Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

BEWARE! Scammers are using this site's name. Sadly more reports are reaching us of scam phone calls, where companies try to flog things claiming an association with me or the site. Quite simply they're all lies. Unless you read it here or hear me say it during a programme then assume it's a con. Even legit companies are trying it on. Increasingly, genuine companies call up and claim they're recommended by MoneySavingExpert.com. Yet MoneySaving's about the right product used the right way. E.g., just because it's a top pick cheap phone company, that doesn't mean you should get its line rental. Don't believe any spin, always check on the site. Worse still are people pretending to be from the site. Luckily this is very rare but happens. If you're called by someone from the site trying to sell you something it's a con. Though don't hang up, please help by getting their details then e-mailing us.

Do debts die with you? The old phrase when you die your debts die with you is misleading. What you owe when you die has to be paid before anything can go to your beneficiaries. If you owe more than your assets are worth, they'll get nothing, but won't be asked to pay the rest of the debt. But if they're jointly responsible for the debts, they'll have to make up the shortfall. Discuss This / Suggest A Note

To ensure friends and family hear first hand, please suggest they get this free e-mail via moneysavingexpert.com/tips

The Ones Not To Miss MSE

Find your cheapest way to spend on holiday. Currency, credit, debit or prepaid card?
We've a brand new tool, that'll find the cheapest way to spend abroad for each trip. Tell it where and when you're going, who you bank with, how good your credit is and it'll explain the ultimate bespoke solution, whether it's specialist overseas credit or prepaid cards or foreign currency. The tool's part of a fully rewritten and re-researched new guide into the best ways to spend for your holiday. New Guide & Tool: Cheap Travel Money Related Guides: Cheap Flights, Travel Insurance, Package Holidays

Summer Holiday 2for1 Theme parks (inc Alton Towers) and Zoo entrance. Plus free sports lessons and 2for1 Roman outings & Go Ape. Quick Deals Note: Cheap Days Out

New cheapest Car Insurance system… save £100s at speed. Can you beat £26/year?
The key is using the right comparison sites in the right order. Yet their coverage regularly changes so we've just completed a mammoth re-assessment. Now, even just using the top two, GoCompare* & Moneysupermarket* means you check 83 insurers and brokers in ten minutes; then if you've time add Confused* and Only* for 30 more. Current Record Deal: The best result using the full system so far is £26/year fully comp. that involved a £126 quote then £100 from a cashback site. For full details how to do this, read the Updated Guide: Cheap Car Insurance. Other Insurance Guides: Van, Bike, Home, Travel, Medical, Breakdown, Boiler

High spec laptop for £290 incl. delivery. Includes a dual core processor, 1GB RAM and one year warranty. This and other deals Can you beat it?

Easily earn up to £150 cash for old mobiles & help the environment. Updated Article
If you've got an old mobile handset sitting in a drawer it's possible to turn it into cold hard cash by using a specialist, super-speedy recycling company. Simply go to its website, plug in the handset details, and it'll tell you how much it'll pay, then you send it off in its jiffy bag. In recent weeks, more providers have stormed into the market, so we've re-researched and rewritten this full guide to getting the most for your old mobile to include them; up to £150 for the snazziest handsets. Full Article: Recycle Old Mobiles For Cash Related Articles: Cheapest Mobiles, Batter Down Your Mobile Contract, Mobile Unlocking

Simply print a voucher for 2for1 at Pizza Express. This joins those 50%-ish off ones at Yo Sushi, Bella Italia, Slug n Lettuce and more. Quick Deals List: Restaurant Discounts

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

Vodafone £20/mth for 600 min, unlimited texts & a handset. Just buy it via a cashback website. Forum Note: Cheap Mobile Deal. Related Guide: Cheapest Mobiles

Bank Charges Update: The Appeal is likely to be delayed until November.
This week is the second case management meeting of the Bank Charges trial. So far little major news has come out of it except the possible date of the Banks' appeal against the ruling that bank charges are governed by fairness rules. From what can be gleaned The Court of Appeal was willing to hear the case in July and the banks were ready but the Office of Fair Trading needs more time so the hearing is likely to be delayed. Latest Info: Bank Charges News Full Guide: Reclaim Bank Charges

WARNING! Ryanair ups credit & debit card charges. Pay by Debit card and it's now £4 (was £1.20) as are credit cards (was £3.20). The only 'free' way is if you're one of the few people with a Visa Electron! Related Guide: Cheap Flights Related Tool: FlightChecker

