Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Martin's (Digital) Wallet Workout
A 5-minute financial fitness class to GAIN pounds, £100s of 'em

Get paid £170 to change debit card, regain lost Oyster cash, cut debts, free £264 Sainsbury's, condoms, coupons, 0% overdrafts & more

The cards and products held in your purse or wallet are a window on your finances, so a regular quick check of what you're holstering can give an easy cash boost.

Yet on Monday my quick Twitter poll showed over a quarter of the 18,000 voters no longer take a physical purse or wallet out, but instead rely on their phone's digital wallet. So my 2022 wallet workout is going virtual too (though I'd still keep one piece of plastic in the phone case, for when you run out of juice).

So now I've put my cards on the table, it's time for you to do the same. Get your purse or (digital) wallet out, and let's get a fiscal sweat on...

1. Had your debit card for years? Free £170 to get a new one. Debit cards are linked to bank accounts, and if you've had the same bog-standard account for years, unless it makes you feel special, why not get paid to ditch and switch to a new provider?
   
   - Top upfront free switchers' cash: HSBC Advance pays £170*
   - Big cash & no. 1 service: First Direct pays £150*, but has the big boon of being top for service, rated 90% 'great'.
   - Free cash & a bit of 5% interest: Nationwide FlexDirect pays £100 and 5% interest for a year, but only on up to £1,500 (so max gain £75).
   
   Do check the accounts' exact eligibility criteria, we list that and more options in Best bank accounts. Plus expect to pay in a set monthly amount (in most cases your salary) and shift direct debits.
   
   Some take a bigger bite of free cash, as Sami emailed us: "Me and my partner made an extra £800 last year by switching multiple times. We're now able to afford the dental work we need. Thanks a bunch." See how to do this safely in multiple switch help.
   
   Digital Wallet: All these debit cards can be put into Apple and Google Pay. Their apps are decent, though not outstanding like Monzo and Starling (but these two don't pay switchers).
   
   
2. You could ditch your donor card. In England, Scotland and Wales you're automatically considered willing to be an organ donor unless you opt out. Yet donor cards do helpfully let your loved ones know your wishes. An easy digital alternative is to register your decision (Eng/Wales) or Scotland, so your family know your wishes, better still if you discuss it with them. In Northern Ireland, until 2023, you will still need to opt in to register as a donor.
   
   PS: You can be a living donor too. There are many ways to help while living, including blood & plasma donation, bone marrow donation, stem cells (age 16-30) & hair for young cancer patients.
   
   
3. 40+ digital coupons, including free £2 Comfort, free £1.25 Tango, free £1 Ambrosia & more. The days of clipping coupons are nearly at an end. Online codes and cashback apps have taken over, meaning you can access coupons wherever you are. Current offers include free £1.25 Tango and free £1 Ambrosia porridge. Our regularly updated 40+ coupons collate them for you.
   
   
4. Got credit or store cards you pay interest on? Take a 2-minute test to see if you can make it interest-free. Don't assume you can't cut the cost of existing card debt - put your details into this 0% Eligibility Calculator and it'll show if it's likely you'll get an interest-free debt-shifting deal, and your percentage chance of being accepted for each of the top cards. Once you move the debt, your repayments will clear what you actually owe rather than mostly just cover the interest. Many save £1,000s.
   
   - Low eligibility: Try for your best chance anyway, this is important.
   - Lots of choice: Go for the card with the lowest fee in the time you need to clear the debt. (Unsure how long you need? Go long.)
   
   Full top picks & help in Best balance transfers (APR examples), but Santander's flying high until Monday (links via eligibility calc, so you can see if you're likely to get them)...
   
   - Ends Mon. Top pick long 0%. Santander 33mth 0% (2.65% one-off fee, min £5), plus most can claim a £30 Amazon voucher in Sept (which, if you'd have spent there anyway, effectively helps cover some of the fee). After the 0% ends, it's 21.9% rep APR.
   
   - Ends Mon. Top NO-FEE pick. Santander 21mth 0%, and again most can claim a £30 Amazon voucher. After 0% ends, it's 21.9% rep APR.
   
   If you do get a balance transfer card, follow the golden rules:
   
   a) Clear the card before 0% ends, or you pay the full rep APR.
   b) Never miss the min monthly repayment, or you can lose the 0%.
   c) You must usually transfer within 60 days to get the 0%.
   d) Don't spend/withdraw cash on these cards. It isn't at the cheap rate. One option is dunk it in a bag of water and freeze that. Having to smash ice really makes you think twice before using it.
   
   Digital Wallet: I wouldn't add a balance transfer card to your digital wallet because you don't want it accessible to spend on.
   
   
5. Do you travel in London? Check if you're due money back on Oyster or contactless cards. There's over £500 million of unclaimed credit on old Oyster cards. Plus if you paid via Oyster or contactless (whether real or digital) and either failed to touch your card at the journey's end, or were delayed 15 mins by tube, you may be due speedy money too.
   
