| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin: |  |  |  | | It sounds bonkers, yet millions throw cash away EVERY MONTH for things no longer needed, used or good value. Now Lent's here and even if you don't celebrate, it's the time to stop paying for unused gyms, unread mags or worse. Be a Cancellation Hero, do a super-audit and banish bank balance bandits.
| 1. | Don't assume "I don't do that," always check. Many unwittingly still pay for long-dead items - some examples via Radio 2 and Twitter:
"I looked through my standing orders to find I'd paid £16/mth repair insurance for two white goods we'd not had for SIX YEARS" - £1,150 down the pan.
"We cancelled my sister's gym yesterday. She's been paying £37/mth for a year and half without going" - a devilish £666 gone. | | | | 2. | First, speedily check all direct debits & standing orders. If you bank online, most have a page listing all direct debits and standing orders. If not, call or go into your branch and they should be able to print this for you. Then scour everything to check it's worthwhile. If you don't recognise it, Google it. Failing that, ask your bank or card provider - see Direct Debit Audit for more help.
| | | | 3. |  Then, check nasty HIDDEN regular payments. Little-known recurring payments are tough to spot. You may've set one up (see below) for mags, telecoms or websites (incl top-shelf) without realising. It gives them permission to regularly take a payment when needed, so just looks like any payment on your statement. Turn detective - check past months to see what repeats.
| | | | 4. | Never give your 'long card number' to set regular payments up. If you're asked for your credit or debit card long number, not bank account details, for a regular payment, then it's a recurring payment. These are hellish to cancel. Even cancelling the card can fail, leaving you still being charged. If you're trapped, the Recurring Payment guide shows the right way to cancel.
| | | | | | 5. | "I paid £140 for a 20-min swim" - is it really worth it? Don't just cancel unused things. Evaluate the real cost. Gym three times a week at £50/mth is £4 a time - yet four times a year it's £150 a visit. You could be better off paying for posh spa trips instead. Use our Regular Payment Calc to see the real yearly cost.
| | | | 6. | Check if you're in contract before cancelling. If so cancelling may be a breach, so check the paperwork. Notice may be required, or there may be early cancellation penalties (which can be cheaper than keeping it going). It's especially a problem with gyms, see Cancelling Gym Contract Help.
| | | | 7. | Don't think "I've not claimed on my insurance so it's worthless". Even cancellation heroes treat insurance carefully, as by definition, you pay hoping you won't use it. Of course, that doesn't make it good value, but think carefully before cancelling. See the cheap insurance guides: Car, Home, Boiler Cover, Travel, see all insurance guides. | | | | 8. | Remember: £10/month saved = £120 a year. Small monthly savings add up. Use the Money Makeover guide to swashbuckle regular costs down, incl...
Car Insurance: Beware paying monthly, it's likely you're being loaned cash at a high APR. To cut costs, combine comparisons Gocompare* & MoneySup* then add Aviva* & Direct Line* that they miss. Full Cheap Car Insurance guide includes info for U25s, multiple cars, past claims & masses more tips. Cheapest broadband & home phone: Plusnet Value* broadband's £6.49/mth plus £25 connection, Primus* line rental's £6.79/mth (less than half BT standard). Full help in Cheap Broadband & Cheap Home Phone guides. Gyms from £10/mth: If you want gym membership, check out the current free trials, pay-as-you-go passes or the new no-frills gyms from £10/mth. | | | | | | 9. | Haggle, haggle, haggle to save £100s in 5 minutes. Even if you use it and don't want to switch, a 5-min call & a pinch of chutzpah can save £100s, eg:
"Threatened to leave Sky yesterday, said I couldn't afford it and they pretty much halved my monthly bill!" - @stumpyian
This isn't just for TV subscriptions. It works for mobile haggling, breakdown cover & more, see the top 10 companies to haggle with.
| | | | 10. | Regular payments can mean you pay less... Paying regularly can help you budget, organise your finances and even bag discounts. For example, pay by regular monthly direct debit for energy and it can cut bills by up to 10% year, that's typically £100+. With phones, it can be more than £20/yr. See The good, the bad and the ugly of regular payments for a quickfire round-up. | | | | For much more see the full New Guide: Be a Cancellation Hero. Share your savings in Cancellation Successes or tweet Martin. Related: Save £1,000 in a day.
