Jan

2012

Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Over 50 ways to save incl... Best EVER credit card, £13 specs, -£9 home ins, 3.13% savings, Amazon discounts, £19 Prem Inn, £20 spas, PM on fin ed, £1 coach, pitiful energy cuts

This info may be out of date. Read this week's emails

Best EVER credit card

£13 for £33 specs

Amazon Discount Finder boost

Home insurance for MINUS £9

Premier Inn £19 sale

Now, free £130 with bank switch

Boots 75% off sale started?

Tesco Wine £15 off code

New top 3.13% savings

'Free' L'Occitane £8 lip balm

Eurostar £59 return

£1 coach tickets

Earn £17 to check credit file

Lastminute £20 spa sale

PM writes back on financial ed

Vouchers Index: Restaurants / Shopping

Big & Easy Ways to Save

MSE News

Top story: Maths PhD student can't comprehend bank charges

Wonga 'offensive' for targeting students

Mortgage payments 'more affordable'

MPs want stronger financial regulation

Price cuts trigger inflation fall

Did you miss?
Popular tips from recent emails

Get £125 free cash in bank war

Gym membership from £10/mth

Totally free Clinique mascara

New low fee 0% balance transfer

£1 mags incl Grazia

Martin's Quick Briefing

For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin:

Piddling energy price cuts
They've shaved your bills by £30 a year yet many can save £300

In the last few days all the big six energy suppliers have announced around 5% price cuts; BG and Eon on electricity, the rest gas (see price cut info). If you're wondering 'why not both fuels?', I cynically suspect it's so they get max PR for minimum cuts. Follow these top 10 tips for real savings ...

Revealed... bills are really UP, not down. These cuts don't come close to reversing the up to 19% hikes a few months ago. Unless you act, most will still pay more. Below are the average rises even after the cuts.

	BG	EDF	Eon	Npower	SSE	S.Power
The real price hikes since summer 2011
Gas	18%	9.6%	18.1%	9.9%	13.5%	13.1%
Elec	10.2%	4.5%	4.7%	7.2%	11%	10%
Calculated on average announced rises and cuts

Compare, switch, get cashback, save £100s. Don't think 'one company, one price', suppliers offer scores of tariffs. After the cuts, standard deals will cost £1,320/year for a typical home, but the cheapest tariffs are around £1,030 for the SAME usage. Full help in Cheap Gas & Elec, for speed...

Top Comparison Site: Energyhelpline* pays £15 per gas, elec or dual switch
Dual Fuel: MoneySupermarket* pays £30 cash, uSwitch* a crate of wine, SimplySwitch* £40 cash.

The cashback via these links takes three months to arrive. As only BG's already dropped prices, other comparisons are for 'pre-cut' rates, so won't be perfect. Yet as the earlier you switch, the earlier you save – if you're on a standard tariff, comparisons are good enough.

I fixed, was it wrong? Recent cheap fixes were £100s less than standard tariffs, even after these tiny cuts, so you're likely still well-up. Yet remember, fixing's primarily about surety, like an insurance policy against price hikes. Even if prices were to fall dramatically, if you got a fix to prevent hikes, it's done its job. See the full Was I wrong to fix? blog.

Even if you save £100s, it may not mean much lower bills. Overall, recent energy prices are up massively, so for many, switching prevents this year's huge hikes, rather than substantially reducing what you paid last year.

If you only have electricity you can still save. If you don't have gas, don't think the rules are different, you can still save using the comparisons above.

Monthly direct debit saves a further 5%. If possible, arrange to pay by fixed monthly direct debit to ensure the lowest possible rates. Though it means bills are estimated, so do regular meter readings to ensure they don't stray.

Dual fuel ISN'T always cheapest. Getting gas and electricity from one supplier isn't always cheapest. When comparing, check the cheapest separate suppliers too.

Prepay customers can save too. Step 1: Ask if you can convert to a 'credit meter' (where you get bills), some allow it free. Step 2: If it's unaffordable, compare and switch prepay provider, both Energyhelpline* and uSwitch* have prepay comparisons. Step 3: When switching, favour companies that may convert you to bills for free, listed in Cheap Prepay Energy.

If you can't afford any hikes, consider fixing. Fixing's all about your attitude to risk. No-one knows if the next move will be up or down. If you can't afford hikes, a fix is insurance against them. For those on standard tariffs, compare to find the cheapest fix, which'll usually undercut your current rate.

10.

