Oct

2023

Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

17 October 2023

Over 50 ways to save, incl... Is PPI back?, £2.85 shoes, Winter Is Coming!, guaranteed credit limit 0% cards, cheap Pixel 8, 5 Vue tix £22, ½ price Kärcher, free financial ed textbook, free John Lewis £100 with big spend

This info may be out of date. Read this week's emails

Get our free weekly Money Tips email!

Grab the latest deals, guides, tips 'n' tricks directly from Martin and the MSE team. Don't miss out

Show less

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL

Martin: Winter is coming - 12 key tips to stay warm & cut costs
- 5 important energy bill checks
- Full service breakdown £57
- Cheap boiler cover
- 70 home energy savers

New. Guaranteed credit limit 0% debt-shifting cards (incl top no-fee)

Free financial education textbook & MSE Academoney

Is PPI reclaiming back?

£2.85 shoes, plus under £6 clothes & accessories

Martin video: Still repaying your student loan? You may be due £1,000s back

SOLD OUT ~~1/2 price Kärcher code~~

Spread word: 100,000s of women aged 66+ are due HMRC letter that could be worth £10,000s

How much will the state pension rise in 2024?

Google Pixel 8 '£27/mth'

5 Vue tix £22 & cinema savers

How to beat 41% car & home insurance hikes - Martin's pod

Top 5.2% easy-access savings from a BIG name

Free £100 John Lewis on big spend

Struggling with money due to mental health? Should you talk to your bank?

5p/litre off Morrisons' fuel

E.on Next low income customer - get 50% off?

Cheapest EVER 30GB Sim - '£4.50/mth'

£54 Sanctuary Spa set £26.50

FREE solicitor-drafted will

This week's best buys, including 5.6% loans, £19 fibre, free £200 bank switch

Should I pay more towards a holiday with my boyfriend who earns less than me?

BEST BUYS & TOOLS

MSE Cheap Mobile Finder

Credit Club including free credit report

0% balance transfers

Compare broadband deals

MSE Compare+ Car Insurance

Best bank accounts

Top savings accounts

Credit cards for bad credit

Credit Card Eligibility Calculator

Loans Eligibility Calculator

Mortgage comparison

Compare travel money

Cheap Energy Club, with Pick Me A Tariff

Best Sim-only deals

Martin: Winter is coming...
12 crucial tips to stay warm, cut costs, and get your house in order

Energy deals, breakdown cover, flu jabs, free coffee, ditch Direct Debits?, boilers, stop male chickens & more

It's that time of year when I do my best Jon Snow impression, and yell out loud and large, winter... is... coming... and it's time to prep. And with not far from half the nation saying their heating is on or soon to be on, it's needed:

1. ENERGY BILLS. For most, costs are likely to be higher this winter than last, so I've FIVE key checks for you. While the cost of energy will be on average 23% less than this time last year, the state isn't giving homes the £400 subsidy it did last winter. The loss of those six £66/£67 monthly reductions means, in total, a household with typical use will still pay more this winter than last over that period. After a year of heavy inflation, that will be hard for many. So there are five crucial checks to do now (only for Eng, Scot & Wales, unless stated, as N Ireland's on a separate system).

Do a 2min Direct Debit (DD) check-up - is yours too high? Energy rates dropped on 1 Oct, but some've still seen DDs rise. If you pay by monthly DD, enter your kWh usage from your bill into our 'Is your Direct Debit right?' calculator to find out roughly what it should be. If too high, see how to challenge unfair DDs.

PS: If you're fed up with monthly DDs and just want to pay for what you use, to avoid paying 7% higher rates, see variable DDs.
Are you owed £100s or £1,000s of credit? If you pay by monthly DD, at this time of year it's appropriate to have a couple of months' worth built up as credit, so check how much you've got. If it's a lot more, then as long as your DDs are right, see how to get your energy credit back. If you're in debt at this point of the year, your DD probably needs to be higher or you'll build up the debt.
Should you switch energy deal? Switching savings are nothing like before the crisis, but some are still possible. The strongest deals are for E.on and Octopus existing customers, but everyone should check out the top energy deals listed as part of our guide on whether you should stick, switch or fix.
Standing charges are up, though one provider's cheaper. I can hear millions of gnashing teeth as you read this. While overall prices dropped in Oct, the daily standing charge paid even if you use nowt rose to over £300 a year. This energy poll tax is the regulator's (wrong) choice. For more and for lower standing charge options, see my Why are standing charges so high? What can you do? blog.
Check if you're due a support payment. (Also see N Ireland energy support.) The £150 for those with disabilities was paid back in June, leaving:

- Benefits £900 (2nd payment due soon). Those on qualifying benefits, incl Pension Credit, between 18 Aug and 17 Sept are due £300 from 31 Oct. See 2nd payment who & when help.

