Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Free Card Guard! New lost & stolen card cancelling tool MSE's Cardsgone.com. Free, safe, auto-updated credit, debit & membership cards These days most of us carry more plastic than a Barbie accessory set. Lose a bag, wallet or purse and the gut-wrenching is compounded by remembering what's in it and having to find the numbers to cancel everything. MSE's New Cardsgone.com: We've built a free site, Cardsgone.com, that does this for you, without us storing any of your personal info and data. Simply plug in what's in your wallet and you can print out and store the right numbers to call. Plus you get a unique link to click anytime, which'll update any future number changes. Be wary: If this print out were combined with other info it could aid ID fraud, so store it safely, ensure your computer's secure and never write down personal details on it. Full info & security tips in the New Tool: Cardsgone.com Related: Free Anti Virus Software, Free ID Fraud Help

Urgent! Ends Fri. Free £5 at Debenhams beauty
£5 off voucher with no min spend so you could grab a freebie - works on all Debenhams stocked brands
You need to get a Beauty Club reward card in-store and activate it before Fri. See the Deals Note: Beauty Vouchers

What do you want us to ask Brown, Cameron & Clegg? MSE's putting questions to them; please vote in the poll to select questions. Plus see the consumer elements of the Labour, Conservative & Lib Dem manifestos.

Cheap iPhones inc. new deal from Tesco Mobile For 16GB iPhone 3G S. £200 then £35/mth for 750 mins unltd data over 12mths iPhones aren't MoneySaving. You can get massively more minutes at much lower cost elsewhere (see Cheap Mobiles). Yet, if you're going to get one... New Best-Buy: Tesco Mobile, which piggybacks on O2's network, was already top pick, as, uniquely, its contract lasts a year, not 18mths, and when that ends you can unlock and get MUCH cheaper tariffs. Yet it only had a relatively low user tariff before; now its new deal is £200 then £35/mth for a 16GB phone, for 750min and unlimited data & texts. Compare this to Orange's £189 and £35/mth with fewer minutes (600) and worse, over 18mths. Cheaper refurbs & haggles: O2 has some 8GB refurbs you can get free if you sign up to its iPhone contract. Better still, existing O2 users who threaten to leave (see Mobile Haggling) have reported getting new 3G S iPhones free and on lower tariffs. Buy on eBay: Buy right and you can get a decent unlocked, unused iPhone off eBay for £230 and then put any cheap Sim card in. Old iPhone users trick: If you're out of contract on an O2 iPhone, it has a £15/mth for 600mins and unltd data & texts deal you can switch to (otherwise you'll pay £40/mth for the same thing). FULL info and much more help in the Deals Note: Cheap iPhones Related News: New top iPhone tariff Related Guides: Cheap Mobiles, Mobile Contracts

Shoe special! Shudoo 20% off code, Clarks 20% off £60 voucher
Plus online codes for Barratts 15% off £60, Aldo, Sportshoes & Hotter Shoes 10% off, Office 5% off
And sales at Office, Schuh and Oli. Info on all codes, vouchers & discounts in the New Deals List: Cheap Shoe Deals

Free Starbucks coffee! Thurs 15 April only. Take your own (large) flask to Starbucks this Thurs only & get a free espresso based coffee, worth up to £3.30. More in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Deals

BOOST old cash ISA interest by up to 27 times!
New ISA year consolidation & transfers best-buys. Urgently check old rates, some have dropped to 0.1%
The new ISA year's a week old, prompting many to check their old cash ISAs and discover pitiful rates as low as 0.1%. So we've compiled the best transfers, allowing you to combine old ISAs, and if you want to transfer this year's new £5,100 allocation too. Easy Access Best-Buys: If you've over £9k sister banks A&L* & Santander* Direct ISAs pay 2.75% AER (note this is a different ISA to the best-buy for new money). Though those include a hefty 2.25% year's bonus, so diarise its end and transfer again then. For those with less, Birmingham Midshires (min £500) pays 2.7% AER, including a 15mth 1% bonus, though existing Nationwide card account customers can get 2.75% including a 1% bonus until end June 2011. Fixed Transfer Best-Buys: You can earn more by getting a fixed-rate ISA, although this means locking your cash away with big penalties if you need to withdraw early. 1 Year: The top payer for a year is Cheshire BS (min. £1,000) at 3% AER. 2 Years: Halifax's fixed ISA pays 3.5% AER for 2 years (min £500). 3 Years: Julian Hodge bank pays 3.9% AER for 3 years (min £5,100). Any worries consolidating? If it pushes your combined savings with one institution over the £50,000, you're no longer within the UK savings safety limit. Plus don't withdraw cash to transfer, as you'd lose the tax free status! Always set up the new cash ISA and ask it to move the money for you. FULL info & best buys in the Updated Guide: Transfer Your ISAs Just want a new year ISA?: 3.2% Cash ISAs Related: Safe Savings, Top Savings