Economy 7 or 10? How to compare. Economy 7 users can compare like everyone else. With Economy 10, use a comparison site for gas, but for electricity, sadly, you need to ring suppliers. Energyhelpline* has a prompt to remind you. These tariffs are primarily worth considering if you have storage heaters or water tanks, work shifts or can use appliances on timer.

Full help in Cheap Gas & Elec. Related: Free £300 Insulation, Energy Grants. It's also Citizens Advice's Big Energy Week, see its Fighting energy debts work.

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get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips

New Year's Money Makeover Special

18 Jan 2012

New. The best EVER credit card

It's 18 mths 0% on spending | Cheap spending abroad | 0.5% cashback | AND 17mths 0% on shifted debt

The new Nationwide Select card* hits the best-buy tables in FOUR categories. Important: To get one, you need a Nationwide FlexAccount*, a top pick as it's fees-free with free Euro travel ins. If you don't have it, to switch you need £750/mth going in (equiv £9,800/yr sal). Best-buys in Best Bank Accounts. Cards require you pass a credit check.

Nationwide Select Vs best-buys (where current account not required)
18 months 0% on new spending	Cheap overseas spending
The Select* card's the longest EVER 0% at 18 months, but plan, budget and diarise to repay before the 0% ends or the rate shoots to 12.9% rep APR. OR... 15 mths 0%. Tesco* and M&S* are 15 mths 0%, then 16.9% and 15.9% rep APR after, but do offer rewards points based on spending. Full info: Top 0% Cards, Official APR Examples.	Most cards add a 3% 'load' abroad, so £100 of Euros costs £103. The Select* card is load-free worldwide. Cash withdrawals cost 2.5% (min £3) & 27.9% APR even if you fully repay. OR... other cheap spending cards. Halifax Clarity, Post Office and Saga* (over 50s) are also load-free worldwide. Repay in full or they're 12.9%, 16.9% & 11.9% rep APR. See Overseas Spending.
0.5% cashback on spending	17 months 0% on shifted debts
The Select* card pays 0.5% on all UK spending, 50p per £100. After the 18mths 0% it's 12.9% APR if not fully repaid, so then, as with all cashback cards, repay IN FULL each month to avoid interest. OR... Earn 5% cashback. Capital One* pays a huge £5 per £100 spent for 3 months (max £100 cashback), then up to 1.25% (19.9% rep APR if you don't fully repay), min income £20k, must be homeowner. Full info in Top Cashback Cards.	Balance transfers let you shift existing debts to a new card at a lower rate – repay in full or shift again before 0% ends. The Select* card's a beatable 17 months 0% for a 2.95% fee, then 12.9% rep APR. OR... 0% for 24 mths. New Barclaycard* cardholders get two years 0% for a 3.2% fee. If you can repay quicker, Natwest* is 13 months 0% with a much lower 1% fee. These are 17.9% rep APR after. See Best Balance Transfers.

£13 for £33 prescription specs with code. Gets £20 off most frames with lenses, the cheapest are £29 so pay £9 plus £4 p&p. Works on designer and 2for1 deals, so £33 gets £98 worth. Deals Note: Cheap Glasses

Urgent. Free food & wine at Zizzi. Register today (Wed) for 12,000 places (they'll go quick) to eat 6pm-7pm on Mon 23 Jan. Tapas dishes, plus free Prosecco, as part of its Blue Monday promo. Deals Note: Zizzi Deals

Amazon secret 75% off bargain basements, NEW keyword search. Our Amazon Discount Finder tool builds bespoke discounted pages such as 90% off DVDs* or 80% off shoes*. Now you can hone it further with keywords, eg, 50% off Lego* or 40% off straighteners*. Help: Discount Finder Related: Cheap Kindles

Cheapest home insurance – MAKE £9 profit
The record cheapest result using our system in 2011 was £71 cashback on a £62 policy

Home insurance isn't compulsory, but it's an important safety net that protects you from losing £1,000s. Never just renew or you risk massively overpaying. Always check for the cheapest quote (even if you just use it to haggle with your existing provider). Our updated Cheap Home Insurance guide has full info, here's a taster...

