Jun

2025

Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Over 50 ways to save, incl... Beer check, Winter Fuel help, 5% savings, 20 mobile theft & cost savers, cut debt costs even with poor credit, 4x free £100s, On energy fix - stick/twist?, coupon FREEbies, new top loans, car finance update, Ikea 60% off

This info may be out of date.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

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

Thefts are up! Sim prices are down!
20 mobile phone must-knows
Ten tips to help you save £100sTen anti-theft tips (To deny thieves access to your data/finances!)

For most of us, our phone is a life hub, holding everything from personal memories to sensitive banking details. And yet...

- Millions allow far too much money to drip out of their pockets and into networks' hands, with over 14m people out of contract and being ripped off.

- And millions of phones are set up to be insecure, with thieves ever-more desperate to nick 'em. The Office for National Statistics estimates 483,000 thefts from the person in 2024, up 50% from the year before, with mobile phones the most stolen item. And a phone theft is about far more than just replacing the device - there's the risk of financial havoc too if the thief gains access to your apps and data.

Here are our 20 tips to protect your pocket in every way...

1. Are you free to switch & save? Type five digits to find out whether you're out of contract. Text 'INFO' for free to 85075. It's an Ofcom service and firms must then tell you whether you're out of contract. You're looking to see something along the lines of 'a £0 early termination/cancellation charge' to find out if you're free to move.

- With Three, Smarty or iD Mobile? You'll need to reply with your date of birth to prove identity.

- On a multiple phone contract? The service won't work for you, but if you've been with the same provider for more than two years, you're likely out of contract, though do contact your provider to check.

2. Slash what you pay... you can get 35GB data, unlimited UK calls & texts, plus free EU roaming for just £3 a month! Data's dirt-cheap right now, yet many people are massively overpaying. To find the right deal for you, use our Cheap Sim Finder, but here are some of our top picks to show you what's available (all include free EU roaming):

- Lebara (on Vodafone's signal) 35GB/mth for '£2.80/mth'
- iD Mobile (on Three's signal) 50GB/mth for '£3.84/mth'
- iD Mobile (on Three's signal) 120GB/mth for '£5.42/mth'
- O2 70GB/mth for '£8.79/mth'
- Not sure how much data you use? Try our Data Calc.

Debbie emailed in Feb: "Hi Martin, I swapped my phone to Sim-only with a different provider after watching your show. I had two phones costing £81/mth after my contract was coming to the end - the lowest they could go was £15 each. I got a new Sim-only deal for both at £16/mth, saving £65/mth [a saving of £780/yr]. Thanks."

Martin's warning about a dodgy trick some firms play... "People are often shocked by the huge savings reported into my TV show on mobiles. Yet it's often as they've fallen for the same catch, and it's one everyone needs be aware of (check on vulnerable people you know, too).

"Many sign up to an all-in-one deal, where they get a new phone and their tariff. No problem. That'll usually be at a much higher cost, say £30/mth. Yet once the contract ends and the handset's cost is repaid, some firms - often the big ones - disgracefully don't drop the cost. So you pay the same amount each month, even though the vast bulk of the cost was handset repayment. It should be banned. It isn't.

"So we must self-police. They will always send you an out-of-contract notification. This is the most important thing to check then."

3. Not switching because you want to keep your signal? You can keep it and switch... It's important to understand there are only actually four networks in the UK: Vodafone, Three, EE and O2 - they all have their own infrastructure. All the others out there piggyback on them and use their signals (see who piggybacks on who).

So even if you live in a place where you can only get decent coverage with one network, say O2, that doesn't mean you're stuck with them. As, say Giffgafff, Tesco and Sky Mobile all use the same signal as O2, you just need to find the cheapest deal on your current signal, which our Cheap Sim Finder lets you filter. Do check the features though (eg, 5G calling, voicemail), as they may differ.

