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Inflation hits 4.4% - check and beat rising prices
Calculate your personal inflation rate. Prices are soaring
March's Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation figures have been revealed as a whopping 4.4% meaning most of the goods it measures are on the up...
- Calculate your personal inflation rate. It depends on what you spend your money on, use the Office of National Statistics' Personal Inflation Calculator, then discuss your inflation rate in the forum.
- Petrol UP 25% (in a year). The weak pound & sky-high oil prices have pushed prices to record £1.20 highs. Yet save up to 30% with 3 steps: buy petrol cheaper, make your car more efficient & drive more smoothly. Full guide: Cheap Petrol/Diesel.
- Train fares UP 8%. Even avoiding the roads can't protect you. Yet you can seriously save on rail fares: get advance tickets late (even on way to station), use hidden railcards, and split your tickets (buying multiple constituent tickets for one journey). Full guide: Cut Train Ticket Costs Related: Train Deals
- Foreign hols UP 7.1% (UK hols up only 0.6%). We're not going to tell you where to spend your hard-earned time off, but going abroad is pricier. To hammer costs down...Full guides: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Travel Money, Package Hols, Car Hire, Travel Insurance
- Smoking UP 6.5%. Smoking hits your wealth as well as your health - not just the cost of fags either, being a smoker could add £40,000 to the cost of financial products over 20 years. Full Guide: Stop smoking the MoneySaving way
- DIY costs UP 6.5%. See below for how to save...
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Water bills UP 4.7%. As a rough rule of thumb, if there are more bedrooms in your house than people, check out getting a free meter (barring Scotland) you could save £100s. Full Guide: Water bills
- Energy Bills DOWN c. 6% (but still save c. £250). Some good news...since last year's highs, gas is down 4.4%, electricity 7.5%. Yet many homes are still wasting c.£250/year by not using the cheapest online tariffs. Full guide & cashback: Cheap Gas & Electricity
And these are just the tip of the iceberg, if you've spare time this bank holiday use the full Money Makeover guide to slash the cost of everything you spend on.
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| The Ones Not To Miss |
MSE leaders debate: bank charges, energy bills, petrol, savings etc
We questioned Brown, Cameron & Clegg ... read & compare their answers
Too often politicians focus on the big things that are tough to change, when what we really want is for them to fix the day-to-day problems. So we pushed & got access to Brown, Cameron, Clegg plus the SNP's Alex Salmond & Plaid Cymru's Ieuan Wyn Jones to answer the core issues. Read their answers: We asked detailed questions on the following subjects - here are direct links to their answers on petrol prices, bank charges, house prices, mortgages, council tax & water rates, energy bills, savings accounts, stamp duty, credit cards & financial education in schools. Quotes include: GB, "We're 100% committed to bringing back legislation that makes financial education compulsory", DC, "I've... been confronted by some astronomical (petrol) bills... with a fair stabiliser when oil prices rise, fuel duty will fall" and NC, "while retrospective legislation's usually a bad idea - I believe the banks have a moral obligation to pay them back". The others' answers on these subjects are in the Full Q&A: The MSE Leaders Debate Related: MSE Consumer Manifesto, Bank Charges, Stamp Duty Calc, Petrol cost cutting
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Urgent! £1 Cineworld ticket any time, any film (worth up to £10)
Buy from special website, 50,000 avail but likely to go very quick. Tickets avail. up to 5 June
One ticket per person, up to two per household, so couples can both sign up. See the Daily Deals List: Days Out
Special code gets £10 off/NIGHT at 10,000s 3-5 star UK & worldwide hotels
The mammoth room broker Hotels.com has given us a code with no-min spend, inc. Radisson & Hyatt etc
It's £10 off/night & you can stay up to 28 nights. Valid for stays until 30 June '10. See the Deals Note: Hotel Sales
DIY & Home Deals! Inc. B&Q 15% off £50+, Robert Dyas £10 off £50
Plus M&S £50 with garden furniture, Dobbies 20% off online, Dwell 20% off (in mag)