Don't over-cover. For freeholders who need buildings cover, it's not your home's value, but the usually much lower rebuild value (the cost to rebuild if knocked down) you need to cover. With contents, add up everything. Don't think, 'I'll never claim over £10k so that's all I'll cover'. If you've £40k of stuff and get £10k cover, some insurers only pay 25% of a claim.
Combine the CHEAPEST comparison sites. For max quotes in min time use comparison sites. They don't all search the same companies and some have exclusive deals, so combine them. Our top two are Comparethemarket.com* and GoCompare* which between them are cheapest 73% of the time (based on our sample), though if you've time use the full comparison order list.
Add the big 'uns they miss. Two competitive insurers, Aviva* and Dir ect Line*, aren't in comparisons. Plus we've blagged a Legal & General* £60 M&S voucher deal (£30 building, £30 contents).
Lock in a cheap price now for three months. Prices can rise, but the following quotes stay valid for 90 days: Aviva*, Barclays*, Churchill*, Direct Line* and Natwest* (get another quote at renewal in case prices drop).
MAKE profit getting home insurance. Once you've found your cheapest policy see if cashback is available via a Top Cashback Site. The record win in 2011 was a £62 contents cover and £70.70 cashback — an £8.70 profit. The best EVER result we've had reported is a huge £67 PROFIT. Please report if you make a profit.

FULL step-by-step Guide: Cheap Home Insurance Related: Cheap Car Insurance, Travel Insurance, Young Persons' Car

Tip off: Premier Inn £19 room sale. Starts Fri. 20,000 £19 UK rooms for 10 Feb - 11 March '12 stays (usually £50-£100). Min stay is 2 nights. We're still confirming, all updated info will go in the Deals Note: Hotel Sales

FREE £130 for 0% overdraft, 5% in-credit bank account. Santander* now gives £100 cash AND £30 Amazon voucher (only via this Moneysup link) if you switch to its year-long deal (min £14,200 income), but its service's rated poor. For top service First Direct* gives £125 and small 0% overdraft. Full info: Bank Accounts

Big rumour. Boots sale jumps to 75% off today (Wed). Rampant rumours on our forum, Boots hasn't officially confirmed but we've been told by Boots staff it starts today. We'll keep you updated here: Boots Sale

New top 3.13% easy access savings
Or fix for a year at 3.6% | Your savings work for you – make 'em sweat interest

Don't believe the hype that all rates are stuck at a pitifully low 0.1%. This just helps the banks. If you've got savings, ensure they're paying at least 3% interest. All providers below have full £85k protection.

New top 3.13% AER savings. If you've over £10,000, West Brom BS* (only via this Moneysup link) pays 3.13% AER, and you can make up to four penalty-free withdrawals each year. For unlimited withdrawals, Santander's* 3.1% AER (min £1). Nationwide's 3.12% AER (min £1,000) but only allows one penalty-free withdrawal a year.

All three accounts include year-long bonuses, so diarise to ditch and switch when the rates plummet. The top clean (non-bonus) account is Virgin* (min £1) at 2.85%, but like the others it's a variable rate so it could drop, see Top Savings.

Lock your cash away at 3.6% for one year or 4.8% for five. If you're willing to forgo access you can get a guaranteed higher rate. The longer you fix, the more you risk other rates rising, so you're stuck.

	Top Rate	Next Best
1 yr	The AA 3.6% AER (min £1)	Yorkshire / Clydesdale 3.6% AER (min £2k)
2 yr	BM Savings 4.05% AER (min £1)	Yorkshire / Clydesdale 4% AER (min £2k)
3 yr	Shawbrook AER 4.45% (min £5k)	Yorkshire / Clydesdale 4.3% AER (min £2k)
5 yr	Shawbrook AER 4.8% (min £5k)	Yorkshire / Clydesdale 4.7% AER (min £2k)

Full info in the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Cash ISAs, Cash ISA Transfers, Regular Savers

Must admit I thought claiming my PPI would not really be worth it as I had small loans. Then I was offered £5362, ta! Tweet from @elerisalter 58m to @MartinSLewis.
Reclaim PPI for free: www.moneysavingexpert.com/ppi

Tesco Wine 50% sale plus code for £15 off £70. Tesco Wine's got one of its 50% off some stock sales (min 6 bottles). Code for extra off works until 25 Jan for new AND existing customers. Full Info: Wine Sales

'Free' £8ish L'Occitane lip balm or gloss (in £2 mag). Tear out voucher and take to a L'Occitane store. Deals Note: L'Occitane Beauty Deals


	Tell friends about us! They can get this free every week

Quick. Eurostar £59 rtn sale to Paris, Brussels & Lille. Not often discounted, get £59 returns for travel till 29 Mar, incl very limited Valentine's Day/half-term tickets. Usually £69+. Deals Note: Eurostar Deals

£1 cross-country coach tickets (50,000 avail). Get National Express voucher in 45p paper, incl London to Manchester and Edinburgh to Newcastle. 50p booking fee. See Deals Note: Train & Coach Deals

EARN £17 for checking your free credit report. Sign up to the Equifax 30-day free trial for £12 cashback and Experian for £5. Full help in the Updated Guide: Free Credit File

The PM writes back on financial education
"It's true young people should have access to good quality personal finance education..."
Following over 100,000 signing the e-petition for COMPULSORY financial education and the ensuing Commons debate, Martin wrote an open letter to David Cameron, also published in The Sun newspaper, calling for compulsory financial education. Now the Prime Minister has replied. Quotes include...

