Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Hoorah! Loan Insurance to Be Banned! It's a headline I've long dreamt of writing. Finally the Competition Commission's shown razor-sharp fangs; from 2010, lenders are banned from selling Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) within a week of loans or credit cards; killing their fear-based sales techniques. Plus 'single premium' PPI, where its cost is added to the loan, accruing £1,000s in interest, will be totally banned. Isn't loan insurance good? PPI's designed to cover repayments in the event of illness or unemployment. It's not the product, but the way banks sell it that’s the problem. People have been conned into buying policies costing up to 10x too much; and they’re sometimes worthless as lenders don't bother to check they actually apply to you. No surprise, lenders usually make more profit from PPI than the loan itself. The new rules are welcome, but sadly won’t happen until 2010, so in case of doubt... "DON’T BUY PPI FROM YOUR BANK!" Ever had PPI with a loan? RECLAIM £1,000s Since we launched the PPI reclaiming campaign over 400,000 free template letters have been downloaded, and every day people report being paid out £1,000s. This latest news adds huge weight to reclaimers' cases. Find what counts as misselling & free template letters at www.moneysavingexpert.com/ppi.

Week of Tue 27 Jan - Mon 2 Feb '09 (Last week's position) 1. Freebies, Freebies, Freebies (5) 2. Top Savings Accounts (3) 3. Cheap & Free Flights (2) 4. Boost Your Income (New) 5. Benefits Check-up (1) 6. Best Cash ISA(6) 7. Premium Bonds Calculator (4) 8. Balance Transfers (10) 9. Reclaim Bank Charges (8) 10. Cheap Petrol & Diesel (New) Freebies has topped the charts for the first time. Couple that with the top new entry “boost your income” (on the back of last week's new DVD/CD selling store) and it all seems a sign of the times. The above excludes daily deals notes

Thank you 8m times. In Jan a record 7.9m people visited the site 15.8m times & read 76m pages. Thanks for recommending us. Pls keep suggesting people go to moneysavingexpert.com/tips to get this email.

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The Ones Not To Miss MSE

Mortgage Arrears Help. NEW Govt schemes if you're struggling. Eligibility Checker
The economic climate means for many, fear of being unable to keep up with mortgage payments & ultimately repossession, loom large. State Help. The Govt.now has three separate schemes to either cover mortgage interest, postpone repayments or even buy your house. Eligibility Checker: Don't automatically assume state help's available, many slip between the gaps. This brand new detailed Q&A guide, includes an eligibility checker for both public protection & private mortgage insurance plus how to fight repossession. See the New Guide: Mortgage Arrears Help Related Guides: Cheap Mortgage Insurance, Remortgage Guide

New 2for1s. Prezzo, Strada, ASK & HA!HA! plus Pizza Exp £10 two-course & booze deal! These instant click n print vouchers join Burger King, GBK, Grille and more in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers

URGENT! Base rate cut likely Thurs. Fix savings/cash ISAs at 4.3% now. Updated Article
City Economists predict a 0.5% base rate cut on Thurs. Those prepared to lock money away can fix their savings pre-cut, at higher rates than the top instant access accounts. Top 1 yr fixed Cash ISA: You can fix at 3.5% both for this year's £3,600 tax-free cash ISA savings allowance AND transfer old cash ISAs in too with Northern Rock and B'ham Mids. Top 1 yr fixed savings: Indian-owned UK bank ICICI* pays 4.3%, Nigerian bank Firstsave 4.25% & while stability concerns have been raised, both have the full UK £50k savings protection. After that Ruffler pays 4.06% & B'ham Mids 3.5%. New to fixed saving? Do first read the full pros & cons in the Updated Guide Fixed Savings Related Guides: Top Savings, Cash ISAs PS. Watch 'Savers In Trouble' ITV1 Tonight Friday 8pm

Last Chance! 1st class stamp sale. Superdrug's got 5% off stamps until 14 Feb, (i.e., 34p not 36p). In April the price jumps to 39p, yet as these say "1st", they'll still be valid. So stock-up, this may be the last chance ever to buy at this low price. See the Forum Note: Stamp Down Costs

Valentines Flowers & Perfume Deals: 12 couriered red roses £20 & half price smellies
Love hurts... the pocket sometimes. To help, we're tracking the best Valentines bargains. Hand delivered roses: M&S has won the battle this year, it costs £20 if you order online by Thur 12 Feb. See the full Valentines Flowers deals note. Perfume & Aftershave: Order online and it's a fraction of the cost, but you need to order around a week ahead. Typical deals inc. Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker for £15 (£23 High St) and Burberry Touch for Men for £13 (£23 High St). To find the cheapest use the Megashopbot tool and read Cheap Perfumes

32" LCD TV with Freeview £250. Plus more HD telly bargains in the Deals Note: Cheap LCD HDTVs

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

Family & Friends Railcard 25% off code. This gets up to 4 adults & 4 kids 1/3 off adult and 60% off kids' train fares. A special code's available again cutting its price from £24 to £18. See the Deals Note: Rail and Coach Deals Related Guide: Cheap Train Fares

