This week |
MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter
The 10 DAY Big Winter Switch Event
This is a huge opportunity to beat the market's cheapest gas and/or elec deals before turning up the heat for winter. In the past I've struggled to support collective switches - where a 'trusted intermediary' (such as a council or us) runs an auction for energy firms to bid to provide special deals for its members.
Want to ask me (Martin) an energy question? I'll be doing a live Twitter Clinic from 16:45 for 15 mins on Wed 29 Oct - answering all questions sent to @MartinSLewis about the collective switch. Use the hashtag: #MSEenergy. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boost Tesco points - as it launches its Christmas double-up Reclaim lost vouchers then double their value on a range of in-store items, eg, Playstation 4 £175 in vouchers Even with its reported troubles, Tesco is still by far the UK's biggest retailer. Millions of regular shoppers rack up Clubcard points there, which are given out as vouchers quarterly. The latest batch is due out - max their worth with 3 key tips.
Sainsbury's customers... If you've Nectar points saved up, you'll be able to exchange them for double-value vouchers to spend in selected depts between 19 and 25 Nov. More details here nearer the date. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vax up to 80% off clearance sale code. MSE Blagged. Vax sales need a code. Officially the sale starts Thu, but our code works now, so you get first dibs while there's max stock. Includes Air3 vacuum cleaner £68 (was £235), Floormate hard floor cleaner £85 (was £225). It does these sales due to slightly damaged boxes, past feedback's great. Vax Deals £8.50 champagne trick? Min 6. RRP £18. Anyone can get a 75cl bottle of Antoine De Clevecy champagne for £10.50 but newbies to Sainsbury.co.uk may effectively get it for less with a bit of playing. See £8.50 Champagne trick Odeon 5 tickets £20 (or 2 for £10) vchr. Usually up to £16 each. Multiple people can use them and you don't have to use them in one go. So great for families or couples. Incl 3D films. Odeon Last chance. Free £125 M&S gift card for switching bank accounts. Switch to M&S Bank* via this link only by 31 Oct and get a £125 gift card (norm £100). It also has a £100 0% overdraft and you can earn reward points on M&S shopping. If you prefer a cash bonus, top customer service bank First Direct* offers £100. Full info: Top Bank Accounts. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Warning: Car insurance to rise 10% - lock in cheap rates now? Even if mid-way through your policy, check NOW if you can secure a cheap deal to beat predicted price hikes Car insurance prices have fallen 40% over the past two years, according to the AA. Yet its latest index shows they're up 1.2% in the past 3mths and with fraudulent claims increasing, it expects a continued increase of up to 8% this year; others think 10% is possible. Therefore it's important to see if you can grab a deal while rates are still low.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10% off 100,000+ hotels via Expedia worldwide hotel code. MSE Blagged. Use code by Tue 4 Nov for stays till 30 Apr 15. Full details/exclusions: Expedia Deals. 50% off 49 posh hotels in UK & Europe. Get Mr & Mrs Smith code to access. Min 3nts for stays till March. Eg, Le Lodge Kerisper, Brittany £35/nt, The Grove, Narberth, Wales £95/nt. Hotels M&S champers & wine Xmas case £51 (norm £80ish). 1,000 avail. Contains champers, port, 2 white & 2 red wines. Case is norm £85, wines bought separately norm £98 (but currently £80) Wine Deals. Pls be Drinkaware 'Free' £11 Nails Inc varnish in £2 mag. Out Mon. Four different colours available. Nails Inc offers Payday lender 'for students' ignores 1,089% APR in ads. We're reporting it to regulators, see Martin's blog. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tell friends about us. They can get this free every week. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slash TV costs including 10,000 Sky 50% off + 'free' £50 codes The clock's gone back, so many want cosy nights in front of the telly. Here's how to pay less to get more With codes, tips, haggling & deals you may be able to slash costs. Full help in our Digital TV guide, here's the trailer...
