| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable bad puns follow Martin: |  | |  | | Last week, we hit a technical recession — that means the economy shrank for two successive quarters (6 mths). What does it mean for you? | 1. | Beware recession scaremongering. Recession reflects what's already happened, not a prediction. So the announcement we're now in one doesn't change owt.  Unlike past recessions when things plummeted, this time the economy's flatlined for years, so it's likely to be more of the same.
So focus on your circumstances. If you've a stable job in a strong company, little's changed. If redundancy looms, preparation's crucial. If you're on benefits or unemployed, it's about continuing the struggle. | | | | 2. | Everyone build a cash emergency fund. Provided you've no debts (excl mortgage), try to save enough cash for six months of bills. Put it in the top unlimited withdrawal easy-access savings, currently Derbyshire BS's* 3.06% AER; though the rate will plummet in a year, due to bonuses, so diarise to ditch & switch then. Full info & more best buys in Top Savings. | | | | 3. | Urgently cut debt costs. If your income's likely to drop, through redundancy or less overtime, it's easier to cut debt costs before your credit score is hit. Eg, shift credit card debts to Barclaycard's* 22mths 0% with 2.9% fee (then 17.9% rep APR after). For full best buys, go to the top balance transfers part of this email. Better still, Repay Debts With Savings. (Official APR Examples) | | | | 4. | Are you getting what you're entitled to? It's not just the unemployed who can get benefits. Many working families qualify for tax credits too. Use our Benefits Check-Up to ensure you get what you're due. | | | | 5. | If redundancy's likely, live like it's happened. Money earned now needs to be spread across a period of unemployment. So don't think "I'll sort it when it happens" — start living now as if you've lost your job, ekeing out the cash. Use the Budget Planner to analyse your finances, and the Money Makeover and Stop Spending guides to save £1,000s. | | | | | | 6. | Use credit cards to ensure big purchases are safe. Sadly, firms go bust in recessions. If that happens and ordered goods haven't arrived, or have but are faulty, it's a nightmare. Section 75 laws mean pay, even partly, on a credit card for £100-£30,000 items and the card company's jointly liable for the whole amount. So if the firm goes bust, you can get redress from it instead.
Always fully repay each month to avoid interest, and why not get paid to spend too? New Capital One Aspire* cardholders get 5% cashback (max £100) for 3mths (and up to 1.25% after, need £20k income). Fail to fully repay, and it's 19.9% rep APR. Full info & help in Top Cashback Credit Cards (and Official APR examples). | | | | 7. | Know your redundancy rights. If your job's likely to go (or gone) and you've been there over two years, you've a legal right to a pay-off, notice & pay for unused holiday. Even if your employer's gone bust, you can get money from the NI fund. See the Redundancy Help guide for info.
Also, outrageously, lose your job & you'll often pay more for Car Insurance and Home Insurance. Ensure now you're on the cheapest (links show how). | | | | 8. | Beware income eaters. If you're worried about the future, don't sign up to what I call income eaters. These are contracts for regular payments which lock you in, eg, gyms, pay-TV, hire purchases. Plus do a speedy Direct Debit Audit to check you're not paying each month for things you no longer use. | | | | 9. | Check your savings are safe. While we're not saying they will, big banks can collapse. The government guarantees £85,000 per person, per UK-regulated financial institution. If you've more, spread it in multiple accounts. Sadly the definitions of 'UK-regulated' and 'financial institution' are complex. If you're affected, carefully read the Safe Savings guide. | | | | | | 10. | A warning to freelancers and the self-employed. Your income can be particularly precarious, so don't neglect your tax bill. Unlike employees, who are paid after tax, freelancers are usually pre-tax. So always think: "For every £100 I'm paid, £30 isn't mine, it's the taxman's" and put it elsewhere to save temptation. See my past Self Employed Warning blog. | | | | More help on all these tips in the Recession-Proof Your Finances guide. | | | | If this site has ever helped you - then please forward this email to friends and suggest they get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips | | | |  Has your mortgage been hiked?