- Pensioners up to £600 boosted winter fuel payment. State pensioners usually get £100 to £300 winter fuel payment. A flat one-off £300 has been added again this year.

Also, for those on some benefits and Pension Credit, in 'inefficient homes' there's the £150 warm homes discount. There's also the cold weather payment (Eng, Wales, NI) and the flat £55 winter heating payment from Feb (Scot).

2. BREAKDOWN COVER. Drive down costs, get the whole shebang(er) for just £57/yr full service. Breakdowns spike when the cold weather hits, and the consequences can be worse then too, eg, stuck on a motorway when it's freezing...

£57 for roadside recovery, home start and onward travel. AutoAid's* been one of our top picks for over a decade. It covers you and your partner in any car you or they drive. Newbies via this link pay £57.28/yr (£15 more if car's over 15 yrs old). An equivalent AA couples' policy can be £200+. Call out time and service feedback is decent. More options: Cheap breakdown cover.
Haggle success rates: RAC 85%, AA 81% of those who tried. That's according to our last poll (Dec 22). Breakdown is the number 1 sector to haggle in, so don't see it as a fixed price. As Alan emailed: "My wife did a marvellous bit of haggling and got our RAC renewal reduced from £322 to £103. Your advice empowered us." Full Breakdown haggling tips.

3. FREE FLU JABS. Are you eligible? It takes mere seconds to check and, if not, how to cut the cost in our free & cheap flu jabs.

4. BOILER COVER. Check yours now, many can bring costs down and get a 'FREE' service. Don't feel you must link your boiler cover and energy provider, they can be separate, and standalone deals are often far cheaper. There's no one cheapest plan, it's a combination of what you cover (from just boiler to electrics, drainage and plumbing) and excess. We suggest you check out these three...

YourRepair* | Hometree* | Ovo's Corgi HomePlan*

We found they were the cheapest deals that meet our min cover requirements, including... you get at least an annual boiler service and can claim 30 days after the policy starts. Yet by far the best thing is to read full pros, cons and options in our Cheap boiler cover guide. What's more difficult is to assess service levels.

5. Over 70 home energy saving tips

Our checklist of 70+ ways to save energy is a mix of hardcore savings and some thrifty crowd-sourced tips. As just a taster...

Take the flow rate challenge - cut gas bills by £65/yr. Many gas combi boilers' default flow rate setting (the temperature of the water that circulates) is higher than needed, making boilers less efficient. Reducing it is easy, can cut bills by 3% and you're unlikely to feel a difference. Take the boiler challenge.
Is your fridge and freezer too cool? Fridges should be 5°C, freezers -18°C. If yours are lower, you're likely wasting energy.
Fit FREE water-saving shower heads. As we pay to heat it, cutting water use often reduces energy bills too. There are 100,000s of water-savings freebies available, eg, a low-flow shower head (pushes air through too, so you feel little difference) which can save up to £30/yr of hot water. Related: Slash £100s off water bills with a meter?
Try dropping your thermostat by one degree. Many have thermostats set in the 20s, but 18 degrees is said to be fine for healthy adults. Test turning it down a degree or more, and adding extra clothing, to see how it goes. A cut from 21 to 20 degrees could save a typical home £100. PS: No need to boost the temp when it's colder outside. The thermostat's job is to take you to the set temp, it may just take longer.
Don't be afraid to touch your knob. OK, the proper name is a radiator valve, but I made you look. Either way, ensure you control which rooms you heat, so you're not wasting cash overheating empty spaces. Ensure you turn off radiators in rooms you needn't heat.

6. FREE OR CHEAP CUPPAS. Warm your cockles at Greggs, Waitrose, Ikea, Gail's and more (or grab the freebie and give it to someone sleeping rough) via our Free tea & coffee tricks.

7. STOP MALE CHICKENS. Do you know where yours is? (If I used the real term, this email may go to your spam box.) Everyone should know where their stop-thingy (rhymes with lock - the mains water off switch) is. Frozen pipe bursts create an average £7,500 of damage - worse if you can't find the off switch as your home floods. If you aren't sure, see How to turn your water off.

