Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

New. Super-cheap mobile deals - can you save £100s?

- 5GB data Sim just '£4/mth', or 12GB '£5/mth' 
- Unlimited data iPhone £500 over 2 years

With the cost of living crisis hitting most key bills, one oasis right now is the mobile market, where deflation continues in tariff prices. That means if you haven't looked at your bill in a couple of years, there are almost certainly savings to be made.

Six years ago £10/month got you 4GB of data - now you can get treble that for half the price.

The speedy route is to use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool, and below we'll take you step-by-step through the current cheapest Sim and hot handset deals from it. 

MoneySaver Debra emailed to say she's saving £340/year: "Thanks for the tip. Instead of paying £20/month each for our two mobiles, we went Sim-only and now pay £11.60/month for the two phones - saving £28.40/month."

If you're one of the nine million people who are out of contract on their mobiles, you may be massively overpaying. Some may even be forking out the same old 'pay off your handset' contract rates, even though their handset's already fully paid off.

Yet use our cheap Sim comparison to find the right Sim (the chip in your phone that dictates your data, calls & texts allowance) and many can save large. If your phone's locked to a network, your existing provider must unlock it free of charge - see free mobile unlocking.

Here are examples of what's out there - all have UNLIMITED mins & texts. Not sure how much data you use? Our Data Calculator can help...

• 5GB/month for '£3.92/month'. Ends Fri. This Virgin Mobile Sim (uses Vodafone's network) costs £6/month, but you can claim a £25 Amazon voucher. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £3.92/month over the 12-month contract.
  
  
• 12GB/month for '£4.86/month'. Ends Sat. This MSE Blagged Lebara Sim (uses Vodafone's network) is £1.99/month for five months, then £6.90/month on a one-month rolling contract - we've averaged the price over a year.
  
  
• 100GB/month (which is HUGE) for '£10.92/month'. This Three Sim costs £15/month, but gives £49 automatic cashback within three months. Factor it in and it's equivalent to £10.92/month over the year's contract.

Worried about switching as you want to keep your signal?

There are actually only four UK networks: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. All others piggyback on their signals (for example, Tesco Mobile's underlying network is O2). So you can move to a cheaper provider and keep the same signal, but as always, when switching provider...

- If you've a 5G phone, do check that the new provider offers 5G.
- Features such as Wi-Fi-calling or 4G-calling may not be available. Our tool flags up what each offers, so if they're important to you - check.

Our cheap Sims tool allows you to filter by network, so you can find the cheapest deal for the provider you want. This table shows you cheap deals for each network with around 4GB/month usage...

Sticking with your current handset is cheaper and greener. But if you need a new phone / or really want one (and can afford it), then there are many ways to cut the cost...

• Getting the features you need doesn't always mean the latest model. There's a big price premium on the latest handsets, yet the changes from model to model these days are usually small (cynics may say it's just marketing to keep pumping prices high). Our find me a phone tool lets you say what you want from a phone, then finds the cheapest suitable handsets.
  
  Or, if you know how much you can pay, let that rule with our find me the best phone & deal within my budget tool.
  
  
• Contracts now often beat buying the phone & Sim separately. It used to be buying a handset outright and pairing it with a cheap Sim was always a winner. Yet over the last year or so we've seen some resellers' contract deals massively undercutting that.
  
  Our cheapest new handset tool shows both options across all phone models. The table below shows some of the most popular (all with unlimited mins & texts), all of which are also MSE Blagged, as we've managed to negotiate deals that undercut the market leaders.

• Refurb handsets are often far cheaper. Top-grade refurbished models are often just returned from customers who have changed their mind. For example, a "pristine" refurb iPhone SE 2020 64GB is £239 versus £369 new. In our handset comparison tool filters, just opt to include refurbished phones and you can compare refurbs against new phones to find the cheapest way to get one.

Yes, it's now that bit at the bottom, where we group together all the tips and bits we want to tell you that don't really fit in the sections above...

• Happy where you are? Haggle to cut costs. Mobile firms are among the easiest to haggle with - success rates for those who try are over about 70%. So use the tools above to benchmark your top deal, then see our mobile haggling tips for how to get your provider to beat it.
  
  As Danny emailed: "My contract had run out and I was paying £40/month. I renegotiated a new Sim-only contract, and it has halved my bill. I probably wouldn't have checked it if I hadn't followed your advice - so a big thank you."
  
  
• Flog old mobiles - for example, £150 for an iPhone. If your phone is still usable there are sound financial and environmental reasons to recycle your old handset, given they can give off potentially noxious substances as they decay.
  
  You could pop the handset on eBay, or for ease, use one of the dozen mobile-phone-buying companies out there. To find the best payer, there are comparison sites including Sell My Mobile*, Compare My Mobile* and Compare and Recycle - use at least a couple for the widest possible search.
  
  Firms usually promise payment via bank transfer within one day of receiving your phone. If something goes wrong, unfortunately you've little protection, so check reviews first. More info in our Sell your old mobiles guide.
  
  
• Add a spending cap to stop eye-watering bills. If you use up your monthly data allowance, extra data often isn't cheap. But simply add a spending cap to your account, and you'll never spend more than you can afford. See how to set a personalised spending cap.
  
  
• Members of cashback sites may be able to get deals even cheaper. These sites often give cashback on Sim-only and handset deals, and in some cases, they can undercut promotional deals elsewhere. But don't assume they're the same deal: they can be structured differently, so check carefully. See Top cashback sites for more.