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| DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook |
| STOP paying credit card interest. Shift debt to 27mths interest-free, no fee If you've outstanding credit or store card debt, cutting the interest means more of your repayments clear the actual debt, so you'll be debt-free faster (provided you stop borrowing). The key weapon is a 0% balance transfer, where you get a new card to pay off existing cards, so you now owe it, but interest-free. I don't usually single out one card, but the market's changing, and sadly many top deals have got worse, so now there's one card that's best for most... A few longer-0% cards are available. My mantra has long been 'get the card with the lowest fee in the time you're sure you can repay'. Yet while back in mid-2017 the longest 'fee' cards gave you 14mths more at 0% than the fee-free cards, now those longer 0% lengths have radically shortened. The Post Office is today's longest, but only gives 5mths more than the fee-free Santander card, so you don't get much extra for the 2% (£20 per £1,000) fee. Plus, unlike Santander, the Post Office is 'up to' 32mths 0%, so some get a shorter 0% period. Yet what really counts is which card YOU'LL be accepted for, so always check our 0% Balance Transfer Eligibility Calc before applying.
Balance Transfer Golden Rules. Full help and ALL best buys: Balance Transfers (APR Examples). | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Should I buy euros, dollars etc now given... well, Brexit? After the delay to the parliamentary Brexit vote, the pound fell against the euro and dollar to at or near its lowest in about 20mths. On Tue night, £1 was worth just €1.11 and $1.25. So lots of you are asking us... Yet sadly crystal balls don't work, so predictions are futile. Martin's view is: "I just accept currency swings, and ensure I get the best rate on the day I spend (see below). Yet if you worry a big swing would make things unaffordable, take risk-mitigation measures." Tactics to guard against currency swings. If you're worried, here are two tips to hedge your bets... - Buy half now, the rest when you spend. Get the first half at today's best rates and the rest at the time you spend (see tips below). If very nervous, ask yourself, "Would I accept today's rate?" If so, and your real fear is rates worsening so your holiday becomes unaffordable, play safe and buy more now, then ignore rates later so hindsight bitterness doesn't ruin your holiday. - Trick to lock in a rate now & protect against currency swings. A few bureaux de change let you order for collection at today's rate and, usually for a small fee, cancel or sell it back within 3-45 days depending on the firm - useful for Xmas and into the New Year. If the pound weakens the rate's locked in; if it improves, just cancel the order and buy at the better rate. See Currency Buy-Back Trick. Get the best rate every time you spend. Specialist overseas cards are the cheapest way to spend abroad as you get near-perfect rates on the day (beating bureaux de change). And they don't charge the usual 3%-ish 'non-sterling exchange rate fee' that most cards do. Top pick for rate, and because it's easier to get, is the Starling debit card, though you can get cashback via a Barclaycard credit card if you pass a full credit check. Full options in Top Overseas Cards. How to grab TODAY'S best rate. The easy way is the best cash rate, or a prepaid card... - Top prepaid cards. These tend to beat cash (just). A handful of prepaid travel cards let you swap your pounds into foreign currency, meaning you can in effect lock in a rate now. Plus some offer the perfect 'interbank' rate - sometimes beating the rate you'd get with cash. Full pros and cons in Prepaid Travel Cards. - Best cash rates from 30+ bureaux in seconds. Our TravelMoneyMax comparison tool compares rates, so you get the most bang for your buck, baht or balboa. Yet never pay a bureau and let it hold your cash for long - you're generally not protected if it went bust. |
| Barclays now allows you to block gambling & premium line payments on its cards. The first big bank to do it, following Monzo and Starling. The move is based on research from Martin's Money & Mental Health Policy Institute charity. Find out how Barclays' gambling block works. 3,000 left. £110 cashback on £1,000+ Ratesetter 3%-ish investment. Peer-to-peer investing isn't saving, as it's not risk-free, so ain't for everyone. Yet if you are going to do it, our special link gives an 11% head start on £1k. The deal launched last week for the first 5,000 newbies but 2,000 were snapped up quickly. Full info, incl pros & cons, in Peer-to-Peer Lending. £35 for 7 bottles of wine & 2 glasses delivered (norm £81). MSE Blagged. Via Naked Wines newbies' code. 1,200 cases. Pls be Drinkaware. NHS & emergency services staff discounts, incl 10% off at Iceland & Starbucks. See full list of emergency services discounts. Hamleys £5 off when you spend £50. Plus £10 off £100 at the toy store. Voucher valid in 19 stores. HamleysAre you getting a fair pint? When you can demand more beer. With Xmas partying in full swing, MSE Kelvin sets out your pint rights. Pls be Drinkaware. |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| New. FAST broadband & line '£17.67/mth' from BT-owned Plusnet Millions overpay for broadband & line and could make big savings if out of contract by ditching dud deals. The key is grabbing short-lived promos - and many are around this week. All deals are postcode-dependent so use our Broadband Unbundled tool to find the best in your area (links below go there).