The avg. family wastes £600 worth of food a year. Do you? Cut back with ease
This week Gordon Brown grabbed Britain by its refuse sacks, urging us to stamp out food waste, something we've said for years, as it's a waste of cash. So here's some top tips to help. 1. Know your labels. While use-bys should be thrown out, best befores only mean they're no longer optimum quality, you can still eat it so why chuck it? 2. Use a shopping list. Plan what you buy and stick to it. 3. Don't shop when you're hungry. This old adage works, otherwise you overbuy. 4. Do a meal plan. Know what you'll make and you can maximise food use, lots of free meal planners are in the Forums.5. Leftover recipes. Plug ingredients in Cookingbynumbers and it'll suggest recipes. For lots more info use the Full Guide: Cheap Supermarket Shopping Related Articles: Loyalty Points Maximising, Best Cashback Cards

Get paid 60p to get a 2for1 Cinema pass. All Orange mobiles are effectively free passes for weekly 2for1 Orange Wednesday cinema deals nationwide. Now you can get paid 60p to get one of its sims, so why not grab it just for that? Updated Article: Free 2for1 Cinema Pass

Speedily find all promo coupons & discounts from every newspaper. Daily Updates
In a fierce readership battle, both the redtops and broadsheets are offering new deals, discounts and vouchers. Every day in the Forum, dedicated MoneySavers - some rumoured to be newsagents and paperboys - update the ‘Daily Newspaper Summary' with all the info, so you can check out and choose your paper accordingly for that day's best. Find the info: Go to the Discount codes ‘n' voucher Forum board and look at the NEWSPAPER SUMMARY thread. Special thanks to Quoia, Nudge, Barneydog, Little Bill & all the others for their tireless dedication!

Don't get caught out by 'superfast' broadband speeds. New Ofcom Code of Practice
Broadband providers often boast about high speeds, but just because you're paying for 8MB doesn't mean this is what you get. The regulator Ofcom is cracking down, now requiring broadband providers to give customers an estimate of actual ATTAINABLE download speeds before they sign up. They'll also have to provide alerts if usage limits are breached. Check the speed you're getting at Think Broadband. Cheapest Unlimited Broadband: o2* £12.50/month. Cheapest w/limits: Plusnet* £10/month. Updated Article: Cheapest Broadband Related Articles: Cheapest Home Phones, Cheapest Boiler Cover, Cheapest Mobiles

Want to be on It Pays To Watch Series 3? The next series of my Five TV show starts Sept, we're looking for people who've saved by watching and those who want me to save them cash.

The Big & Easy Ways to Save Checklist

Assess Your finances: Free Budget Planner to see if you spend more than you earn Give Yourself a Money Makeover: Special guide to overhauling your finances Best Balance Transfers: Short Term 0%: Virgin* 15 mths, 2.98% fee, Tesco 13 mths, 2.5% fee. Long Term Low Rate: Barclaycard 6.5% for life* or read Balance Transfers New Borrowing: Best Card For Spending or Cheapest Loans New Bank Account: 0% overdraft at A&L* or read Best Bank Accounts Mortgage Makeover: Read the free Remortgage Guide Motor Insurance: Read the Car, Van or Motorbike articles Top Savings: Kaupthing* 6.5% or read Top Savings article Reclaim £1,000s: on Mortgage Fees, Council Tax, Endowments, Bank Charges, PPI Home Phone & Broadband: TalkTalk* or better still read the Home Phones article Cashback Credit Card: Amex Plat* or read Best Cashback Cards Teen Cash Guide: Free 40 page PDF guide to teach your kids about money Switch Gas & Elec and Get up to £30 Cashback! Energyhelpline* or Gas & Elec Article MoneySaving Books: The Money Diet, Thrifty Ways, Three Lessons Free MoneySavingExpert Car Sticker MoneySavingExpert.com/carsticker

More MoneySaving MSE

Don't miss out on tax credits! Renew your claim by 31 July 2008
If you receive Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit you may need to renew your claim now to avoid losing out. Check whether you've received renewal forms. If you have, it should tell you whether you need to renew or not - if you do - hurry, the deadline is 31 July 2008, miss that and your payments for 2008/09 will stop. Related Article: 5 Mins Benefits Check-up

Bangernomics. Is repeatedly buying £200 bangers the cheapest form of motoring? Full Bangernomics discussion.

