Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
Call mobiles 6p/min; Free 1,000 texts Sim,
8.2% savings; Last chance cheap capped energy?
New MSE Charity; More 1p flights,
And much, much more MoneySaving...
Summer hol. in Europe? Grab the free European Health Insurance Card. The official European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) extends your rights to free or discounted medical treatment to any EU country (and Switzerland). You can order one online, or call 0845 606 2030, though it can take a few weeks to arrive. It's well worth having, as it can often get you quicker treatment and stop you paying an excess on your travel insurance. Don’t think of it as an alternative to travel insurance. A few people incorrectly consider the EHIC equivalent to travel insurance. Yet it doesn't cover repatriation costs, lost money, baggage or cancellation; it's just a health safety net. As travel insurance can be obtained for £25 for a year (see Cheap Travel Insurance guide), in most cases it makes sense to have at least a basic policy. Other Travel Money Saving guides: Cheap Flights, Holiday Haggling, Spending Overseas, Car Hire, Travel Money, Mobile Roaming, Cheap Hotels |
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New. The MSE Charity. Grants, projects and more to help debt and consumer education
Today I’m proud to launch The MSE Charity devoted to improving consumer & debt education. Who it’ll help? Both individuals and groups. If you can’t afford to do a course, be it basic financial literacy or personal finance at the OU, money may be available. Also, it'll give grants to other charities or people with good ideas for specific projects e.g. the army sergeant wanting to teach squaddies about money management for when they leave. Where’s the cash from? This site’s given £235,000 launch funding and hopes to give at at least £100,000/ year; plus it's hoped MoneySavers who’ve been helped by the site will donate too. Apply/Donate/More Info: The MSE Charity Fund Related Article: How this site’s financed
Print your digital photos for free. A site user’s collated scores of intro deals allowing you to get 100s of free prints. Forum Note: Only pay postage
Cheapest way to call mobiles. Pay 6p/min (BT is 12.5p) without changing provider.
While phone companies advertise “free calls” the small print notes this doesn’t include calling mobiles; but that's often the bulk of the bill. Yet whether you've a BT or Virgin line you can halve it just by dialling a special access number from home phones before making calls. This is a fully re-written and re-researched guide; the prices are as low as 6p/min weekdays and 3p/min at weekends. Compare this to the big providers… for daytime calls BT is 12.5p/min & Virgin Media 15p/min for evening calls BT 7.5p/min & Virgin 10p/min. New Article: Cheap Calls To Mobiles Related Articles: Cheapest Home Phones, Cheapest Mobiles, Free Texts
Free Mobile SIM card with 1,000 texts. Orange SIM with texts worth up to £100 (they expire after 30 days) Forum Note: Top Sim Deals
URGENT. Top cap rate probably ends Monday. Cap NOW to beat gas & elec price rises
If you want to cap energy prices (ie fix the rate for 2-3 years) due to the predicted 15%-45% price rises by the end of the year, you need to act quick. After I wrote this a fortnight ago, many people asked, “if price rises won’t start ‘till late summer, why cap now?” Two reasons... energy companies are withdrawing cheap caps in anticipation of rises, strong rumours are one of the cheapest will end Mon 2 June. Plus it takes 2-3 months for a switch to be activated, and by then the first rises will probably have happened. More info including how to Find The Cheapest Deal: In the Cheap Gas & Elec Guide Related Guides: Boiler Insurance, Grant Grabbing, Cheapest Home Phone
New 2for1/cheap meal vouchers… Zizzi, Chef n Brewer & Strada. These join Burger King, Ha Ha, local Italians and pub lunches. Cordon Blimey!
STOP YOUR FRIENDS WASTING CASH! PLS SUGGEST THEY GET THIS EMAIL
Do you have Sky Sports for the footie? The season's over, so cancelling it 'til the next one could save you £££s. Full Info: Fancy a Kick'emout?
8.2% equiv. savings if you're a higher rate taxpayer… thanks to high inflation.
With the govt. owned savings bank, NS&I's index linked savings, currently, lock your money away for three years, and it pays 0.7% above the inflation rate, tax-free. RPI inflation is now 4.2%, so that’s a 4.9% after-tax rate. To earn this in a normal savings account a higher rate taxpayer would need 8.2% interest, which isn't do-able, and a basic rate taxpayer’d need 6.1%, which is beatable. Do note, the rate moves with inflation, so it could go up or down, though current short term predictions are for it to rise. For comparison the top instant access account Kaupthing* pays 6.5%. Updated Guide: Top Savings Accounts Related Articles: How Interest Rates Work, Premium Bonds
More 1p (inc most taxes & charges) flights available… Ryanair’s extended its sale, now from nine UK airports you can get 1p flights until Thurs 29 May. Find them quick: Ryanair 1p Flights
Bank Charges Reclaiming News. Banks to appeal the test case. Fully Updated
It’s not often I say the banks are appealing, but this time it’s true. In April the high court ruled bank charges are subject to fairness rules, a massive victory for reclaimers. Yet in last week’s case management conference, amongst a raft of announcements, the banks were given permission to appeal this judgement. This, in itself, doesn’t change the binding precedent that’s been set, but it could delay things. For full details of what this means read the Updated Article: Bank Charges News. Plus if you’ve had charges and want to reclaim, you should write as soon as possible. Step-By-Step Guide (inc. free templates): Bank Charges Other Reclaiming: Credit Card Fees, Loan Insurance, Mortgage Exit Fees
£60 Bouncy Castle at ASDA. Cheaper than hiring one for a day! Good inflation!
