Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
Over 50 ways to save, incl... Martin's Money Makeover, 9p crisps, self-employ news, Pow of Att refunds END, 10 takeaway tips, cheap Brit Gas, Nectar Avios, top 0%, free postcard, Barclaycard alert
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Important news for the self-employed and excluded The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been a lifeline for many who are self-employed. The third grant closes its door to applications on Fri, and it's likely 100,000s of eligible people have yet to apply. Many haven't done it as they're likely nervous of signing the declaration, but for some that nervousness is misplaced. We take you through who is due what on the third grant below, but before we get to that...
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Ends Sun. The 1.3m still owed Power of Attorney refunds will MISS OUT unless they act now. Many in Eng & Wales are due up to £54 for each - it's easy to reclaim and takes a few mins. Check if you're owed now via our Reclaim Power of Attorney Fees guide. Totally FREE personalised postcard. Real mail's a welcome novelty now. App newbies only, ends Sun. Free postcard 10 takeaway/delivery tips, incl how to find codes (eg, £10 off Deliveroo). With restaurants shut, the MSE Deals team have had more takeaways recently than most people have had, well, hot dinners. Now MSE Becky's compiled their top tips, incl how to grab cashback, the cheapest day to order and more. See 10 takeaway & delivery tips. New. British Gas cheaper switchers' deal - save about £190/yr & 'free' 1yr heating insurance (norm £138/yr). For new switchers to BG, its Brit Gas Feb 2022v3 deal is fixed for a year, and matches E.on's 1yr fix (also newbies only) as the joint-cheapest big-name deal. Both are comparison site ONLY (BG only via us), so you can't call up and get them - these links take you there. Your comparison will show savings of £117/yr on typical use against the current price cap, but YOUR SAVINGS WILL BE UNDERESTIMATED as the price cap's set to jump in Apr - compared to that, you'd save £204/yr (avg saving over the next 12mths is £189). Find choosing confusing? Use our Pick Me A Tariff every year (MSE Autoswitch) or Pick Me A Tariff just for now. Barclaycard's increasing minimum payments by up to 50% this week. While higher repayments mean you clear debt quicker and pay less interest overall, it can hit cash flow. See Barclaycard min payments rise help. 9p Walkers crisps, £4.50 Nescafé instant coffee (500g) via EXTRA 10% off code for reduced 'past best-before' food. MSE Blagged. Approved Food is a site selling cheap groceries near or past their 'best-before' date (which is just a manufacturer's view of optimum quality, so they're safe to eat - don't confuse with 'use by' on fresh meat, dairy etc, which is a health warning). Min spend £22.50, delivery £3+. Approved Food Ends Fri. Cheapest iPhone 11 contract we've seen, incl 25GB/mth EE data. MSE Blagged. The iPhone 11's got far cheaper since the 12 launched. Until 11.59pm Fri, EE newbies (via this Affordable Mobiles link) can get a 64GB iPhone 11* with unltd mins, texts and 25GB/mth data for £79 upfront, then £26/mth. The £703 cost over the 2yr contract is £135 less than buying the handset outright with a similar data Sim. More help in Cheap iPhones. Find the cheapest handset or Sim for you: Cheap Mobile Finder. |
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New. Top 0% card for new spending / borrowing - 20mths' interest-free Credit cards are like fire. Used right they're a useful tool, used wrong they burn. 0% purchase cards are for new borrowing, and this week there are a couple of new best buys. Done right, they allow longer-term borrowing at no cost whatsoever. That's powerful, but only do it for a needed, planned, affordable, one-off purchase (eg, replacing a broken fridge). Never do it willy-nilly to fill gaps in your income - that can result in a vicious spiral. Will you be accepted? Don't just apply. It's better to use our 0% purchase card eligibility calc to find which cards you've the best chance of getting without hitting your credit score. It includes the best buys below...
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Avios has joined Nectar and ditched Tesco Clubcard. Swap Nectar for Avios and vice versa. Avios news Ends Sun. 2GB Sim with unltd mins & texts - '£4.38/mth'. MSE Blagged. Until Sun, newbies to Lebara* (uses Vodafone's network) can get 2GB data plus unltd mins & texts at £2.50/mth for 3mths, then £5/mth, on a 1mth contract - making it an equiv £4.38/mth over 12mths. In our latest data usage poll, 70% told us they use 2GB/mth or less. Compare all Sims & find cheapest handsets: Cheap Mobile Finder. 13 MoneySaving tips for cyclists, incl work-based discounts, try before you buy and DIY repairs. Cycling has grown in popularity during the pandemic, so see our updated Cycling MoneySavers. Get £40 cashback for investing £400. 1,000 left. MSE Blagged. If you plan to 'robo-invest' - where investments are selected for you based on your attitude to risk - then after fees, this Wealthify deal is equiv to a 9.6% head start, provided you keep the full investment for a min 6-7mths. (The fact we've included it doesn't mean we recommend Wealthify - we don't do investment tips, it's just if you're going to use Wealthify anyway, you can get cashback). See Robo-investing cashback, incl info on the deal + how robo-investing works. Self-assessment tax return deadline is 11.59pm Sun - now no fines if you miss it, but if you don't pay outstanding tax by then, interest is charged. HMRC's waiving fines for all those who miss the deadline but file by 28 Feb, though late payment penalties still apply. See Self-assessment news. |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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Driving licence renewals have restarted - DON'T risk a fine of up to £1,000. Drivers whose licences expired between 1 Feb 2020 and 31 Dec 2020 were given an extra 11mths to renew. So if yours expired last Feb/March (or does this Jan/Feb), renew NOW or you could be hit with a heavy fine. Full driving licence renewing help. SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: |
THIS WEEK'S POLL Have you got a summer holiday booked? While most travel is currently suspended due to coronavirus, some have started to look ahead, with a number of holiday firms reporting a rise in bookings for the summer. Have you booked a getaway? Working-from-home tax relief is the most accessed form of coronavirus financial support among MoneySavers. Last week, we asked what financial support you'd had during the pandemic, if any, and 4,600 of you responded. The most commonly-accessed form of help was working-from-home tax relief, with 16% saying they'd claimed this. Overall, 30% said they hadn't needed help, but it was a different story for the self-employed, who were more than twice as likely as everyone else to take out a mortgage, loan or credit card repayment holiday. See full financial support poll results. |
MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 27 JAN ONWARDS) Wed 27 Jan - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm. Listen again MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Sun 31 Jan - BBC Radio Leicester, Mid-morning with Summaya Mughal, from 10am |
'IS IT USING YOUR LOAF TO GET A BREADMAKER?' That's all for this week, but before we go... with many finding themselves with more time now we're all at home a lot more, a hot topic on our MSE Forum last week was around baking your own bread, after a Forumite asked if buying a breadmaker was MoneySaving. Some said it won't pay for itself on basic bread alone, but with many lockdown bakers using theirs for pizza bases, sponges and banana bread too, the savings had started to rise (sorry) for some. Let us know your top breadmaker tips - and whether you've saved any dough - in the forum. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
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