Hi - here are your latest deals, freebies, tricks and messages to help you save. | | | Stop wasting cash NOW. Here's our crash course to start the '20s with 20 tips to make or save £1,000s
Happy New Year. Let's cut to the chase... many are skint after Christmas or will have made resolutions to sort their finances. So we want to (fiscally) set you up for the next decade, and our tips across many of your biggest outgoings, plus ways to make or reclaim cash, will get you going as quickly as possible. Regulars may know all this, but we make no apology for repeating it in case you need a gentle nudge (or an elbow to the gut). This is just the start, as each week in Jan we'll go through lots of these topics in more depth in this email (do suggest friends sign up to it). INCOME TAX. Millions of tax bills are wrong - check yours in a few secs. That's because huge swathes of tax codes that tell employers how much tax to take from you are incorrect. It's your responsibility to check, and to help we've a handy Tax Code Calculator.
ENERGY. Switch and save £340+/yr in the same time it takes to make a cup of tea. As it's winter, ensure you're on the best deal. That's crucial as 50%+ are on pricey Big 6 standard tariffs, paying an avg £1,178/yr on typical use.
If, like many, you prefer a big name, there are fixed-rate deals that smash standard rates by an avg £300/yr. Two of those deals - a British Gas 1yr fix and an EDF 1yr fix - are for new AND existing customers, while E.on's 1yr fix is for newbies only. But they're only available via comparison sites such as our Cheap Energy Club. Links take you to our club for full info, plus you can compare against other biggies, as your winner depends on usage and where your live.
If you just want the cheapest, you can slash an avg £340/yr vs those Big 6 standard rates with some smaller firms. If you're prepared to go for a minnow, do a full market comparison. Comparing and applying to switch is easy. In previous tests we've done, it's taken the same time as making a cup of tea at just under four mins.
CAR INSURANCE. Take 10 mins to see if you can save £100s, even if not at renewal. The key is to NEVER auto-renew as insurers rely on people's laziness to jack up prices - instead, always compare. You normally get the best prices 3-4 weeks before renewal, so diarise to get quotes then or go ASAP if you're within four weeks already.
Yet if you already pay through the nose and you're midway through a policy, it may still pay to switch even after a £50ish admin fee provided you've not claimed. When you're ready...
(i) Use comparison sites to check dozens of insurers in mins - they don't cover the same firms, so check a few. Our current order is MoneySupermarket*, Confused.com*, Compare The Market* and Gocompare*.
(ii) Biggies Direct Line* and Aviva* aren't on comparisons, so try 'em.
(iii) Check hot deals comparisons miss, eg, a £60 M&S voucher. See our car insurance cost-cutting system for more.
WATER. Are you pouring money down the drain? A simple calculator checks if you can save with a water meter. You can't switch supplier to save, but some may be better off with a meter - see how to check if you can slash your water bill.
BROADBAND & LINE. It takes just five mins to slash bills, and there's the NEW cheapest fast fibre since May at '£15/mth'. Many pay up to £45/mth for the slowest broadband speeds, but hot, short-lived promos can help you dramatically slice costs, such as these new-customer deals. However, both Post Office deals end next Thu and Vodafone ends on Sun, so they won't be around long.
Links take you via our Broadband Unbundled tool to check your eligibility as they're postcode-dependent. It's packed with lots more deals if you can't get these.
- Standard broadband speed, avg 11Mb: Post Office '£11.74/mth'
- New. Fast fibre, avg 38Mb: Post Office '£15.49/mth'
- Ends Sun. Even faster fibre, avg 63Mb: Vodafone '£17.45/mth'
For lots more help, see how switching works, what speed you need and more broadband cost-cutters.
BENEFITS. Some with family income up to £73,000/yr are entitled. Try our five-min checker to see if you're missing out. With £20bn still unclaimed in means-tested benefits, use our Benefits Calc.
MOBILES. Pay £10+/mth for mobile use? STOP. If you're out of contract and happy with your handset, you can probably slash costs with a new Sim - the chip in your phone that dictates your allowances. And there are a host of deals at many data levels for no more than £10/mth below. They're for new customers of that firm only, and while the cheapest are from ID and Smarty, which use the Three network, we've included alternatives if Three isn't for you.
