Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

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It's been like an episode of Batman. WHAM! BANG! POW! One top 0% new customer debt shifting deal was launched after another, culminating in a huge 0% offer to massively cut existing costs. You will need a decent credit score and spending isn't usually at 0%.

• Longest EVER 0%: Barclaycard 20 mths 3.2% fee. Barclaycard Plat's* now longer but with a higher one-off 3.2% fee. Transfer debts from more than one card and the fee's 3.2% on the largest amount but cut to 2.4% on others. When the 0% ends the rate jumps to 17.5% representative APR.
  
• MBNA 18 mths 0%, lower 2.88% fee. The MBNA* Platinum card gives new cardholders 18 mths 0% on shifted balances, for a 2.88% fee, then jumps to 18.8% rep. APR. If you already have Barclaycard & MBNA cards, next longest is Nationwide* at 17mths, 0% with a 2.95% fee, then 15.9% rep. APR.
• New Tool! 'Which is cheapest card'? Enter your debt into our new which is cheapest? card tool - no surprises - it shows that repay quickly and MBNA's 0% beats Barclaycard due to the lower fee, but ...
  
  ... it also includes MBNA's Rate for Life card which offers 5.9% APR for balance transfers until repaid (1.5% fee). Surprisingly, the tool reveals Barclaycard's 0% can beat this even over longer periods, as more debt's cleared early. Shift £2,500 and repay £100/mth, and even though it takes 27 months to repay (7 months longer than the 0% deal), the total cost's only £110 compared to Rate for Life's £210 (though it'd be even cheaper to switch again to another 0% deal).

FULL details in the Updated Guide: Balance Transfers & (Official APR Examples) Related: Credit Ratings, 0% Spending Cards, Debt Help

Cheap young drivers' car insurance. New Guide
Co-op's new 'pay how you drive' insurance monitors acceleration, breaking, cornering and time
If you're under 25 car insurance can be prohibitive; even the avg for 17-22 year olds is £2,250. The Co-op's just launched a 'pay how you drive' policy, so we've sped up publishing our new hugely detailed, step-by-step Young Driver's Car Insurance guide. Here's a brief summary.

• Step 1: DOs and DON'Ts! DO reduce your risk with lower mileage and less powerful, unmodified cars. DON'T put someone else as primary driver if it's your car - that's illegal. DO try adding a responsible older driver as a second driver to see if it reduces costs, even if they'll rarely drive it. DO check comprehensive prices as well as 3rd party, bizarrely it can sometimes be cheaper. See the Young Driver's Car Insurance guide for more.
• Step 2: Combine comparison sites: Whether you're a young driver or not, always first combine comparison site results, as each searches different providers. To get max quotes at speed, our top combo is MoneySupermarket* AND GoCompare*, then always add Aviva*, Direct Line* and First Direct that they miss.
• Step 3: GPS tracking policies: Now compare those prices with specialist young person's policies, where you usually get a black box that monitors your driving. Pay per mile: Coverbox* Pay how you drive: Co-op, AA (coming soon) Pay less daytimes: i-kube. Then there's also Swinton's broker panel and Young Marmalade* (car & insurance together). Full details in the guide.
  

After that, see if you can get hidden cashback; FULL info in the New Guide: Car Insurance for Young Drivers Please Feedback: Did you save? Related Guides: Cheap Car Insurance, Bike Insurance, Student MoneySaving

New top 3.05% easy access savings + ISA Watch!
Full round-up of top savings & cash ISA deals - includes new 3-year inflation tracker

RPI inflation's just hit 5.5%, a 20-year high and a saver's nightmare as unless your after-tax interest beats this, your cash buys less when you take it out than when you put it in. So, minimise the impact by maximising the rate. All have full £85,000 UK Savings Safety protection.

• New top 3.05% easy access variable. Nationwide's* MySave Online Plus pays 3.05% AER (min. £1,000), but only allows one yearly penalty-free withdrawal. For unlimited access West Brom* WebSave pays 3.01% AER (min £1,000) and Santander's* eSaver 3% AER (min. £1). All include year-long bonus rate hikes so diarise to ditch and switch then.
• 3-year inflation (RPI) + 0.75% savings. Lock cash away without access and Birm. Midshires'* postal Inflation Rate Bond promises interest matching RPI inflation + 0.75% over 3 years (or RPI+1.5% over 5), min £500 deposit - the shortest inflation tracker for a while. For an online version the Post Office's* Inflation Bond pays RPI+1.5%, but interest's calculated differently. Read full info on these complex products in the Top Savings guide.
• ISA Watch! 3.3% tax-free. If you don't use your 2010/11 tax-free £5,100 cash ISA allowance by 5 April, you lose it. Top easy-access deal is Santander's* Flexible ISA (issue 3) which pays 3.3% AER and tracks UK base rate for a year. The AA's ISA pays a higher 3.35% AER (min £500), but doesn't track. These don't accept transfers and rates will likely drop after a year, so diarise to ditch and transfer. More best-buys & top transfers: Cash ISAs

