URGENT top 5.2% savings ending, 100 day s to Christmas, 0% debt shift warning, 3mths' Disney+ £6, £135 specs £37, unlimited Sim '£11/mth'

Warning. In just two days, many top balance transfers have been pulled
If you pay interest on credit card debt, check NOW if you can shift to a 0% balance transfer & save £100s
Get up to 14 months 0% NO-FEE or 29 months 0% (3.45% fee)

Balance transfer cards are the key weapon to cut existing credit card debt costs. That means you get a new card that pays off debt on existing cards for you, but at a cheaper rate so it's interest-free and repayments clear the actual debt rather than paying off the interest. Yet this week, we've seen top deal after top deal being pulled. On Mon, Barclaycard shortened its longest deal by a month, today (Tue) Santander cut one deal by two months, and HSBC pulled its top fee free deal. Overall, there seems to be a downward spiral and we suspect more deals may go. So sorting sooner is safer.

Martin's 8 STUDENT SQUEEZE easers!
Many face far tighter budgets, as their uni living loans fail to keep up with inflation. You need to understand the coming academic year's finances

Millions of undergraduates across the UK are preparing to start or return to university. A good chunk though will see significant financial changes that won't make easy reading. This is especially true for English students, where the squeeze looks tightest. Perversely while over the long term new starters will need to repay up to 50% more than their predecessors, right now for them the biggest practical issue may be that the loan's too small...

1. English student maintenance (living) loans are rising far less than inflation. Most English students get a maintenance loan to live off, to cover rents, transport, books, clothes, food and more. This is added to the tuition fee loan and repaid after leaving university. In the other UK nations, available support is a mix of loan and non-repayable grant.

Contrast these to inflation, the rate at which prices rise. On the lowest measure it was over 10% when the new English loans were announced and is still currently 6.8% year on year. So this is a real terms (ie, if below inflation) cut that will be a blow to many English students already close to the affordability bone - in fact the Govt's own assessment shows that in real terms the loan has been cut 11% to 15% compared to three years ago. There's a far higher rise in total living support for other parts of the UK, even though that still leaves some lower than in England.

2. The hidden parental contribution for English, Scottish & Northern Irish maintenance loans - discuss ASAP. For almost all under-25s, maintenance support is dependent on a means-test of their family's income, which for most means their parents' income, sometimes including step-parents. The higher this income, the less support the state gives. The gap therefore is an implied 'parental contribution'. For example, for English students, the loan received starts to be reduced from just £25,000 family income until around £60,000 to £70,000, where you get the minimum, roughly half the full loan.

Of course, parents can't be forced to fill the gap, but it's crucial to have a discussion on it now, understand there's a gap and work out how it'll be filled. Use our Eng, Scot & N Irish Parental Contribution Calc to see how much it is and more on how it works. Welsh? Students get a fixed amount of total support (the means-test dictates the proportion that's a grant not loan).

3. New English starter this year? 5 things you and your parents should know. You're the first on the new 'Plan 5' student loans explained in my speedy 5 things you should know blog or detailed Plan 5 explained in full guide. Incl...

- The student loan price tag can be £60,000, but that's NOT the cost, see what you really repay.
- The amount you borrow isn't the key factor, as loans work more like a graduate tax.
- Interest is added, but there's no 'real' cost to it, and not everyone pays it.
- The cost from 2023 will be substantially higher than for previous generations - many will repay up to 50% more.

4. Started uni in or before 2022, or new Welsh, Scots or N Irish student? Your system isn't substantially changing. How it works depends on when you started and which country you live in - see Which student loan am I on? for help.

5. Top student accounts 2023 - make banks fight for your custom. Banks salivate over students, hoping to pay once to buy their customer for life. Not a good idea (shift later) but do get the max gain now. This year's top pick includes a guaranteed £1,500 0% overdraft, free four-year railcard and more. Full help in top student accounts.

6. Working people shouldn't spend more than they... earn (obvs), students shouldn't spend more than...? Lots of parents rightly tell their student offspring to budget - but don't define their 'income'. I'd say that's your student living loan, any grant, money from parents, and working (don't include 0% overdrafts). See our Student budgeting planner.

7. Sort your student household - renting, TV licence and insurance. It's worth knowing how it all works:

- Home insurance. You may already be covered under your parents' policies. Read about student contents insurance.
- Can you legally avoid paying the TV licence? Some can, not all. See TV licence student loophole.
- In all student homes, you DON'T pay council tax, but do need to let the council know. See council tax for students.
- Renting? You've rights too. Students with short tenures can feel insecure as renters, so see renting tips.

8. Student bargains, discounts and more. Being a student opens you up to a world of discounts and bargains. You'll find more in our Student discounts section, including 6mths' free Amazon Prime | Ikea £10 off £75 | 10% off Apple | free Microsoft Office plus tips on how to get books for cheap (or free) | learn to cook | find a quirky part-time job.