Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
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8 new CORONAVIRUS financial need-to-knows, including... Second self-employment grant opens | Redundancy rights | Spain help | Greece warning | Rent evictions return & more...
1) SELF-EMPLOYED? The second income support grant opens on Mon. From that point, you can apply for the final Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, worth up to £6,570. The eligibility is the same as the first one - so sadly many are still excluded. See self-employed grant eligibility and how to apply. 2) REDUNDANCY. Sadly it's coming for 100,000s - tool up on your rights now. We're sorry to be so blunt, but every day there seem to be announcements of job losses, and more bad news is likely to come, especially once the furlough scheme ends. Our fully updated Redundancy Help guide has tips to prepare financially, plus details of your legal rights, including the recent confirmation that redundancy payouts should be based on normal (not furloughed) salaries. 3) SPAIN, BELGIUM, ETC TRAVEL BANS - your refund, insurance and quarantine rights. Those two plus the Bahamas, Luxembourg and Andorra have recently been added to the UK's travel exclusion list, and further changes may still come. We've full info on your rights if you've a trip booked. 4) GREECE WARNING. You'll need special paperwork in advance or you may be refused entry. It's a popular summer destination in its own right, plus may be bolstered by holidaymakers to Spain rebooking there. Full info on Greece and many other countries in the top 15 destinations travel rules. 5) RENTAL EVICTIONS BAN. It ends shortly in Eng & Wal. If you've been unable to pay rent, you're protected by a ban on court eviction hearings, but only till 23 Aug. Full help (incl Scot & NI info) and what to do if you're behind on payments in rental evictions to restart. 6) PRE-LOCKDOWN RETURN RIGHTS. Do shop returns ASAP, eg, for Argos you've till Sat. Many retailers extended refund policies so you wouldn't miss out while stores were closed - the final few end soon. See retailer-by-retailer return policies. 7) INSURANCE BILLS HELP. It's been extended till 31 Oct. If struggling due to coronavirus you have till then to ask to downgrade policies (eg, remove extra drivers) to cut costs or to ask for payment holidays. See insurance help. Also, see more payment holiday help for mortgages, credit cards, loans, car finance and more. 8) SAVINGS PROTECTION. Temporarily high balances now safe for 1yr. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme usually protects deposits up to £85,000 if a bank goes bust, though there's a special rule to protect up to £1m for 6mths after a life event such as selling a home or getting an inheritance. That's been temporarily extended as coronavirus has made it more difficult to spend or move large sums. Temporary high balance help |
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Ends Wed (today). £5 off a £25 Lidl spend. Valid at stores in Eng, Scot and Wales via a new app. Save a Lidl more £5,000 green home improvement vouchers in Eng - who can use them. The scheme launches in Sept and after the Govt revealed who could actually use it last week, our story was so popular that we're highlighting it again in case you missed it. Eg, those who just planned on getting double-glazing don't qualify. See Green Homes Grant. Coffee trick - 19p Pret, 32p Costa and 38p Starbucks cuppas by stacking Eat Out to Help Out + other offers. MSE Rhiannon has come up with a clever trick by combining a few existing deals for coffee, tea, croissants and more. Brew-tiful saving 10 finger-lickin' KFC MoneySaving tips, incl free side and 9 chicken pieces for £3 (norm £12ish). We're bringing you lots of food hacks in Aug given Eat Out to Help Out is on, so here are 10 KFC tips. Related: Eat Out to Help Out 50% off - who's taking part. Last chance? Top fixed savings via sharia accounts, eg, 1.2% expected interest for 1yr. For easy access, Govt-backed NS&I pays the top 1.16% AER variable rate (min £500 & min £500 deposits or withdraws). But if you're prepared to lock money away, sharia bank QIB UK launched two hot deals via savings marketplace Raisin last week, and as top rates don't tend to last long right now, we're reminding you of its QIB 1.2% AER 1yr fix* and QIB 1.4% AER 2yr fix* (both min £1k). In line with Islamic principles, both pay 'expected profit' not interest, though we've not seen a UK-based sharia bank fail to meet expected rates. QIB has full £85k/person protection, its rates beat other 1yr and 2yr fixes, and via those links, Raisin newbies can claim £5-£50 on £5k-£85k deposits. Full info and options in Top Savings. |
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Energy regulator Ofgem announced on Fri an avg £84/yr drop, based on typical use, in the max price firms can charge for their standard tariffs, which kicks in on 1 Oct. However, these are already mega-expensive rates paid by a whopping 11m people - either after a cheap deal has ended or if they've never switched. What's more, they'll still be hugely expensive compared to the top deals for switchers even after the cut, as the table below shows. So many can save £100s by switching. Plus this week there's a new cheapest fix in Eng and Wales. It's from a medium-sized firm with middling service, but if you want a big name or better service, or if you're in Scot, there are other hot deals about. All rates below except from Outfox the Market are only avail via our Cheap Energy Club links and incl £25 MSE cashback where avail.