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get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips | |  | Shift to 0% for 7mths even with POOR credit score
Lifeline if you've been rejected | 0% balance transfer for those with past credit issues Cutting the interest rate of your cards means more of your repayments clears the actual debt, instead of servicing the interest. Shifting debt to 0% usually needs a decent credit rating, so this deal's a surprise. Always make at least the minimum repayments.  New 7mths 0% with 1.7% fee. Capital One's* Balance card lets new cardholders shift debt to it at 0% until Sept, for a one-off fee of 1.7%. It doesn't automatically exclude those with defaults or CCJs, as long as they weren't in the last year - though you still must pass a credit score. Yet never spend on it as it's a huge 34.9% representative APR for purchases and that's the rate after the 0% ends too. The max credit limit's £1,500.
- How to use this card. In a perfect world, you'd shift all debts to it, repay in the 7mths and be debt-free. Yet if your debt's too large, transfer from your highest APR card(s) to it, and clear as much as possible. After the 0% ends, if you shifted it from a card with a lower APR than its 34.9%, try to shift the remainder back. See the Credit Card Shuffle guide.
For someone owing £1,500, repaying £150/mth at 25%, shifting to this'd reduce the cost by the time it's clear from £175 to £50, even if you couldn't shift it back. Warning: Don't use this if you're still building up debts. The rate when the 0% ends is horrid, you don't want debt stuck on it.
- Get up to 22mths 0% with a good credit score. Barclaycard* allows new cardholders to shift to it at 22mths 0% for a 2.9% fee, Halifax* is 22mths 0% for a 3.5% fee and NatWest* / RBS* 20mth 0% for 2.9%. Try to clear before the 0% ends, or they all jump to 17.9% representative APR.
- Sort your credit rating. The start point is to ensure there are no errors on your credit files so first check credit files for free then see the full Boost Your Credit Score guide.
Full info & more cards in the Updated Guide: Best Balance Transfers (and Official APRs) Related: Debt Crisis Help, 'Bad Credit' Credit Cards | | Earn £50 recommending FREE £300 insulation
The push to insulate homes is getting silly - energy firms now pay you to let them install Big energy providers have 'Carbon Emission Reduction Targets'. They must pump money into making homes more efficient, especially for 'tough to reach' groups. If they miss targets, they get big fines. So they're desperately pushing cash out there. Why not take advantage?  Everyone's eligible for up to £300 of free installation. Cavity wall and loft insulation can slice £100s off annual energy bills. Right now, up to £300-worth is being doled out to anyone by energy companies - even if you're not their customer. Anyone can apply, but you do need a suitable property. See the Free Insulation guide for a full list. - Recommend someone elderly / on benefits - get £50 EACH. British Gas's now offering £50 if you refer an elderly person on pension credit, or anyone else on qualifying benefits, to get free insulation. Neither of you need to be British Gas customers, and you'll both get £50. See British Gas £50 referral info.
- Free insulation PLUS 10,000 Tesco points if on certain benefits. Tesco's giving 10,000 (5,000 for loft + 5,000 for cavity wall) points to anyone getting insulation if they're on qualifying benefits. While 10,000 is worth £100 redeemed in store, it can be worth up to £400 on Tesco Rewards. Alternatively, Eon's offering anyone on qualifying benefits £100 cash for getting free insulation. Full details in Get paid for free insulation
Full info plus how to apply in the Guide: Free Insulation Related: Cheap Gas & Elec, Benefits Check-Up | | 90% say First Direct's GREAT - get £100 to switch to it
It's Britain's favourite bank - yet again it smashes our customer service poll of 6,200 people Normally, we focus on best rates. But with day-to-day banking, customer service really counts. Last week we conducted our latest poll, on service (not rate) over the last six mths. Here's how the best buys fared... All require a credit check & a minimum sum paid in monthly (we convert to equiv min salary).  Free £100 to switch to top customer service winner. Min £23,100 salary. First Direct's* won every poll we've ever done and this time is no exception. A huge 90% voted it 'great', just 8% OK and 2% poor. Right now it's giving a free £100 to switchers. It pays no in-credit interest, but has a £250 0% overdraft (15.9% APR interest above).- Free £100, best rates, 0% overdraft but worst service. Min £14,200 salary. Switch to Santander's* fee-free Preferred account and you get a great package of £100 bonus, a year's 0% overdraft (50p/day after, max £5/month, though this doubles in March), plus it pays 5% in-credit interest on up to £2,500 for a year. But although it's improved, Santander's still bottom for customer service. 29% rate it great (was 25%), 40% ok, 31% poor (was 39%).