Of course you may want to stick with your existing network - in which case, if you're out of contract, benchmark the best deals from our comparison and use our how to haggle down your mobile bill guide to ask them to beat or match your bill.

As Suzanne emailed earlier this year: "After watching [Martin's] show last week, I contacted my mobile provider. My current two-year contract with EE ends in March. I asked them what they could do for me on a Sim-only deal. I have gone from paying £75 a month to £9 a month [saving £770 a year]. So thank you Martin and all of the team."

4. To keep your number when switching, text 'PAC' to 65075. Then you get a 'Porting Authorisation Code' you can send to your new provider, which'll transfer your number over, usually in one working day (it also tends to mean your existing firm will try to give you a better deal to keep you - if you want that, see our Mobile haggling guide).

5. Want free EU roaming? Most big networks don't give it, many little 'uns do. Vodafone, Three and EE all now charge £2ish/day to use your phone & data package in the EU. O2 is the only 'big four' network still free. Yet many piggyback operators are free to EU-roam, including Lebara, Smarty and Giffgaff. Again our Sim comparison includes this info. Also see our tips for using less data.

6. Roaming outside the EU? There's an eSIMple way to cut costs. Your home network will charge up to £15/day just to use your data allowance. Instead, buy a cheap international eSim online (eg, £11 for 10GB of USA data that lasts 30 days), which adjusts your phone's settings and temporarily routes it via another provider to give you a data allowance overseas.

Ken emailed in January: "Read the article to learn if we could avoid EE's charges for keeping our UK data allowance while in the USA. With a little research, we found an eSIM with unlimited data for $52 for three months (about £42). EE would've charged us £25 a week, a total cost of £300. So thanks MSE Clare for steering us to a £260 saving on each of our two phones."

7. Need a new handset, be it iPhone, Samsung or owt else? Use our tool to find the hottest deals... It's usually far cheaper to stick with your current phone and just change Sim, but if you're looking for a new handset, we've top models below, or use our Handset Finder for top deals on other models:

- iPhone 16 (128GB): 10GB/mth of data, equiv £31.91/mth over 2yrs
- iPhone 15 (128GB): 100GB/mth of data, equiv £28.08/mth over 2yrs
- Samsung S25 (128GB): 300GB/mth of data, equiv £28/mth over 2yrs
- Samsung S24 (128GB): 300GB/mth of data, equiv £24/mth over 2yrs

Also check if you can save £100s on a refurb. Top-grade refurbished models are often just returned from customers who've changed their mind, but they can be far cheaper than buying new, eg:

- iPhone 14 (released 2022), 'pristine' condition: £329
- Samsung S23 (released 2023), 'pristine' condition: £299
- Google Pixel 8 (released 2023), 'pristine' condition: £319.99

Stock's often limited, so it's best to head to our handset comparison tool, which lets you filter on refurbished phones so you can compare refurbs against new phones to find the cheapest way to get one.

8. Are you being lied to that you have a 5G signal? Why your phone may show a signal but you can't connect. There's a great piece of journalism on when a signal isn't a signal that has just been published by London Centric, so we thought we'd share it (and while it's focused on London, similar likely applies UK-wide).

PS: Use our Coverage Checker tool to quickly check what signal you can expect on a new network. It's not an exact science, nor does it look at 5G coverage, but it's a great ready reckoner to show coverage details at your location.

9. Got an unused old mobile sitting in a drawer? Flog it... There are a few options when it comes to Selling your old mobile, and it's better for the environment to ensure that it'll be used somewhere in the world.

- Upgrading to Apple or Samsung? Both offer trade-ins for money off a new phone. Samsung, for example, offers £200 off any Android, working or not. Apple offers £150 for a working 64GB iPhone 12.
- For max cash. If you're prepared to put in a little more effort and flog your handset yourself, you can quite often get a better price on eBay*. See our eBay selling tricks.
- Want a quick, hassle-free sale? Try a specialist site - just enter your model to get a quote. When we checked, one offered £205 for a working 64GB iPhone 12. Here's how to speedily compare to find the top payer.
- Only got an empty mobile phone box? Don't bin it. Flog your tech leftovers online, eg, iPhone 16 Pro boxes sell for up to £16.