Switching energy is easy. Your supply won't be cut off, no one visits your home (unless you want a smart meter) and it's the same gas, same electricity and same safety. The only changes are price and service. See our switching FAQs. PS: On a Big 6 standard tariff? We've based savings above on the average new price cap cost, so it's accurate at a national level. But when you click to our Cheap Energy Club, your personal savings figure may be overestimated as we don't yet know precisely what firms' standard rates will be from Oct for your area and use as the news is so fresh and suppliers haven't yet released that level of detail. We'll be updating our numbers as soon as possible, but in the meantime, personal savings are compared to current prices. But most can still save big, so don't worry. |
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Warning. Are you one of 10,000s of women missing out on £1,000s of state pension? We reported in June that many married women who hit state pension age before Apr 2016 and get less than 60% of their husband's basic state pension are entitled to a boost to get them up to that 60%, possibly backdated for years. That still stands, but other women should check too if they're underpaid for similar or other reasons, incl widows, divorcees and over-80s (married or not). Are you owed £1,000s? Tesco axes cheap deliv & collection slots. See what you'll now pay and what rivals charge. Tesco changes Get 5% back on everyday spending for up to 6mths. Accepted new Amex Plat Everyday (check eligibility / apply*) credit card applicants get 5% intro cashback on the first £2,000 spent in the first 6mths. Above £2,000, or after 6mths, the rate is up to 1%, but you must spend £3k+/yr to qualify for any cashback. Yet never use cashback as an excuse to overspend, and always repay it IN FULL each month, or the 22.2% rep APR interest wipes the gain. Full help and more options in Credit Card Rewards. 'I've fostered cats for 10mths... how you can care for dogs, rabbits etc too for free.' Lockdown has created greater demand for pets, and this is a good option if you can't commit long-term, though it's still a big responsibility. MSE Sarah explains how to foster a pet for free for days or months via charities, which often provide food and equipment. Sadly now sold out. |
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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: |
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THIS WEEK'S POLL Are you 'eating out to help out'? The Government's 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme gives a 50% discount up to £10 per person on sit-down meals out from Mon to Wed throughout Aug. Tell us if you've used it, and where, in this week's poll. First Direct top in our banking service poll. Last week, we asked you to vote in our twice-annual banking customer service poll, and more than 3,400 people responded. Of the banks that received 100+ votes, First Direct came top with 90% of its customers rating it 'great' and just 4% 'poor'. Surprisingly, Monzo - which won the last poll - took the wooden spoon with 43% rating it 'poor'. Next worst was Santander with a 21% 'poor' rating. (Note: The poll only just closed before sending this email, so we will be digging deeper into Monzo's performance.) See full bank service poll results. |
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA My tenants left without cancelling their broadband - should I keep using it? I'm a landlord and recently moved into one of my flats that was previously let to tenants that left without paying several months' rent. I discovered they hadn't cancelled the broadband, so I've been getting it for nothing. Given they owe me money and seemingly don't check their bank accounts, do I really have to contact them about cancelling it - or should I just keep using it? Enter the Money Moral Maze: My tenants left without cancelling their broadband - should I keep using it? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs |
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MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Mon 17 Aug - BBC Radio Manchester, Drive with Phil Trow, from 2.25pm |
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MONEYSAVING WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT That's all for this week, but before we go... for days, much of the UK has been sweltering, and in some places there is more to come. So MoneySavers have been sharing tips on saving cash while staying cool, including rinsing your wrists under the tap, sitting with your feet in a bowl of cold water or freezing hot-water bottles. Read more tips and add your own in our Beat the heat Facebook post. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. 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. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * 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 products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. 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 raisin.co.uk, americanexpress.com, santander.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, gocompare.com, cahoot.com, tsb.co.uk Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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