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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
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A new guide from Martin...
1. Is lending really right for you? It's an emotional decision as well as a financial one. It's easy to go into it thinking: "This is simple. I give them the money, they pay me back - all is hunky-dory." A better starting point is to ask yourself: What'd happen if it went wrong? What if they can't repay? What if they don't take it seriously? What if our relationship changes? What if the loan quietly becomes the thing you both avoid talking about? To help, I've a pre-lending checklist, including alternatives. If in doubt, don't. 2. Is it really a loan? Do you need a formal agreement? My view is you should always use a formal lending agreement if you consider this to be a proper loan, where you want:
If it's someone who you'd never take legal action against, and both you and they know it, don't kid yourself. This isn't a loan, it's a gift you hope they may repay. If so, it may make your life and relationship more comfortable just to give them the money and say: "I'd like you to pay this back when you're in a comfortable position to do so." Full help in Loan v repayable gift? 3. Can you credit check someone you're lending to? The simple answer is: not really. The best you can hope for without extraordinary effort is to ask them to volunteer to show you their credit report. Yet, in reality, a bigger issue is: "Can they afford to repay you?" and that isn't covered by a credit file - see how best to check if someone can afford to borrow from you. 4. Should you charge interest and is it taxable? There's a real cost to lending - after all, if you kept the money instead, you could save it or invest it to make it grow. By lending it, you're giving up that return. Therefore, charging interest isn't necessarily unkind, ungenerous or unreasonable, but it does make things far more complicated, reportable, and possibly means tax may need to be paid. Full help in should I charge interest and is it taxable?.
PS: Anything you think I've missed in this, please feedback on my new 'lending to friends' guide. |
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New way to get discounted M&S food... At 350+ stores. It's joined an app where supermarkets, restaurants and cafés sell leftover food at the end of the day at a discount. See Cheap M&S Food. Related: More ways to Eat for free (or cheap). New. FREE £200 cash AND big perks (eg, free Disney+) bank switch. Another bank's launched a salvo in the switching war. Lloyds newbies switching to its Club Lloyds* account get £200 FREE cash, a yearly choice of reward (eg, free Disney+ with ads, 6 free cinema tix), a 1yr linked 6.25% regular saver on up to £250/mth, a top overseas debit card and a £100 0% overdraft for many. Yet you'll need to pay in £2,000/mth (equiv to a £28,500 salary going in). Full eligibility info in Club Lloyds review. FREE £240 available. Other banks pay newbies more straight cash (with lower monthly pay-ins): Santander's FREE £240 | HSBC's FREE £220 | Top service First Direct's FREE £210. Full options in Top bank accounts. Code gets £210 Ninja 7.6L dual-zone air fryer for £130. MSE Blagged. 4,500 codes. See Ninja
Unbeatable '5.3%' 1yr savings fix if you've £10,000+. Newbies to savings marketplace Raisin* - which lets you move money easily between different banks after filling in one form - get £40+ cashback via code SEP150 when opening a year-long fixed savings account with £10,000+ by the end of the month. Its current top 1yr fix is 4.9%*, which is only a smidge below the open-market best buy, but with the cashback added, that's an extra 0.4% if you put in exactly £10k, making it a clear best buy. Full savings best buys: For all amounts, see Top savings. Tricks to bag brand-new clothes at second-hand prices, eg, £197 bodysuit £6, £42 dress £2. In honour of Second Hand September, see MSE Olivia's Buy new, second-hand? blog. Ends Mon. Samsung Galaxy S26 '£19/mth' deal: just buying the phone costs twice this! Newbies to iD Mobile (uses Three's signal) can get the latest Galaxy S26, with 100GB of data, for £25 upfront, then £27/mth (rising to £28.80/mth from Apr 27 and £30.60/mth from Apr 28). Plus you can CLAIM £250 cashback on a prepaid Mastercard within 30 days of purchase (see claim help). Factor that in and it's £466 over the 2yrs, equivalent to £19.42/mth. Buying just the handset from Samsung is £879, so this is a stonking deal. More handset deals: Cheap Mobile Finder. 10 Vue cinema tix £40, or 5 for £22, for all films till 22 Oct. See this and more in 30+ cinema savers. 'I cleared £30k of credit card debt, all thanks to Martin.' Success of the week. Liz emailed: "I was up to my eyes in debt. It was all credit cards and at worst I owed nearly £30k. I was only earning £18k. I could not see a way out. I listened to Martin advising to [use MSE's eligibility calc to check if you can] balance transfer to interest-free credit cards. I did this from card to card, diligently setting alarms and reminders to switch again when it was time up, until eventually after a long hard slog of 7yrs, I paid everything off. All thanks to Martin." If we've helped you save or reclaim (on anything), let us know. PS from Martin: I loved reading this, it made me smile. Wonderful news.
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The art of comping! Many people enter competitions, but that doesn't make you a "comper". Comping is deliberately and systematically entering a mass of competitions in a fun, strategic way - treating it as a money-making hobby. This shotgun approach won't see you winning every time, but it can mean landing a few profitable wins. And we regularly see MSE compers winning big cash, gadgets or holidays. Our Beginners Guide to Comping has 40+ insider tips to help you maximise your chances, but here are a few to get you started. Last month alone in our Forum... Forumite stacey2kids posted: "Oh my... I can't even describe. I have never been to the USA before, but I won a trip to Washington DC. All I did was comment on Instagram and I was picked for a £5,000 holiday! I took my daughter, aged 19. It was amazing! Tours, food, spending money. Hilton hotel, transfers, White House and so much more... honestly never give up!"
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FREE week's 'National Theatre at home' with 120+ shows. Including Macbeth (Ralph Fiennes), Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), All My Sons (Bryan Cranston) & more. It's the first-ever free streaming trial for National Theatre at Home - plus if you want to carry on we've blagged 20% off your first two months (norm £10/mth). Grind coffee 30% off code. MSE Blagged. Valid on ground coffee, beans, pods & more. Grind Free first-aid training from British Heart Foundation & Red Cross. Free apps/tools guide you through CPR and how to deal with a range of emergencies - they could literally be a lifesaver. Free first aid Four months free, ad-free music for Amazon Unlimited newbies. Or three months free if you're not an Amazon Prime member. Related: 3mths free Spotify Premium ends tomorrow (Wed). |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Is it fairer to split the cost of our villa rental per room rather than per person? I went on a trip with my 17-year-old daughter, best friend and two of her family. The five of us stayed in a four-bedroom villa booked by my friend's family. My daughter and I shared a room, while the other three each had their own. After the trip I was asked to pay 40% of the total villa cost (two-fifths) to cover me and my daughter. I thought the split would be based on the number of rooms, in which case I'd pay 25% (one-quarter) as we had one room. We shared food costs equally between the five of us, so that's not in question. I don't wish to cause tension with my friend, but I hadn't budgeted for that level of expenditure. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Is it fair to split our villa rental cost per person? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 23 SEP ONWARDS) Thu 24 Sep - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC R5 Live, midday |
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