MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

If only April Fool's Day was the month's most frustrating tradition - sadly each year there are a raft of public service & utility price hikes too.

1. BROADBAND: Beat the £50ish/yr rises by halving costs & doubling speeds. c.1 April. Most firms are upping costs by £3 to £4/mth, even for those mid-contract. That's far higher for some than before the new (flaccid, in my view) Ofcom 'transparency' rules were put in place.

Yet as 7m of you are out of contract, and therefore free to switch, you can bring costs down to well under £25/mth via short-lived broadband promo deals. Our speedy broadband comparison will take you through what's available.

2. WATER BILLS: They're rising roughly 5% in Eng & Wales (9% in Scotland), but many can cut costs. 1 April. This is on top of last year's 26% rises (Eng & Wales), though it varies by region - see firm-by-firm Water bill rises. Yet there are ways many in England & Wales can cut costs (Scotland's a different system)...

More or the same number of bedrooms in your home than people (eg, three bedrooms, two people)? A water meter is likely to save you cash.

As Mike emailed us: "Just done our second meter reading and the bill shows that our usage is 40-50% lower than what's used for standard billing. So looks like we're going to save £250/yr. Definitely should have done this before, but at least we're going to see the money in our account. Thanks for the useful emails and advice they offer."

If they say you can't have a water meter, ask for an 'assessed charge'. Lots more tips, help and some freebies in our Slash water costs guide.

3. MOBILE COSTS: They're rising by up to £2.50/mth, but some can cut costs down to just £2/mth overall! c.1 April. Like broadband, many will see above-inflation mid-contract rises - even if mid-contract. We've a full note below, see Slash mobile costs to £2/mth or new cheapest handsets.

4. COUNCIL TAX: Rising a typical 5% in Eng & Wal and 7-8% in Scot. Can you slash what you pay? 1 April. Most English & Welsh councils are expected to up costs by 5% (exact English amounts confirmed tomorrow), adding a typical £115/yr for a band D property. Little can be done about the rises, but there are two important checks to see whether you can cut costs...

- Are you one of up to 400,000 in the wrong band? If yours is too high, you could be due a backdated payout of £1,000s plus a lower bill. Try my step-by-step 10-min Council Tax check 'n' challenge to see if you may be able to get your band lowered.

Michaela emailed us: "After using your guide I submitted evidence. After a wait of nearly 12mths, I was successful and my band was lowered to band A. A few days later I was delighted to receive a £3,200 overpayment refund from my local council. Many thanks for your support and help as I was totally unaware that I had the wrong Council Tax banding and subsequently had overpaid for 30 years."

- Are you due a discount? Do you live alone (or with just children), or are you a student, on a low income, have a disability or a 'Severe Mental Impairment' - eg, serious dementia or stroke? You may be missing out, see our full Are you due a Council Tax discount? guide. 

5. ENERGY BILLS: These will FALL (but big rises due later). 1 April. Bizarrely, with the talk of potential energy bill shocks, the time lag between wholesale price rises and that hitting most domestic bills means that, on 1 April, prices are actually falling. The Price Cap will drop 6.7% and unprecedentedly there will even be 7% to 9% drops for existing fixed-rate energy tariffs.

Yet the predictions are of a huge, possibly 20%+ hike in the Price Cap on 1 July (depending on whether and when wholesale rates drop if the Middle East conflict ends). If you want to get off the Price Cap and fix, then just as we were about to press send on this email, the situation improved slightly - see new cheap fix options.

6. STAMPS: Stomp down on the up to 6% price rise. 7 April. Stamp prices are rising, eg, a 1st class standard letter stamp will cost £1.80 (from £1.70). Yet as I say every time this happens, it's easy to beat the rises just by buying the right stamps in advance as they then stay valid in perpetuity. So stock up on what you need now.

Prepare to pop the champagne corks and light the fireworks, 6 April is the New Year for tax, when all ISA and tax allowances reset. That means you've not long left to use this year's allowances. 

Let's start with a quick glossary...

- Cash ISA: a savings account where the interest isn't taxable. 
- Shares ISA: an investment account which isn't taxable, so there's no Capital Gains Tax to pay on profits, nor Dividend Tax on income.
- Lifetime ISA (LISA): a special ISA allowance where you get a 25% boost from the state (max £1,000 per tax year) to use towards your first property, or to take out once you're age 60.
- Junior ISA (JISA): cash & shares ISAs for under 18s.

For more help, listen to my new ISA ISA baby podcast, which takes you through everything you need to know step-by-step.

8. Adults, have you used your 2025/26 allowance? Each tax year, every one aged 18 or older can put £20,000 in total in ISAs. This is about new money you put in, any money already in ISAs doesn't count towards the £20,000.

The £20,000 is the total limit on the combined amount you put in a top cash (savings) ISA, or a shares (investment) ISA, or a LISA (max £4,000). You can put all £20,000 in one, or split it across a combination of the three. 

