Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Urgent! Scot Power hikes gas 19%, elec 10%. FIX NOW!
Adds £175/year - rest almost certain to follow | If you can't afford hikes FIX before they disappear

We've been yelling for months that big energy price rises are coming, yet Scottish Power's average 19% gas and 10% electricity hikes announced yesterday, hitting 1 August, are even bigger and sooner than expected. It'll hammer 2.4m on all standard, prepaid and online variable tariffs, but not fixed or capped deals (see Scottish Power hikes news).

• Energy companies are like sheep - others will follow. Scottish Power has opened the door for the other Big 6 to hike. Expect announcements within the next two months (unless one plays the 'we'll hold our prices until October' game to gain customers short term). So everyone should act.

• Fix NOW if you can't afford rises. A fix guarantees your rate won't rise for a set period, eg, two years. The table shows the cost for a typical home. The millions on standard tariffs will typically save £150+ a year fixing even before price hikes.
  
  While online deals look cheaper now, they are still subject to price rises, and even an 8% hike, far less than Scottish Power's would see them being more expensive than fixes. And while more rises aren't 100%, if the thought of price hikes are a nightmare, a fix effectively is an insurance policy against them.

• Now means NOW! In the past, once price hikes were announced, the cheapest fixes were soon pulled and replaced with more expensive ones. Add the fact a switchover can take two mths, it means if you're going to fix, speed's crucial.
• How to find your cheapest fix (and get cashback). Plug your details into a comparison site & click the 'show only fixed tariffs' tab: Top Comparison: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch whether to gas or electricity or both. Dual Fuel: MoneySupermarket* pays £30 cash, Uswitch* a crate of wine, SimplySwitch* £40 cash.
  
  

  You can also compare for the cheapest variable tariff that way too. if you don't want a fix - except two new deals aren't available to switch via comparison sites, so manually add in EDF's Online S@ver v10* and, the bizarrely named, Scottish Power Direct (its site's temperamental).

Full info, help for prepaid customers & cashback in the Updated Guide: Cheap Gas & Elec Related: Energy Grants

New! 10% petrol & diesel cashback card (max £30)
Or get a long-term 1.5% cashback | Plus up to 6p/litre off with supermarket vouchers

Petrol's now a gut-wrenching avg £1.36/litre, diesel £1.39, meaning filling up costs motorists £1,000s a year. The Cheap Petrol guide has easy tips to change driving style, make vehicles more efficient and find cheap forecourts. Yet a new breed of cashback cards can also slice fuel bills. All require you pass a credit check.

• New! 10% petrol cashback until August + 0% interest. Some new Barclaycard cardholders get 10% cashback (£10 per £100) on all petrol station spending until 31 Aug (max £30); a nice bonus as two of these cards are table-toppers...
  • 12 mths 0% on spending. If you just want cashback, or also want to spread the cost of something, Barclaycard's Plat Purchase* card gives a year's interest-free on purchases. Always make the min repayments and clear it before the year or it's 16.9% representative APR. Alternatively, both Tesco* and M&S* give a longer 0% for 15 mths (16.9% and 15.9% rep APR) with reward points but no cashback. Full info in the 0% cards guide.
  • 20 mths 0% balance transfers (3.2% fee). Shift debts to a new Barclaycard Platinum* at 0% for 20 mths for a 3.2% fee (then 17.5% rep APR, so beware), by far the longest around. While the 0% doesn't apply to spending, which you need to do for the cashback if your monthly repayments cover that plus the minimum repayment, the interest's minimal. For more best-buys see the Best Balance Transfers guide.
• Long-term 1.5% petrol & supermarket cashback. Spend £2000+ on petrol & groceries and MBNA Amex* beats Barclaycard's cashback as it pays 1.5% on forecourt and supermarket purchases and 0.75% on everything else - potentially £100s a year. Ensure you've a direct debit to repay IN FULL every month though so there's no 18.9% representative APR. Full info & more options in the Top Cashback Cards guide.
  
• New 6p/litre off fuel voucher. Spend £40 in Morrisons to get a voucher for 6p/litre off unleaded and diesel at its petrol stations until this Sun. Or for just an £8 spend on loo roll, Tesco gives a voucher for 5p/litre off fuel. Full info in the Cheap Petrol & Diesel guide.

Related: 15 mths 0% Spending, Best Balance Transfers, Cashback Credit Cards, Official APR Examples

New! Get paid to walk into shops
Boost income | iPhone app pays you for entering stores | Earn in-store cashback too

There are a host of new ways for canny MoneySavers to boost their income. Small amounts quickly add up ...