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| £900 STUDENT LOAN RECLAIM - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: Enid Blyton collections incl Famous Five - 22-book set for £19 (norm £28). MSE Blagged. See Book People. |
| THIS WEEK'S POLL What have you switched in 2018? Sadly, the best deals rarely go to loyal customers. Moving company to a new, hot promo deal is often (not always) the way to slash costs - so this year, have you switched or stuck with what you have? What have you switched in 2018? Most of you have already done all or most of your Christmas shopping. With the big day fast approaching, 57% of respondents to last week's poll said their shopping's finished or nearly finished - though 12% hadn't yet made a start. The 35-49-year-olds were the most organised group, with under-25s most likely to be leaving it to the last minute. See the full breakdown in Xmas shopping poll results. |
| MONEYSAVING NEWS - Top story: Ryanair passengers complain of name-change 'glitch' which could cost them £115 |
| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I let my mum keep my car? I live with my mum and we share my car, though I've decided to move out. I want to get rid of the car so I have more money for living costs, yet my mum says she needs it to get to work, but can't afford to pay for it herself. I'll be earning considerably more than her - and I'm torn between what's morally right and my financial stability and independence. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I let mum keep my car? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE QUICKIES - Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Debts piled up, no payments made this year - HELP |
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| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 12 DEC ONWARDS) Thu 13 Dec - Good Morning Britain, ITV, Deals of the Week, 7.40am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC) Wed 12 Dec - BBC Radio Cumbria, Money Talks with Ben Maeder, from 6pm, 'how to cut the cost of Christmas food' |
| QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: I have an old bank account I don't use anymore - should I close it or do banks look more favourably on you if you've held an account for a long time? Vanessa, via email. MSE Karl's A: If you've held a bank account for a long time and have managed it well, it may help your credit score. But it's one of dozens of factors that can affect it, and is unlikely on its own to win or lose you a future credit application. If it's 15yrs+ old, it may not influence your score at all. Whatever the case, if it's a rubbish account you may want to ditch and switch and grab a free cash bonus, which may be more important to you than any credit score impact - see Best Bank Accounts. If you're unsure, it's worth checking your credit file for free with the MSE Credit Club - and see our Credit Scores guide for need-to-knows and how to boost your score. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
| DECK THE HALLS WITH HOMEMADE BAUBLES... That's all for this week, but before we go... ever thought of making your own Xmas decorations from bits around the home or from work? MSE Tony's wife has been sharing some of the creations made at the college where she works, including a tree from books and even a fireplace. So what do you think? Have you given it a go or are you tempted to? Let us know in our homemade decorations forum thread - and send us pics of your Xmas efforts. 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 autoaidbreakdown.co.uk, santander.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, uk.virginmoney.com, confused.com, gocompare.com, moneysupermarket.com, comparethemarket.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, sainsburysbank.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. |
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