If you are selling your phone, don't forget to first safeguard your photos, videos, contacts and other important data. See before you sell tips.

10. Handset over a decade old? If you're on O2 (includes Giffgaff, Sky and Tesco), 3G is being switched off - check NOW if you'll be disconnected. Three of the four major networks have already shut down their 3G services, so it's only the O2 range left to go. If you're using an older device that doesn't support 4G, you won't be able to access the internet. Use our 4G Checker tool to find out if your phone is 4G compatible.

This is both about protecting the financial and personal data on your phone and protecting your pocket if your phone does get stolen. There's detailed help in our 16 tips to protect your phone from thieves and Mobile phone insurance guides, but here are the highlights...

11. Stop your phone showing security texts when it's locked (showing them makes it easier for thieves to make purchases or log in to apps). It's common for banks and others to send notifications or security codes to your phone, and these will often show on your screen - even when your phone's locked. That's not good if your phone's stolen. So find out how you can turn off 'preview notifications', so a thief would need to be logged into your phone to get any security codes, which can be used to change passwords or make purchases.

Beware 'shoulder surfing'. It's an on-the-rise method used by thieves before stealing phones from unsuspecting victims. This involves thieves lingering around pedestrians, keeping an eye out for the phone's Personal Identification Number (PIN) before snatching it or nabbing it from you when it's unlocked.

12. Dial a quick code to save your phone's unique ID number - the police will request this. To access it, dial this quick code then screen grab your phone's unique IMEI number (an image of one is on the right). This can then be used by the network to block or identify a phone if it's been stolen.

13. Set up 'Find My Phone' and similar tracking apps so you can locate your mobile or remotely wipe all info. You need to set up tracking apps on your device, such as Apple's 'Find My' or Samsung's 'SmartThings Find', BEFORE your phone gets stolen to take advantage of all of its features, which add a significant layer of protection to your phone's security.

As well as enabling you to locate your mobile, most tracking apps also have a number of additional features to protect you if it's unrecoverable. These allow you to:

- Mark your phone as lost/stolen, so payments are suspended.
- Remotely wipe all the data from your phone.
- Remotely lock your phone (Samsung and other Android devices only).

14. Enable biometrics for your phone and banking apps. So use fingerprint or face ID for both. If not and you're a PIN code person, use different PIN codes, especially for all your financial apps.

15. Turn on 'stolen protection' to detect and protect if your phone's nicked. This works a little differently depending on the operating system you're on (see Apple help and Android help for how to do this), but the idea's the same - there's a setting you can turn on that either locks your phone or disables certain features (such as your digital wallet) if the phone thinks it's been stolen.

For more key points on phone safety, read 16 tips to protect your mobile.

Cheap mobile insurance from £40
Protect your pocket if your phone IS stolen

16. Cheapest: Standalone insurance from £40/yr for phones under 3yrs old. While exact prices vary by handset, through our spot checks, we found these four providers are usually the cheapest, while also meeting our minimum cover levels. Phones are usually replaced within a week, but timings vary, so check...

Insurance2Go*. Plus get £10 off 'Full' cover with code 'MSE10'.
Mobile Phone Insurance Direct*. 10% off 'Premium' cover when you use the code 'INSURE10'.
Love It Cover It*. Code 'SAVE10' gets 10% off 'Premium' cover.
Switched On*. 'Ultimate' cover.

17. Fastest: Your network's cover, costs up to £170/yr. Here, handsets can arrive the next working day, but you can only cover new phones. Insuring, say, an iPhone 16 costs £120 to £170. See network insurance.

