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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL
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There's
one silver lining to January's financial clouds. As Christmas
splurges and December's early pay mean some sadly struggle to make
cash stretch, it does mean many are ready to put in the work to save
cash, and that can pay large.
Throughout January, this email will give you a detailed money
makeover. Yet if you're ready to rock 'n' roll already, here are some
quick resolutions you can do now while the 'I WANT TO SAVE' fervour's
still in place, and the impact will last all year.
I resolve to...
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1.
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...check if I can slash £1,000s off the year's
mortgage repayments.
Mortgage rates are still near all-time lows, yet there's a chance
UK interest rates could rise this year. Everyone with a mortgage
should check right now if they're on the best deal. First use our Mortgage Best Buys Tool to
find your cheapest rate, then use the mortgage calc to compare it with
your current deal. Full help in our Free 60-page MSE remortgaging booklet.
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2.
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...check NOW if I'm owed £100s from AI Scheme
(Sentinel).
Are you one of 2m who've been sent a letter about AI Scheme
mis-selling? You may've ignored it thinking it was spam. It's not.
Fill in the form for cold hard cash - the deadline's 18 March. As
Patrick tweeted: "Just got £313 AI reclaim. If it wasn't for
your weekly email I probably would have binned it. Top job." Free
templates & help if you've lost the letter in AI Scheme reclaim.
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3.
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...sort a power of attorney now (even if you're very young, like me).
One in three over-65s die with dementia, many people lose their
faculties earlier from strokes, accidents, and more, too. Without a
power of attorney to get access to your funds, even to pay for
treatment, family would need to make a hard, slow and costly
attempt to apply in court. Sort one now (I have at 43), so it
kicks into effect ONLY if you lose your faculties. See Power of Attorney for help. Plus
while we're at it, sort a Cheap
& Free Will too.
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4.
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...call up my OLD energy firm, to see if it owes
me £100s. If
you've switched energy in the last six years and were in credit,
some providers operated a don't ask, don't get policy. So ask now -
we're swamped with successes, like forumite Drakekard's: "Got £134
from Npower from an Aug 2012 switch and £53 from Scottish Power
which is probably from 2009." Full help in Reclaim Old Energy Bill Credit.
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5.
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...finally ditch my crap bank account & earn
£220 doing so. An
easy win, and a price war means today's the day. Scroll down
for full info.
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6.
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...claim marriage tax allowance worth £212/year. If
you're married or in a civil partnership, the Marriage Tax Allowance lets some
couples transfer a proportion of their personal allowance (the
amount you can earn tax-free/tax yr) between them. Natalie
tweeted:"That's
£212 a year saved thanks to @MoneySavingExp
& @MartinSLewis, didn't know about
the marriage allowance, thanks for the heads up."
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7.
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...take a few mins to bag unbeatable exchange
rates for all trips this year. Specialist overseas credit cards give you the
same near-perfect rate on euros, dollars and the rest that banks
get - smashing bureaux de change, and saving up to 8% over other
methods. So apply now, set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL
each month to minimise interest and the job's done for the year.
Our top picks are the tried and tested Halifax Clarity and the new player
Creation Everyday. Full help,
pros, cons & options in Top Overseas Credit Cards (APR Examples).
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8.
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...not just renew AA, BT, Virgin, Sky, but to
haggle £100s off. If
you're renewing a service with a call centre - they want you to
stay, so haggle. Success rates of those who try are huge: 88% at
AA, 73% BT, 88% Sky, 83% Virgin, and savings can be large, as Sarah
found: "Haggled
£324/yr off my Sky bill (TV, b'band, phone)." Full
help see our Haggle with Sky, AA & more
guide.
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9.
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...print 'Martin's Money Mantras' to stop
overspending.
To curb impulse spending, I've two money mantras, so get the free
wallet-sized Martin's Money Mantras Printout as
a reminder each time you spend. Here they are, and if any answer is
no... DON'T BUY IT:
- Skint?: Do
I need it? Can I afford it? Can I get it cheaper elsewhere?
- Not skint?:
Will I use it? Is it worth it? Can I get it cheaper elsewhere?
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10.
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...use MSE's free automated budget planner to
check if I'm on track.
