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The 15 Minute Spring Clean to save £1,000s
Specially Devised Super-Speedy Money Makeover
Try this quick, simple, direct spring clean now or over the Easter double-bank holiday weekend for serious savings in trivial minutes.
- Your rubbish is someone's treasure. Flog it! Many people make £100s flogging their spring clear-out results, see the full eBay sellers guide.
- Not at car or home insurance renewal? Save £100s anyway. Provided you've not claimed, most insurance can be cancelled with a refund or small penalty. To find a cheaper policy first combine comparison site results to get a wide quote spread Car: MSM*, GoCompare*, BTQ*, MoneyExpert*. Home: GoCompare*, MSM*, Confused*, CompareTM*. After that try for hidden cashback, full info in the car and home insurance guides.
- 5 min- benefits check up: Even some families earning £50k+ are entitled to benefits, see the 5 min benefits check up guide.
- Shift card debts to 0%: New customers with a decent credit score can shift debt to Barclaycard* at 0% for 15mths with 2.9% fee (15.9% APR after, so clear by then or shift again) or HSBC*, NatWest* and RBS* existing bank customers get the same (APRs up to 16.9% after), see: Best Balance Transfers.
- Can you reclaim £1,000s? Check you can reclaim: Council Tax, Credit Card Charges, Bank Charges, Mortgage Exit Fees, Loan Insurance.
- Typical £250 gas & elec savings: Unless you're on a newish online tariff paying monthly direct debit it's likely you can save £250ish/year and today only there's £50 extra cashback too; see below.
- Boost savings to 2.8%: If your cash ISAs are full (see below) the top easy access account from £1 is the AA's 2.8% AER variable, though after a year it'll plummet so switch. Or get higher fixed rates if you can lock cash away, see Top Savings for full info.
If your interest's piqued, why not take a full day this bank holiday weekend to blitz your finances and save big money. Start with the Free Budget Planner, then do a full Money Makeover, and a Direct Debit Audit.
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| The Ones Not To Miss |
Last Chance! Cash ISAs - the ISA year ends Mon
The ISA year's ending and if you don't use it you lose it! Full last minute best-buy guide
A cash ISA's a tax-free savings account you can put £3,600 in (£5,100 if over 50), then it stays tax free year-after-year. Yet this cash ISA year slams shut Mon 5 April and if you don't use it you lose it. 3.5% rate already gone. Huge demand means sister banks Santander and A&L have closed their 3.5% AER cash ISAs early, so unless you've already made a branch appointment you can't get it (next tax year's version will be avail from Tue 6 April at 3.2%). Best Remaining Buy: Barclays' Golden ISA pays 3.1% AER inc. 1% bonus for a year, non Barclays customers must apply in-branch by Sat (take ID), existing customers online until Monday. Last Min. Online Trick: M&S cash ISA pays 2.65%, inc. an 18 mth 1.25% bonus and is online until 1pm on Mon, by phone until 4pm. As it has no transfer penalties, open it just to beat the deadline allowing you to see if you can shift it to a higher payer later. FULL info & list of remaining best buys in the Updated Guide: Last Minute Cash ISAs Related: Cash ISA transfers, Top Savings, Safe Savings Coming Next Week: Top Deals for the 2010/11 new £5,100 ISA limit.
FREE pint of Guinness voucher. Redeem in O'Neill's, see the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers, and please be drinkaware.
Free Parking! Big city free space finders
A range of new nifty sites can find hidden free parking in big cities
We list the most useful sites, and want feedback on whether they work for you. See the Deals List: Free Parking Finders
New! Unique UK free museums & galleries guide
Free Easter days out. Science, dinosaurs, art & football. Full region by region guide
There's an amazing wealth of free museums big and small across the UK - a treasure trove of free entertainment for adults & kids alike. So we've gathered them together in a new compendium for each region with maps, opening times and tips.
What's on offer: Of course there are the big ones like London & Manchester Science Museums, or Tate Modern, yet you can also see the 1966 world cup final ball at the National football museum in Preston or check out the Greater Manchester Police Museum, the World Museum in Liverpool, the Savings Banks Museum in Dumfries or the Museum of Cannock Chase in Hednesford. Find a museum: Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland, NE England, NW England, Yorkshire & Humberside, E Midlands, W Midlands, E England, London, SE England, SW England. Browse them in the New Guide: Free Museums & Galleries Related Deals: Theme Parks, Days Out
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Dorothy Perkins 25% off code, £5 off £50 spend at Argos
New codes & vouchers! Dotty P & Argos are instant plus 20% off Office with £1.65 mag
Join 20% off codes for New Look and Jaeger. Daily Deals List: Discount vouchers
Tesco.com loophole! Buy 2 CDs and make up to £13 profit
Get 500 bonus points buying 2 selected CDs, redeemable for £5 instore but up to £20 on Clubcard Rewards
The cheapest CDs are £4 & £3 so if you'd have bought the rewards goods anyway, you're in profit. Full info: Boost Tesco Points
New! Stamp Duty Calculator - how much will you pay?
