Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
Over 50 ways to save, incl... Black Friday bargains, NS&I alert, £240 MAC and Benefit etc £60, Baileys £10, self-employ grant 3, £165 off Scot Power, free wine, Christmas grocery slots
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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
Self-employed grant 3 opens MONDAY - but be aware, the criteria are stricter
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NS&I top savings slashed to 0.01% - move to 0.6% easy access or 1% notice. Sadly, the big NS&I rate drop announced in Sep has just happened. If you've yet to move, UBL UK at 0.6% AER is top for easy access (it only allows one penalty-free withdrawal a month and must be opened by post). As rates are changing fast though, see Top easy-access savings for the very latest top picks. UBL UK's 1% AER 35-day notice postal account is currently top if you can wait to withdraw your money, though it drops to 0.75% in Jan. Both rates are variable, but if you want certainty, Tandem's 0.85% AER is fixed for 1yr (min £1,000). More options and how they work in Top Savings.
IMPORTANT: Scottish Power dual-fuel customer? Urgently cut your bill by £165/yr WITHOUT switching. If, like most, you're on its standard direct debit tariff, you pay £1,042/yr on typical use. Yet via comparison sites (not direct), existing dual-fuel custs can move to Scottish Power's Super Saver Nov21 B3 at just a typical £877/yr (incl £25 Cheap Energy Club cashback, avail via this link). It's a 1yr fix so the rate's locked in, but go quick as we don't know how long it'll be around. Though you could save up to £226/yr by switching firm - use our Pick Me A Tariff or MSE Autoswitch tools. First mortgage prisoners FREED after MSE campaign, incl Maurice who's saving £500/mth. Some are escaping to cheaper deals under new rules - though Govt action is still needed to help others. Mortgage freedom Shift debt to 18mths 0% for NO FEE, plus £20 Amazon vch. Those accepted for this Santander 18mth no-fee 0%* credit card will be sent a £20 Amazon vch within 90 days. So if you've credit or store card debt, check NOW if you'll be accepted via our eligibility calc. As there's no fee, if you clear what you owe within 18mths it's totally free, and you get the vch - no wonder this deal was so popular last week, which is why we're reminding you of it. Full options in Top Balance Transfers (APR Examples). Golden rules: 1) Pay at least the monthly min. 2) Pay it off within 18mths or it's 18.9% rep APR. 3) Don't spend/withdraw cash on it. Christmas grocery deliveries open for bookings at many stores, but demand is high so hurry. See store-by-store supermarket delivery info. Coronavirus disrupted travel plans? Please take our 3min survey. We're rerunning our research into the best & worst travel firms for refunds. As ever, we'll flag up problem areas to the Govt and regulators. Refund goodies & baddies |
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Pay with a cashback or rewards credit card and you GET PAID TO SPEND - some people make £100s a year this way. Just do all normal spending on it (as it's not an excuse to overspend) and pay it off IN FULL each month, preferably by direct debit, and there's no interest and no cost. Do it now and you'll get the gain over the high-spend pre-Christmas period. Yet this is only for those who are financially disciplined. If you don't trust yourself with a credit card it's not worth the risk.
Full details on these cards and other options in Credit Card Rewards (APR Examples). |
£10 for 1L of Baileys in-store, or £12 bought online. As always in the run-up to Christmas, supermarkets battle to be cheapest to sell Baileys (which is normally £20 for a 1L), and if you're prepared to go into a store it's the cheapest we've seen, with the top online prices decent too. See £10 Baileys. Pls be Drinkaware. Important & shocking Daily Mail undercover expose of 'Money Expert' door-knockers (who are nowt to do with us). The investigation shows, among other things, that sales staff are using Martin's name to flog energy switches and are entering homes during lockdown. Money Expert expose Deliveroo 25% off £20 at 1,000s of takeaways, incl Subway, Byron and Prezzo. Via app, ends Fri but it won't work at all restaurants. Full info in 25% off Deliveroo. Free 15-bottle wine case for switching to Virgin's 2% interest account. New Virgin Money* current account switchers get a case of wine it values at £180 - pls be Drinkaware. The account pays 2.02% AER variable interest on up to £1,000 (which you can get without switching). To get the wine, within 31 days of opening you need to switch incl 2+ direct debits (via its official switch service), register for its app, and put £1,000 in its linked 0.5% savings account (you can move the cash after the wine vch arrives). Full info in Best Bank Accounts. Green Homes Grant extended to Mar 2022. Good news as many struggled to find installers in time - but more changes are needed. Full help on how it works in Green Homes Grant. Check if you can claim free school meals. With more people claiming benefits, more now qualify. School meals help |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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Want a sneak preview of MSE's new Cheap Mobile Finder? We're giving it a final polish before we officially launch it next month, but our Cheap Mobile Finder is working, and packed with clever MoneySaving features to help you find top Sim and handset deals. So do have an early play, and pls send us feedback (or, heaven forbid, let us know if you've found a glitch). SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: |
CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Donate unwanted items to the British Heart Foundation... by post. If you're having a clear-out during lockdown, even though many charity shops are temporarily closed, you can still donate by post for free. As long as they're in good condition, box up your old clothes, fancy ornaments, video games, jewellery, records or electronics, then download a Freepost label and take 'em to your local Collect+ drop-off point. Donations go to British Heart Foundation shops and support raising funds for lifesaving heart and circulatory disease research. |
THIS WEEK'S POLL When did you last make a call on your home landline? To get broadband at home, you often need to have a landline as well. But with many increasingly turning to other methods of communication, from video calls to group messaging, this week we want to know when you last used your landline to make or receive a call. Let us know in this week's poll. Banking via app is the most popular option for many MoneySavers (though not the over-65s). Last week, we asked you how you access your bank most often - app, web or branch? With more of us banking remotely during the pandemic, it's little surprise that digital banking was the clear winner. Of the 8,000+ people who responded, 50% used their bank's app most often, and 35% its website. But there was a stark age divide - app-based banking was the most popular option for 63% of those under 65, but just 30% of those aged 65+. See full bank access poll results. |
MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I sell my new PlayStation 5 to make a profit at the expense of another gamer? I managed to pre-order a PlayStation 5, but have had a change of heart as I'm not impressed by the new game releases. I could return it for a refund, and buy it next year when more games have been released, or I could sell it on eBay. The current hype around the new console means I'd likely make a nice little profit on eBay, but as someone who was a keen gamer when I was younger, it feels slightly immoral. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I sell my new PlayStation 5? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 25 NOV ONWARDS) Thu 26 Nov - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.55am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Mon 30 Nov - BBC Radio Manchester, Drive with Phil Trow, from 2.25pm |
WHAT ISN'T MONEYSAVING... BUT FEELS LIKE MONEYSAVING? That's all for this week, but before we go... last week, social media was swamped with people asking "what isn't something but feels like something" about lots of different topics, so we tried it for MoneySaving. Top responses we had included buying three items for the price of two when you only need one, driving miles to a cheaper petrol station to save 5p a litre, and buying Christmas chocolates early when they're on sale only to scoff them all before the big day. See more examples and add your own on our What isn't MoneySaving but feels like MoneySaving? Facebook post. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
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