- Ends March: £5 EVERY month plus poss free £100. Min £14,200 salary. Pay your salary in and Halifax's* Reward account pays a flat £5 each month regardless of balance. Plus if you get it in a branch (so not via any link), it'll also give you £100 for switching (ends beginning of March). For those in credit, it's 36% great, 46% ok and 18% poor. Yet if you don't ever go overdrawn, it charges £1 a day and the feedback's worse: 15% great, 47% ok and 38% poor.
Full info in Guide: Best Bank Accounts Full Results: Bank service poll Related: Basic Bank Accounts, Cashback Cards | | Consistently good savings rates — guaranteed
New accounts promise to track the best deals or base rates to keep returns high It's a tough time for savers. UK rates have been 0.5% for almost 3 years, and inflation keeps chomping away. Keeping interest high has become a job of work, but a new deal makes it easier for bigger savers. All accounts have full UK £85,000 savings safety protection.  New. 3.12% tracker (min £25,000) - 3 mths notice. Big savers can put money away with Investec's High 10 and it'll pay the avg of the 10 highest savings rates elsewhere, currently 3.12% AER, but you must give 3mths notice to withdraw.- 3.2% base rate tracker (min £10,000) - year's lock in. Lock cash away for a year in Santander's 3.2% AER Tracker Bond and it promises it'll increase with base rate until 1 Mar 2013. KRBS is similar at 3% AER (min £1,000). Though if the many who think rates won't rise within a year are right, locking into Aldermore 3.55% AER (min £1,000) year-long fix will beat it.
- 3.1% with year-long bonus (min £1) - easy access. No guarantees here, but Santander's* eSaver pays 3.1% AER with unlimited withdrawals and 2.6% of this is a year's bonus, effectively a minimum rate promise. Technically the bonus is variable, but we don't know of one ever being cut (see savings bonuses as guarantees blog) and if it is cut, you can leave. Diarise to ditch & switch in a year though, as the rate will plummet.
Full options plus other fixed rates and ethical savings see the Updated Guide: Top Savings Related: Safe Savings | Student loan early repayments penalties scrapped
Govt cans plans to levy penalties | Yet most should still AVOID repaying early All students will now still be able to repay loans early, without penalties. But whether you should is the real question. Here's key info for those already with loans, or about to get them ...  2012 starters' penalties scrapped. Students don't pay fees upfront. Instead, 2012 starters will repay 9% of all they earn above £21,000 after graduation. The govt was consulting on penalties to stop people repaying more quickly - but the mass feedback (incl our no to penalties) was against, so it's now scrapped them. Under the new system many won't fully repay before the debt's wiped after 30 years (try our Student Finance Calc to see) so overpaying may not actually save you cash. See the Students Finance 2012 Mythbuster. -
Parents' warning! Beware paying kids' tuition fees upfront. We hear of parents scrimping or worse, borrowing, so kids don't get student loans. For many, it means throwing £10,000s away. Many graduates will repay less than they borrow, as the amount repaid mainly depends on later earnings - NOT size of fees. Paying upfront can be dire - anyone considering it, please read the Should I Pay Fees Upfront? guide. -
Already got a loan - should you pay it off? When you started uni determines your interest rate. Those who started in or after 1998 only pay 1.5%, so could earn more by saving the cash. But pre-98 students pay a heftier 5.3%. Even then, it's better to pay off other costlier debts, like credit cards or mortgages, first, or, build up savings if you're planning on getting them. See the full Should I Repay My Student Loan? guide & calculator.