You likely know your income, but not your expenditure - without
that you can't balance the books. Our Free Budget Planner tool takes you
through step-by-step.
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11.
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...shop & save for next Christmas NOW. Pre-Christmas is the most expensive time to
buy, Jan sales the cheapest, so see our Jan sales list and buy now to
save. Plus spread the cost of Xmas; the average family spend is
£800, so save £70/mth now. See Save for Xmas.
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12.
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...take just five minutes to save £305/year on
energy bills. Depressingly
70% of the UK is still on a big-six standard tariff, which with
typical use costs an average £1,095/yr. The cheapest deals are
under £800/yr for the same. It takes just FIVE MINS to find your
winner & start a switch. Use my Cheap Energy Club to do it (if you
want help on top tariffs click the Top Picks tab).
PS: Renting, only use elec or on prepay? You can still do this.
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13.
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...cut credit card interest by £100s or £1,000s
this year. A
big, easy save and firms are fighting for your business, scroll for
full info.
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14.
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...do a direct debit check up (you could gain
£100s).
Millions wrongly let cash drip from their bank accounts for things
they don't really want, like unused gym membership or worse, like
Tuftyhead: "We'd paid insurance for our daughter's old
phone - she upgraded 4yrs before but the direct debit wasn't
cancelled. It amounted to £400". So do Direct Debit Check Ups (includes
standing orders & recurring payments) and let me know if you find any.
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15.
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...check if I'm overpaying for car insurance. Prices are predicted to rise this year, so check
now if you're overpaying and lock in at a cheaper price, via our
full Car Insurance Cost-Cutting System.
Even if you're not at renewal you may be able to switch & save
now, though do read our switching mid policy
help first. Andy tweeted: "You gave us the confidence to challenge our
insurance mid-policy. It was £40/mth, now it's £16 - thanks. We
didn't take no for an answer."
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16.
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...check my savings to see if I'm being ripped
off. Check
your savings interest rates now - owt under 1.2% is dismal, and
most are dismal. So move the money. You can earn up to 3% on lump
sums via our Top Savings Accounts guide and up
to 6% on money saved each month in Top Regular Savers.
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17.
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...check my tax code to see if I'm overpaying
£1,000s. At
least six million people are paying the wrong amount of tax due to
an incorrect tax code - the little piece of info that tells your
employer how much it should take from you. Our Free Tax Code Checker can check
for you. Some even get past refunds, the biggest so far is £5,000.
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18.
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...pay off my debt with savings. Those with debt AND savings are likely wasting
big money. Eg, £1,000 owed on a typical 18% APR credit card costs
£180/yr; the same in a top savings account earns £13/yr after tax.
So pay off the card with the savings, and you’d be £167/yr better
off.
Full pros & cons in my three guides to SHOULD I USE MY SAVINGS
TO PAY OFF MY 1) Debts? 2) Mortgage? 3) Student loan?
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19.
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...start a Help to Buy ISA (as I'm 16+ and have
never bought a home). They're
the no-brainer place to save for anyone (aged 16+) who's never
owned a home. Save in one, then use the money for a deposit and the
state adds 25% on top, up to £3,000. Full help, FAQs & best
buys in Top Help to Buy ISAs.
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20.
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...become a diary tart. Many products like mortgages, energy fixes,
credit cards and car insurance only give a good deal for the short
term. So check now when things end, and put a big note in your
diary/calendar a month before so you've time to check, ditch &
switch.
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21.
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...watch the Martin Lewis Money Show 8pm ITV
Fri. Series
five recommences this week, but the day's moved to Fridays, 8pm
until 12 Feb. This week's programme is quite simply how to save
yourself £1,000s. Watch & find out.
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Share these MoneySaving secrets
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Don't wait for January's statement to
hit the doormat. If you've got credit-card debts you can't clear this
month, do a balance transfer. This is where you get a new card that
repays debts on old cards for you, so you owe it instead, at a cheaper
rate. Lenders know many do this in January, so, no surprise, FOUR new
cards have hit the best buy tables...
The TOP new
cardholder 0% balance transfers - TIPS FOR CHOOSING BELOW
Don't just
apply in hope, that hits your credit file - find which cards you've
best chance of getting via our eligibility calc.
