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'I got 50% off my Sky TV bill in 5 mins'. New Guide
New Virgin or Sky customers £125 cashback | Existing custs - magic can happen if you haggle

Subscription TV ain't cheap, even £20/mth is £240 a year. So we've fully rewritten and re-researched our digital TV cost cutting guide, here's a brief summary.

• Existing customers - haggle! You could slash costs with a 5 min call. First audit channels (especially premium), and question if you watch 'em all. Then call - if it's not working, threaten to leave saying it's too costly (after all, Freeview's a one-off £20). You'll usually be put through to 'disconnections' - known as 'customer retentions' internally - it has more discretion to keep you.

  Here's one MoneySaver's experience: "Just called Sky to discuss (not even threaten to cancel) my full package: Sports, Movies and HD. Immediately offered 50% discount for 6 months, no arguments, no hard sell and no contract extension." Full step-by-step haggling info in the New Guide: Cheap Digital TV, Feedback: Success/Fail
  

• New Virgin / Sky HD users £125 cashback. If you're about to sign up, comparison site SimplifyDigital's* offering £120 cashback on any Virgin TV, broadband & phone package by 4 Feb. The calls/TV deal's also 1/2 price for 6mths, so factoring it all in over 18mth contract, it's an avg. £23.52/mth inc line rental (£10 more than BT line rental alone).

  Sky HD's* offering £50 in M&S vouchers, yet join cashback sites Topcashback* or Quidco* and sign-up via them for a further £75 cashback (though this cashback's never 100% guaranteed + Quidco takes first £5. See cashback sites guide). Factor in this over the 12 month contract and it works out at £29.75/mth.

FULL pros & cons on these & more in New Guide: Cheap Digital TV Related: £7.99 Line Rental, £7 Broadband

We're swamped with complaints of huge renewal hikes eg, "Last year I paid £550 yet my renewal is £928; I drive a Nissan Micra 998cc!" so no surprise the latest AA index shows prices up a huge 33% in just a year. To help we've added 'price beating' to our cost cutting system.

• Step 1: Don't assume 3rd party's always cheapest. Bizarrely, opting for fully comp can indicate to insurers you're a lower risk, so if you're thinking 3rd party, check both.

• Step 2: Combine comparison sites. To get max. quotes in min. time, use BOTH MoneySupermarket* AND GoCompare* giving 145 providers, though add more comp sites if you've time.
  

• Step 3: Check ones they miss. Two big competitive insurers Direct Line* & Aviva* aren't on comparison sites so ensure you add them (both have promos currently).
  

• Step 4: Still not cut cost? Hopefully you'll now have saved 10%+. If not, until 31 Jan, First Direct guarantees (with some caveats) to beat renewals by 10% (pls feedback if this works for you). Also see young drivers' deals.

• Step 5: Cashback. Members of cashback sites may get up to £100 buying through them, or for speed, comparison sites BeatThatQuote* & MoneyExpert* give £25 cashback automatically if you get policies through them.
  

Can you beat the record? The record using this system's a £120.96 quote then £120 cashback - 96p for a year fully comp. Such ridiculous results are rare, so if you beat it let us know (champers if you prove it). FULL step-by-step in the Updated Guide: Cheap Car Insurance Related Ins. Guides: Home, Van, Bike

Cut interest costs WITHOUT new cards
Updated Guide! Do the ''Credit Card Shuffle" to save £1,000s in interest

You don't always need new credit cards to cut interest costs. Utilising this 'shuffle' technique to use existing cards more efficiently, one MoneySaver cut their interest from £2,700/yr to £600...

• Hidden existing customer balance transfers. Call your card company and ask: "Will you give me a cheap rate if I shift debts from other cards to you?" Then shift your most expensive debts to fill up where it's cheapest. Typical deal: Barclaycard often allows 6.9% until repaid for a 2.5% fee (see updated Existing Customer Balance Transfers List).
  

• Newbies 0% for 17mths. Once debts are shuffled (or it didn't work), if you've a decent credit score, use new customer balance transfers to shift any remaining high interest debts to. Longest 0% deals: Barclaycard's* 17mths 0% for a 2.9% fee (16.9% typical APR after), MBNA's* 16mths 0% with 2.88% fee (18.8% typ APR). Yet only do this if you'll clear it by the 0%'s end or you'll shift again. If not, go for a Long low rate: Barclaycard Simplicity* is 6.8% typical APR. FULL info & more best buys in Best Balance Transfers.

• Repay most costly debts first. List your rates then focus all repayments on clearing the most expensive debt first, and only pay the min on the others. After it's gone, hit the next most expensive to clear them all quicker.

For the full technique, see Updated Guide: Credit Card Shuffle Related: Balance Transfers, 0% Cards, Problem Debt

Many lenders have increased their fixed rate costs in the last fortnight (eg, First Direct 5yr deal was 3.89%, now 4.29% adding roughly £20/mth per £100,000) and brokers predict more rises to come. Why are fixes rising? The rate they're set at has little to do with UK base rates, rather it's the City's money markets, and these have rocketed. 5-year swap rates have jumped from 2.66% to 2.9% since early Jan, roughly a 10% increase. Get in under the wire? Lenders launch fixed rates in tranches, eg, they put out a £500m batch at a set rate. When it's gone they launch a new rate and those are currently likely to be higher. The vast majority have already gone, but there may be a few left, so you could just get in under the line. Will fixes keep rising? No clue, that depends on the market. This isn't a 'do it now' call, it's a 'if you're going to do it, consider doing it sooner'. Consider reserving a rate: As insurance, you can grab a fixed now for use in a few months (you'll pay £200ish - speak to a broker) and if rates rise you're quids in as you've got the cheap deal. If they don't, well that's what insurance is all about - you lose the fee but had peace of mind. Free PDF Booklets: Remortgage, New Mortgage. Online Guides: Mortgage Brokers, Fixed vs Discount

Here's the question - you order some shoes online, they arrive and it's a fashion faux pas. You want to return them, what are your rights? In our End of 2010 quiz we were surprised only 27% nailed it correctly, so here's a brief crammer. Buy online & you can always return it: Buy something in store and you only have a right to return if it's faulty. A good few (16%) wrongly thought this applied online too, but due to the Distance Selling Regulations here you've a 7 day no-fault right to return. You get delivery costs back too: Most people's (47%) big mistake was thinking they didn't get the delivery back, yet you are entitled to those costs and should ask if it's not given. But you are NOT legally entitled to the cost of sending the stuff back to them (though some do). FREE WALLET CRIBSHEET: Always carry this little Consumer Rights Cribsheet with you. Related: Full Consumer Rights guide

Reclaim £100s of old mortgage fees
4th anniversary of the FSA slapping mortgage companies - reclaim before it's too late.

On 27 Jan 2007, the regulator, the FSA, shocked mortgage companies by slamming the 'exit fees' they charge customers to leave; opening the door to a big new reclaim. For those who missed it then (maybe you discovered this site after), here's how... What was the problem? While contracts listed exit fees at say £50, companies were charging £200+. The FSA said lenders needed to give people back the difference between what was charged & what the contract said. Why now? You can only go back six years, and it's now 4 years since it all changed so the clock's ticking. Therefore, we're now only talking fees charged from Jan 2005 and Jan 2007 (no harm asking for earlier, though). How to reclaim? It's easy to do, just call up your OLD lender, even if you don't have the details, and ask it what you paid and what the contract said, then ask for any difference back. Full step-by-step help, and how to contact your lender in the Full Guide: Get Mortgage Fees Back Related Reclaiming Guides: PPI, Bank Charges, Council Tax