- 3GB, 500 mins & unltd texts: £7/mth from iD Mobile*
- 5GB, unltd mins & texts: £8/mth from Vodafone* (UK use only)
- Ends Tue. 6GB, unltd mins & texts: £7.50/mth from Smarty*
- 8GB, unltd mins & texts: £10/mth from Vodafone* (UK use only)
- 30GB, unltd mins & texts: £10/mth from Smarty*
All ID and Smarty Sims are 1mth contracts, so you can cancel at any time. With Vodafone, they're 12mth contracts. See our Best Sim only deals guide for more options and help.
PETROL & DIESEL. Drive down costs in secs. It's dead simple via a nifty tool that finds the cheapest filling station near you. We found petrol in Durham ranging from 122.9p to 142.9p. Also see Seven fuel-efficiency tips.
SUPERMARKET SHOPPING. Don't be a brand snob and go wild in the aisles to save £1,000+/yr. Supermarkets are geniuses at making us spend cash on stuff we don't need, and they don't always make discounts easy to find.
To fight back, we've 33 Supermarket Tips incl how to play the Downshift Challenge by going a brand level lower (sometimes with little taste difference) and how to max discounts.
BOOST YOUR INCOME. There are scores of legit ways to earn extra cash. See our Boost Your Income guide for 60+ tips, including renting out your parking space, flogging your wedding dress and getting paid to spot job ads.
COUNCIL TAX. Don't assume you're in the right band. A 10-min check & challenge could save you £1,000s. We often hear from users who've successfully lowered their band, thus paying £100s/yr less going forward and getting backdated payouts worth £1,000s. As 100,000s of homes are likely to be banded incorrectly, see our council tax rebanding system, which also includes the risks. Denise emailed: "Thanks Martin. I successfully challenged my council tax banding and am just waiting for a £1,600 rebate to hit my account."
EBAY SELLING TRICKS. How to get max cash for your cast-offs. Whether you've unwanted pressies or plan to/have had a New Year clear-out, see our 48 selling tricks for eBay and more. Joanne emailed: "Thanks MSE. I've made £100s on eBay, selling everything from board games to Beano comics and old crockery. Really easy."
MORTGAGES. Rates are close to all-time lows - quick research could help save you £1,000s. Both 2yr and 5yr fixes are seriously cheap, yet 1.4m languish on their lender's expensive standard variable rate.
Someone on the avg 4.24% SVR borrowing £150,000 over 25yrs would save around £5,300 over 2yrs (after all fees) by switching to the best 2yr fix of 1.29%. Read our Remortgage Guide for help and use our Mortgage Best Buys tool to benchmark the best rates.
TV BILLS. Don't switch off and let them charge top dollar. Haggle your way to a better deal. With TV, there aren't many standout deals right now, so haggling is often your best way to net a bargain. The good news is TV firms are among the easiest to haggle with.
In our Sep poll, 85% of Sky custs who voted said they haggled successfully, followed by Virgin (82%), BT (80%) and TalkTalk (80%). See TV haggling help and don't pay for channels you never watch.
GYMS. How to shed pounds for free. If you never actually go, you shed the wrong kind of pounds, so STOP. If you'll really go, we've a full training session in how to get a cheap gym membership, including free passes and no-frills centres from £10/mth.
DIRECT DEBITS. Do an audit and cancel unused subscriptions. Many pay for things they never use, which may include some of the stuff above or magazine subscriptions, other memberships etc. For inspiration, see our Direct Debit Audit Guide.
BANK FEES. Check if you're due £1,000s for mis-sold 'packaged bank accounts'. These are where you pay a monthly fee, largely for insurance perks. While such accounts can win for some, they have also been wrongly flogged to others. We've had lots of successes from people using our FREE reclaim guide and tool, incl Lynne: "A huge thank you MSE. I used your tool and within a week I got £4,400."
CHILDCARE COSTS. Are you missing out on £1,000s? Many parents do just that when help is available for after-school clubs, activities, childminders, school holiday camps and more. Some schemes cover older kids (11+), so get help via our Childcare Costs guide.
BUDGETING. Work out if you spend more than you earn (not quick, but vital). Our free Budget Planner spreadsheet helps you analyse your finances to work out your genuine incomings and outgoings over a year (or other timeframe), which can be an eye-opener for some. It needs some effort to do it properly, but if you're still off work or have the time anyway it can be one of your best investments (of time) if it helps you stave off financial strife.
