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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
Do you pay for childcare? Whether year-round or just in summer, MILLIONS are missing out on £1,000s/yr of help The school summer holidays can add an extra burden on many parents, yet millions may be unaware of the help that's available, both for summer and across the year. Unless you earn over £100,000 a year, don't assume you can't get help. Our Childcare costs guide has full info, but here are the three most important things to check... Step 1. Before you pay for ANY childcare, check if you can get 'FREE' childcare hours each week. If your child is nine months to four years old in England (or three or four years old in the rest of the UK), you can get up to 30 hours of what's often called 'free' childcare a week - though more accurate would be to call it 'funded', as you may need to pay a top-up depending on the cost of the childcare. See how to get funded childcare. Step 2. On Universal Credit (or should be) and PAY for childcare? Check if you can get help. If you pay for childcare, you may be able to get help via the benefits system. It's important you check this first before using the 'Tax-Free Childcare' system below, both as this is almost always better and, if you claim Tax-Free Childcare, it'll stop your benefits. On Universal Credit (UC) and in work? Claim up to £1,739/mth of childcare costs (including if they're just for summer). The maximum childcare provision has been uprated this year, to 85% of childcare costs up to £1,014/mth (for 1 child) or £1,739/mth (for 2+ children). See claiming childcare costs through UC.Earn under £40k-ish (or possibly more) and not claiming UC? Check NOW if you can get it. Martin's rule of thumb is if your household income's roughly under £40,000 (or £55,000 if you've a larger family & pay high rent), then it's worth plugging your info into our 10-min benefits calc to see if you're due owt (not saying you are, just it's worth checking). If you qualify, you'll get what's called the 'child element', worth around £288/mth per child (for your first two children), plus your standard allowance. And, if in work, you may get further help towards childcare costs on top (see point a. above). Still on Tax Credits? You can claim back up to 70% of childcare costs this way. Though some will be better off switching to UC as more childcare money's available that way. Be careful though, seek one-on-one advice before switching.
Now a quick note from Martin: "You won't have heard of the Working Family Childcare Top-Up scheme, because it's actually called Tax-Free Childcare - a terrible name that's nowt to do with tax, nor tax-free. It was christened the Tax-Free Childcare system to score political points - but the confusion that name causes is a big reason too few people understand and claim it. So we're campaigning for it to be renamed to something that actually helps, not hinders, understanding." In the meantime, here's how it works... Tax-Free Childcare provides a top-up for working parents of children aged 11 or younger (16 or younger if they have a disability) who pay for childcare. To qualify, you (and your partner if you live with them) must usually: - Be employed or self-employed. If you're eligible, it's a no-brainer - just set up an online account for your childcare costs and, for every £8 you pay in, the state tops it up with £2, up to a max £500 every three months (£1,000 for some with disabilities). For full eligibility and info, see how to get Tax-Free Childcare. As Kiran emailed: "I had no idea about Tax-Free Childcare until I got your email highlighting that I could pay for my after-school care via it and save myself 20% off the fees. Thanks to Martin and his team, I now save around £100/mth. I am so grateful. Thank you." |
Ends Sun at the latest. Free £200 just for switching bank. Last week, top service bank (91% 'great') First Direct* added a £25 Amazon voucher (via this link) to its free £175 cash for switchers' deal, but that ends on Sunday - or sooner if there's huge demand - so go ASAP (the link will show you if it's still on). And the £175 may not be around much longer either. You also get a top overseas debit card, a 7% regular savings account to put up to £300/mth in & many get a £250 0% overdraft. Rarely offered: Barclays* has a free £175 bank switch deal - it's not done a lot of switch deals before, so fewer will fall foul of 'can't have had a switch bonus from it before' type-rules. Full info on these & others in last week's new & boosted bank switch free cash deals email. 'Free' National Trust family day pass (normally £30ish) with 95p paper. Excludes NT Scotland sites. Days out Ends Wed. Top-pick 5.1% easy-access savings. We've already mentioned it above, but it's a multi-best-buy so pops up a lot. App-only bank Chase* is paying 4.1% variable rate savings, plus until 16 Jan 2025 a 1% point bonus (so 5.1% total) for newbies who open it by 11.59pm Wed (min £1, max £1,000,000). To get the savings, just open its free current account (no hard credit-check & you needn't switch to it). Top easy-access cash ISA: The Trading 212 5.2% cash ISA*, which you can put up to £20,000 per tax year in, does actually pip it though. Do read more info on both of these and more options in Top savings and Top cash ISAs. Secret Sales code: Extra 20% off reduced Nike, Converse, Asos and more. MSE Blagged. High-street & designer stock at reduced prices. 4,000 codes available. Secret Sales Ends Wed. Amazon 'Prime Day' is on now - we sort the deals from the duds, eg, £160 Shark cordless vac deal (was £230). Other decent discounts include a £200 Ninja multicooker (was £303) and a £25 Ring camera (was £50). Plus there's an extra 30% off Amazon Warehouse. See our full 'Prime Day' analysis.