It's a bank holiday this weekend, so with many spending time on DIY, homes & gardens we've dug up the best vouchers, codes & sales. In-Store Offers inc: We've been tipped off that starting Fri B&Q's doing 15% off £50+ in store, plus you'll get a free 10% off discount card valid throughout May. M&S' offering a free £50 gift card when you buy an outdoor furniture or conservatory set (starts from £199) from Thurs. Also, get 20% off at Dwell and The White Company in store with mags. Online Codes inc: Robert Dyas £10 off £50 & £20 off £100, Homebase 15% off indoor furniture, Dobbies 20% off, Sainsbury's home & garden £10 off £100, Haysom Lighting 18% off, Wallpaper Direct 15% off, Tooled Up 10% off. Sales: Wickes up to 33% off. Free Manuals & More: As well as all the deals, we've also included a mass of MoneySaving tips such as how to find instruction manuals for free online, where to nab free DIY store loyalty cards, the cheapest places to get spare parts and more. Full info on these & ALL the discounts, sales 'n' codes in the New Deals List: DIY, Home & Garden Deals
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UK-wide restaurants 2for1 discount card for £1 (usually £35)
The 'Gourmet Card' gets you 2for1, 50% off & other discounts for six months at 3,500 UK restaurants
The offer runs until 4 May or until the 20,000 are gone, so go quick. Full details in the Deals Note: £1 Gourmet Society Card
Touche Éclat £15.50, Free Body Shop £5 (in paper), Free £10.50 Nails Inc. (in mag)
New Beauty deals! Also includes free VIE at Home £8 eyeshadow (pay £2.50 P&P) & Boots No.7 voucher
All these deals plus half price Stila make-up in the Daily Deals List: Beauty Deals
New top savings: 2.8% AER easy-access, clean rate
Most accounts have intro bonus, this doesn’t. But over 1 w/d per year & there's minor interest loss
There's a new top player in the savings market - matching the rate of the current top deal, but with a different range of pros and cons. New Top easy-access rate: Over the last year, most top easy access rates had short-term intro bonus hikes, meaning you must switch AGAIN after a year-ish to keep interest high. The Halifax* Websaver Extra bucks this trend, paying 2.8% AER from £1 with no bonus (or 3% if you've any Halifax current account), though as it's a variable rate it could drop, so you still need to monitor it. It allows one penalty-free withdrawal a year, make more & you lose 30 days' interest, though only on the amount withdrawn. Alternative top deals: For unlimited penalty free withdrawals the Halifax's sister bank The AA also pays 2.8% from £1 easy-access, but this includes a 2.3% bonus for a year. For a higher rate Whiteaway Laidlaw pays 3% but you need give 60 days notice for ANY withdrawals. FULL info including fixed rate lock-in deals paying up to 4.35% and full safety info in the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Cash ISAs, Safe Savings
Loophole! 2x DVDs/games + sweets + popcorn + 2L bottle £5 at Blockbuster
Avail. EVERY week! New deal supposedly for T-mobile customers but find out how ANYONE can get it
Just grab a free T-mobile Sim card and send a special text (for free). FULL info in the Deals Note: £5 movie deal
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Just released Avatar DVD or Blu-Ray £8! No need to be blue at that price! See the Forum Note: Cheap Avatar DVD & Blu-Ray
New! £60 M&S voucher on 17% off Aviva Home Insurance
Major new building & contents deal on the 'we're not on comparison sites' insurer - lasts 3 wks
Until 16 May, specifically through this link, we've blagged a £60 M&S voucher from Aviva* (Norwich Union as was) on top of its long term '12 mths for 10' deal on combined buildings & content cover if you've 3+yrs no claims. The reason for focusing on this is it's one of two big competitive insurers that don't appear on comparison sites. ALWAYS do a full comparison as well: Just because it's a promo doesn't mean it's cheapest, get as many quotes as possible. The easiest way is combining the results of as many comparison sites as you've time for - our order is GoCompare*, MSP*, Confused*, CompareTM*. More promos: Within these results you should also see Sainsbury's new £50 shopping voucher promo (plus 15% off combined buildings and contents cover) - though also check Direct Line*, as it's not in comparison sites either. When using the code 'internet' you get half price contents, buildings or both (more promos listed in the guide). FULL info on this and how to check for hidden cashback (you can't do it on top of the current Aviva deal) see the Step-By-Step Guide: Cheap Home Insurance. Related: Car insurance, Boiler cover, Van, Bike