10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON SW1A 2AA

"I am sure you would agree if pupils are to understand finance, it is important they also have a good grasp of mathematics. We are also reviewing the National Curriculum to ensure it sets out the essential knowledge children should learn.

"The [non-compulsory] economic well being and financial capability strand of PSHE was introduced in Sept 2008 and Ofsted reported in 2010 schools hadn't got to grips with this yet... therefore we are reviewing PSHE...

"The review will also allow the Education Secretary to consider whether financial education should become statutory as part of the basic curriculum.

"We believe it is important schools are given the freedom and space to provide a truly rounded education, including important things such as finance education."

Read the Prime Minister's full response and our reply

Financial Ed Resources: Teen Cash Class | Teachers' Activity Pack | 6th Formers Uni Finance Guide 2012 | Pfeg

Fri/Sat comedy show, main meal AND beer £10 (worth up to £27). Use code to get Highlight comedy (was Jongleurs) tix plus a main meal and bottle of beer/alcopop for £10. Fri and Sat shows in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and more till Sat 31 March. Deals Note: Highlight Deals

DISCOUNT VOUCHERS & LAST CHANCE SALES	Wallis 15% off sale & free del	Boden 15% off & free del	Habitat 50% off sale	Laura Ashley extra 10% off 50% sale	Monsoon up to 70% off sale
	Online code Ends 22 Jan	Online code Ends 31 Jan	Online sale Ends 29 Jan	Online sale Ends 29 Jan	Online & in-store Ends 20 Jan
	See all Vouchers and all Sales

£20 lastminute.com spa sale starts 10am Thur. Over 60 UK locations (sadly excludes NI) offering £20 treatments incl pedicures, spa days and facials. Full info in the Deals Note: Lastminute.com Deals

Easyjet booking fee now unavoidable
Budget airlines ramp up their fees | How to beat the beatable fees
Some sky-high budget airline fees have gone stratospheric. Our Budget Flight Fee-Fighting guide shows the changes and full tricks to avoid. Here's the quick info.

Easyjet ends fees-free booking. Easyjet passengers can no longer escape a booking fee by using a Visa Electron card. ALL customers now pay at least £9 per booking (not flight). Credit cards incur an additional 2.5% fee (min £4.95), debit cards have no extra charge. See Easyjet ends fees-free booking news.
Ryanair's £60 each way if you don't print boarding pass. Print it online or Ryanair now charges £60, not £40, PER FLIGHT. Plus from Dec bags not pre-booked online (15kg max) for the June-Sept and Xmas peak times are £200 return (were £80), or £120 (were £70) on other dates. Book online for peak times and it's £50 return (was £40). See Ryanair fees news.
How to pay for free. It's all about packing the right plastic, Ryanair is £12 per person return and the only way to beat it is with its OWN card. With BMI Baby, Flybe and Thomson, to avoid up to £11 per person return charge use a Visa Electron card. For how to get them, see the Budget Airline Plastic guide.
Beat baggage fees. If near the limit, wear your heaviest clothes and stuff pockets. In most cases, you get a free 10kg hand luggage allowance, so take advantage, plus see the special suitcase-jackets you can wear.

To beat most extras use the Airline-by-Airline Guide: Budget Flight Fee-Fighting Related: Cheap Flights, £17 annual travel Insurance, Cheap Overseas Plastic

Forum Hottie

Charity shop sales. Up to 70% off Oxfam, Cancer Research & BHF. Includes £8 French Connection jacket, £4 M&S dress & £4 cuff-links. Deals Note: High Street Sales

'Free' Greggs grub with 30p paper. Daily till Sun 22 Jan. Includes savoury bake on Wed (worth £1.55), breakfast roll on Fri (£1.70) & £1.50 pizza on Sat (paper 60p). See Deals Note: Greggs Grub