Many tell us it's been the kick up the bum they've needed to start cutting bills or even cutting back. Plus our Demotivator tool shines a bright light on how much small daily spends, such as coffees or cigarettes, really add up to over a year.
SERIOUS DEBT. Make an appointment with a debt adviser ASAP if you're struggling. If your non-mortgage and non-student loan debts are bigger than a year's after-tax income, you can't meet your minimum repayments or you're having sleepless nights over debt, a non-profit debt advice agency is the place to turn.
They get rammed in Jan, so book an appointment ASAP. There's free, one-on-one help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline, and StepChange, which also runs an online full debt advice service that operates 24/7. Full info in Debt Crisis Help. ____________________________ An hour-long BILL BUSTER 'ask me anything' special Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE, ITV, 8pm Tue
Over to Martin: "On Tue 7 Jan, to restart the series (which continues the following Mon), we've a 1hr live bill-busting special, where I'll run through how to slash £1,000s off the cost of all household bills. Plus as always it's an 'ask me anything' - so if you have a question on anything (well, almost), you can get in touch live. Do watch, or set your VCR." |
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| DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook
Lots of scam ads that litter social media lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning. |
| FREE £175 to switch bank is back
Start your new year with a bang - or put it towards post-Christmas bills
Banks know many use the new year to sort their finances, so right on cue, two switching biggies are back, though another hot offer is ending. So if your bank's a bad'un, or you just want free cash, now's a great time to show your bank the door. What's more, switching is easy and only takes seven working days, and the new bank moves all payments for you. All below require a not-too-harsh credit check and you must use their switching services to get all the perks... Biggest upfront free cash. New. Free £175. Switchers to HSBC's Advance* account get £175, plus with it you can open a 2.75% fixed regular saver, where you can put up to £250/mth for a year. Its customer service is middling at 54% 'great', 29% 'OK'.
All you need to do to qualify is have 2+ two direct debits or standing orders moved over within 30 days and pay in £1,750/mth (equiv to a £25,700/yr salary going in each month). Plus you can't have had an HSBC account since Jan 2017. HSBC's bank account pays a lower £75 with no monthly min pay-in, but the other criteria are the same as above.
Top service and free cash. New. FREE £100 + £250 0% overdraft. First Direct* has rekindled its £100 switch bonus for new customers, having cut it to £50 in July. Many also get a 0% £250 overdraft (it's expensive over that - see below), plus you can save up to £300/mth fixed for 1yr at 2.75% interest in its linked regular savings account.
It's rated highly for service, coming top in our latest poll with 85% of its customers rating it 'great'. There's no min monthly pay-in, but you must pay in £1k within 3mths (you can withdraw it the next day if you want) to get the bonus.
Biggest perk in total + good service. Ends Mon. Earn £100 M&S vchs NO MIN PAY-IN + poss £80 more. Apply to M&S Bank* by 11.59pm on Mon and this account is a halfway house between the HSBC cash & First Direct service.
New switchers get a £100 M&S gift card without needing to pay anything in, though you need to move 4+ active direct debits. But if you deposit £1,250/mth (equiv £16,900/yr salary), keep at least four direct debits active and register for online banking and statements within 3mths, then you get another £80 gift card in 1yr. Its customer service rating is a strong 68% 'great', 23% 'OK'.
It also offers a £100 0% overdraft, rising to £250 from 14 Mar (it's expensive over that - see below). You also get access to its linked 2.75% fixed regular saver, where you can save up to £250/mth.