New 2for1s at Pizza Hut, Caffe Uno & free plate at London YO!Sushis
Plus O' Neill's 2 burgers 'n' chips for £5 & Brasserie Gerard 2for1 and 50% off La Tasca
Join ASK £12.95 for 3 courses, Strada 2 mains for £12 & iL Bertorelli 2for1 in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers
New! Beat the Broadband postcode lottery - from £6.49/mth
Live in the right area & b'band's £6.49 a month - find out how to check & the cheapest if you can't get it
The cheapest standalone 8Mbps broadband costs £6.49/mth, but only 70% of the UK can get it at this price. To check if you're eligible go to Plusnet*, click "Check Availability" and see the price. Why's it postcode dependent? To offer cheap broadband, companies install their own equipment in BT exchanges. If they're not allowed or it's not economic to do so, they need to pay BT wholesale for facilities so the price is higher. Can't get Plusnet? The O2* 8Mbps unltd package has slightly wider availability and is £12.50/mth, or £7.50 for existing O2 mobile customers. Failing that compare Virgin* phone & broadband (if available) to Plusnet* at its full price (£11.37/mth overall). Need a higher download limit? Again Plusnet's cheapest, with its 60GB cap Extra* package, or take O2's* unlimited 'access' deal for £22.50/mth. Full pros and cons & info on extra cashback in the fully Updated Guide: Cheap Broadband Related: Cheap Home Phones
Get 100 free digital prints and/or a free photobook (worth £7). You just pay P&P of up to £2.50 on each. See the Deals Note: Free Digital Prints
Use any BANK's cash machine. No need to queue for your own
As the rules say they must tell you if there's a fee - if it doesn't tell you it's free
A supermarket near MSE towers has three different free banks' cash machines outside. Often one or two have long queues, while the other remains empty (it was while nipping to that one I thought to write this - ML). This indicates many don't know the key cash machine rules, if they did most wouldn't queue. Use any ATM: All UK machines that are part of the link network will let all UK bank or Building Society (BS) customers get cash out and usually do a quick balance check minimum. Bank based machines are free: Usually any bank or BS' machine offers free cash withdrawals for UK cardholders. And since 2005 all machines that charge need to notify you. Never withdraw cash on a credit card: Even if the ATM itself doesn't charge, the credit card will - both a £2 or 2% fee plus interest even if you repay in full. Plus the rate is often much higher than normal eg. the Barclaycard Breathe credit card charges 14.9% APR for normal spending but 27.9% APR for cash withdrawals. More info in the MSE News: Cash Machine Rules
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Please spend 30 secs to ensure kids get financial education. Don't let politicians deprive the next generation, go to www.financialeducationpetition.com
Free £100 bank account sign-up bonus - it's on again
Plus a year's 0% overdraft and free annual travel insurance - or get £5 per month
The tap has yet again been opened on the 'on-off' free £100 switching bonus for new customers of Alliance & Leicester's* fees-free Premier account; making it again best-buy for everyone who's overdrawn and many who are in-credit. It gives free annual Europe travel insurance, a year's 0% overdraft up to £1,000, and 0.5% interest on up to £2,500 in-credit. Who's eligible? You must pass its credit score, earn over £6,050 and pay your salary directly into the account. Existing A&L, Abbey & Cahoot current account customers can't get it. Other top in-credit deals: Strong customer service bank First Direct* also gives new switchers £100 and a small 0% overdraft, but requires min. £23,500 salary and doesn't pay in-credit interest. Alternatively Halifax* pays £5 each month if you pay a salary of £15,000 so stick with it over 18mths and it beats the £100 bonus (though it's £1 a day if you go overdrawn). FULL info & more best-buys in the Updated Guide: Top Bank Accounts Related: Compare Bank Charges
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£10 tickets for West End's The 39 Steps (worth £47.50). Book online or by phone for Mon-Wed shows at London's Criterion Theatre. See the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out
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| Big & Easy Ways To Save |
| Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings |
- 0% Balance Transfers: HSBC*, Natwest*, RBS* 15 mths 0% 2.9% fee (APR 16.9%) - need their bank accounts.