8. FREE CAR CHECK. Oil, battery, wipers etc (norm £15). Before any long journeys in cold and wet weather, it's a wheely good idea to check your motor's in tip-top condition. And there's a way to get Halfords' 10-point car check for free - it examines oil levels, battery, tyres, wipers and bulbs, and includes a screen wash top-up.

9. Struggling to pay the bills - key info

Last winter, distressingly, some families felt they had to choose between heating and eating. Sadly, I don't see much changing this winter - a third of households are expected to struggle to afford heating bills (source: National Energy Action). There's far more in our What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide, but in brief...

Talk to your energy firm - be polite and straight - and tell it if you're vulnerable. Tell it you're struggling, it may be able to change your payment plan or help in other ways. Some also have big help schemes that give out grants. See firm-by-firm help.

If you're vulnerable, ensure you go on its Priority Services Register. It can prevent disconnections and ensure you get extra support. For more bespoke help, some key charities can help: National Energy Action, Citizens Advice, StepChange, plus Age UK for older people and Scope for disabled people.
Heat the human, not the home. In sadness, last year I asked the team to put together the extensive Heat the human guide. They did a brilliant job, and it has helped many cut down substantially on usage. It includes how to correctly layer clothes | the hot water bottle in a sleeping bag trick | why you should put your feet up.

And the big one, the cheapest way to warm up, as Sam tweeted about her electric blanket: "@MartinSLewis I experienced the delight of it for the first time. It saved me a lot on heating costs and there is nothing quite like getting into a toasty warm bed in a chilly room."
Can't afford to heat your home? Find a warm bank. Warm banks/spaces are places, offered by libraries, councils and others, where people are welcome to go to spend time and stay warm. It's a bittersweet concept - sad it's needed, great to know help's out there. A few extra hours with the heating off that makes things affordable. See if you, or perhaps a nearby elderly neighbour, can find a warm space near you.

PS: Want to help set up a warm space? Last winter, I commissioned a charity to produce this downloadable free Warm spaces (warm banks) best practice guide for those who want to help.

10. FREE FIRE SAFETY CHECK. There are around 30,000 house fires and almost 300 fire-related deaths in Britain each year - oft related to heating and electricals. This free Fire safety check could reduce risks.

11. FREE INSULATION. In council tax bands A to E (A to D in Eng)? If so, and your home's energy performance certificate rating is D or below, you may now be eligible for free insulation under the Govt's expanded scheme - our new guide has full details. In Northern Ireland? See NI energy grants.

12. LEAVE HEAT ON ALL DAY OR ONLY WHEN NEEDED? Plus 11 other mythbusters. We answer this and other energy-saving conundrums in our 12 energy mythbusters guide.

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Can't afford to clear existing credit card debt? You can't afford not to check this...
New. Guaranteed credit limit 0% balance transfers: find how much you can shift to interest-free before applying
Includes the top NO-FEE card 14mths 0%, or 23mths 0% (3.49% fee)

If you've costly debt on credit cards, a 0% balance transfer is the key weapon. It's where you get a new card that pays off existing card debt for you, so you owe it instead, but at a cheaper rate. That means more of your repayments clear the actual debt rather than just cover the interest. So what many really want to know is: how much debt can I shift? Yet you can usually only find that out by applying, which usually means a hard search goes on your credit file, and each extra one of those can reduce your ability to get future credit. Yet now...

Our eligibility calc can tell your credit limit before applying. Our 0% Eligibility Calculator has long shown which of most top cards you've the best odds of being accepted for. As Jordanne emailed us: "I used the eligibility calculator, and successfully transferred £6,000 costing me ££££s in interest to a 0% for 27 months - meaning I can be (credit card) debt-free in two years!" It does this with a soft search, meaning it has NO IMPACT on your ability to get future credit (you see it on your file, but lenders won't). And now you can check credit limits too...

STEP 1: Tell it how much you need to transfer. Fill in the optional 'How much would you like to transfer' field, complete the form and click 'Check eligibility'.

STEP 2: See if you're pre-approved for a guaranteed minimum limit card. We've three cards that do this (we want lots more), plus you'll get eligibility odds for many more. The three include the top NO-FEE card, NatWest's 14mths 0%, a clear winner for those who can clear their debt quickly, plus NatWest's 23mths 0% (3.49% fee) and Capital One's 18mths 0% (2.9% fee). One of three things will happen:

- You're told you're pre-approved with a guaranteed minimum limit (like in the image). To get it, all you need to do is apply (it will do final ID checks).