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
£18 Lastminute.com spa experiences code. MSE Blagged. Ends 5pm Thu. It has a £20 spa sale on, and we've a 10% off code. 24 venues offering spa days or treatments. Incl massages & facials. Most can be given as Xmas gifts. Lastminute Crabtree & Evelyn 20% off code & 'free' £5 hand cream. MSE Blagged. Min £20 spend. Ends Sun. Beauty Success of the week: (Send us yours on this or any topic) Sainsbury's Tu 25% off EVERYTHING, incl sale. In-store clothes discount until Mon, incl Halloween. Sainsbury's Show Best Buys
John Lewis 'sale matching' House of Fraser up to 30% off brands. Till Sun, House of Fraser has an up-to-30% off brands sale, and John Lewis is matching an, ahem, "unnamed competitor's" up-to-30% sale. Sales Info CODES: Morphy Richards 15% off, M&S £5 off £30 on nightwear, French Connection 20% off etc Forum Hottie. Buy a £1-£3 pumpkin & get up to £3 cashback. 5,000 avail. In major supermarkets. TopCashback |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Can you defend yourself online? The Quiz As the FCA, HMRC and British Bankers' Association warn of a surge in fraud, test your scam-busting knowledge Sadly scams are on the rise. It's very important you understand how to spot the genuine from the genuinely nasty, our 30 online self-defence tips guide will help you defend yourself. But try our quiz first (answer in your head before reading on)... Q1. Where does this link take you: bbc.co.uk? A. If you answered the BBC, wrong - click it. Link text is irrelevant. Instead hover your mouse over it. This is a better, but not totally reliable, solution. See Martin's Spam Spotter Rules blog. Q2. What's the difference between 'https:' and 'http:'? A. When you click a site, check for these at the start of the address bar. Only the first one is secure, meaning any info sent is encrypted, improving safety - a key thing to check when paying. Q3. How much do you pay for anti-virus software? A. There's great free anti-virus software available. Not having anti-virus is a big mistake - if a fraudster accesses your bank via your computer you could be liable due to negligence. Q4. Where does this link take you www.moneysavingexpert.1.com? A. It goes where it says it does, but that's not MoneySavingExpert. It's the last bit of the hyperlink before the .com (or .co.uk, etc) that counts, so this is to the non existent 1.com. Q5. When in the year does HMRC (the Inland Revenue) email about tax rebates? A. Any answer but 'never' is wrong. If you get a tax rebate email, it's spam or a scam - don't click, delete. See MSE's news story on HMRC emails. Q6. How do you spot ads on Google? A. Sadly, it has become more difficult. It has muted the difference between results that anyone can pay to be top of and real search results. The small yellow boxes page top & right indicate paid results. These have often been used by copycat sites unfairly charging, and payday loan brokers disguised as credit unions. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Free £2ish month's Vitamin D for kids. No purchase necessary. Find out how to get it from Asda Pharmacy. Filling your tax return in on paper - the deadline is Fri. If you need to file a paper self-assessment tax return you must do it by 31 Oct or face a £100 fine. Or fill it in online by 31 Jan. See Tax help. Show Best Buys
Want a MoneySavingExpert.com paid internship? 12 weeks on our money journalism team. MSE Opportunities |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Restaurant vouchers |
Discount vouchers |
Top deals |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() BOOK GIVEAWAY RESULT MONEY MORAL DILEMMA THE GREAT HUNT CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quick forum tips |
Freebie of the Week |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Question of the weekQ. I did a 0% balance transfer, but also made some purchases on the same card. I cleared the purchase amount by the due date and paid some money towards the balance transfer but was still charged interest. I thought the payments I make apply to the highest interest rate first. So why are they charging me interest? Philip, by email. MSE Helen's A: You're right anything you pay goes towards the highest interest rate first. But there's a clause in all credit card contracts many fall foul of, and it's the reason we tell you to NEVER spend on the same card you have a balance transfer on unless there's an interest-free period for spending. Here's an example (with our added emphasis): "Interest Free Period: Maximum 56 days for purchases if you pay the full balance shown on your previous and current statement on time." So, because you hadn't cleared the full balance - you still had some of your transferred balance on the card - you don't get any interest-free period. At all. This means that you were charged interest on the purchases from the day you made them, to the day you cleared them. The only way you could have avoided this would have been to pay off both the purchases and the entire balance transfer debt before the date indicated on your statement. In future, if you think you'll need to make both balance transfers and purchases, try to get a card that offers a 0% period on both. Our 0% Balance Transfers & Spending guide has the best buys. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charlotte's free game of the week: Ball Drop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compare the meerkats live Forget about car insurance, check out the real deal - see what London Zoo's animals get up to with its new live video feed of meerkats, otters and Galapagos tortoises. We hope you save some money, Martin & 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.