Travelodge £9 UK 30,000 autumn room sale
Starts 6am Thur 15 Apr. Available for Sept - Nov stays, usual cost c. £29 -£59
The key to bagging them's to get in quick. See the Deals Note: Travelodge Sale Related: Cheap Hotels, Hotel Sales

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Biggest ever Alton Towers discount! £17 adult, £12 kids tix
Just instantly print a voucher to get tickets at less than half price (norm £38/£29), valid until July
Joins Sea Life 50% off & 2for1 theme parks in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Theme Parks Related: Cheap Disney Tickets

New top cards for spending AND balance transfers
Either short term 0% for a year or get a standard APR of 6.9% on purchases and shifted debt
A spate of 'all-rounder' cards has landed, letting you both cut existing debt costs and get cheap new borrowing, protecting credit scores, as it's only one application. Though with new borrowing, only spend if you need to, minimise the amount and plan repayments. 0% for 12mths on both: Accepted new Virgin* customers get 0% for 12 mths on spending & balance transfers (with a one-off 2.98% fee), and now, provided you're an active Nectar cardholder, Sainsbury's matches it, but with a slightly higher 3% balance transfer fee. Ensure you've repaid in full or transfer by the end of the year, or the rates jump to 18.9% & 15.9% APR respectively. 6.9% Standard APR: For a long term stable rate, the Halifax* Easy Rate card has reduced its APR to 6.9% for purchases & fees free balance transfers. While it's a 'variable' rate, under the rate jacking rules, it can't increase rates in the first year & if it does after, you can reject the rise provided you agree not to borrow any more. Though the 6.9% is 'typical' rate which means only 2/3 of accepted applicants get it. 15 mths 0% Shifted Debt: Cards from HSBC*, NatWest* or RBS* all offer 0% for 15mths with a 2.9% fee (up to 16.9% after) though you need their bank accounts to get it, otherwise Santander is 0% for 15mths with a 3% fee (15.9% APR after). 0% spending + clubcard points: Alternatively, while the Tesco* card only matches the 0% for 12mths above, it gives Clubcard points on spending too (16.9% APR after). Updated Guides: Top 'All-rounder' Cards, Top Purchase Cards, Best Balance Transfers

Any Pizza Express pizza £6.20, La Tasca 50% off & rumoured M&S Dine-In £10
New restaurant vouchers! Also ha ha £10 off £20, Prezzo £10 meal 'n' drink deal and Ask 2for1 for £1
Join Zizzi 2for1 for £1, Strada 2 mains for £12 and £10 GBK 2xburgers 'n' corn chips in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers

25% off BodyShop.co.uk code & free VIE at Home eyeshadow (£2.50 p&p)
Plus 3for£10 Toni & Guy haircare (c. £7/each), free Elemis perfume & free Estee Lauder mascara sample
Join Glamour mag giveaways & 50% off Crabtree & Evelyn. See full info in the Daily Deals List: Beauty Deals

Car Insurance: "My renewal was £2,003 now it's £576" Don't feel you're stuck with massive costs - this proves serious savings are possible Normally we focus on the MSE car insurance technique's record result of 96p (£120.96 with £120 cashback). Yet MoneySaver Scalwal-photog's forum post is eloquent proof that even with hefty bills you can cut costs. First combine comparisons: "My insurance renewal quote this year was £2,003! I followed MSE's step by step instructions: using the comparison sites I got the quote down to £800ish." This means combining web comparison sites in the right order to get the maximum search - currently MoneySM*, GoCompare*, BTQ*, MoneyExpert*. Then tricks to shave it further: "Adding both my retired parents to my policy swiped another £150 off the cost; tweaking my job description on the Car Insurance Job Picker from photographer to wedding photographer saved £120; I then paid the premium all in one payment on a 0% credit card; final cost £576, over 70% off". For more tips including cashback deals, see the Full Guide: Car Insurance Related: Home Insurance, Cheap Petrol, Cheap MOTs

Waitrose £10 off £75 spend. Vouchers in the £2ish Sat & Sun Telegraphs, valid until 25 April, use in-store or online. See Daily Deals List: Discount Vouchers

£80 four-day holiday park family trips (usually c. £300)
Collect tokens in The Sun for 314 European holiday parks for 31 May - 10 Sept '10 holidays.
An ever-popular deal, the paper's cost is tiny compared to possible savings. See the Deals Note: Sun Holidays

