Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
Over 50 ways to save, incl... Lidl £5, 1.22% savings, Martin's Covid checklist, free Greggs, financial ed, earn £100s via surveys, pet insurance going cheep
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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
... including the MSE / OU Academoney, financial ed textbook and Student Loans Decoded film We live in one of the world's most competitive consumer economies. Firms spend billions on advertising, marketing and teaching their staff to sell. Yet consumers get little training to be buyers. Ever since MSE was founded, one of our core aims has been to redress that imbalance - so big news this week. On Thu 10 Sep, 8pm, ITV, Martin's got a live 1hr financial ed special in front of a large (virtual) audience - don't miss it. As that means millions will no doubt be newly-enthused about improving their and their kids' money knowledge and skills, we've compiled key resources...
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£5 off a £25 Lidl spend - 'appy days. Plus you could get £20 MORE off. Lidl's now officially launched its app (excl NI). Newbies get £5 off a £25 spend, while all app users now have a 1in5 chance on each shop of a 25p-£20 discount AND get weekly coupons. Save a Lidl more The top 25 online survey sites - earn £100s/year for your tuppence worth. You can top up your income by giving feedback on everything from mask-wearing to Meghan & Harry. We've just added three new sites to our guide - Forumite Diggingdude uses one: "I don't do it religiously, but made about £300 in 8mths." Cash for questions Ending? Top 1yr fixed savings: 1.22% (plus up to £50 cashback for some). The top 1.22% AER 1yr fix, where you lock money away for a fixed higher rate, right now is from Charter Savings Bank* (min £1,000), but it's only avail via savings marketplaces (this link takes you via Raisin, which also gives £5-£50 cashback if you save £5,000+). It still retains full UK savings safety protection though. We'd go quick, as we think it may disappear any minute. If you're after easy access, NS&I pays 1.16% AER variable (min £500, & min deposit/withdrawal £500). Full info & more options in Top Savings. FREE £1ish Greggs sausage roll (incl vegan) for Vodafone mobile customers. 5,000 avail per day till Sat, so go quick. Greggs Top credit card debt shift for POOR credit scorers - 9mths 0%. If you pay credit card interest, check if you can shift the debt to 0% via a balance transfer - where you get a new card that repays other cards so you owe it instead, but interest-free. Acceptance can be tricky for those with a poor credit history, but 1) Don't assume you'll be rejected, use our balance transfer eligibility calc to see if you can get up to 28mths 0%, 2) If not, check out the Fluid card, which accepts some poor credit scorers at 9mths 0% for a one-off 4% fee of the amount you shift. Only shift what you can repay within that time though, as it's a hefty 34.9% rep APR after. Golden rule: Always pay at least the min monthly repayment and don't spend/withdraw cash on these cards. Full info in Top Balance Transfers (APR examples). Martin: I confess, I did a 'decoy effect' experiment on my Twitter and Facebook followers... and it may be why they're buying more Jaffa Cakes (and overpaying for Netflix). Read Martin's new blog. |
Ends Mon. 'Free' dog/cat hamper with M&S pet insurance - but is it the best deal for you? Here's our speedy rundown of how to get the paw-fect cheeeep pet insurance With many still struggling to afford basic necessities during the coronavirus crisis, there's a temptation to cut or forgo pet insurance - it's estimated over 12m pets are uninsured. Yet as there's no pet NHS, and treating broken bones can cost £1,000s, there are real risks if you don't have a safety net. Whether you've had a pet for ages or are one of many new-ish owners following a surge in pet ownership during lockdown, our Cheap Pet Insurance guide helps with getting a first policy or switching. Here's a litter of quick tips.