18. Cheapest for families: Packaged bank accounts from £138/yr. If you have multiple phones, get one of these accounts (you don't need to switch to it), pay a monthly fee, and loads of decent quality insurance is thrown in (do register phones if possible, as it can speed up claims). It's usually £100s cheaper than separate policies if you'd use all the insurance. Full info in Top packaged bank accounts, but top picks include...

Virgin Money Club M, £12.50/mth (so £150/yr). Covers phones of any age for all family members living at your address, and gives worldwide family travel insurance and UK & European breakdown cover.
Club Lloyds Silver, £11.50/mth (so £138/yr). Covers your & your partner's phone, but only if you set it up as a joint account. You also get European family travel insurance, UK breakdown cover and a 'free' 12mths of Disney+. We have more options in the Top packaged bank accounts guide.

19. The E.T. option: Phone, home insurance. Contents insurance often covers phones for fire or theft, and some let you pay extra for cover away from home. Yet a claim could push up renewal costs, and often replacements/payouts aren't quick. Use our Compare+ Home Insurance tool to find your cheapest policy.

20. The DIY option: Self-insure - especially good for lower-cost handsets. You could also try self-insuring, which is great for those who trust themselves not to lose or break their phone, or have a lower-value model. It's simply where you pay the money into a savings account to cover the costs if you had to.

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.

Got debt but get rejected when you apply to cut its cost?

New. Longest poor-credit 0% balance transfers
If you can't afford to clear your credit card debt...
... you can't afford not to check whether you can shift it to 0% right now

Banks are organisations that will lend you an umbrella but ask for it back when it rains. And, sadly, if you've a poorer credit history or a lower income, you'll likely recognise that feeling when it comes to applying to cut the cost of existing debt, as rejection is the default. However, right now, likely on the back of the cuts in UK interest rates, we're seeing a range of new 'poor credit' balance transfer deals launch, which may offer some hope, and are worth trying.

A 0% balance transfer is when you get a new card that pays off existing card debts for you, so you owe the new card but it's interest-free for a set period. This means more of your money clears the actual debt rather than just paying the interest.

Always do an eligibility check for the top cards first... Use the MSE 0% Balance Transfer Eligibility Calculator first. It shows your chances of getting cards, and you may just be eligible for the longest ones, which are up to 33mths 0%. Yet it also includes all the poor-credit-scorer cards in the table below, so they'll appear too, if you might be accepted. If you've decent chances of a few cards, go for the one with the lowest one-off fee (a percentage of the amount of debt you shift), with a 0% period long enough to clear your debt (though if you're unsure, play safe and go longer).
Better still, if you're usually rejected when you apply, use the free MSE Credit Club to find out why. The eligibility calculator is included within MSE's free Credit Club (available via the MSE App on Apple | Android). It gives you access to your credit file, a credit and affordability score, and analyses what's happening.

PS: We'd love to be able to describe which of these cards is easiest to get in detail. Sadly, they won't give us that detail - that's why we include them all and link via the eligibility calc, which will simply tell you your best chances.

Top-pick poorer-credit 0% balance transfer cards All links go via our eligibility calc so you can check acceptance odds first
New. Capital One - Min income? It doesn't publish this. - Who may get it? Capital One generally accepts those with a history of past defaults, County Court Judgments (CCJs) and bankruptcies.	DEFINITE 22mths 0% for a one-off 2.9% fee (26.9% rep APR after the 0% ends) Crucially, all accepted will get the full 22mths at 0%.
New. Vanquis - Min income? It doesn't publish this. - Who may get it? You may still be accepted if you've had past CCJs or defaults, but can't currently be bankrupt or have a currently active Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).	'Up to' 18mths 0% for a one-off 2.9% fee (32.9% rep APR after the 0% ends) Some get 18mths 0% and some just 6mths, but at least it will tell you which you get before you hit apply and mark your credit file.
Virgin Money - Min income? £15,000/yr. - Who may get it? Your CCJs or defaults must be over 18mths old and you need a recent history of managing credit well and to have a UK bank account.	DEFINITE 16mths 0% for a one-off 3% fee (29.9% rep APR after the 0% ends) Quite simply, all accepted get the full 16mths at 0%.
Fluid - Min income? £5,000/yr. - Who may get it? You may still be accepted if you were declared bankrupt over 18mths ago – CCJs or IVAs must be over 3yrs old. You also need 12mths' UK address history & a UK bank account.	DEFINITE 12mths 0% for a one-off 3% fee (29.9% rep APR after the 0% ends) While this has a worse 0% offering than the others, less income is required to get it, and if it's the only option you've a chance of getting, 12mths is still decent for some respite.