This week 1m+ Halifax, Co-op, Clydesdale, NatWest & RBS borrowers see big rate hikes Eh, mortgage rates rising, but UK interest rates haven't moved in 3 years? Sadly that doesn't stop 'em, so take charge yourself.  Who's hiking rates? This week, Halifax's standard variable rate (SVR) increases from 3.5% to 3.99%, hitting 850,000 customers. Co-op SVR's up 0.5% points to 4.74% and Clydesdale/Yorkshire from 4.59% to 4.95%. RBS's One account jumps 0.25% points to 4%. Full info in Mortgage News. Our Mortgage Calculator shows the cost impact.- Shift to a cheaper deal? If you're hit by a hike but have a good credit score and decent equity, borrowing less than 85% of a home's value, you may save by switching. For every 1%-point cut per £100,000 of mortgage, you pay c.£700/year less. Full help in the Free Remortgage Guide and see savings via our Compare Two Mortgages Calc.
- Overpaying can save £10,000s. Not a huge silver lining, but higher rates mean using spare cash to overpay your mortgage is even more lucrative. As the Mortgage Overpayment Calc shows, savings can be huge, eg, overpaying £100/mth at Halifax's SVR on a £100,000 mortgage saves you £16,000 interest. Overpaying is not right for all, eg, if you've a very low rate or will be hit by penalties. See Should I Overpay My Mortgage? guide
| Free sofas, beds, TVs, bikes and more...
30 tips to make the most of giveaway sites Freecycle & Freegle | Updated guide
From Etch-A-Sketches to espresso makers, designer sofas to dungarees and even a car, hundreds of top-quality goodies are available daily for FREE. Our fully updated Freecycle & Freegle tips guide shows how. Here's a taster...  What's the catch? There isn't one. Instead of dumping goods or eBaying them, people harness the web's power to offer them to their local communities. So as well as kitting up for nowt, the environment benefits as unwanted items are not flung into landfills. - Is it all crapola? Of course there is some moth-bitten tat. But there's also top-quality stuff people just don't use anymore. MoneySavers report bagging Guitar Hero games, a pristine designer settee and forumite Lofty_Cherrytree says:
"We received a car for my daughter, it needed MOT, service & tax, which cost £350 and she was thrilled." - Bagging the best is all about the etiquette. These are reciprocal communities. To get the best stuff, you need to give yourself and keep your eyes peeled. Step-by-step help in the Freecycle & Freegle Tips guide.
| New top 0% balance transfers + £30 bonus
Shift card debt to slash costs | 22 mths 0% with 2.9% fee + £30 back | 17mth 0% with 1.6% fee If you pay high rates on existing credit cards, getting a new card (that you don't already have) with a top balance transfer deal can save big money & get you debt-free quicker. All cards require you pass a credit score (some have min salaries). - New longest 0% deals: Always factor in the fee (a % of the amount transferred) and fully repay or shift the balance again before the 0% ends, or the rates all jump to 17.9% representative APR (see Official APR Examples)
 Barclaycard Plat* is 22 mths 0%, with a 2.9% fee. Shift £2,500+ and you get £30 back
Halifax* is 22 mths 0% with 3.5% fee.
NatWest* is 20 mths 0% with a 2.9% fee. - Low fee 0% deals. If you can pay off quicker, the lower fee beats the shorter 0%.
Barclaycard* is 17 mths 0% with a 1.6% fee (then 18.9% rep APR).
Virgin* is 16 mths 0% with a 1.99% fee (16.6% rep APR).
Halifax Clarity is 16 mths at 2.9% interest but no fee (12.9% rep APR) - branch apps only so no link. - Quick tips. 1. You still need to repay at least the minimum each month, or you can lose the 0% deal. 2. Spending isn’t at a cheap rate — beware. 3. For which card to pick, see the Which Card's Cheapest? tool 4. Confused, or need help? See the Balance Transfers guide.
| Premium Bonds v top savings. New odds
The unique Probability Calc finds your odds of winning | For most, top savings smash it This month's Premium Bond millionaire's just been revealed, but most people will earn more in top savings. And as all UK regulated savings now have a Govt-backed £85,000 per person savings protection, the 'it's safer' argument's gone too.  Check your Premium Bond chances. Our unique Premium Bond Probability Calc uses maths so hard it cuts diamonds to reveal your likely winnings and whether savings are better. It's just been updated with this month's odds.
You may say: "Aren't Premium Bonds' interest rates 1.5%?" Correct, but that doesn't mean if you put £100 in for a year you get £1.50 back, as the smallest prize is £25. In fact, 19 in 20 people get nowt. Full step-by-step help in the Premium Bonds - Are They Worth It? guide.