• Earn £30/yr by popping into shops. Cashback site Quidco has launched a new iPhone app, paying 10p-25p for entering shops, incl New Look, Thorntons & Halfords. For example, swing by Carphone Warehouse, 'check-in' on the Quidco app, it locates you and pays 25p to your account. Usually limited to once per store per fortnight.
  
  Of course, their aim is to tempt you to buy, so resist, know it's an impulse pusher and remember the money mantras at the top of this email.
• Earn in-store cashback. If you're shopping at Debenhams, Sports Direct, NCP, Halfords, Cineworld, Blockbuster, Little Chef, Austin Reed, Direct Golf, Feather & Black, Country Casuals or Viyella, you can get 2-8% back on in-store spending by registering your card details with Quidco (via the app or web). Full how-to & safety warnings in Top Cashback Sites guide.
• Boost your income - declutter for cash. Fish for old mobiles then find the best price to flog 'em via MobileValuer.com (also iPods, cameras, games consoles & more), sell old junk for cash on eBay* or speedily hawk old CDs and DVDs on Music Magpie*. See flog what you got section of the Boost Your Income guide.
• Rent it out too - parking spaces, cars, rooms. It's not just selling stuff, you can Rent Your Parking Space, your car, or a spare room to a lodger. See rent it out for cash section of the Boost Your Income guide.

FULL info in the Updated Guide: 60 ways to Boost Your Income Related: Top Cashback Sites, Survey Stashing

New! Top 3.05% easy-access savings
Or get 3.55% fixed for a year. Urgently switch savings if under 3%

The savings war's twitching back to life, with a host of new best-buys. All accounts here have full £85,000 savings protection.

• New! Top 3.05% easy-access. The Leeds BS* Online Access account pays 3.05% AER variable with unlimited withdrawals, provided your balance stays above £100. The previous top, Nationwide's* MySave Online Plus, has the same rate but only one penalty-free withdrawal a year's allowed (min £1,000). Those saving £25,000+ can get 3.1% AER from Kent Reliance.

  These all include year-long bonuses, so diarise to ditch & switch after.

• New! Top 1 year fix 3.55%. If you're happy to lock cash away without access, Aldermore has the new top 1-year fix at 3.55% AER (min £1,000). Though some economists are predicting base rate rises, so it may not look so hot if that happens. For longer term, Secure Trust Bank is top for two to five years, ranging from 4.01% to 5.1%.
• Beat inflation and lock away for just 1 year. The much-trumpeted NS&I five-year inflation-linked bond is still available. It pays RPI inflation plus 0.5% fixed interest, yet after a year you can get your cash early for a small interest penalty. It's complex, so read full details in the Inflation-linked Savings guide.
  

Full info and more options in the Updated guide: Top Savings Related: 3.3% Cash ISAs, 5% Current Accounts

New! Teen Cash Class - free teacher's edition
Curriculum-approved activity sheets for teachers join parents' version | Great for 'My Money Week'

Martin did a 1-day MoneySaving crash course for a class of 15-year-olds a few years ago for ITV1. They went home and saved their parents £5,000+ - so we turned it into the Teen Cash Class Parents booklet. Now, education charity pfeg's helped us take it a step further, so it can officially be taught in schools.

• Free Teen Cash Class Activity Sheets: The new Teen Cash Class Activity Sheets booklet includes exercises, discussions and resource sheets for lesson plans on credit cards, loyalty, impulse-buying etc. It's mapped to key stages 4 and 5 of England's national curriculum. Teachers, pls feedback whether it helps.
• My Money Week, 27 June: Teachers can use the guide as part of 'My Money Week'; a chance for primary and secondary schools in England to get help, resources & inspiration on teaching financial education. Order a free planning activity pack at MyMoneyOnline.
• What can parents do? Talk to your kids about money whenever possible, eg, say to 7-year-olds in supermarkets: "The reason sweets are by the till is to remind you to ask for them as a supermarket's job is to make money by selling us things." Older kids can download the Free Teen Cash Class PDF. Also see 5 money things teens need to know and more resources.
  
• MSE's £35,000 political donation to Fin. Ed. campaign. We've long lobbied for compulsory financial education in schools, helping get the All-Party Parliamentary Group set up. A record 200+ MPs have joined and it's launching a full investigation akin to a select committee. As it has no official funding we're putting our money where our mouth is to provide report-writing support. See Martin's Financial education donation blog.