One big beware with poor-credit cards... The interest rate after the 0% ends is usually higher than with normal balance transfers - it can easily be 35%. So before you shift the debt, compare it with your current interest rate. If your current card APR is lower, ONLY shift debt you're certain you can clear within the 0% period, so you're not stuck at the higher rate after. If your current card's the same or higher, you may as well shift as much as possible.

Q. What should I do if I've only got a low eligibility chance of getting a card, eg, 20%? If your best chance of getting a card via the eligibility calc is say 20%, then be a 'glass half full' type. Twenty per cent is better than nothing and it means two in 10 people in your circumstances WILL be accepted. Cutting debt costs is one of the most important possible uses of your credit score (usually only trumped by a mortgage application), so go for it. The worst that can happen is you get rejected, and barring a minor credit file application mark, you're no worse off.

Q. What if the credit limit isn't big enough? The only way to find out is usually to apply, and as the application is now on your credit file anyway, make use of whatever you get. Use the new card to shift the maximum debt to it - at least it is at 0%. Then, once done, try our Balance Transfer Eligibility Calculator again to see your chances of acceptance for other providers' cards. Though try to spread future applications out, as too many in a short space of time can hurt.

ALWAYS follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules:
a) Never miss the min monthly repayment (pay it by Direct Debit), or you could lose the 0% deal & it'll cost far more.
b) Aim to 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 & withdrawals may hit your ability to access credit.
d) If you don't do the transfer at application, you've often only 60 to 90 days to get the 0%. Check your card's terms.

Quick balance transfer FAQs (click links for Martin's answers)
Q. Can I shift debt to existing cards too? | Q. Should I try to pay off my biggest debt first? SPOILER: NO.
See full help and info in Best balance transfers.

News. Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) reinstated - watch Martin's explanation & analysis. All those eligible for the State Pension (Eng & Wal) will get WFP this winter, but it'll be clawed back through the tax system for those who earn £35,000+. Watch Martin's WFP: How it works, what it means, is it any good? video analysis, which was done straight after the announcement. Plus your key Qs answered: What counts as income? Is the opt-out individual or household? Plus more.

Are you getting enough beer for your brass? Know your pint rights. With the average price of a draught pint hitting £5.17, our self-ap-pint-ted BeerDrinkingExpert MSE Kelvin asks: Are you entitled to a top-up? (Pls be Drinkaware.)

New. M&S cuts loan rates to 5.9%. We're finally seeing personal loan rates shave down after the last base rate cut. M&S Bank (links via our eligibility calc) has cut its personal loan rates, making it the joint cheapest, with TSB, at 5.9% rep APR on £7,500 to £20,000 loans. Cheapest loans' rep APRs: Up to £3,000: 9.9% | £3,000 to £5,000: 9.7% | £5,000 to £7,499: 7.1% | All links are via our eligibility calc, so you can find the cheapest lender that'll accept you. If in doubt, don't. New borrowing should only be for NEEDED (fixing broken kitchen, not a holiday-type needed), planned, budgeted-for affordable expenditure. It should be minimised and repaid as quickly as possible.

Coupon-tastic FREEbies... (£3.50) cat food, (£1.60) dog food, (£2) yogurt & more. See 40+ June coupons.