- You're pre-approved without a minimum limit. That means it will give you the card, but you likely don't qualify for the limit you want - so go back to step 1 and put in a lower amount to see if you'll get that (we'll work on making this smoother in future).

- You're not pre-approved. In which case, you'll just get your eligibility odds for the card, which could be zero.
If I get a wide choice of cards, what's the best to go for? If you've a choice, go for the LOWEST FEE within a 0% time long enough to clear your debt. Generally, the longer the balance transfer, the bigger the one-off fee. If you're not sure, go long. While we only have three that do credit limits, even if you don't want one of those, if you get an answer, it gives you a loose idea of what other cards may give you.
Getting a card? ALWAYS follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules. Full help in Best balance transfers.
Remember if you're in debt crisis, a balance transfer probably isn't best for you - get free debt help instead. But if you are doing it just to cut your costs, it can work very well, though do follow these golden rules:

a) Never miss the minimum monthly repayment, or you could lose the 0% deal and it'll cost far more.
b) Clear the card (or balance-transfer again) before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to the higher APR.
c) Don't spend or withdraw cash. It usually isn't at the cheap rate and withdrawals hit your ability to get future credit.
d) The balance transfer must usually be done within 60 to 90 days to get the 0% - check your card.

And read the quick balance transfer FAQs... Q. Is it worth applying if my eligibility odds are low? | Q. What if my credit limit isn't big enough? | Q. Can I shift debt to existing cards too? | Q. Should I pay off my biggest debt first? SPOILER: NO.

Is PPI reclaiming back? New legal action - could you reclaim £1,000s (even if you were paid before)? If you had a loan, credit card, car finance, catalogue debt etc, there's new collective legal action you can join to get you back what you paid in PPI if, as was common, the commission was too high (even if you already had some of it back). Full info in our Is PPI reclaiming back? guide.

£1 to £6 ex-high street (eg, Topshop) shoes, clothes & accessories code, plus free delivery. MSE Blagged. Everything5pounds (well, it's not all £5) sells a mixture of ex-high street & non-branded items. Everything5Pounds

Martin video briefing: Still repaying your student loan? You may be due £100s or £1,000s back. 1m overpaid last year, and can get money back. In his new Student loan reclaiming video, Martin explains why, how and if you should. It's gone viral, with huge numbers succeeding. John Shakespear tweeted within a couple of hours of its posting: "@MartinSLewis Just reclaimed £700. Brilliant advice, thanks!" (Though beware, phone lines are busy.)

SOLD OUT ~~Get £80 Kärcher Window Vac 2 Plus for £40 with 1/2 price code.~~ MSE Blagged. 2,500 available. ~~Kärcher~~

Spread word: 100,000s women age 66+ due to get HMRC letter. Don't bin it, it could be worth £10,000s. 100,000s of people, mostly women age 66+ who were off work for childcare between 1978 & 2010, are due to get a HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) letter that may be worth £10,000s due to underpaid state pensions. It isn't a scam. Do read our HMRC letter warning, now updated with many answers to your key questions.

News. How much will the state pension rise by in 2024? See our Triple lock MSE News story.

Google Pixel 8 '£27/mth' - cheaper than buying outright. Vodafone newbies can get the new Google Pixel 8 (128GB) on a 33GB/mth 2yr contract for £69 upfront, then £24/mth, via Affordable Mobiles. That's £645 over the two years, which is £54 less than just buying the handset outright with no tariff from Google. Speedily find other cheap mobile deals: Cheap Mobile Finder. Note: Affordable Mobiles is responsible for the handset, Vodafone for the contract.

5 Vue tickets £22 or 2 FREE cinema tickets (Sky Cinema) & more. See 28 cinema savers.

Got car or home insurance renewal due? Martin's must-listen podcast shows how to BEAT 41% rises... A jam-packed pod, also with the importance of financial education, what I did in my 30s and more. All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen via BBC Sounds, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more. Related: MSE Compare+ Car Insurance tool, MSE home insurance.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- High street coats, shoes & more £5ish with code Ends Sun
- £40 off Kärcher window vac 2,500 available

DID YOU MISS?

- Annual railcards 30% off code - pay £21, not the usual £30
- Ends tomorrow (Wed). 6% BOOST on Tesco Christmas spend
- FREE £5 to spend at Hobbycraft - crafts, toys, games
- FREE £50 investment - 6,000 left

Martin: 'For 30yrs, disgracefully, we've educated our youth into 'debt', but not about debt. EVERY school should teach financial education - too few do. Yet there are top FREE resources to educate your kids & yourself...'

