![](https://pixel.app.returnpath.net/pixel.gif?r=8bc6952e6a606dddf03dc0296ed21ba80f6d9f9b&c=b23ae6fba62b473189a26cc410565428)
|
|
|
---|
DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
The average credit card interest rate for purchases has jumped four percentage points over the last year - now it's a shocking 34.7% (so £347 interest on £1,000 static debt over a year) according to financial information site Moneyfacts. So check what you're paying now - frankly if it isn't 0%, you need to see if you can fight it. The core weapon is a balance transfer, that's when you get a new card that pays off debt on your existing card(s), so you owe it instead but at 0% interest - this means your repayments clear the actual debt, not just mostly cover interest. Two tips first...
2. 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 fee, eg, a one-off 3% of the amount transferred (£30 per £1,000). So if you can clear your debt quicker, go for a shorter deal to minimise fees. Unsure? Play safe, go long.
Quick balance transfer FAQs (click links for Martin's answers) |
Barclaycard customer? You could be in debt YEARS longer paying DOUBLE the interest. The minimum most have to repay will drop from July, and if you're not careful, the impact could be very costly - see help, what to do and Martin's analysis in Barclaycard customer min payment change help. Secret Sales code: Extra 20% off reduced Nike, Calvin Klein, Asos and more - we even found a £160 dress £13. MSE Blagged. High-street & designer stock at reduced prices. 4,000 codes available. Secret Sales New. Top savings if you've £10,000+, 5% 'easy access' plus £50. Savings marketplace Raisin lets you save and move money via different banks after filling in just one form. Right now, newbies to it who open Paragon's 5% AER* easy-access savings via it (link takes you there) and use code MSMG5024 by 30 April get £50 cashback after six months as long as you've kept £10,000+ in (so it is easy access, but cashback needs a min balance). The next top equivalent is Kent Reliance 4.96% AER (min £1,000). Full info in our Raisin write-up. For far more choice, including top fixes, see Top savings and Top cash ISAs - the top easy-access there pays 5.17% right now. All accounts have full UK £85,000 savings safety protection. Grüum face, body & hair bundle £4 delivered (normally £29). MSE Blagged. Just pay for postage. Includes shampoo bar, facewash bar and body butter bar. 15,000 available. Grüum 'I saved nearly £2,000 using your car insurance tool.' Our success of the week comes from Dawn: "Thanks to your Compare+ tool, I saved nearly £2,000 this year. My renewal came in at £2,947, but I followed your guidelines and got a quote for £1,027. Then I remembered Martin's advice about checking Direct Line, and it gave me a £1,946 saving. Thanks everyone, we need more sites like yours and I think Martin should be Chancellor." [Ta but nooooo - Martin.] If we've helped you reclaim or save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes. Updated. Are solar panels worth it? New figures from the Energy Saving Trust, and the new Price Cap, mean the numbers have changed if you're thinking of getting them. See our Are solar panels worth it? guide. Don't put bananas in the fridge... It's Stop Food Waste Day tomorrow (Wed). See 13 ways to stop wasting food. Please report 'sorry, we're experiencing unusually high call volumes' messages. So far, we've had 20,000 reports to our unusual call volumes tool (please bookmark it), where you tell us when firms (banks, broadband, mobile, energy, water etc) use these messages. We need a few more weeks' worth to establish if the pattern is consistent, ie, they're lying by having it for every call. So please take 30 seconds to report them. Martin's new podcast: Should you save or overpay your mortgage? | Shop-staff insider secrets | 100,000s need restart Child Benefit claims These and more in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast. Listen via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple or wherever you like to get your Martin fix. |
| |
---|
Even M&S, WHSmith and employment agencies get it wrong. Pls help SPREAD WORD
Again, if any ring possibly true, jump to our Are you being paid enough? guide, and if you think you aren't (or weren't based on old rates), you've a legal right to be paid more and to back pay. It can be, though isn't always, simple to do and you can remain anonymous when complaining, as explained in how to claim back underpaid minimum wage. In June 2023, even M&S was named & shamed, so don't think: 'I work for a big firm, so it must be correct'. Last year, over 200 companies - including M&S, WHSmith, Lloyds Pharmacy and Argos - were named and shamed by the Govt for minimum wage failings. Some explained why and talk about complexities, but even so, it shows no matter who the company or employment agency is, don't assume it got it right...
|
A month's 'tailored' dog food £3.60 (normally £36) via 90% off code. MSE Blagged. Newbies only. Tails B&M 20% off all toys, in store only. Includes brands such as Hot Wheels, Lego and Pokemon. B&M toys FREE Grand Designs Live London tickets. For 4 to 12 May, normally £13 to £16. Grand Designs FREE £25 when you spend £5+ online. MSE Blagged. Topcashback is bettering the recent bonus from rival Quidco by offering £25 extra cashback to newbies who sign up via our special link and spend £5 or more. Cashback boost PS: It's the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation week at Tesco. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died from a severe allergy after eating inadequately labelled food. This week (22 to 28 April), Tesco will donate 10p per 'Free From' range item to the foundation set up in her name that campaigns for allergy research. So if you buy these, do time it right. Free From donation |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
|
THIS WEEK'S POLL How much credit card debt do you have? The cost of living crisis has resulted in many taking on extra credit card debt - in some cases just to cover basic necessities. So this week, we want to know how much credit card debt you have in total and whether this has increased in the past 12 months. Vote in this week's poll. More than a third of MoneySavers buy the majority of their clothes preowned. Last week, we asked where you buy the majority of your clothes from - more than 5,500 of you answered. The high street is still king for the majority of people, with 46% buying most of their clothes there. However, plenty of MoneySavers buy mainly preowned clothes - 20% from online sites such as Vinted and 18% from charity shops. See the full poll results. |
|
---|
MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I pay to have the bike my ex-husband got our son serviced? My ex-husband bought our son a second-hand bike that cost £180 for Christmas the year before last. Since then it's been badly damaged a couple of times, and I've paid for it to be fixed professionally. My ex now wants the bike back to sell, saying the money he gets will go into a savings account he's set up for our son. Yet he wants me to pay to have the bike serviced again so it can be sold - should I do it? I've probably paid more for the bike now than my ex did. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I pay to have the bike my ex got our son serviced? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs |
|
---|
MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 23 APR ONWARDS) Wed 24 Apr - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Wed 24 Apr - BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Mid-morning with Nicky Price and MSE's Petar, from 11.05am |
WWII ERA SILKS AND A 72-YEAR-OLD COAT - WHAT'S THE OLDEST ITEM OF CLOTHING YOU STILL USE? That's all for this week, but before we go... from ancient anoraks to senior socks, last week we asked our social followers about the oldest items of clothing they still wear. The earliest discovery was on Facebook, where one MoneySaver still wears a nightdress inherited from her mother which is made from parachute silk dating back to World War II. There were plenty of 1950s items that are à la mode today - one person has a suede coat purchased in 1952 and struggles to find a cleaner with the know-how to look after it. We heard about a kaftan ordered from the Kays catalogue (what a throwback) 52 years ago and a pair of waterproof trousers bought for a Duke of Edinburgh expedition in 1982, while one MoneySaver is still getting use from their 44-year-old hiking boots. But our favourite is the T-shirt one Twitter follower bought for her husband 26 years ago, which he wore for the births of all three of his children - a good luck charm that may need to be dusted off for grandbabies. Tell us about your oldest outfits in our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram conversations. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe 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 LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? 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 santander.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, natwest.com, uk.virginmoney.com, rbs.co.uk, raisin.co.uk 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. |