New pod. Are you one of 4m graduates who can reclaim £100s overpaid student loans? And should you overpay your student loan? These are the big topics of this week's The Martin Lewis Podcast, a must-listen for anyone who's left uni since around 2000 (possibly before if it's not paid off). It's now embedded in our reclaim student loans guide. All this & more via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple or wherever you get your Martin fix. Ends Thu. £70 Eurostar returns (plus how to get an extra 5% off). For travel 13 Aug to 23 Oct. Eurostar flash sale. Related: 20% off Interrail 'Global Passes' for travel from 1 Sept. |
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News. Water bills to rise £100+ over the next five years Water regulator Ofwat's latest contentious proposals mean it'll allow water firms to increase bills by an average of around £100 across England and Wales over the next five years. It says this £88bn rise will lead to a record investment to "reduce pollution, improve customer service, river and bathing water quality" as well as to tackle climate change. Yet this was a third less than water firms wanted, and with Thames Water's solvency possibly teetering... water is in crisis. So most bills will rise, yet there's a huge variance based on where you live, eg, Anglian customers will pay £66 more by 2030, whereas Southern Water customers will pay £183 more (see firm-by-firm water rises). Of course, perversely, with water there's privatisation but no competition, yet that doesn't mean you can't do anything. Our full Cut your water bills guide overflows with tips, but there are five to briefly scan through here... The BIG SAVING: Millions in Eng & Wales can save £100s switching to a FREE water meter? Water bills are based on the old pre-1990 rates system, where the amount paid is roughly based on your home's rental value, not usage. So bigger homes tend to pay more, even if they're using little water. In England and Wales you can get a free water meter, which measures how much you use and bills you accordingly. Here's Martin's simple rule of thumb...... then there's a good chance you can save, so use a water meter calculator For some, especially bigger houses with few people, the savings are large. Ursula emailed us: "I got a meter fitted as there are only two of us in a three-bed house. We now pay £16/mth, not £60/mth [so £530 a year less]. Thank you." If your water calc shows savings are likely, you can ask your firm for a more formal assessment if you want. Can you switch back? If you voluntarily fit a meter, with most (though not all) firms you've up to two years to change your mind and go back without penalty (see firms' water meter switch-back policies). Told you can't get a meter? In some ways that's the best route... Some with shared pipes or in flats are told by water firms they can't 'practicably' have a meter fitted. If so, ask for an 'assessed charge bill', which works out how much you'd likely pay if you had a meter. Then if that's cheaper than your normal water bill, switch to it. If not, don't. Karen emailed us: "I moved into my house 4 years ago and was told I couldn't have a meter. Having recently read your advice, one easy call with SE Water resulted in my annual charge dropping to £200pa from £446pa. Thanks so much." On Universal Credit, benefits or have a low household income? Check out social tariffs and WaterSure. Social tariffs are offered by all firms and can reduce what you pay by up to 90%. There are 5.7m ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS MISSING OUT on an estimated £160/yr on average. See firm-by-firm social tariff help. Separately, if you receive benefits AND either have 3+ children OR a medical condition such as Crohn's or eczema which means you need to use more water, you may be able to have bills capped under the WaterSure scheme. Freebies to cut your water use (good even with no meter) - 100,000s available, including £20 shower heads. Water firms across most of the country hand out 100,000s of water freebies. They're especially MoneySaving if you've a meter, but even if you don't, as much of the water we use is heated, they can cut energy bills. Plus, see our 30 water-saving tips. Can you get a sewerage rebate? It's generally assumed that used water creates a similar amount in sewage. Yet if you've a way of draining or storing water - such as a soakaway, cesspit, pool or big garden - that means some of the water you're using isn't going into a public sewer, you may be able to claim a rebate worth an average ~£35/yr. |
Live 5pm Wed. Ask Martin Anything live on the MSE App. The boss is doing another live video Q&A on the MSE App - download it free via Apple | Android. And make sure notifications are 🔛 so we can tell you it's started. Warning. Barclaycard customer? From Monday you could be paying DOUBLE the interest. The minimum amount most have to repay will drop next week, leaving many in debt for years longer. See Martin's analysis & what's best to do in Barclaycard changes. Tesco shopper? Can you get an up to £50 Clubcard bonus? Tesco's launched a new Clubcard Challenge. Related: Nectar 'shop for points' boost Flight delayed / cancelled due to crew sickness? Many can now claim up to £520 back. The Supreme Court has ruled that crew sickness is counted as the airline's fault, meaning 10,000s may now be able to make retrospective claims. See our flight delay or flight cancellation guides for full info on who's eligible and how to claim. |
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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your broadband provider? We can tell you which are the cheapest broadband providers, but to keep our customer service ratings updated, we need your help. So please let us know how you rate your broadband provider on customer service (not price) by voting in this week's poll. Three-quarters of you are going on a summer holiday this year (or hoping to). Last week, with peak holiday season upon us, we asked how many of you are going on a summer holiday this year. Over 5,000 of you responded, with 52% saying you were venturing abroad and 17% going away in the UK. A further 6% are hoping to go somewhere despite not having booked yet. See the full summer holiday poll results. |
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I go back to the supermarket that didn't charge me and offer to pay? I did my big shop at a major supermarket and paid with a credit card as normal. Yet when my card statement arrived, I hadn't been charged. Do I go back and offer to pay, so the supermarket doesn't lose out? I'd feel a bit silly as it's been weeks and I don't have a receipt, so I don't know exactly what I bought or how much it cost. Given such a big firm's unlikely to be affected by a one-off loss, I could say nothing and carry on shopping there, but would that make me no better than a thief? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I offer to pay the supermarket that didn't charge me? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 16 JUL ONWARDS) Wed 17 Jul - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm |
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 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MONY Group Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA 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 MONY Group Financial Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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