I was pleased to see Labour announce proposals to put more financial numeracy in primary schools, something I've long called for. Yet numeracy isn't enough, we need full financial ed, properly resourced with school materials and teacher training to make it easy for heads. After all, we push many older children towards getting what's called a student 'loan' - surely there's an obligation to ensure they understand this decades-long commitment first?

In 2014, I led the campaign to get financial ed on the English secondary school curriculum. We succeeded, but the lack of literally any Govt resourcing, combined with education changes meaning most schools needn't follow the curriculum, means sadly it hasn't bitten. Change is needed. As a stopgap, our new financial education guide has free resources, including...

FREE financial education teens' textbook. Your Money Matters is the first-ever curriculum-mapped financial education textbook, downloadable for free, with separate Eng, Scot, Welsh & N Irish versions and teacher training materials. Getting this done was a passion play of mine, and even though the system shouldn't rely on private individuals to fund textbooks, as it was that or nowt, I did. Over 400,000 free copies have gone to schools.

It's a meaty fest; 150 pages on savings, borrowing, making the most of money, work, risk, reward, security and fraud. So many adults have told me they learnt lots, so I'm now working with the Young Money charity on an adult version.
Join 61,000 others on MSE's free Open University Academoney course. We joined forces with the OU to produce six 2hr Academoney adult modules, covering spending, budgeting & tax, borrowing, mortgages, saving & investing, and pensions (with videos from yours truly). It's been one of the most popular free OU courses since launch, with 61,000 people enrolling. As Forumite geochu posted: "Just completed the course and I thought it was excellent. I am still only young and I didn't know much about managing my finances, so it has taught me a huge amount of valuable information. Thank you so much MSE and the OU!" PS: There's a Welsh language version too.
Teach littler ones about money. There are loads of free resources for children in our guide, here's just a few... Money Heroes (3 to 11) from Young Money includes videos, downloadable activity sheets and online stories for children, and resources for children with special educational needs. The Cub Scouts and Beavers have a Money Skills Activity Badge to help build money skills, and the Guides have Live Smart skills badges and activities for older girls.

It's still, still alive... top 5.2% easy-access savings from a BIG name... but for how long? We thought it wouldn't last long, but NatWest Group's Ulster Bank* 5.2% AER variable is still the top easy-access saver, so you can put money in and withdraw as you like... as long as you've £5,000+ to open it. Full info & options (incl if you've less) in Top savings.

Free £100 John Lewis gift card with BIG spend. If you're planning to buy a big-ticket appliance (£800+), see how via John Lewis £100?

Struggling with money due to mental health - should you talk to your bank? Last week's World Mental Health Day ITV The Martin Lewis Money Show Live is now watchable online, taking you through the key help.

Ends Sun. 5p/litre off fuel at Morrisons on £35+ spends. Cheapest in plenty of areas we checked. 5p/L off fuel

E.on Next 50% off 'low income' tariff has clarified who can get it. We've got the firm to clarify who can get the discount and clear up its terms after MoneySavers reported issues. See E.on winter scheme update.

Cheapest EVER 30GB Sim just '£4.50/mth'. This iD Mobile (uses Three's network) Sim is £4/mth for 3mths, then £8/mth for 9mths, and you can CLAIM a £30 Amazon or Currys voucher (within 3mths). Factor all that in over the 12mth contract, and it's equivalent to £4.50/mth. Speedily find cheapest mobile deals: Cheap Mobile Finder.

Boots 'Star Gift' £54 Sanctuary Spa set £26.50. 7-piece set, including bodywash, bath foam and more. Sanctuary

Get a FREE solicitor-drafted (or updated) will if you're 55+. There are still appointments left for the Free Wills scheme (free in the hope you'll leave something to one of its partner charities). Under-55? Book now for November's Will Aid, which is similar (though asks for a small, upfront donation). See Free wills.