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 MoneySaving Expert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? Martin set up and runs MSE, and still writes this email each week (unless it says so). He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time show The Martin Lewis Money Show and weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, among others. He’s a columnist for publications including the Telegraph and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography What do the links with a * mean? Any links with a * 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 product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. 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: marksandspencer.com, firstdirect.com, aviva.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, lv.com, directline.com, moneysupermarket.com, gocompare.com, confused.com, admiral.com, churchill.com, privilege.com, barclaycard.co.uk, lloydsbank.com, admiral.com, santander-products.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.com, comparethemarket.com, talktalk.co.uk, monarch.co.uk
Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances constitute an FCA regulated activity. For this reason, pages with links which take you to the sites of insurers or insurance intermediaries are hosted by MoneySavingExpert.com Limited on behalf of MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC. MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is MoneySupermarket House, St. David’s Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. To change your E-mail or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips |
-
-
The MSE mobile menu (not all pages are optimised yet)Latest Money Tips Email
- Cards & Loans
- Reclaim £1,000s
- Utilities & Phones
- Banking & Saving
- Deals & Vouchers
- Travel & Motoring
- Insurance
- Mortgages & Homes
- Shopping
- Income & Family
- Forum
MOBILEDESKTOP VERSION -
- Martin Lewis, Editor
-
MoneySavingExpert.com - Cutting Your Costs, Fighting Your Corner
Founder & Chair, Martin Lewis -
-
MOBILE VERSIONDESKTOP
-
Cards &
LoansCredit Cards
- 0% Credit Cards for Spending
- Balance Transfer Credit Cards
- MSE Credit Club
- Credit Card Eligibility Calculator
- Credit cards for Bad Credit
Best Buys & Calculators
- MSE Credit Club Get your free Experian Credit Report and Credit Score, unique Affordability Score + tips to boost 'em.
- Credit Card & Loan Eligibility Calculator Our Eligibility Calcs check your chances of getting cards & loans.
-
Reclaim
£1,000sBig Reclaims
- Reclaim PPI for Free
- Packaged Bank Accounts
- Council Tax Reclaiming
- Flight Delay Compensation
- Reclaim Experian CreditExpert
Govt. & Councils
- Council Tax Rebanding
- Unfair Parking Tickets
- Uniform Tax Refunds
- Home & Energy Grants
- Private Parking Tickets
A little bit of inspiration
Just got a cheque for £970 from BA for delays in 2009 thanks to you telling me about new legislation. More than I actually paid.". Flight Delays Compensation I took your advice and have claimed PPI from all the companies we had loans with. The result has been overwhelming, approximately £19,000 back... thank you.".PPI Reclaiming Go to full Reclaim £1000s section -
Utilities &
Phones -
Banking &
SavingSavings
- Top Savings Accounts
- Are Your Savings Safe?
- How to Start Saving
- Regular Savings
- Top Childrens Savings
-
Deals &
VouchersFashion & Beauty
- High Street Sales
- Discount Vouchers
- Cheap Beauty Deals
- Hot Bargains
Electronics & Gadgets
- Cheap iPhones
- Cheap iPads
- Cheap Kindles
- Amazon Discount Finder
Top Deals
-
Travel &
MotoringHolidays
- Cheap Flights
- Travel Insurance
- Flight Delays Compensation
- Cheap Hotels
- Cheap Package Holidays
- Overseas Travel Tips
- Easyjet Tricks
-
Insurance
Home + Abroad
- Cheap Home Insurance
- Cheap Travel Insurance
- Mobile Phone Insurance
- Cheap Pet Insurance
- Cheap Boiler Cover
Motor
- Cheap Car Insurance
- Young Driver Car Insurance
- Cheap Van Insurance
- Cheap Motorbike Insurance
- Breakdown Cover
-
Mortgages &
HomesFirst Time Buyers
- First Time Buyers Guide
- Help to Buy ISAs
- Stamp Duty Calculator
- Mortgage Best Buys
- Cheap Mortgage Finding
Home Movers
- Boost Your Mortgage Chances
- Mortgage Best Buys
- 20 Property Search Tips
- Free House Price Valuations
- Cheap Mortgage Finding
Remortgaging
- Remortgage Guide
- Mortgage Best Buys
- Should you Remortgage?
- Free House Price Valuations
- Cheap Mortgage Finding
Managing your Mortgage
- Overpaying your Mortgage
- Mortgage Arrears Help
- Extend Your Lease
- Buy Your Freehold
Calculators
- Basic Mortgage Calculator Finds monthly repayment & total mortgage cost
- Overpayments Calculator Would paying more on mortgage SAVE you cash?
- How Much Can I Borrow? Uncover how much a bank may lend you for a mortgage
-
Shopping
Vouchers & Points
- Discount Vouchers
- Reclaim Lost Loyalty Points
- Supermarket Coupons
- Restaurant Vouchers
- Boost Tesco Points
Shopping Tricks
- Supermarket Shopping
- High Street Haggling
- Use the online Megashopbot
- Free Money Mantras Card
- Extreme Couponing
-
Income &
FamilyHousehold Savings
- Budget Planner
- Childcare costs help
- Family MoneySaving
- Free Museums and Galleries
- Cheap weddings
Health
- Mental Health & Debt
- Cheap Prescriptions
- Cheap Beauty Deals
- Healthcare Cashplans
- Private Health Insurance
Boost Your Income
- Money Makeover
- Boost Income Now
- Freebies
- Gold Selling
- Comping For Cash