• Use it or lose it. You can't carry over your ISA allowance, so 5 April is the last date you can fill this year's ISA. After that, it's gone.
• You get a new ISA allowance on 6 April. So for someone who hasn't used their ISA this tax year, and has the money, they could put £20,000 in now, and another £20,000 in on 6 April (using next tax year's allowance). Even if you don't have enough to use next year's, if it's right for you, get the money in an ISA now, just in case you have more to put away next year.
• Once money's in an ISA it stays tax-free year after year. The limit is on how much new money you can put in within each tax year. There's no total limit on what you can have in ISAs. Some now have £100,000s in cash ISAs, having used many years' allowances, and there are apparently over 5,000 shares ISA millionaires!
• From Apr 27, it's planned that the annual cash ISA limit will fall to £12,000 for under-65s. The shares ISA will remain at £20,000. The Chancellor argues this is to 'encourage young people to invest.'

More help in frequently asked ISA questions from our ISA special a couple of weeks ago.

9. Putting money away for a long time? Consider a Shares ISA. I wrote about this in detail a couple of weeks ago, see my shares ISAs vs cash ISAs explanation, but in brief...

If you're putting money away for the long term (over 5+ years) that you don't need in the meantime, on the balance of probability a shares ISA (in a very broad spread of investments, such as global or big country tracker funds) will hopefully substantially outperform saving (watch my audience surprise when I reveal investing v savings video for more).

And the fact you're doing it over the long term, means short-term market volatility, like we're seeing right now, should hopefully be smoothed out. Far more help in our shares ISA guide. Plus there's a good shares ISA starter deal right now...

Cash ISAs are best for money you may need to access sooner, though it's worth remembering with cash you have savings interest tax-free allowances, which means many may not pay tax on interest anyway.

10. If you're saving anyway, the top easy-access cash ISAs beat normal savings. Even if you won't pay tax on savings, currently cash ISAs pay higher rates, so you may as well put your money there first anyway. 

And if you have used up all your other savings allowances, then cash ISAs smack the pants off normal savings which'll have 20% or 40% interest taken off as tax (for basic or higher-rate taxpayers). Here's the best buys from the team - these change all the time though during ISA season (which is right now), so click the article links for the latest updates. 

11. Cash ISA fixes have a special power. The big benefit of fixed-rate savings is, unlike the easy-access accounts above, the rate is guaranteed - it can't move, so you know exactly what it'll pay. 

Yet while normal fixes lock your money away for the term of the fix, cash ISA fixes can't do that. They must allow you access, normally by closing the account and charging you an access fee of 90 to 360 days' interest (depending on the fix length). 

So while on pre-tax rate alone normal savings pay more (though of course for those who'd pay tax on the interest, cash ISA fixes are far better), if there's a chance you'll need to access the money during the term, cash ISA fixes offer a get-out-of-jail-free card.

12. JUNIOR ISAs: Put away up to £9,000 a year tax-free for under-18s. JISAs let under-18s save or invest up to £9,000/yr tax-free, so if needed, use the allowance by 5 April or you lose it. Though be aware the money is locked away till their 18th birthday, then it's theirs to do with as they please. Here's three quick need-to-knows:

• Must children pay tax? Yes, mostly just like adults, yet most don't earn enough to, except due to special rules on money given by parents.
  
• Investing's likely to win for JISAs. As you're putting money away that can't be touched for a long time, there's a strong argument that a shares JISA (in a broad spread of investments, such as global or big country tracker funds) will outperform a cash JISA.
• You can transfer cash JISAs to increase the interest. Don't assume once you've money in a cash JISA it's a done deal, you have a right to transfer it to up the interest (or switch to shares). Just open a new JISA and fill in the transfer section on the application. See top cash JISAs for best rates. 

13. LIFETIME ISAs: Saving for your first home? Get up to £1,000/yr on top. A LISA allows first-time buyers' (even if you're buying with someone who's owned before) to save up to £4,000 each tax year and the state adds 25%, so a max £1,000 free cash every tax year. 

Alternatively it can be used to save and take out when you're 60. Our full Top Lifetime ISAs guide for a detailed step-by-step, but in brief...

• Openable when age 18 to 39. Once you have one the bonus can be paid each year until you're 50
• You can only get the 25% bonus if it's been open a year. So if you don't have one, put £1 in one now just in case, to get the clock started. 
• It's only for residential mortgages on properties under £450,000. It's not for buy-to-let. Sadly, the £450,000 hasn't moved since LISAs launched in 2017. So think carefully - if there's a chance you'll buy somewhere that costs more, be very careful as...
• There's an effective 6.25% fine if you withdraw for the wrong reason. Withdraw for any reason other than to buy a qualifying home (ie, one under £450,000), or once aged 60, and you pay a withdrawal fee effectively of 6.25% of your money to access it.
• The Chancellor says she wants to replace the LISA. Mainly to remove the 'save till you're 60' element. If you're a 1st-time buyer and a LISA suits you now, it's likely still worth doing. For saving till you're 60+, I'd be more cautious, though if you don't already have one, it may be worth putting in £1 just in case LISAs are closed to new entrants and you may want the over 60s option to use later (if that remains allowed)

For full help and best-buys, see our full Top Lifetime ISAs guide.