   It's easy to do, see our quick Oyster & TfL contactless reclaiming guide for help. As Babs Morgan posted on my Facebook page: "I made the call, after checking I had £40 on my card which I didn't use anymore. Got £45 into my bank account a week later."
   
   
6. Is your debit card a debt card? If you go overdrawn, even occasionally, YES, and it's dangerous. Credit cards get a bad rap, but if you're overdrawn, debit cards' interest are typically double credit cards, as most now charge 40%. So see if you can sort it, even if you only overdraw a few times a year.
   
   - Small or occasional overdrafts: First Direct* pays accepted new customers £150 to switch to it, and gives many an ongoing £250 0% overdraft (40% AER above that). So for a, say, £350 overdraft, the free £150 clears some and the rest is interest-free.
   
   - Larger overdrafts: Nationwide FlexDirect switchers get £100, and it offers a year's 0% overdraft, the size of which depends on a credit score, but some can get more than First Direct. Do aim to clear it within the year or you're back at 40%. Alternatively for big overdrafts, another option is to shift it to a 0% money transfer card.
   
   - Treat overdraft borrowing like a debt: Try and repay a set amount each month, eg, £50 (so you should start the next month with a £50 smaller overdraft than the one before). More help, tips and info in How to cut overdraft costs.
   
   
7. Is there a railcard in your wallet? If you spend £90+/yr on train travel, check it out, there are more than you think. If you're under 31, over 60, disabled, a couple, got kids aged 5-15, or are just two people who travel a lot together (eg, to football), then look at a railcard. They cost up to £30/yr and get you a third off most train travel, so if you'll spend £90+ annually, even in one journey, you can save. See is there a railcard for me?
   
   Digital Wallets: You can choose between a paper and Railcard app digital Railcard when you buy (but can't store in Google/Apple Pay).
   
   
8. Get your plastic to PAY YOU to spend on it. There's a range of cards that do this, a full rundown's in our Cashback cards guide, but my two top picks currently are:
   
   - Chase pays a simple 1% cashback. Chase debit card* is easier to get and pays top 1% cashback for a year. You needn't switch bank to get it, so can have it on top of free cash above.
   
   As David emailed: "Having seen the Chase cashback info, we had a new central heating boiler installed. The invoice arrived yesterday and was paid via Chase. Today I've received the £25 reward."
   
   - For bigger spenders (£1k+/mth), a free £150 Amazon or £264 Sainsbury's AND £120/yr at Deliveroo AND 2x free airport lounge passes. Check out our Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card write-up in the weekly email from a fortnight ago.
   
   Digital Wallet: Both are easy to add, in fact with Chase, you may be able to do it on the same day your account is opened.
   
   
9. Are you one of 2m whose photo driving licence has expired? Photo driving licences usually expire after 10 years - so as you've got your purse is out, check yours. See how to check your licence, which also has info on how to renew safely and cheaply. If you don't renew, you ultimately risk being fined.
   
   
10. Need new borrowing? Don't just pull a card from your purse. Be very wary of doing new borrowing, but if you must, try to avoid paying interest. Our 0% purchases cards guide shows how to borrow interest-free (& warns when you should and shouldn't).
    
    
11. Lighten your wallet by chucking loyalty cards. Unless you need it for bicep curls, a heavy wallet's a pain. So take out all those you use less often and declutter, as they can usually be stored virtually in Apple Wallet, Google Pay, or loyalty card keeper apps.
    
    Plus check our Loyalty points boosting guide, including tricks for Nectar, Boots, Tesco and more.
    
    
12. Got expense receipts stuffed in your wallet? Those old receipts can be turned into cash, so get on with filing them, especially as some employers have time limits. Plenty of apps let you scan and digitise your receipts, so that may be easier. Better still, see if your firm lets you pay for expenses on a cashback or rewards card, then you can gain on what you have to shell out for.
    
    
13. Got condoms? Check they're still in date... Carrying a condom around in your purse or wallet might be a cliché, but safety counts. Remember though, condoms have use-by dates, so as you're doing this workout, it's a good time to check.
    
    To replace, you can use the NHS England free condom search, and there's info for Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland too.
    
    Digital Wallet: As for the digital equivalent of safe-sex, I think that's covered plentifully elsewhere on the inter-web.
    
    
14. ... and for a different type of protection, spend a penny. Under the Section 75 law, buy something costing £100.01 to £30,000 and pay for any of it, even a penny, on a credit card, and the card firm's jointly liable with the retailer for the WHOLE amount. So if you make an important purchase, if you can, put at least some of it on a credit card (paid off in full, obvs).
    
    This is powerful voodoo if the retailer goes bust, won't play fair with faulty items, or you buy abroad and can't take the item back. Full info, including when it doesn't work and how to claim, in the Section 75 guide.
    
    Debit card and credit card purchases under £100 do have the less, though still decent, chargeback protection too.
    
    Digital Wallet: This is one place digital can be a problem. Paying on credit card via buy now, pay later or sometimes via PayPal can break the causal link that gives Section 75 protection. More details in the guide.