Key overdraft rate warning. The trio above will raise rates to 39.9% EAR in March. Other banks have said similar and we expect more to follow as part of an industry-wide overhaul. The key message whoever you're with is overdrafts are an expensive debt outside a 0%, so be careful. For more information and other options, see our Best Bank Accounts guide. |
| SALES BOOST - now up to 70% off at Asos, H&M, Topshop etc. It's that time when big sales get bigger - plus we expect more to follow soon, incl Boots and M&S. Full info and updates in January sales . Got savings? Start the new year by ditching paltry returns for up to 1.41% easy access or 1.65% fixed for 1yr. For true easy access, Marcus* and Ford Money* pay 1.35% AER variable (min £1) and allow unlimited withdrawals. Shawbrook Bank is 1.41% AER variable, but it's a min £1k and the min withdrawal is £500, so it's not as flexible. Keep an eye on 'em as rates could fall. If you want certainty, Ford Money* (min £500) pays 1.65% AER fixed for 1yr, but as with all fixes, your money is locked away and you won't benefit if rates rise. See Top Savings for more. £10-£40 London theatre, incl £30 The Lion King, £10 Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Sale started in Dec, but 1,000s of tickets still available for Jan/Feb shows. London theatre Got a Hotpoint or Indesit washing machine? Your rights as 100,000s recalled over fire fears. See Hotpoint/Indesit rights. Personalised A4 photo calendar £6 deliv. MSE Blagged. Norm £11ish. Or A3 for £8 (norm £13ish). Card Factory |
| New. Shift credit and store card debts to 28mths 0% (1.75% fee) or 18mths 0% NO FEE and get £20 cashback If you can't afford to clear your card debt, you can't afford not to try to shift it to 0% January's credit card statements are scary for many. Yet don't wait for 'em to drop. The key is a balance transfer, where you get a new credit card to pay off other credit or store cards, so you owe it instead but at 0% interest. It helps you get debt-free quicker (if you don't borrow more) as repayments clear what you owe, rather than servicing interest. And the new year has brought some new offers. Two need-to-knows, then the top cards... - Don't just apply. FIRST find which cards you're likely to be accepted for. Our Balance Transfer Eligibility Calculator shows your acceptance odds, helping you to minimise applications and protect your credit score.
- Which card wins? As we always say, go for the lowest fee (incl cashback) in the time you're sure you can repay in. Unsure? Play safe and go long. | BEST 0% NEW-CARDHOLDER BALANCE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDS |
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| CARD | 0% DEBT-SHIFT DEAL (1) | HOW GOOD IS ITS BALANCE TRANSFER DEAL? | Virgin Money
(eligibility calc / apply*) | - 29mths 0%
- 3% one-off fee | The key is it's not an 'up to' card, so if accepted you get the full 29mths 0%, but the fee is big. After the 0%, it's 21.9% rep APR. | New. Barclaycard
(eligibility calc / apply*)
| - Up to 28mths 0%
- 1.75% one-off fee
- £20 cashback if you shift £2,500+ (2)
| Low fee for a long 0%, especially if you shift enough to get the £20 which offsets the fee. Yet it's an 'up to' card, so you may get a shorter 0% based on your credit score. And the shorter Sainsbury's deal below is usually cheaper. After the 0%, it's 21.9% rep APR.
| Sainsbury's Bank
(eligibility calc / apply*) | - Up to 26mths 0%
- 1% one-off fee, min £3 (only if you shift when applying) | While a shorter 0% than Barclaycard above, it wins on fees, especially if you shift less than £2,500. Yet like Barclayard it's an 'up to' card, so you can't be certain exactly how long you'll get at 0%. After the 0%, it's 20.9% rep APR.
| Santander
(eligibility calc / apply*)
(NatWest/RBS custs can get a longer no-fee 0%)
| - 18mths 0%
- NO FEE
| As it's not an 'up to' card, you'll get the full 18mths if accepted, so for anyone who shifts less than £2,500 who can clear their debt within that time, it wins. If you shift more, the card below may beat it. After the 0%, it's 18.9% rep APR
| New. Barclaycard
(eligibility calc / apply*)
| - Up to 18mths 0%
- NO FEE
- £20 cashback if you shift £2,500+ (2)
| It pays some to shift bigger debts, as there's no fee and you may get cashback. But it's another 'up to' card, so not all accepted will get the full 0% length. After the 0%, it's 21.9% rep APR
| (1) Fee as % of debt shifted. (2) You must shift the debt within 60 days to get the cashback.