Tell your friends about us

They can get this email free every week

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 29mths 0%, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 14mths 0% (24.9% rep APR)

£200 to switch + 8% regular saver: Nationwide
£175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct

Top easy access: Ulster Bank 5.2%, min £5,000
Top one-year fix: Ahli United Bank UK 6.1%, min £1,000

Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR
Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR

Cheapest standard & fibre (up to 55Mb): Shell Energy '£18.55/mth' (though Shell's customer service rating ain't great.)
Fast fibre (55Mb+) and decent service: Now '£24.84/mth'
Superfast fibre (100Mb+) and good service: Plusnet '£26.99/mth'

On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.45/mth' for 5GB
10GB to 30GB data: iD Mobile, '£4.50/mth' for 30GB
31GB+ data: iD Mobile '£7.09/mth' for 70GB

THIS WEEK'S POLL

The MSE Annual Census. So who are MoneySavers? For the tenth year running, rather than data mining, we reckon the politest way to find out is just to ask. We think you may like to find out a little bit more about who else uses this site (or, more accurately, who uses this site and answers the polls). So please fill in the 10th Annual MSE Census.

MoneySavers rate Monzo and Starling as the best banking apps. Last week, we asked how you rate your bank's app, and more than 5,300 people responded. App-only Monzo once again came out top for features, with 86% rating it 'great', followed by Starling at 79%. Starling just pipped Monzo on usability, with 81% rating it 'great', compared with 79% for Monzo. Lloyds did best of the traditional banks - 66% said its app was 'great' for features, 71% for usability. See the full banking app poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Sainsbury's shopper? You can book your Christmas delivery slot now - here's how
- Morrisons' Christmas delivery slots open from this week - here's how to bag yours

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I pay more towards a holiday with my boyfriend who earns less than me? My boyfriend of six months and I are planning our first holiday together. I know his salary's around £10,000 a year less than mine, but I've never told him how much I earn. He's currently saving for a deposit on a first property, while I already have a mortgage and savings. Should I offer to pay more towards the holiday? It feels unfair it should impact him more financially than me, but I don't know if he'd be offended if I offered to pay more, or if we should just be splitting costs equally at this stage of our relationship. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I pay more for a holiday with my boyfriend who earns less? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- Ask An Expert: Energy
- MSE Forum highlights: Meat, mail & maternity

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 18 OCT ONWARDS)

Wed 18 Oct - Good Morning Britain, ITV, 8.45am
Wed 18 Oct - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm

25 YEARS & COUNTING... HOW OLD IS YOUR MOBILE HANDSET?

That's all for this week, but before we go... with hotly anticipated new mobile handsets clamouring for our attention, MSE Forumites have been turning the conversation to how old their current handsets are. One poster sang the praises of their ancient Nokia - it may be over eight years old, but the battery still lasts six whole days. We were impressed by the user whose phone is 11 years old - they reckon its only downside is it can't get WhatsApp, which is apparently the only way their daughter likes to communicate. The oldest handset mentioned that's still in use was a flip-top Motorola with great battery, an enduring bit of kit from 1998. For more, head to the 'How old is your handset?' MSE Forum thread, or our Twitter and Facebook posts.

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team

Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

What you need to know

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis.

More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE.

Who is Martin Lewis?
Martin Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

What do the links with an * mean?

Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed.

As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:

Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email

autoaidbreakdown.co.uk, yourrepair.co.uk, corgihomeplan.co.uk, hometree.co.uk, barclaycard.com, natwest.com

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note

MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited.

To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.

MSE email

1 October 2024

FREE weekly MoneySaving email

Show less

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!

FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe

Tesco shopper? You've got two weeks left to spend £14 million of expiring Clubcard vouchers – or extend them with our trick

17 August 2024

If you've got a Tesco Clubcard, check if you have any vouchers close to expiring, as £14 million-worth are due to run out on Saturday 31 August.
Received car finance mis-selling compensation out of the blue? It DOESN'T stop you complaining about the latest scandal

13 August 2024

Some MoneySavers have reported receiving car finance mis-selling compensation payments out of the blue. But these are unrelated to the latest ongoing investigation into hidden commission, which means you CAN still complain about that on top.
Amazon launches new credit card offering rewards on your spending – is it worth getting?

13 August 2024

The Amazon Barclaycard has no annual fee and gives 1% to 2% back on purchases at Amazon and up to 0.5% elsewhere, all paid in the form of gift cards to use at the online retail giant.
Chase cuts rate on popular 5.1% boosted saver – should you ditch and switch?

13 August 2024

Chase has cut the rates on its linked easy-access 'boosted saver' and standard saver accounts by 0.25 percentage points.
NS&I launches new British Savings Bonds paying up to 4.6% if you lock your cash away – but how do they stack up?

13 August 2024

NS&I has refreshed its range of fixed-term 'British Savings Bonds' by adding a two-year option paying 4.6% and a five-year option paying 4.1%. And its three-year bond will now pay newbies 4.35% (up from 4.15%). Here's how they stack up.