Restaurant Vouchers	Discount Vouchers	Top Deals
Café Rouge 2for1	M&S £5 off £35	Alton Towers 25% off
GBK 2 burgers £10	Body Shop 20% off sale	National Express £1 tix
Bella Italia 2for1	H&M 10% off	Tesco Wine 50% off plus code
Strada 2for1	Benefit £5 off £20	Eurostar £59 rtns
Sizzling Pubs 2 courses £4.95	Wallis 15% off + free del	Free Clinique Mascara
All Restaurant Vouchers	All Discount Vouchers	More Deals

Big & Easy Ways To Save
Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings

See all official APR examples

Cheap Travel Insurance: Annual cover: Individuals from £17, family from £31, over-65s £36 and more
Car Insurance: Use both MoneySupermarket* & GoCompare*, add Direct Line* & Aviva* that they miss then get cashback. Also see: Van, Motorbike
Cashback Credit Cards: Get 5% for 3 mths, up to 1.25% after with Capital One*; 2.5% for 3 mths then 1.25% after with Amex Platinum* (£25 annual fee); or 3% on petrol, 1% on food with Santander 123* (£24 annual fee). Repay in full or it's 19.9%, 18.5% or 22.8% rep APR. See guide for key application info
Cheap Broadband: Plusnet* £6.49/mth (plus £25 connection), up to 10GB download
Compare Mobile Recycling Sites: See if you can get up to £150 for old mobiles via Mobilevaluer.com
Reclaim £1,000s: Mortgage Fees, C'cil Tax, Endowments, Bank Charges, PPI guides, Missold Energy
Cheap Personal Loans: £5k-7.5k: Sainsbury's* 7.8% rep APR for 1-3 yrs loans (need Nectar card) or A&L* 8% APR. £7.5k-15k: Sainsbury's* 6% rep APR for 1-3 yrs loans (need Nectar card); M&S* 6% rep APR, must be over 30 or homeowner; Tesco* 6.1%. All APRs are representative rates
Cheapest Line Rental: Primus* £6.79/mth, BT* £120/yr (equiv to £10/mth)
Stop Spending: Need help to tackle those spending demons? Also see the Demotivator
Free Printed 30 page+ MSE Guides: Remortgaging, Mortgages, Annuities, Mental Health & Debt
Free Budget Planner: Use the free tool to assess your finances

MORE MONEYSAVING

Real Life MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
I locked a man in my house, should I pay him?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...
I share a house with my friend. Yesterday, I was last to leave for work so I double-locked the door as usual. She called me to say her boyfriend was staying and was now locked in, but neither of us could leave work to help. The boyfriend's boss took his day from his leave allowance. My housemate told me I should pay him a day's pay. I think, as it was an honest mistake, I shouldn't, especially as he earns a lot more than me. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I pay for his day off? Previous MMDs: View All Suggest: A Money Moral Dilemma

Free NHS quit smoking kit. Includes free 'tangle toy' to keep your hands busy. Order online or pick up at chemists till 31 March. Deals Note: Hot Bargains Related: Stop Smoking

Free help if you're worried about energy bills
As well as the ways to cut energy costs above, if you're struggling with winter costs Citizens Advice's Big Energy Week has free help on sorting energy debts and advice on how to spend less heating your home. Over 100 events are taking place UK-wide (find one near you) or get a leaflet from any Citizens Advice Bureau. Tell friends and family offline help is available. Suggest a campaign: Charities, community groups and campaigners, send us info of planned campaigns.

Free Book Giveaway. London Select. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?


	Spill the beans... on how you've maxed all-inclusive holidays All-inclusive holidays can be huge value for money but how do you get the most for your all-inclusive cash? What are the tips to getting a mega-value deal? What should you avoid? Tell us your successes and failures. Spill 'em: All-inclusives to the max Past topics: View all

Spill the beans... revealed on salesmen's Jedi mind tricks
Last week we asked you to spill the beans on tricks that've been played on you by salesmen. They included keeping up with the Joneses, a 'puppy dog sale' method and trick questions.