Last Chance! Insider Info. Amex to cut its 5% cashback deal on 10 Feb. Grab it now!
The massively market leading Amex Platinum* pays new cardholders 5% cashback on up to £4,000 spent for the first three months, then up to 1.5% afterwards. So use it for all spending & pay it off in full each month and you can earn £100s a year for nowt. What's changing? I've been tipped off that on Tue 10 Feb the intro deal will be cut, so the 5% cashback will only apply to the first £2,000 spent, meaning potentially £100 less cashback. Is there still time? All accepted applications (it has a min. income £20k rule) before then will still get the current deal, so apply ASAP if you want it. Full cashback explanation, pros, cons & alternatives in the Updated Guide: Top Cashback Cards

NEW Threshers 40% off voucher (good for Valentines Champagne) joins 20% off Debenhams, 15% off Barratts and more in the Daily Deals List: Shopping Vouchers

She saved £600/year on her mobile bill. Video of the week. Not easy being engaged to a MoneySavingExpert From £75 a month to £25 a month with one quick phone call. If you've got a mobile contract, you're holstering a serious MoneySaving weapon... loyalty. It's all about haggling; mobile companies are desperate to keep you & amazing deals are possible. The Video: It's the true story of when I first met the MSF (MoneySaving Fiance), spotted her mobile bill & said NOOOO! Luckily she quickly picked up the haggler habit. See the Full Guide & Video: Mobile Haggling Related Guide: Cheap Mobiles Vodafone mobile broadband (inc. super-fast dongle) £7.50/mth. Halve the cost of a year's contract via an easy special cashback site deal. See the Forum Note: £7.50 3G broadband Updated Guide: Cheap 3G Broadband Give-away! 50 pairs of green monster Samaritans slippers. This Fri 6 Feb is Samaritans Stress Down Day. To celebrate; there are 50 pairs of monster slippers to giveaway to MoneySavers. Pics & info in the Forum Note: Stress Down Day Slippers

New Top Balance Transfer. Lock in for LIFE at 5.9% with a 1% fee. Updated Article
Last week's new top 6.8% long term debt shifting deal's been pipped already. Long-term lock in: New customers can shift debts to MBNA's new 5.9% rate-for-life card (ie 5.9% until all the debt shifted is repaid) plus a fee of 1% of the debt transferred. Number crunching says it just beats Barclaycard Simplicity's* fee-free 6.8% for life, if you'll take over two yrs to repay. Alternatives: If you've already got an MBNA or Barclaycard, next best is Capital One offering 6.9% for 3 yrs. Top 0%: For those who can pay off quicker, Virgin* is 0% for 16mths with a 2.98% fee, Abbey Zero is 0% for six months fees-free. For more see the Updated Guide: Balance Transfers Related Guides: 0% Credit Cards, Cheap Loans

Don't Forget: Booking Flights? Use the free European flights trick. BA, BMI, Easyjet and more. Full Details: in the Cheap & Free Flights guide

Boost eBay sales revenue, by exploiting the weak pound. eBay exporting.
The pound crashing against the Euro and the Dollar could be good news if you want to flog things on eBay. Foreign buyers will find goods here relatively cheap so you can tweak your prices a bit. Attract foreign bidders. Either just opt to allow overseas buyers to bid on your regular UK auctions, or for real targeting, list on other countries’ eBay sites, but do think how you'll get it there. Full info & how to protect yourself in the Updated Guide: eBay Selling Related Guide: eBay Buying

Premium Bonds Calculator updated with Feb odds. This month's 1.8% new odds are now in the Premium Bond Probability Calculator

Reminder. Return Dover-Calais ferry + 6 bottles of wine, £19. Cheapest ever price; the wine's worth over £25! Inc. car & up to 9 passengers. Deals Note: Ferry Special

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The Big & Easy Ways to Save Checklist

Motor Insurance: Read the Car, Van or Motorbike articles Top Bank Acount: £100, 0% overdraft, free travel ins. A&L*. See Top Bank Accounts 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 New Borrowing: Best Card For Spending or Cheapest Loans Mortgage Makeover: Read the free Remortgage Guide Reclaim £1,000s: on Mortgage Fees, Council Tax, Endowments, Bank Charges, PPI Home Phone & Broadband: Tiscali* or better still read the Home Phones article Quick Cash for Old Mobiles: Love2Recycle*, Envirofone*, Mopay*. Recycle Mobiles article Teen Cash Guide: Free 40 page PDF guide to teach your kids about money Cut Car & Home Insurance! Car Insurance/ Home Insurance Cost Cutting MoneySaving Books: The Money Diet, Thrifty Ways, Three Lessons Free MoneySavingExpert Car Sticker MoneySavingExpert.com/carsticker