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Card
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0% deal (REP APR
AFTER 0% ENDS)
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ONE-OFF FEE
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Up to 23mths 0% (18.9%)
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NONE
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The AA* - no-fee card where 0% length isn't an 'up to'
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22mths 0% (19.9%)
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NONE
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Up to 32mths 0% (18.9%)
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1.13%
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Up to 39mths 0% (20.9%)
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2.98%
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New.
Halifax* - v. long 0%, slightly lower fee
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Up to 38mths 0% (18.9%)
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2.75%
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38mths 0% (18.9%)
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2.79% (min £3)
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·
Tip 1: Go for 0% NO
FEE if you can repay in under 23mths, if unsure, go long. Most
long deals charge a one-off fee, of the debt shifted, eg, a 2% fee is
£20 per £1,000 shifted. Calculate how long you'll need to clear the
shifted debt, add a few months for safety, then pick the lowest-fee
card within that time. Unsure? Play safe & get a long 0% and pay
the fee.
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Tip 2: Some 0% lengths
are 'up to'. Here some get a shorter deal,
depending on their credit score. Our eligibility calc can't tell you
whether you'll get the full length, but, roughly, the better your odds
to get a card, the better your chance.
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How much can you save?
A lot, eg, with £3,000 owed on a
typical 18.9% APR card, repay £131/mth and you'd still have around £635
to pay after 23mths - shift it to Halifax's 23mth 0%, and you'd have
cleared the card.
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The Balance Transfer
Golden Rules. Full help & ALL best buys: Balance Transfers (APR Examples), in brief...
a) Never miss the min monthly repayment or you can 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 rep APR.
c) Don't spend/withdraw cash on these. It usually isn't at the cheap
rate & cash withdrawals hit your credit file.
d) Unsure what to pick? Use our Which Card's Cheapest? tool.
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Three new bank switching bribes have
launched; unless you're deliriously happy with your bank, they're worth
considering. To qualify you usually need to use the banks' seven-day
switching services (82% of you say it's easy & hassle free) and
switch 2+ direct debits too. Full info in Best Bank Accounts. Here we account
for the latest fee-free deals...
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New. Free £100
M&S tax-free plus £10/mth. M&S Bank*
has added a promo to its normal switchers' £100 M&S gift card. For
the 1st year, every month you deposit £1,000 in it (ie, pay in income
of over that) it'll add £10 to the card. It also offers a £100 0%
overdraft and a 6% linked regular savings account. Its customer service
is strong: 67% rate it 'great'.
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New. Free
£150 tax-free cash & No.1 for service.
First Direct's*
won every service poll we've ever done - 92% rate it 'great', and go
via this special link and you get £150 (£125 direct). It also has a
£250 0% overdraft and gives access to its 6% regular savings account.
You need to deposit £1,000/mth in it (ie, pay in income of over that).
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New. Free
£120 tax-free cash. HSBC* is now
giving switchers £120, and you only need to deposit £500/mth to
qualify. It also has a 4% linked regular saver. Customer service is
middling, 46% say it's 'great'.
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Halifax free £100
tax-free plus £5/mth. Halifax's* min
pay in is £750/mth and you get £5 cash every month you don't slip into
the overdraft (avoid that, as it's expensive). Service rating is 66%
'great'.
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Top 'no min pay-in'
account? Only the £10/mth element of the M&S Bank* account requires a min
pay in - unusually you still get its £100 M&S switching bonus, 6%
savings & 0% overdraft with no pay in, so it wins if you've
irregular income.
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Tell your
friends about us
They can get this
email free every week
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SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: (Send
us yours on this or any topic)
£30,000 back -
"After following your mis-sold PPI guide and using your
forms I've received £5,000 from RBS and £25,000 from Lloyds. Well done
MSE."
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People aren't just trying to save
pounds right now, many also want to lose them. Yet these two can clash.
Many sign up to gyms in a fitness fervour, but it's not paying that
makes you fitter, it's going. One MoneySaver tweeted: "Paid £270
for a year but only went once. Most expensive swim ever."
Full help in Free & Cheap Gyms - here's a
warm-up...
1.