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline: Aer Lingus Price: Just Taxes Ends: Mon
Our pick this week is the Aer Lingus Ireland just pay taxes sale: The sale's till Mon 23 Jan for travel 30 Jan to 28 Mar. To find flights, use the FlightChecker on a £40 max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges, see the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spend Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Ins


Quick Forum Tips	Andrea's Freebies

Top pick. 1/2 price Xmas decorations at Argos. That's a wrap	Printable jar labels
29p Blue Dragon stir-fry sauces. Were 58p at Tesco. Flamin' good	Past SATs papers
£1 for 10 cards incl birthday cards at the Card Factory	CV builder app
£5 Crayola Disney Princess story kit at Amazon. Tickle 'em pink	Lancome foundation sample
Debt Free Wannabe chat of the week: The other way or the MSE way	Gabrielle Aplin MP3
Competitions thread of the week: 2-night Oxfordshire break
Old Style (Thrift) Board thread of the week: Homemade party favours
More Tips: Tips, Tricks & Treats	Try: Freebies Roulette

Martin's Stuff

Cheap Travel Cash

Latest Blogs
Sneaky preview of the new MSE masthead – what do you think of m'pic?
Prospective students no longer so scared of £9,000 fees
Energy cuts – was it wrong to fix?

Appearances This Week: Wed 18th - Tues 24th January

Newspapers review, Sky News, Wed, 9.30–10pm.

Lorraine, ITV1, Thurs, between 8.30 & 9.30am. Real Deals.

Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, Thurs, 12–1pm. Consumer Panel.

Daily Politics Show, BBC2, Mon, 12–1pm.

Daybreak, ITV1, Tues, between 7 & 8.30am. Subject TBC.

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
		Best	Worst
	€	113.29	105.46
	$	144.69	134.18
	TL	262.20	239.29
Rates correct at 3pm Tues
Find all top currency rates Compare travel cash

Martin's Facebook Page

All Martin's Appearances

Cheap Travel Money Guide

This week's poll: How much are you worth?

Last week's poll result

ADD UP your home's value and all other assets, eg, pension funds
THEN SUBTRACT all debts (including mortgage)

… how much are you worth? Or how much in debt are you?

In debt: over £1 million more debt than savings/assets	Vote
In debt: £250,000 - £1 million more debt than savings/assets	Vote
In debt £100,000 - £249,999 more debt than savings/assets	Vote
In debt £25,000 - £99,999 more debt than savings/assets	Vote
In debt £10,000 - £24,999 more debt than savings/assets	Vote
In debt: £5, 000 - £9,999 more debt than savings	Vote
In debt: Up to £4,999 more debt than savings	Vote
Roughly same debt as savings (or neither of both)	Vote
Saver: up to £4,999 more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: £5,000 - £9,999 more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: £10,000 - £24,999 more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: £25,000 - £99,999 more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: £100,000 - £249,999 more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: £250,000 - £1 million more savings/assets than debt	Vote
Saver: over £1 million more savings/assets than debt	Vote

Should people need to sell their home for long term care?

Over 13,000 people voted in last week's poll and 70% thought taxpayers should fund care homes for the elderly.

The remaining 30% believe that, should someone have assets, incl property, these should be sold to fund care.

Agree? Have your say in the forum discussion and see Full Results.

Question of the week

Board of the week

Q. I received a PPI reclaim payment of £2,500 but the bank paid this into my account twice. Do I have a legal right to this money? Adrian, by email

MSE Wendy’s A: If your bank paid into your account in error, legally, you’re not entitled to the money and it’s likely the bank will ask for it back. Before spending it, check and get proof of where the money’s from. It could be your reclaim was split into two parts (eg, the refund and the interest, or for each person in a joint account).

It’s OK to keep the money in another account, earning interest while you figure out where it’s come from, but be prepared to repay at short notice.

If the extra money's from an individual, not your bank, employer or the government, it’s their responsibility to get the details right and they must chase the cash. Though think how you’d feel if you lost the money before deciding to keep it.

Techie stuff
If you got a new gadget for Xmas and don't know how to use it, look no further. This board is great for swapping tips, including tablets vs laptops, issues with DVD drive and sharing kindle books.


	Archna's FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Cut the rope

Incredible new beauty product - takes off years

That's all for this week, but before we go, watch this ad for a new market-leading beauty buy, it's amazing - all the supermodels must use it. New secret beauty buy.

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team

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What you need to know

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.
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Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the Sunday Post as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog

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Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay 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) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed.

As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:

Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email

moneysupermarket.com, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, simplyswitch.com, nationwide.co.uk, money.marksandspencer.com, saga.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, natwest.com, barclaycard.co.uk, gocompare.com, aviva.co.uk, directline.com, comparethemarket.com, barclays.com, churchill.com, santander-products.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, uk.virginmoney.com, northernrock.co.uk, westbrom.co.uk, theaa.com, homephonechoices.co.uk, bt.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk.

Financial Services Authority (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.

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