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FREE visits to 6,000+ historic buildings & heritage sites (some in-person, some virtual). Throughout Sep, many usually-closed or usually-charging places are open to visit or take an online tour of, incl Margate Caves (in person) and the Giant's Causeway visitor centre (virtual). Heritage Open Days Ends Sun. £5 Amex cashback on £10+ spends at 1,000s of LOCAL stores, restaurants, hairdressers etc. Works on top of existing offers - though pay it off IN FULL to avoid interest. £5 off Amex Heads up: Free £100+ bank-switching bribes are back - there's one newbie this week, and we think more are to come. Until now, the Halifax Reward account was the only one to offer a £100 switching bribe for months, and it's ending right now (11.59pm Tue 8 Sep, so only early recipients of this email will be in time). Yet now the RBS Reward account pays £100 if you switch and £5/mth cashback if you pay a £2/mth fee and jump through a few minor hoops. Better still, we're hearing rumours of other launches to come soon, which may be better... so watch this space. Full info in Best Bank Accounts. £22 Superdry prescription specs (norm £110). MSE Blagged. Plus free delivery. Superdry specs Five MSE team members are buying their first homes during the pandemic - what they wish they'd known before they started. Our First-Time Buyers' guide takes you through the normal way to do it, but what's changed as a result of coronavirus? MSE Katie, Kit, Becky, Molly and Holly share what they've learned. Students, parents, teachers - get up to 10% off a Mac or iPad + 'FREE' £159 AirPod earphones. Not MoneySaving, but if you're buying one anyway some can save £100+ with this discount - it's for students, their parents, teachers and anyone who works in education. Take a bite out of Apple's prices |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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Pret now offers up to 5 coffees/'barista-prepared' drinks a day for a £20/mth subscription. See how it works and if it's worth it. SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: |
CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Protect yourself from pension scams - learn the tell-tale signs. Over £30m has been lost to pension scammers since 2017, so the Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator want people to get savvy on how to avoid being swindled. To clue yourself up on how to spot phishy investment scams you could receive online, via text, on the phone or through the post, take the regulators' short ScamSmart quiz. |
THIS WEEK'S POLL How much of your shopping is now online? Online shopping has been growing in popularity for years - and when the pandemic first hit, many only went out for essentials, so a lot of us relied on it much more than usual. But now stores have reopened, we want to know how much of your shopping is done online? Over half of you hope to travel abroad in the next year. Last week, we asked if you're planning to travel overseas in the next 12mths. Almost 10,000 of you responded, with 57% planning a trip - though most of those said they would only go if they didn't have to quarantine. A quarter of those with plans have already booked and paid in full, with summer 2021 the most popular departure time. One in five respondents told us they don't feel safe enough to plan any travel abroad in the next year though. See full travel abroad poll results. |
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I send back the pricey diet plan I got free? I wanted to try a new diet plan, where the ingredients for a week's meals are sent to you - but it's expensive and I wasn't sure if I'd like it, so I contacted the company to ask if it'd swap some ingredients. It said it would and asked for my address. A few days later, I received a package with meals for a week and the ingredients I wanted - but I didn't order or pay for it, and there was no bill included. I've not heard from the company since, so I'm not sure if it was a free sample or sent by mistake. Should I send it back? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I send back the pricey diet plan I got free? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 9 SEP ONWARDS) Thu 10 Sep - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.55am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC) Wed 9 Sep - BBC Radio Manchester, Drive with Phil Trow, from 2.25pm, Steve Nowottny on motoring MoneySaving |
'I'VE OVER 20 OLD NOKIAS - AND MOST STILL WORK': WHAT VINTAGE TECH DO YOU OWN? That's all for this week, but before we go... remember when the only purpose of mobile phones was to make calls, send texts and play the odd game of Snake? Last week marked the 20th birthday of the iconic Nokia 3310, and to celebrate, MoneySavers have been sharing pics of their vintage tech. It seems loads of you have drawers full of old mobiles, Walkmans, VHS video recorders, Discmans and more - with many devices still in full working order. Take a trip down memory lane - and let us know what you have - with our vintage tech Twitter post. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
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