The Great 'Is your food shrinking?' Hunt Spill on groceries that are getting smaller, eg, food, drink & household goods No, you're not dreaming, your groceries really are shrinking in manufacturers' latest wheeze to drop product sizes, but keep prices the same. To help break through this, we want to tap MoneySavers' knowledge for top brands they suspect are downsizing. Reports so far: There've already been some great tip-offs, inc. a kids' juice drink dropping from 1.5lt to 1lt; pasta sauces 400g instead of 500g; and meat pastes 75g from 100g. Add your ideas/read other people's: Great 'Shrinking Foods' Hunt Past Great Hunts: View all Last chance! Registering to vote in gen. election ends next Tues. Use 192.com to check if you're registered, though if you've just done it or opted out of the public register, you need to check with your local electoral registration office. How to register: Use Aboutmyvote

£125 cashback on fast, reliable Virgin broadband
10Mbps fibre-optic deal, plus phone line rental for under £15/mth. Good for low callers.
Sign up via comparison site Simplify Digital* before 23 April for £125 easy cashback inc. installation & 2mths free broadband, wk/end calls and it's under £15/month all-in. The phone's not cheap though, so it's best for low or override users. See the Forum Note: £125 Virgin Cashback Related: £6 mth Broadband

Got a real-life money moral dilemma? Each week we do money moral dilemmas (see 'Should my girlfriend pay rent?' below & previous dilemmas), from the serious to the fun. We'd love real-life dilemmas, so if you're faced with a cash-related moral quandary, please email it to MMD@moneysavingexpert.com

Great 'What discounts can I get when I'm 60?' Hunt Result
Around a fifth of the population are 60 years old or over, so it's no wonder some companies (plus the Government) offer extra discounts and incentives to tempt the group's custom and loyalty. Last week we asked MoneySavers where these discounts can be had. There were some fab suggestions, including cheap travel, Boots discounts and discount theatre tickets.

Last week's nPower boiler cover. In a few early versions of the email, we didn't make it clear enough the 50% cashback was only for nPower energy customers. If you got it without realising email us asap on contactteam@moneysavingexpert.com and we'll help sort it. Related: Cheap Boiler cover

FREE UK Aware eco-show tickets worth £10
We've blagged MoneySavers 10,000 tickets to the show at London's Olympia this Fri & Sat. Joins London Eye 2for1 with National Rail tickets, 1p bowling & loads more in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

Got Nectar points? Double value at Ask! Use Nectar points to pay at Ask and currently 500 points = £5, double their normal value. See the Deals Note: Restaurant Vouchers

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline: BMI Baby Price: 50% off fares Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is BMI Baby's 50% off e/w sale: It's for Sun 31 Oct '10 - Sat 26 March '11 travel to a range of European destinations from Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Manchester and Bournemouth airports. To find them quickly use the FlightChecker on a max search between £10 and £50. Extra Charges Warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges, see the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance

Free Book Giveaway! 'The World's Best Wines 2009-2010'. 50 copies blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?

Real MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Should my girlfriend pay rent in my mortgage-free home?
Real life MMD posted by justwondering25. My girlfriend's moving into the house I own outright, but we can't decide on how much rent she should pay. I suggested the amount of interest I'd earn if half the property's value was tucked away in a savings account (plus half the bills, of course). But she thinks I'm profiting from our relationship progressing. I worked hard to pay off the mortgage years ago, so surely it's common sense. Or am I being mean? Enter the real life Money Moral Maze: Should my girlfriend pay rent in my mortgage-free home? Previous MMDs: View All Suggest: A Money Moral Dilemma

BOARD OF THE WEEK: Up your income
Tips, advice & ideas to boost your income by £100s
If you need some extra cash the Boost Your Income guide lists a multitude of ways. To supplement this the Up your income board is full of tips, advice & helpful answers from MoneySavers chatting about what works best from mystery shopping to tutoring to survey stashing. Recent discussions include being a care worker, selling knitted items and afternoon jobs.

Most bank customers haven't visited for at least a month, 13,506 voted
With the rise of online banking it seems physical branches are becoming less and less relevant; more than half of those polled (53%) said they hadn't visited theirs at all in the last month. On the flipside, 24% had been in the last week, and 22% in the last month. See Bank in it poll results.

Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Strategic maze puzzle game. Tilox

Take one Diet Coke & one Mentos and DUCK! That's all for this week, but before we go, watch two whacky scientists create a fountain display to rival Las Vegas's Bellagio, using the coke and Mentos method. Coke experiment!

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team