Speedily find the NEW tax on property & if you count as a 'first time buyer'
Last week Alistair Darling temporarily axed stamp duty for 'first-time buyers' on all houses worth £250,000 or less, doubling the £125,000 threshold. So we've built a new Stamp Duty Calculator & Guide to reveal how much you'll shell out & how the tinkering affects you. Stamp Duty tax - an unfair system. This isn't about the tax itself, but how it works. With every other tax, you only pay higher rates on amounts above a threshold, here you pay it on the whole amount. Eg. a first time buyer pays nowt on a £250,000 purchase, but at £250,001 it's 3% on the whole amount ie £7,500. Use the calc to see the impact. What is a first time buyer? Actually first time 'owner' is more accurate, the discount only applies if you've never owned property (even inherited) anywhere worldwide, and if buying jointly BOTH need be first timers. New Tool: Stamp Duty Calculator Related: Free House Valuations, House Buyers' Guide, Free Printed Remortgage Guide, Free Printed Mortgage Guide
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Urgent! Ends midnight. £200 cashback on 02 sim-only deals
Grab a year's £25+/mth O2 sim only tariff (inc. iPhone sim) & get a simple £200 via a cashback website
So you could get 1,200 mins & unlimited texts for the equiv of £8/mth after cashback. See the Forum Note: £200 O2 cashback
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Easter 2for1s at Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Legoland and more. These park tickets are typically £30+, but with vouchers most can be half price. Deals Note: Theme Park 2for1s
Urgent! Ends Thur. Extra £50 cashback on cheap energy switch
One tariff's giving £50 cashback ON TOP of the usual £15 cash, £35 vouch or a wine crate from comparison sites...
Most homes can save £250 switching to a cheaper energy provider. Yet currently grab Scottish Power's cheap Online Energy Saver 9 tariff via a comparison site (not direct) and you get £25 cashback each for gas & electricity on top of the usual extra freebies via the MSE links below. Is it any good? While not quite as cheap as a new tariff from Ovo, yet include the £50 cashback and it beats it in many regions; do a comparison to check your situation. Like most super-cheap tariffs (inc. Ovo), it has an exit penalty of up to £50 if you leave before 31 March 2011 - so if other prices drop a lot (not likely but not impossible) it'd diminish the switching gain. Compare, switch & get extra cashback: All the following give the £50 on top Top Pick: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch. Dual Fuel: Uswitch* free case of wine, SimplySwitch* £35 in Amazon vouchers. FULL general switching info in the Guide: Switch Gas & Elec Related: Boiler Cover, Grant Grabbing
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New! Pizza Hut 2for1, GBK £10 2 burgers & corn chips & more
Plus Prezzo £10 meal and drink, ASK 3 courses for £13.95 Easter deal, Crown Carveries 2 courses for £5
Join Brown's kids eat free this Sun & Mon and Slug and Lettuce 25% off food in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers
Sales watch! Tip off Laura Ashley 50% off starts Thur - more expected
We'll be monitoring the likely rash of sales. Already on: Topman 50% off, Oasis 70% & Very.co.uk 60%
All info on who's launched sales will be in the High Street Sales Diary which we'll be updating constantly Wed and Thurs.