Great 'Isn't it Obvious? MoneySaving' Hunt: Tell us the secrets you didn't know you had
Some daily MoneySaving routines are so ingrained they're second nature; but you mightn't realise you're being clever. So I thought I'd tap all MoneySavers' wealth of knowledge to dig out those little gems. Do you keep an Overseas Wallet like me? Save old batteries because they still work in less demanding gadgets? Measure your water before boiling the kettl? Please tell us your little gems. Add your ideas/read other peoples': Great 'Isn't it Obvious? MoneySaving Hunt Past Great Hunts: Win on Hotel Bidding Sites, Best No-Contract Deals, Working For Yourself

Got a 16-25 railcard? In July & August, you get peak tickets cheap too! There's no £8 minimum ticket cost. Fare Do's

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should you still help your kids get on the housing ladder?
Your daughter and her husband have spotted their dream house, but they've no deposit and there are no 100% mortgages anymore. You'd always promised to give her the money and be a guarantor, but you think the market's crashing and this is a nightmare time to buy. Do you stick with your promise and leave it to their judgement or take control even though she's an adult, after all it's your money? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should you still help your kids on the housing ladder? Previous MMDs: Should Alan give the laptop back? and Should you foot the bill?

Did you take your driving test on a Saturday in the last 2 yrs? You may be due a £10 refund for overpaying. Saturday Drivers!

Quick Forum Tips Warning! Bargains listed here tend to sell out quickly Daily Bargains Update Tips, Tricks & Treats

Top Deal! £50 Tassimo Coffee Makers. Usually £90. While stocks last 2,500 free Pontins holidays if you're in the Armed forces. Ay, ay Captain! Cheap food deals at Morrisons. 8 items for 50p each. Ends Sunday Free cookie with any Millie's purchase. Click 'n print the voucher. Crumbs! Cheaper newspapers from universities. Pop into the union Rags for rags £6 E45 sun lotion. Normally £10. Cream of the crop! Free Kids Summer Workshops. Learn about animals and get a goody bag 40 London Motor Show tickets to give away. 24 July-4 Aug. Just say Vroom Vroom Free mum & baby pack incl mat & Booties. Spend £3.75 on nappies Worth a tenner Clothes swapping event in Covent Garden until 20 July. Top-Swap-Shop Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: What's the best thing to happen to you today? Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Wine and Walls Nominate Post Of The Month for July

 

CHEAP FLIGHTS SALES ALERT Airline: EasyJet. Price: c.£26 e/w. Ends: When tickets sell out.
My top pick budget airline sale this week is EasyJet's sub-£26 inc. taxes & charges to various European destinations from a range of UK airports. Tickets are at this price until they're sold out but are only available on selected flights. How to quickly find the sales flights: Don't go direct, instead use the Budget Airline FlightChecker and ask it to find all flights under £26. Non-Budget Airline Tools: These are listed in the Cheap Flights article. Related Travel MoneySaving: Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance, Mobile Roaming

Board of the week: In My Home
If you're looking specifically for ways to tidy up your house but don't want to fork out a fortune then check the In My Home board. Whether it's from keeping your home safe and sound to avoiding tackling the ironing site members have offered many top tips from their wealth of experience including Keep your electrics up to date!, Sealing a large gap around the bath and Repairing double glazing.

Great 'Salespeople, tell us the best time to haggle' Hunt Result
Last week I asked MoneySavers working in sales the best time of the week/month/year to haggle in their industry. There were some great suggestions including Best time to buy a new or used car, Car insurance haggling and Time your house-buying

Andrea's Freebies Freebies, Freebies, Freebies

Go Veggie Pack, Cath Kidston Swatches, Fireworks Displays (Plymouth) Helly Hansen Stickers, Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Cream

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.

• LK Today, ITV1, Wednesday between 8:45 & 9:15am. Discussing how to survive the credit crunch and Remortgage as cheaply as possible.
• The Wright Stuff, five, Friday between 9 & 10:30am. On the expert slot giving MoneySaving advice about anything and everything.
• Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, Friday 1pm. The subject's tbc.
• GMTV, ITV1, Tuesday between 7:30 & 8am. The topic's news reactive so you'll have to wait and see!

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

This week's Martin's Blog: BA / Virgin Price Fixing… now adverts to help people get compensation.
"No I wasn't at Wimbledon" and "Filming while ill isn't fun". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

What's your favourite biscuit? This week's poll. Vote and Biccies discussion.

How much would you ask for back? Last Week’s Vote. Just 11% of you always ask for cash back regardless of the amount, while a reckless 7% claim to never do so. Perhaps showing the power of politeness, a combined 72% would never ask for less than £5 back, leaving a small 11% contingent that would. See the full How much would you ask for back? poll results.

Archna's Free Game of the Week! An old favourite! Bloons: Version 4

Fancy being a cover boy/girl? That's it for this week, but before I go, there's a fun little website which can put you on the front cover of a magazine.

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: energyhelpline.com, gocompare.com, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, onlyinsurance.com, 02.co.uk, plus.net, virginmoney.com, barclaycard.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, kaupthingedge.co.uk, talktalk.co.uk, americanexpress.co.uk. 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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