New FREE printed 30 page MSE Annuity Guide
Crucially important for those at or near retirement - £30,000 gain possible
It's the biggest single financial decision of your life. Converting your private pension into an annuity is a one shot affair, get it wrong & you miss out on big money year after year. What is an annuity? It's a product most people must buy with their pension fund that pays a regular income until death. WARNING! Never just accept your provider's deal. A shocking two thirds use their pension company's annuity, yet you've a legal right to go elsewhere. A 65-year-old man with a £100,000 pension fund may get just £6,460 a year from his pension provider, while the best pays £7,740. Live to 90 and that's a £32,000 difference. New free printed guide: We've a full guide to boost your income, getting advice, alternatives to annuities, other types of pensions, benefits & more. New Free Annuity Guide: Order a printed guide or get Instant PDF download or More Guide Info Other Free MSE Guides: Remortgaging, Mortgages
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32" HD-Ready LCD TV now £237
Plus 37" Full HD Techwood set for £329, and buying tips
Cheap if you can afford one. Many more HD telly bargains in the Deals Note: Cheap LCD HDTVs
Free Ideal Home Show tickets worth £10 (only 10,000 available)
We've blagged tickets for MoneySavers, valid Sat-Fri
Use a code for a free ticket for the show at London's Earl's Court also 2for1 anytime until 5 April. See Deals Note: Days Out
New Tool! Amazon Secret Discounts Finder
Swiftly builds SUPER-SPECIFIC pages of Amazon's hidden 75%+ OFF deals inc. DVDs, beauty, cameras
As we've been blown away by the popularity of the Amazon secret bargain basement pages, we've built a new tool to take it to the next level. What is Amazon's secret bargain basement? It's where we've (legitimately) manipulated its web links to display all 75%-99% OFF bargains in its 20 main sections like DVDs*, Video Games* and Clothing*. New Amazon Discount Finder Tool: This new tool allows you to create your own super-specific sub-department pages in seconds. You then choose the discount level and if you want free delivery, so it could be Toys & games 75%+ off*, childrens books 75%+ off* or Nintendo Wii games 50%+ off * and scores more. Try the New Tool & Guide: Amazon Hidden Discount Finder Related: Cheap Online Shopping, Mega shopping comparison, Ebay Buying Tricks
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Energy price cuts. Don't be fooled - switch now & save £200+
British Gas 7% gas price cut. Others may follow. Yet you can save MUCH more
British Gas's relatively paltry GAS-ONLY 7% price cut on its standard tariff left it still £250 more a year than the cheapest deals (including British Gas's own cheaper deals). Will others' prices drop? Energy companies are like sheep, when one bleats others follow, so more small price cuts are likely. Should I wait to compare 'n' switch? You may think, "why not wait until they've all cut prices?". Yet for most people switching savings now are enormous, as a hidden price war's been raging for 6 months as companies fight to provide the cheapest online tariffs (typically £900/year compared to standard £1,200 tariffs), so waiting means paying more for longer. Though for safety avoid tariffs with substantial lock-in fees in case it's worth switching again later. Compare, switch & get cashback: (cashback specifically via these special links) Top Pick Comparison: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch. Dual Fuel: Either Moneysupermarket* gives £30 cashback, Uswitch* free case of wine or SimplySwitch* £35 in Amazon vouchers. For FULL info see the Updated Guide: Switch Gas & Elec Related: Cheap Boiler Cover, Grant Grabbing
No-Min Spend Vouchers: Body Shop £5 (in £1.80 paper), Kurt Geiger £15 (in £4 mag)
Plus new shopping vouchers: 25% off Warehouse (in £3.60 mag) or instant 20% off Boden
These join ASOS 20%, Ocado £15 off £60 and masses of new codes in the Daily Deals List: Discount Vouchers
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New! Pizza Express 2for1, Pizza Hut & Caffe Uno 50% off
Restaurant Vouchers (not valid on Valentine's)! Also Prezzo 2for1 & Ha ha £10 off £20 spend
Joins Burger King 2for1s, Brasserie Gerard 50% off and more. See the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers
Quick! Extra Fast 20Mbps Broadband just £6.66 a month
Get 2mths free & £70 cashback on O2 fast broadband - normally £15/mth (£10 for existing mobile customers)
O2 is giving two months free on its fast unlimited download Premium home broadband package. Plus get it via comparison site SimplifyDigital* before next Tue and you get £70 cashback. Over the year long contact that's effectively £6.66/mth (£2.50/mth for existing mobile customers). Though first check if it's available in your area and at what speed (o2 availability check). How fast? Broadband's mostly advertised as up to 8Mbps (do a speed test) but in practice it's much slower - hopefully this will be at least twice as fast as it's up to 20Mbps. Want even faster? A fortnight ago the next gen. fibre optic BT Infinity* 40Mpbs deal launched, though availability is limited (use the link to check) and it's £25/mth. Cheapest Standard Broadband: For standard speeds (suitable for all but heavy downloaders), Plusnet's* £5.99/mth gives a reasonable 10GB downloads. Updated Guide: Cheap Broadband Related Guides: £9.15 phone line rental, Cheapest Mobiles
£15 Eurotunnel Day Returns (usually £44)
Half term Folkestone-Calais returns for cars, vans & motorbikes incl. all passengers. Go quick!