| See all official APR examples | - Car Insurance: Use both GoCompare* + Confused*, add Direct Line* & Aviva* that they miss then get cashback. Also see: Van, Motorbike
- 0% for spending: Nationwide* FlexAccount customers get 18 months 0% (12.9% representative APR after),Tesco* 0% for 15mths & earn Clubcard pts (16.9% rep APR after) or M&S* 15mths 0% plus 0.5% back in vouchers (15.9% rep APR after)
- Home Insurance: Use as many as poss of CompareTM*, GoCompare*, MoneySup*,& Confused* + Direct Line* & Aviva* that they miss
- Cheap Travel Insurance: Annual cover: Individuals from £17, family from £31, over-65s £36 and more
- Cashback Credit Cards: Get 5% for 3 mths, up to 1.25% after with Capital One*; 5% for 3 mths then 1.25% after with Amex Platinum* (£25 annual fee); or 3% on petrol, 1% on food with Santander 123* (£24 annual fee). Repay in full or it's 19.9%, 18.5% or 22.8% rep APR. See guide for key application info
- Cheap Personal Loans: £5k-7.5k: Sainsbury's* 7.8% rep APR for 1-3 yrs loans (need Nectar card) or Tesco* 8.3% APR. £7.5k-15k: Sainsbury's* 6% rep APR for 1-3 yrs loans (need Nectar card); M&S* 6% rep APR, must be over 30 or homeowner; Tesco* 6.1%. All APRs are representative rates
- Compare Mobile Recycling Sites: See if you can get up to £150 for old mobiles via Mobilevaluer.com
- Free MSE car sticker: Grab your free sticker at MoneySavingExpert.com/carsticker
- Free Printed 30 page+ MSE Guides: Remortgaging, Mortgages, Annuities, Mental Health & Debt
| | | |  | Citizens Advice wants your help with ATMs that charge
To get cash, do you use a cash machine, bank or cashback while shopping? Do you struggle to get cash out for free or have any restrictions, eg, only being able to use your own bank? Help by taking this quick survey which will shape recommendations for CAB's research project later this year. Suggest yours: Charities, community groups and campaigners - send us your campaign of the week suggestion.
| | | | | | | | | | | Wednesday 22 Feb
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7 & 8.30am
Pet insurance Thursday 23 Feb
Lorraine, ITV1, between 8.30 & 9.30am
Real Deals Thursday 23 Feb
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12-1pm
Consumer Panel Tuesday 28 Feb
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7 & 8.30am
Subject tbc | | All Martin's Appearances | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 119.00 | 104.28 |  | $ | 157.75 | 138.17 |  | TL | 266.10 | 233.52 | | Rates correct at 8pm Tues | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | | | | | | Please select the first answer that's closest to your situation. I don't get a salary I'm unemployed / retired / self-employed / homemaker etc | Vote | | Public (or charity) sector Above inflation pay rise within last 12 mths | Vote | At or below inflation pay rise within last 12 mths | Vote | Last pay rise 1 to max 2 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 2 to max 4 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 4 to max 7 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 7 or more yrs ago | Vote | Private sector Above inflation pay rise within last 12 mths | Vote | At or below inflation pay rise within last 12 mths | Vote | Last pay rise 1 to max 2 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 2 to max 4 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 4 to max 7 yrs ago | Vote | Last pay rise 7 or more yrs ago | Vote | | | | | First Direct once again triumphed, with 92% of those usually in credit receiving great service (down v. slightly from 93% from 6 mths ago). Santander is still bottom of the pile, but a smaller 31% now rate it 'poor', an improvement from 39% last time. See Full Results | | | | | | Q. Is it true you can only open one new ISA cash account in a tax year? Or could you put £2k in one and then later in the year open another with a higher rate, deposit £3k and still be within the limit? Rich, by email.
MSE Sally's A: Yes, it's true. Each tax year, April to April, you're only allowed to open one cash ISA. While you can have several accounts from previous years, for the current year's cash ISA you're only allowed one provider.
Yet you still have a right to transfer that provider elsewhere for a higher rate. So in your scenario if you put £2k in one, you could then transfer that £2k to another provider within the tax year and then add the £3,000 to it, (but not simply pay another £3k into another provider).
To really complicate it, while transfers of current year cash ISAs must be whole, if you're shifting a past year's cash ISA you can choose to shift part of it, and leave the rest where it is. See Top Cash ISAs and ISA Transfers. | | | | You are a tiny insignificant fleck of dust! Perspective is a great leveller. This truly awe-inspiring website shows us our place in the universe, and how big each of us really is. See for yourself the Scale of the Universe. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team P.S. It's the site's 9th birthday today! Find out how it all started. | | |
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