New. Top 5% easy-access savings. NEWBIES to app-only bank Chase* get 5% (2.75% variable + 2.25% fixed 12mth bonus), min 1p, max £3m. To get it, just open its free current account. You don't need to switch bank to it, and it only does a soft credit-check, so almost everyone can get it and your credit file isn't marked. Its debit card also gives 1% cashback on UK supermarket and travel spends & it is a top card for overseas use. More savings options in Top cash ISAs and Top savings.

Martin: 'I wasn't expecting that... a funny thing just happened to me in a cab!' See what happened in our new Martin & the cabby video, which is placed in our nine financial benefits of marriage guide (which is a bit of a clue).

Now only FOUR banks pay you to switch... get up to £310. Last week there were five, now one's gone. Top all-rounder: First Direct FREE £175* + top service + 0% overdraft + 7% linked savings. Top overall reward: TSB FREE £100 + FREE £15/mth for 6mths* plus FREE £120 hotel voucher in Dec (so total reward £310). Nationwide customers only: FREE £200 existing customer switch. Top for bills: Santander Edge FREE £180, but £3/mth fee, though it pays 1% cashback on bills paid via Direct Debit (max £10/mth). For full info, offers and eligibility criteria, see Top bank accounts.

Update. Car finance mis-selling - regulator says 'don't use a claims firm'. The regulator prepares for compensation scheme - and warns against using claims firms. See Car finance mis-selling - the latest.

Are you in the wrong Council Tax band? 100,000s are due £1,000s back. New Martin pod. It's a Council Tax Special this week, talking through how to check & challenge your band, whether you're missing out on a discount or reduction, and whether you're in one of 800,000 homes owed back credit. Plus Inheritance Tax, cash ISA rules and more. All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify or wherever you get your Martin fix.

Ikea 'up to 60% off' sale, eg, £15 duvet set £5. Plus members of its free Ikea Family loyalty scheme who shop by Sunday will also get a £10 off voucher on a future spend. See full Ikea sale analysis.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- Lebara Sim 35GB/mth for '£2.80/mth' Ends Tue 17 Jun

DID YOU MISS?

- Check whether you're due up to £70 from Mastercard
- £35 M&S summer beauty bag (worth £154)
- Martin: Council Tax is broken - check if you're owed £1,000s
- Nationwide customer? Are you due a free £100?
- ~~Ends noon Wed. 5p Walkers, 9p noodles, 36p Coke etc~~

Martin answers... a big energy question
'I'm on an energy FIX, but prices are due to come down? Should I fix again now... or stick, or what?'

This query has regularly popped up in my virtual mailbag ever since it was announced that on 1 July, the Energy Price Cap for Eng, Scot & Wales will be cut by 7%. It's not surprising really, as now one in three homes are on fixes. Many wonder if there's any way to take advantage of price falls. Some even ask if they made a bad decision fixing. So I want to answer them all step by step, after a quick message for everyone else...

Not fixed, just on a Price Capped standard deal? If you're on your firm's bog-standard tariff, you're on what I call the Pants Cap. It was meant to be a backstop tariff only for those who never switch, yet the energy crisis has left many others still on it. Right now, the cheapest fixes are a huge 18% LESS than the current CAP (12% cheaper than the new July to Sept Cap). Plus analysts currently predict the Cap will rise each quarter until Apr 2026. If so (though nowt's certain, there's some crystal ball-gazing here), a cheap fix not only gives peace of mind, but is likely to save you substantially. Use our cheap fix comparison to find the cheapest in your location.

1. Check your fix's rate - are you still saving against the Price Cap? (Spoiler: you usually are.) If you locked in a while ago, it's worth a scan to compare how your fix stacks up with the current Cap (see table) or, better still, against the whole of market, by using our Cheap Energy Club comparison.