New ISA rules. Full guide to 08/09 ISA changes. Updated Article
The start of the 2008 tax year saw the biggest changes to the way ISAs work since they were launched. The amount you can save has increased from £3,000 to £3,600 in cash, and from £7,000 to £7,200 overall. Mini ISAs, Maxi ISAs, Tessas and PEPs have all ended and merged, plus the way you can transfer and shift money has changed too. Read the Fully Updated: ISA Guide Related Articles: Top Savings, Best Cash ISAs
Same day bank transfers start this week. At last, some banks now offer 2-hour money moving, and some do it free. More Info: Bank by bank guide Related Article: Best Bank Accounts
Hayfever tablets price war. Online seller cuts price to £6.30 for 6 months supply. Updated Article: Cheap Hayfever Tablets
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The Big & Easy Ways to Save Checklist |
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Great 'Cheap date' Hunt. How to meet people without breaking the bank
Dating can be a costly pursuit, so this week I want to tap MoneySavers collective ideas for cheap, safe places to meet/take out a potential partner (and no, not for me…). Add your ideas/read other peoples': Great 'Cheap date' Hunt Past Great Hunts: Unsigned/Up and Coming Bands, Blag by Threatening to Leave and Rural MoneySaving
New online estate agent comparison site. Get quick quotes from all the agents in your area. Try it & feedback
Money Moral Dilemma. Would you report him to the police?
One of your friends is having a hard time; his business is on the brink and his wife’s pregnant. With the current cost of fuel, he can’t afford to pay for it, and admits to you in confidence that he’s had to do a runner without paying. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Would you report him to the police? Previous MMDs: Should they repay their daughter’s debts? and Would you replace your mate's cricket bat?
Did you open the Tesco savings account in April 08? Make sure you’ve at least £1,000 in the account by 31 May to collect your points
MoneySaving Wisdom from a two year old. Get a cashback card… Forum Note: Start ‘em young Related Article: Top Cashback Card
Quick Forum Tips
Warning! Bargains listed here tend to
sell out quickly
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Board of the week: Travel, Trips & Holidays
Getting the most out of an upcoming holiday doesn't mean you need to spend like there's no tomorrow. Whether you're in the process of planning your first steps, or you're planning your itinerary for that trip away, the Travel, Trips and Holidays Board is packed with useful information which could help cut your overall holiday bill. Discussions include Euro Currency Q & A, Easyjet Speedy Boarding; Worth It? and Holland, anyone?
Great 'Battle of the Brands' Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers about brands; specifically, which are worth the extra cash, and which are just trading on hype and clever marketing? The response was excellent, and there were some great comments, including Brillos are brill,
Try Morrisons Batteries and Fairy Good
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Traveller in France Magazine Download, Big Brother Tickets, |
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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:
- Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, Friday 1pm. The MoneySaving subject is How To Clear Your Debts.
Watch/listen back to past appearances: Including Radio 1's Jo Whiley, Radio 2's Vine, Radio 4's MoneyBox and GMTV. Listen/watch here
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: Accused of fraud by the Halifax?!
"The last It Pays To Watch until Sept 17" and "It’s taken five years… but finally…". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)
How much do you earn? This week's poll. Vote and Earnings? discussion.
When would you financially bed your partner? Never! Last Week’s Vote. An air of cynicism permeates this week's results, with the 26% majority of you saying you'd never get a joint account, regardless of how long you'd spent with your partner. 23% would only do it after getting married, and 19% only after moving in together. See the full What's love got to do with it? poll results
Archna's Free Game of the Week! A test of speed and balance! BallBalance
Free tour of space from your PC. That’s it for this week. Yet before I go, any telescope users out there may enjoy this new free software Microsoft Space
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: Kaupthingedge.co.uk, virginmoney.com, Barclaycard.co.uk, alliance-leicester.co.uk, talktalk.co.uk, envirofone.com, mopay.co.uk, energyhelpline.com. Read more about this in how this site is financed.
MoneySavingExpert.com is the free to use Consumer Revenge website focused on how to save you cash. It’s owned, and run by ultra-specialised journalist and bestselling author Martin Lewis. On TV amongst other things Martin has his own show It Pays To Watch on Five, is GMTV’s Money SavingExpert, presents money programmes for ITV1 Tonight. On Radio Martin has regular slots on Radio 2 Vine and Radio 1 Whiley. He’s also a columnist for the News of The World, Moneywise and the Sunday Post. Find out more: About the site and its funding.
Disclaimer: This e-mail is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to your
own specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research Full Terms & Conditions.
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