Free passes at 8
gyms. Never sign up without checking out whether it's a
place you'll be comfortable going to. Passes right now include
seven-day British Military Fitness, three-day Fitness First and more.
See Free Gym Passes.
2. Work out all year at free
outdoor boot-camps and classes. Muscle in on
free group-fitness classes in local parks, incl yoga, Zumba, Pilates
& more. Free classes
3. Pay-as-you-go passes for top
gyms. Occasional user? Forget a contract, Pay as U gym lets you buy one-off passes
for different gyms (and says it's 10% cheaper than buying direct from
any gym on the site). One-off Gym Passes
4. No-frills gyms £10/mth & no contract.
If you can live without pools, saunas & jacuzzis, find a No-Frills Gym near you.
5. At renewal, or signing up for a
contract... HAGGLE ASAP. Some gym regulars
refer to January joiners as 'turkeys', because they don't last much
beyond Christmas. That's why premium gyms give deals right now to get
people to sign up while they're keen. Yet don't accept even the 'promo'
prices, negotiate hard (but politely). Also see What to watch out for in contracts
help and know your Gym cancellation rights.
6. Do you really need a gym? DIY
workouts. You can run, cycle, do light
weights, yoga and a lot more without gym membership. Why not download free online workouts or see if there's
a free outdoor gym
near you?
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CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
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Have you accessed "bereavement
benefits"? A group of MPs wants to make
sure people who struggle financially after they have lost a loved one
get better support. If you would like to share your experience with the
MPs, let us know in the MSE Forum by Friday and we’ll pass on
your comments.
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THE GREAT HUNT
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THIS WEEK'S POLL
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Last
week, Maltesers were top of the chocs:
A sweet 24,616 of you voted on your favourite chocolate. Maltesers had
a sweet win with 22% of the vote. Sadly it's too chocoLATE to vote now.
See the full results.
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
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THE
QUICKIES
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MARTIN'S BLOG
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DEALS HUNTERS BLOG
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MARTIN
APPEARANCES (WED 6 JAN ONWARD)
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Thu
7 Jan - Good Morning Britain, ITV, Deals of
the Week, 7.40am. Watch
previous
Fri 8 Jan
- This Morning, ITV, Martin's Quick Deals, from 10.30am. Watch previous
Fri 8 Jan -
The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8pm.
Mon 11 Jan -
This Morning, Money Monday, ITV, from 10.30am. Watch
previous
Mon 11 Jan
- BBC Radio 5 Live, Lunch Money Martin, 12noon.Subscribe
to podcast
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TEAM APPEARANCES
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Fri
8 Jan - BBC Radio London, 4pm
Fri 8 Jan
- BBC Radio Manchester, 4.50pm
Tue 12 Jan
- BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, 2.30pm
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK
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Q: I recently bought a top as a
gift for my nephew and asked for a gift receipt (which the cashier said
the shop didn't do). She also said that I should know the store only
does exchanges - is this allowed? Why couldn't my nephew get a refund
if he wanted? Helen, via email.
MSE Megan's A: Normally
only the person who bought the item can return it if it's faulty, and
so all a gift receipt does is transfer this right. BUT the key word
here is if it's faulty. You have absolutely no rights to return
something bought in a shop, unless it's faulty.
The fact they are giving you an exchange in certain conditions is
generous; the reality is their policy could be that you have to hop on
one leg to get any kind of return (again, unless faulty). Luckily, a
lot of the time shops will have a more generous returns policy, but
this will vary from company to company so always check before buying -
and remember it is not a legal right.
It's also important to remember you have many more rights when buying
online. See Consumer Rights for more info.
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Dear
mummy, school is cancelled this week, yours the headteacher...
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We hope you
save some money,
Martin & the
MSE team
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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.
More about
MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis
What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help
website with more than 10 million people getting this email and about
13 million using the site every month. 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 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, Sunday Mirror and Woman magazine. 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
halifax.co.uk, theaa.com,
barclaycard.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, virginmoney.com, marksandspencer.com,
sainsburysbank.co.uk, google.co.uk, gocompare.com, confused.com,
moneysupermarket.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com,
firstdirect.com, santander.co.uk
Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) Note
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.
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