PPI breakthrough. Banks agree system to ease reclaiming £1,000s
Millions with loans have been missold insurance. Banks & the Ombudsman have a new system to help
If you have a loan, credit or store card, it's highly possible you were unfairly flogged costly insurance with it. For two and a half years we've been urging people who've been missold to reclaim this cash, with over 800,000 template letters downloaded and millions paid back e.g. "Just received my offer from HSBC offering me £4,750 (£750 more than expected). Sent a letter off at the start of January, so three months to get an answer". Now it's easier: After so many cases the banks and the Ombudsman have agreed on a new initial Consumer Questionnaire which should mean complaints are processed more quickly and give banks less reason to reject your requests - we're going to use this to replace our 'stage 1' letter. Already in the process? Those at the Ombudsman already don't need to complete the form but if your complaint's with your bank it'll help to complete it when going to the Ombudsman for help. Step-by-Step info & templates: PPI Reclaiming Related: Bank Charges, Council Tax, Rate Jacking
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MoneySavers' travel guides: New York, Orlando & Vegas
If you're planning a US trip, read MoneySavers' best finds, tips, tricks & info for the major cities
When it comes to saving money, you could almost say the USA is like a different country. So the techniques needed to visit some of its amazing places vary, even by city and state. Yet, for a few years, MoneySavers in the forum's travel board have been collating tips & tricks to save. New York: Unlimited subway travel $8 a day, stay in Tribeca or Soho for hip hotels at cheaper rates & bargains at Woodbury Common shopping outlet. See the New York Savings thread. Orlando: Tips include insider Florida travel insurance tips, Disney show discounts and Orlando attraction review sites; see the Orlando Savings thread and the Cheap Disney Tickets guide. Las Vegas: Join casino players' clubs to get cheap hotel rooms, book summer flights before Xmas and get hotel upgrades for $20. See the Vegas thread. Getting there cheaply: Top pick flight comparison sites are Kayak* for power and ease, Travelsupermarket* for breadth & Skyscanner*, for full options, see the full Cheap Flights guide. Further Info: Cheap Hotels, Cheapest Travel Cards, Travel Cash Comparison
Rail strike: your rights if your train's cancelled
All 24 UK train operating companies due to be hit by industrial action between Tues 6 & Fri 9 Apr
How to ensure you get a refund or can travel no hassle on the next train. In the MSE News story: Rail strike: your rights
Free Teens Money Game (I'm addicted)
Plus... is this the start of the end of the UK's debt illiteracy? - Financial Education is a coming...
Last week, I (Martin) found myself in a 'double act' with Children's Minister Ed Balls at a conference to launch financial education to teachers (read my end of debt illiteracy? blog) in advance of it joining the curriculum in Sept 2011. As part of it I came across some great new resources... Free Online Money Board Game: I've got a wee bit hooked playing the online board game Fortunity which is designed to take 11-18yr olds through life's financial challenges, with money puzzles thrown in along the way. It's been jointly developed by the govt. & pfeg. Money Games for Younger Kids: The British Council also has some cute Money games and downloadable activities for younger children too. Teen Cash Class: If you've got a copy of last Sun's News of the World lying around, inside Fabulous mag was a copy of my new free cash class, if not you can download the original Teen Cash Class from the site. Share your money teaching tips: And please do share you tips for teaching children about money in the kids cash class forum discussion.
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| Big & Easy Ways To Save |
| Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings |
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Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Unearth the clues & find the murderer in a mix of Cluedo & Minesweeper! Cluesweeper
Magical tour. That's all for this week, but before we go... Calling all Harry Potter fans to check this London wizarding tour. It's magic!
We hope you save some money,
Martin & the MSE team
P.S. Happy Easter and Chag Sameach to all Christian & Jewish MoneySavers!
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Q. When, in the coming weeks, is a good time to buy Euros?
Lindsay
Martin's A: This is one of the most common questions I'm asked, and frankly I don't know, nor does anyone. Exchange rates fluctuate as wildly and unpredictably as shares on stock-markets. There's nothing wrong with guessing movements by buying early or holding off, but it's called currency speculation and is a gamble even highly-paid City traders don't always get right.
The pound's weak right now, but that doesn't mean it can't get weaker.
Yet if you do buy, don't leave it to the airport, as thus you're a captive customer and rates are terrible. Pre-ordering for airport pick-up is better: use The Travel Money Max to find each country's best rate or even better get a cheap travel card. |
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Discuss: When should I buy Euros?
Suggest: A question of the week
(big general issues not personal q's pls) |
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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 0EH 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 we 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 we believe transparency is important, we're including the
following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: barclaycard.co.uk, plus.net, hsbc.co.uk, natwest.com, rbs.co.uk,mbna.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, virginmoney.com, firstdirect.com, tescofinance.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, directline.com, gocompare.com, beatthatquote.com, moneysupermarket.com, moneyexpert.com, halifax.co.uk, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, homephonechoices.co.uk, uswitch.com, simplyswitch.com, homephonechoices.co.uk, kayak.co.uk, travelsupermarket.com, skyscanner.net.
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-focused 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 amongst others the News of The World, The Telegraph 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
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