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.
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: Capitalone.co.uk, moneysupermarket.co.uk, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, Barclaycard.com, virgin.co.uk, Citibank.co.uk, talktalk.co.uk, energyhelpline.co.uk, alliance-leicester.co.uk, energyhelpline.com. Read more about this in how this site is financed.
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