There are 5,000 tickets at the £15 price only for trips 16-18 Feb. See the Deals note: £15 Eurotunnel returns
Beat April's Stamp Price Rise with 5% off NOW
Superdrug's selling 1st class at 37p (usually 39p) til 13 Feb. Prices hit 41p in April, but these stay valid
Provided they say '1st' and not the price they're valid after the price rise, so stock up! See the Deals Note: 5% off stamps
New Top Quick Fix Savings: 3.5% for 9mths or 3.3% for six
Locking in for a short time can substantially boost your interest - new top deals available
The top fixed rate savings currently pay much more than the best instant access deals and the rate you get's guaranteed, though you sacrifice access to your cash. Some pundits predict high inflation means interest rates will rise later on in 2010; if that happens getting a longer fix now may mean missing out on higher interest later. Yet a range of new short term fixes provide a nice half way house. New sub-1 year top payer: Niche private bank Raphaels (min. £5,000) pays 3.52% AER fixed for 9 mths or 3.33% AER for 6mths, though go quick as only a small amount's available. Top 1 year fix: Online bank Firstsave offers 3.65% AER (min £1,000). Top longer fixes: ICICI* pays 4.25% AER (min £1,000), or 4.7% over a three year period. Top Easy Access: To have access to your cash Coventry BS's* 1st Class Postal account pays 3.15% AER, inc. a 1.15% bonus lasting a year (min £1,000), but limits withdrawals to 4 a year. Are these all protected: All accounts above are UK registered (including Indian backed ICICI and Nigerian First Save) meaning they've the FULL £50,000 per person UK savings safety guarantee. FULL info and alternatives including the top 1yr fixes in the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Safe Savings
Urgent! 14 days at Universal Orlando £75 (usually £106 for 7 days)
Valid at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure & new Harry Potter park. Buy by 15 Feb, valid all 2010
This is a special short term deal available through a web discounter. See the Updated Guide: Cheap Disney Tickets
1,000,000 Premier Hotels £29 Easter & Summer rooms (usually £50-£100)
These have just been released for its 500 UK hotels and are available for stays until 30 August 2010. Usual cost c. £50-£100
Though you must book over 21 days in advance. See the Deals Note: Hotel Sales Related: Cheap Hotel booking
Warning! Check if your card APR's being hiked. You can REJECT it.
Capital One & others writing to customers to increase interest rates... act QUICKLY to avoid it
The 'rate-jacking' phenomena is continuing apace. Many companies are at it, but, in particular, many letters are being sent to Capital One customers announcing spring rate increases. e.g. 13% up to 18% How much this costs: In this example, someone with a £3,000 debt making just min. repayments would see the cost rise by a mammoth £1,065 by the time the card is cleared. Know your rights - you can REJECT rises. A little known rule was launched by the Govt in Jan 2009, which means if you agree not to borrow more they must allow you to keep repaying existing debts at the current rate, stopping the rate rise in its tracks. Yet you must respond within what's called a 'reasonable period' so go quick to be sure. Full step-by-step help and other options in the Full Guide inc. Template Letters: Reject Rate Rises Also see MSE News Capital One Rate Jacking Related: Cut card costs without new credit, Check Your Credit Rating
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Cheapest ever antihistamine tablets - £3.10 for 3 mths!
Until this Friday only. Online chemist selling 30 tablets for 5p (min 90) but with £2.95 p&p
Online chemist PharmacyFirst's selling Cetirizine Dihydrochloride (generic Zirtec) antihistamine - legit, but delivery can be slow. See Updated Guide: Cheap Hayfever Tablets
New Top Cashback Card - Earn £100s a year
New 1% on everything card is best-buy if you've already got/had Amex Platinum...
If you're debt free, never just spend on your debit card, use a cashback card for extra consumer protection plus you can EARN £100s a year. Yet only do this if you ALWAYS repay in full each month so there's no interest, otherwise focus on lower interest. Top Payer: Amex Platinum* pays a huge 5% intro cashback for 3 months, then up to 1.25% , making it a big winner in year one, yet after that it only wins for £11,000/year spending. It's also worth noting a few places don't accept it. New Top non-Amex: The Capital One World Mastercard pays 1% on everything you buy, and bizarrely an automatic annual £10 cashback bonus, which helps offset its £18 annual fee. Weighing it all up that makes it the best non-Amex option if you spend £1,600/year, just beating Egg Money which pays 1% but has a £12 annual fee. Top Lower Spenders' Card: For under £1,600 , the Bank of Ireland wins paying 0.5% on the first £15k spent per year. FULL info, more best buys, and options in the Updated Guide: Cashback Cards Related: Shift debts to 0% for 16 mths, Get 0% for 12mths on spending
Beware loan email from 'Martin Lewis'. Full info in the MSE News story: Beware loan email
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