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Always follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules. Full info in Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples). a) Never miss the min monthly repayment, or you could 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 higher APR.
c) Don't spend/withdraw cash. It usually isn't at the cheap rate and withdrawals hit your creditworthiness.
d) You must usually balance-transfer within 60 or 90 days to get the 0%.
e) You normally can't transfer a balance between two cards from the same bank (the case for all cards above). |
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| Flight sales on NOW - how to land mega-cheap deals, eg, NYC £235 rtn BA, Virgin, Easyjet, Ryanair etc have sales on, but to take full advantage you need to know how to play 'em January is the busiest holiday-booking month, so every year there tends to be a host of airlines sales - and it's happened again. Yet it still takes skill to navigate to the hot deals and steer clear of the duds. Our Cheap Flights guide helps, though for speed we've summarised the key points here. So seatbelts fastened, let's go... Got specific dates and places in mind? Use a comparison site (they include sale prices). Let them do the legwork to show which airlines are cheapest and how to book 'em cheapest. Our top picks are Kayak*, Momondo* and Google Flights . On one, we saw a London-New York return at £250 via an agent, but £260 for the SAME Virgin Atlantic flight booked with the airline.
Flexible on date or place? You can play the sales. There are big bargains about, incl Edinburgh-Milan for £28 on Easyjet, Gatwick-New York City for £235 on Norwegian or Heathrow-Bangkok for £400 on BA (all returns). Yet like most top deals they're at specific times on specific routes with limited availability, so you need to be flexible.
We've a flight sales summary with links to each airline sale and tips on how to find the best fares, some of which are available throughout much of 2020. You can also use bargain flight-finding sites that alert you to the hottest fares year-round, and we've blagged 500 1mth free trials for one of them, Jack's Flight Club.
Check if package holidays win. They can sometimes beat separate flight and hotel bookings - often with extra protection. Sometimes it's cheaper even if you DON'T use the hotel. See Cheap Package Holiday tips.
Quick tips to save while searching and booking. (Lots more in our Cheap Flights guide.)
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays are often the cheapest days to fly (of course, avoid peak times if you can).
- On Kayak and Momondo, search 'anywhere' to find the cheapest flights if you don't care where you go.
- Baggage fees may not be included in headline fares, but the comparisons above cleverly let you search with bags.
- Don't automatically pay for seats when booking. See how to sit together for free on BA, Easyjet, Virgin etc.
- Stopovers could save you £100s (so check) + for long stops, you could bag a free hotel from your airline. |
| THIS WEEK'S POLL How did you fare financially in 2019? As we kick off the new year, we want to find out if you're financially better off now than you were at the start of 2019. Whether you saved money, paid off debt, overspent, had a pay rise or had a pay cut, tell us how your household finances fared over the past year. How did you fare financially in 2019? Fairytale of New York is your favourite Christmas song. You may be sick of it by now, but last week we asked you to tell us your number one festive tune. More than 11,000 voted and the Pogues took the crown, with 38% of you picking Fairytale of New York as one of your top three festive hits - more than any other. Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas and Last Christmas by Wham were second and third, respectively. See full Christmas song poll results. |
| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (THU 2 JAN ONWARDS) Mon 6 Jan - This Morning, ITV, 10.55am
Mon 6 Jan - BBC Radio 5 Live, Lunch Money Martin, 12.20pm
Tue 7 Jan - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV, 8pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC) Fri 3 Jan - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am, Guy Anker on debt-busting
Mon 6 Jan - TalkRadio, Breakfast with Julia Hartley-Brewer, 9.45am, Oli Townsend
Tue 7 Jan - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Lunchtime Live with Jeremy Sallis, 2.20pm |
| QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: There are loads of different broadband deals for varying speeds out there at the moment. What speed should I go for? Michael, via email. MSE Chris's A: Standard speed (avg 10/11Mb) is usually fine for browsing or light streaming. Fibre - the term for fast broadband due to the fibre cables that deliver high speeds - is generally best for streamers, gamers or if several people use it at once in your home. Yet even with fibre there are big speed differences, and the faster you go, the more of a luxury it is. Ultimately, it may just come down to your preference. For more on finding the best deal, see our Cheap Broadband guide. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
| IT'S A NEW DECADE, BUT WANT TO SEE WHAT MSE LOOKED LIKE A DECADE AGO? That's all for this week, but before we go... as we start the '20s (sounds strange, doesn't it?), we thought we'd look back at what the site looked like at the start of the noughties. So check out our MSE grows up Facebook post to see how our look has changed from when we were a wee little'un and let us know what you think of our evolution. We hope you save some money... and of course we wish you a financially fabulous New Year,
The MSE team |
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