UK average Direct Debit Cap	Electricity	Gas
Unit rate	1 Jul: 25.73p/kWh. Current: 27.03p/kWh	1 Jul: 6.33p/kWh. Current: 6.99p/kWh
Daily standing charge	1 Jul: 51.37p/day. Current: 53.8p/day	1 Jul: 29.82p/day. Current: 32.67p/day
The Cap varies by region and payment method. For a full list, see region-by-region Price Cap info.

If you went for the cheapest fix (as I always push you towards), then as the infographic below shows... at every point over the last year, on average you'd have been better off getting the cheapest 12mth fix than staying on the Price Cap.

A graph titled "Over the last year, the cheapest fix would always have beaten the Price Cap". It shows previous, current and predicted energy prices under the Energy Price Cap between April 2024 and December 2025. The April to June 2024 Price Cap was £1,690 a year, which fell by 7% to £1,568 a year for the July to September 2024 Cap. It then rose by 10% to £1,717 a year for the October to December 2024 Cap, by 1% for the January to March 2025 Price Cap and by 6% for the April to June 2025 Price Cap, to £1,849 a year. On 1 July, it's set to fall 7% to £1,720 a year. According to predictions from energy analysts Cornwall Insight, as well as EDF, E.on and British Gas, the Price Cap could rise between 0.2 and 0.5 percentage points at the October to December 2025 Price Cap. The graph also shows the cheapest 12-month fixed deals over this same period - these ranged in price from £1,517 a year to £1,670 a year, consistently below the Cap. The link takes you to our 'Should you fix your energy?' guide.

2. Are there cheaper fixes available than the fix you're currently on? Fixed prices have dropped recently. Currently, the top tariffs include Outfox the Market at an average 18% cheaper than the current Cap and E.on Next at an average 14.6% cheaper. Both are for new & existing Direct Debit customers, neither require you to have a smart meter, and E.on includes MSE cashback. So it's worth doing a cheap fix comparison. If the results show the fixes available are materially cheaper than your current one (that'll depend on when you fixed), whether it's worth ditching and switching depends on...

Does your current fix end within the next 50 days...? Under Ofgem rules, suppliers can't charge early exit penalties if you are within 49 days of the end of the deal, so if you're in that period, you're free to ditch & switch if you can find a cheaper fix. If not, and the fix you're already on is the cheapest, even though you're free to leave, the safest thing to do is to stick with it for as long as possible and bag the savings.
If your current fixed deal doesn't end in the next 50 days, does it have early exit penalties? If you leave a fix 50 or more days before it ends, there are usually exit fees, typically £25 to £50/fuel for a 1yr fix. For higher users, this is pretty trivial and can easily be overcome by a much cheaper deal. For lower users, it's a proportionately bigger hit and can kibosh savings. Either way, factor it into any savings you'd make from fixing in the time before your current deal ends.
Does your current provider let you switch to one of its own fixes penalty-free? Many big firms will often waive early exit penalties on fixes if you renew with it. Two biggies that do this and have cheaper fixes are British Gas's 12% cheaper fix and Octopus's 11% cheaper fix. While these aren't close to the cheapest deals, if analysts' current predictions are right (no guarantees, the further out you go, the less certain it is), they will still easily undercut the Price Cap over the next year. See our full table of which firms let you renew penalty-free. If yours does and its fixes are cheaper than the one you're on, it's worth considering.

Helen emailed last week: "Thanks to your site, I've saved over £400 a year. We had signed up to a two-year fix with a £400 exit fee that was proving expensive. So we checked out Cheap Energy Club's deals to see if it was worth switching, taking the £400 fee into account. The new deal [with the same firm] had no exit fees, and when I contacted my supplier, it confirmed that as we were sticking, we didn't need to pay the £400. We're now saving over £400 a year and are free to switch again should we need to."