More savings including top fixed accounts in the Updated Guide: Top Savings ISA guides: Cash ISAs, ISA Transfers. Related: Safe Savings

Budget smudget! Slash petrol costs yourself
Fight the huge £1.33/litre with our new FIVE step plan incl Liftshare website & 1.5% cashback

The Chancellor will likely pull a petrol rabbit out of the budget hat to stop tax rising, but not cut costs much. Yet with Libyan unrest, diesel & petrol are near record highs so we've expanded our Cheap Petrol guide that's already helped many save £100s. Here's a summary ...

• Step 1: Get rid of junk in your trunk (save up to 10%): Added weight and resistance means your car must work harder and uses more fuel. So declutter, get rid of unused roof racks, keep tyres inflated and turn off the aircon.
  
• Step 2: The accelerator's a money pump (save up to 30%): This is the BIG ONE. Stop accelerating so hard, monitor your road position so you can slow down gradually and not burn fuel braking.
  
• Step 3: Pay less for your petrol (save up to 5%): Enter your post code and we'll show you the lowest price in your area.
  
• Step 4: Get 1.5% cashback: The MBNA Amex* pays 1.5% cashback at all major petrol stations and supermarkets (0.75% elsewhere). Set up a direct debit to repay it IN FULL each month, so you don't pay the 18.9% representative APR - and it's money back on your petrol for nowt. Full info in Top Cashback Cards.
  
• Step 5: Share driving: An easy way to cut petrol costs is to drive less! One option is share lifts to work with friends. A free site Liftshare helps you find people doing the same journey to share with (though be safe).
  

Many more tips & info in the Updated Guide: Cheap Petrol Related: Cheap Car Insurance, Breakdown Cover

Gas & elec price hikes due? Switch NOW & save c. £250
Ofgem bashes energy providers for lack of competition | Libya fuel price rise worries

It's been a big week in the gas & electricity world, with the regulator slamming providers saying they're diminishing competition and worries 60% of people don't switch enough.

• Will prices rise, should I get a fixed tariff? The five energy experts we asked all said 'prices could jump this year', partly due to unrest in Libya and nuclear disruption in Japan. As for fixing ... Main Pro: It guarantees your rates won't rise no matter what. Main Con: It costs roughly a typical household £60 more than the current cheapest variable deals - yet one comparison site believes price rises will add £170 this year. If it's right (who knows?), fixing will save you (see Should I fix? news).
  
• Compare, switch, save & get cashback: The company you're with matters less than which of its many tariffs you're on. While standard tariffs are typically c. £1,150/year the same provider's online tariffs can be £900. To compare ... Top Pick: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch (via these MSE links). Dual Fuel: MoneySupermarket* £30 in cash, Uswitch* offers a crate of wine, SimplySwitch* £40 cashback (until 31 March).
  
• The regulator wants your view. Regulator Ofgem's proposed a radical energy market overhaul and plans to clamp down on unfair pricing, enforce one unit price tariffs and ban automatic roll overs on fixed tariffs. It wants your view by 1 June 2011. Find out how to respond to the consultation.
  

FULL info & more cashback options in the Updated Guide: Cheap Energy + Cashback Related: Boiler Cover

New 'boost your credit rating' Q&A Video
Martin answers your credit scoring questions - what's myth, what's reality?
Credit scoring is much more important than it used to be, it's doesn't just affect whether you'll get a mortgage, credit card, monthly car insurance or mobile phone, but often what rate you'll end up with and how much they'll lend. We were swamped with 100s of questions.

• Credit rating ... in a nutshell. You don't have a rating. There is no blacklist. Each company decides whether it'll lend to you depending on how well you score in its wish-list of what is a profitable customer. To do this, they try to predict your behaviour based on your credit file, application form info and any past dealings they've had with you.
• New Q&A video. We've put as many of your questions as we could to Martin in the Credit Rating Video Q&A including: when bankruptcy wipes from files, whether tarting hits your score, how to your rebuild your history and more. Take a look, it's now going to be permanently in the guide.
• Get paid £5 to check your file. If you haven't checked your credit file before you should do so NOW (and every 18 mths). To encourage you, there's a loophole where you can Get paid to check by signing up to a free trial via cashback sites.

FULL credit boosting tips and info in the Updated Guide & Video: Credit Rating, 'Bad Credit' Credit Cards