More MoneySaving MSE

Charcol now charges £250 for its once free online/phone service. Updated Article On Monday, mortgage broker Charcol added a £250 fee to its previously free online and telephone service (and upped the face-to-face fee to £250 too). Why's it done this? Sadly, the brokerage industry is hurting; less lenders are paying commission, and less people are getting new deals. This is bad for consumers as brokers are on the whole good news. Should I still use a broker? Yes, they're still the most effective way to find the best deal & some fees-free brokers still exist. Though always read up first, and check direct deals on top. Full info in the Updated Guide: Mortgage Finding Related Guides: Remortgage Guide, Mortgage Guide Great 'MoneySaving While Job Hunting' Hunt Whether you’re unemployed now, have been in the past or expect to be in the future, I’d like to tap MoneySavers’ wealth of knowledge to draw up a compendium of good MoneySaving tips for people job hunting. Add your ideas/read other peoples': Great 'MoneySaving While Job Hunting' Hunt Past Great Hunts: Recession Survival, Blag by Threatening To Leave, Financial Mistakes 50% off Nat. Express coaches for over 60s. Normally Sat-Thurs, it's extended to all week throughout Feb. More info in the Deals Note: Cheap UK Travel MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you ask for your tip back? After a £40 meal and drink for two in a perfectly pleasant restaurant, you pay by card, tap in the gratuity, and type in your pin. Once the receipt prints out you realise instead of the £4 (10%) tip you meant to give, you've given £14 ( 35%). The service was fine but not special. Do you take the hit or ask the waitress for the tip back? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Would you ask for your tip back?. Previous MMDs: View All CHEAP FLIGHTS SALES ALERT Airline: BMI Baby. Price: sub. £30 e/w. Ends: When seats sell out. My top pick budget airline sale this week is BMI Baby's sale, with flights to a host of European destinations from a range of UK airports for between £13.99 and £29.99 each way (including most taxes and charges). Tickets are at this price until they sell out, on selected flights travelling between now and 30 April '09. 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 £30. Non-Budget Airline Tools: These are listed in the Cheap Flights guide. Related Travel MoneySaving: Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance, Mobile Roaming

Q. I live off my monthly savings interest; so my income's been slashed due to the rate cuts. Any way I can take advantage of the high interest from fixed rate savings? A. With fixed savings you lock your money away and usually don't get paid monthly interest. Yet there's a work-around. Here's an example (ignoring tax for ease of explanation) based on a real-life scenario. A couple have £100,000, and could get 5% in a year long fixed account or 3% in an instant access. They'd like roughly five grand of interest from these savings to supplement their income. If they put £95,000 in the fixed account, and £5,000 in the instant access then spend the instant access money over the year, knowing the £4,750 interest earned in the fixed account will make up for it - they're effectively getting the high rate and spending the interest. See Top Fixed Rate Savings Discuss: Living off Fixed Savings Interest Suggest: A question of the week

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

12 Lucozade Alert for £1 In Farmfoods Can you get them? Four Avon items for a fiver Take your pick Have a child with diabetes? Free Ruler, pencils & bag Plus name a mascot Spent in H&M 24 Jan 09? Some were double-charged Check your statement Revlon lipstick £2 For Sky customers Check your mag Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: Diary of a compulsive spender Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: What's your secret ingredient?

Board of the Week: Disability & Dosh
Three months ago I set up a new forum board, Disability & Dosh, specifically for those with disabilities to discuss and share MoneySaving ideas or tips. This includes mobility issues, and long term health issues like partial hearing or Cancer. Current discussions include Stairlift for disabled child, Haggling with a motability dealer and Bank account for severely learning disabled

Great 'Haggle Down Rent' Hunt Result Last week I called upon renting MoneySavers to offer top tips on how to cut the cost in the Haggle Down Rent Hunt. Suggestions included Show your landlord the evidence, Be a good tenant and Look for an empty property

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Andrea's Freebies Freebies, Freebies, Freebies

The Doves Download, Anne Frank Teaching Resources, Spelling Bee Tree of Life Poster, Vagisil Wipes

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.

• Wed, Moneybox Live, BBC Radio 4, 3pm. Debt & borrowing phone in.
• Thur, GMTV, sometime 8:30 - 9:30am. Deals of the Week.
• Fri, Tonight with Trevor McDonald, ITV1, 8pm. Savers in Trouble.

This week's Martin's Blog: ‘Doing millionaire’…. and I’m petrified
"Misspelling misselling" and "MAMMOTH Comedy Star at tiny venue… ". Read m'blogs (or RSS users access)

Should we trade with China? This week's poll. Vote and Human Rights discussion

You're no closer to the brink than three months ago. Last Week's Vote. Happily, it seems finances haven't worsened since the recession became official. In fact, a combined 38% voted that your finances are good this time around, compared to 35% last time. At the the dangerous end of the scale there was no change; a combined 12% voted they've serious problems. See Recession 2009 poll results

Archna's Free Game of the Week! Quick & addictive space shooting game Space Pips

The Incredible Comping MoneySavers. In a nutshell... Radio Quiz. MoneySaver told she needed three friends to enter. She found them asap on the forum. They played. They won a trip of a lifetime to New Orleans. They’ve never met but they’re all off together. Read the full Incredible Compers tale.

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: alliance-leicester.co.uk, icicibank.com, amex.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, moneysupermarket.love2recycle.com, envirofone.com, mopay.com, virgin-money.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 is GMTV’s Money SavingExpert and 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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