3. "Is it worth waiting until July? Will the price of new fixes drop then?" Another common question. Of course, if you're on a fix, your rate is... well... fixed, until it ends. Yet, more importantly, the Price Cap movement is mostly irrelevant for the rate at which new fixes are set. That's because the Price Cap is backward looking, eg, the July Cap is set based on wholesale rates (those energy firms pay) from mid-Feb to mid-May. Yet the rate fixes are offered at roughly depend on current wholesale rates. Sadly, there's no way to know what they'll be in July - they could be higher, lower or the same as now. So if you can save by acting now, there's no point waiting.

PS: In Northern Ireland? There's no Price Cap and there's less choice when it comes to suppliers and tariffs. See our Cheap Northern Ireland electricity guide for more info.

Warning. Got an old Economy 7 or multi-rate electricity meter? Your hot water & elec may stop working next month if you don't upgrade NOW. The 'Radio Teleswitch Service' (RTS), which allows some older (non-smart) multi-rate electricity meters to function properly, will be switched off at end of this month. If you've got one (see ⁠check if you've a Radio Teleswitch meter), it could mean your heating and hot water won't function properly, or you'll get incorrect bills. To stop this, you'll need a new meter. See Replace your old 'RTS' meter NOW for full info.

'I got a £152 energy credit refund after watching Martin.' Our success of the week comes from Miss Shaila: "I saw Martin Lewis on This Morning explaining that if you pay by Direct Debit to your energy provider and are in credit, they should refund the credit owed. So I rang British Gas and mentioned what Martin had said. Initially they said that once they get my quarterly gas bill, they will deduct the amount and refund the rest. But I insisted on the full refund due, which was £152. They put me on hold, and eventually came back and told me they would refund me the whole amount. Big thank you to Mr Lewis." If we've helped you save (on this or owt else), send us your successes.

Free West End theatre ticket for kids with a paying adult, for The Lion King, Matilda, Starlight Express & more. The annual 'Kids Week' promo on 50+ shows has launched, for Jul to Aug performances. Full info in Kids' theatre tix.

Last-min Father's Day deals, including 50% off Card Factory and free gift cheques. It's this Sunday (15 June). See our Father's Day round-up.

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Tesco Bank (check eligibility) 33mths 0%, 3.19% fee, 24.9% rep APR interest
No-fee 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility) up to 14mths 0%, 24.9% rep APR interest

Free £175 + top service: First Direct 1st Account
Free £100 + £15/mth cashback for 6mths: TSB Spend & Save

Fibre (55Mb+): Sky '£20.13/mth'
Fast fibre (100Mb+): Sky '£20.88/mth'
Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Sky '£29.09/mth'

On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs

Car: Use our Compare+ Car Insurance tool

Home: Try our Compare+ Home Insurance tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Santander (check eligibility), 7.1% rep APR interest
Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: M&S Bank (check eligibility), 5.9% rep APR interest (1 to 7 years)

Top easy-access cash ISA: Plum 4.85%, min £100
Top easy-access savings: Atom Bank 4.75%, no min
Top one-year fix: Chetwood Bank 4.45%, min £1,000

Use our whole-of-market Cheap Energy Club

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£2.72/mth' for 5GB
10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£2.74/mth' for 10GB
31GB+ data: Lebara, '£2.80/mth' for 35GB

MSE NEWS

- Top story: NatWest and RBS to close 52 more branches - here's the full list and alternatives

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

My partner eats more than me, so should he pay more of our food shopping costs? My husband and I both work full-time and contribute equally to our household expenses, including food shopping. But he eats far more than me - both in terms of portion size when we cook together, and by having breakfast at home when I don't, as well as by eating sides with meals and snacks in between. Should I ask him to contribute more to the household budget? Given how food prices have increased, it's become a growing part of our expenses. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my partner pay more towards our food shopping? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

MSE TEAM BLOG

- MSE Forum highlights: Shoes, singing & solar panels

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 10 JUN ONWARDS)

Thu 12 Jun - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, noon
Tue 17 Jun - This Morning, phone-in, morning view and special item, ITV1, 10.00am

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