Alternatives: Santander 15 mths 0% 3% fee (15.9% APR) Virgin* 14 mths 0%, 2.98% fee (18.6% APR)
- Cheap Gas & Elec + Cashback! Top comparison site: Energyhelpline*
- 0% for spending: Virgin* 12 mths 0%, plus same on BTs, Tesco* 12 months 0%
- Car Insurance: Use both MoneySupermarket* & GoCompare* then get cashback. Also see: Van, Motorbike
- Free Budget Planner: Use the free tool to assess your finances
- Reclaim £1,000s: Full Mortgage Fees, C'cil Tax, Endowments, Bank Charges, PPI guides
- Cheap Personal Loans: £5k-£7.5k: A&L*, Tesco 8.9%. £7.5k-15k: A&L* 7.9%. Over £15k: Tesco 8.4%
- Cheapest Line Rental: Primus* £9.15/mth
- Do a benefit checkup: Check what benefits you're entitled to with a 5-min benefit check.
- Boost your income: Over 50 ways to bring in extra cash
- Free Printed 30 page+ MSE Guides: Annuities, Remortgaging, Mortgages
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Real Life MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
Can I risk offending the bridesmaid?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks....
"I've a hen do in the summer, organised by the chief bridesmaid who I've never met. We've paid £30 for our hotel, but she didn't tell us we'd need to pay £50 in advance to book a cocktail making experience, a 2 course dinner & VIP entry to a club. It's pricey and we could get a better deal if we all booked directly ourselves. I can't afford to pay anything at the moment. Should I just say and risk offending her?" Enter the Money Moral Maze: Can I risk offending the bridesmaid? Previous MMDs: View All Got a question: Ask your real MMD
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Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Group together balls of the same colour. Gude Balls
See the Job advert for PM. That’s it for this week, but before we go, if you think you could do a better job than the current batch of candidates, see the PM job ad
We hope you save some money,
Martin & the MSE team
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Q. I have a Nationwide card and when in Sri Lanka have to pay 1% - fair enough I know those are the terms. If I pay for goods in sterling in Sri Lanka using my Debit card, do I incur the 1% charge? John, by email
Martin's A: Pay on a Nationwide card outside Europe and you get the best exchange plus a 1% load - so buy something worth £100 of Rupees and it costs you £101. It's much better than most cards but there are two cheaper (see top travel cards).
Yet pay £100 in Sterling and it just costs £100. BUT who is doing the currency conversion? If a shop or hotel is, you're reliant on its exchange rate and normally those conversion rates are abominable. So you're almost certainly better off paying in Rupees and letting Nationwide do the conversion with its 1% load.
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Discuss: Exchange Rates
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, Charecroft Way, 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: alliance-leicester.co.uk, aviva.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, energyhelpline.com, firstdirect.com, gocompare.com, halifax.co.uk, homephonechoices.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, natwest.com, o2.co.uk, plus.net, rbs.co.uk, tescofinance.com, t-mobile.co.uk, virginmedia.com, virginmoney.com. 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
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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