- Save tax-free up to 4.5%. Most are far better using their £5,640 tax-free cash ISA allowance. For the highest rates, you need to lock cash away. Halifax* pays 4.25% - 4.5% AER for 3-5yrs, Santander 4% AER for 2 years* (plus 0.1% if Rory McIlroy wins a golf major, min £1) or 3.5% AER for 1 yr*. Both accept new money and transfers.
For easy access, Cheshire BS* is 3.5% AER variable (new money ONLY, min £1,000) or Santander's* 3.3% AER accepts transfers (min £2,500). For saving less, there's Principality BS 3.1% AER. Full help & more options in Cash ISAs.
- Top 3.17% easy access savings. Derbyshire BS* pays 3.06% AER (min £1,000). To earn more, Nationwide* (min £25k) pays 3.17% AER but only allows one annual penalty-free withdrawal or Coventry BS (min £1) pays 3.15% AER with four free withdrawals. All these easy-access rates plummet after 12-18 mths, due to bonuses, so diarise to ditch & switch. See Top Savings.
| Book flight & hotel via one site for holiday protection
Now it's not just package holidays that get Atol cover | 6m new holidays covered Under the Govt's Atol scheme, book a package holiday including a flight, and if it's cancelled due to tour operator or airline failure you get your money back or an alternative holiday. This week, that protection was extended (see full Q&As) to a whole range of bookings.  DIY booked flight & hotel from one site/agent. Buy a flight and accommodation and/or car hire within a day of each other from one firm & the holiday's protected. This strengthens the pitch of Expedia*, Ebookers*, Travelocity* , Opodo* & Lastminute.com*. All offer this. - Or slash costs further... Flight comparisons such as Kayak*, Skyscanner* and separate hotel comparisons such as Trivago & TravelSupermarket* can often find things even cheaper. Yet balance that against the fact that here there's often no Atol protection if you end up at two different sites. See Cheap Flights & Cheap Hotels for full info.
- You still need travel insurance. It can cover delay, lost goods, medical treatment, legal costs and much more. For cheapest single trip cover, use MoneySupermarket's* comparison. If you travel more than twice, get an annual policy, eg, Protect Your Bubble* is £30/year for a family in Europe, £34 worldwide. For policy criteria, plus singles and older people's options, see Travel Insurance Best Buys.
| | |  | Become a digital champion — help someone get online
The 8 million grown-ups who aren't online (6m of whom are over 65) miss out on info, deals, and sadly risk becoming 2nd class citizens. The Go On UK campaign aims to bring the web's benefits to them. Become a digital champion and help someone (or maybe a charity) get online. Get help on the Go On website.
Suggest a campaign: This space is for MSE to support the work being done by other charities, community groups and campaigners. Send your Campaign of the Week suggestion.
| | | | | | | | | | | Thursday 3 May
Lorraine, ITV1, between 8.30 & 9.30am. Real Deals.
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12-1pm.
Consumer Panel. Watchdog, BBC1, between 8 & 9pm.
Savings.
Tuesday 8 May
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7 & 8.30am.
Subject tbc. | | All Martin's Appearances | | | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 122.20 | 109.33 |  | $ | 161.51 | 145.17 |  | TL | 277 | 241.67 | | Rates correct at 4pm Tues | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | | | | | | Compared to six months ago (a recession is measured over that time), are your overall finances:
Vastly improved | Vote | Better than they were | Vote | A little improved | Vote | Not really changed | Vote | A little worse | Vote | Worse than they were | Vote | Vastly worse than they were | Vote | | | | | | | | | Q: Now the personal allowance is over £8,000, could a non-taxpayer get a higher return from normal savings than a cash ISA? Geoff, by email. MSE Sally's A: Right now, Cash ISAs pay far higher easy access rates than the Top Savings Accounts as we're currently in 'ISA season' where it's hotly competitive. However, for the rest of the year, its usually the other way round. If you'll definitely never pay tax again, then going for the highest rate regardless wins. It's worth remembering that once in an ISA, the cash stays tax-free year after year — so if there's even a slight chance you'll become a taxpayer, it's better to hedge with an ISA over normal savings. Though some Regular Saver accounts, which are taxed, pay substantially higher interest and that can make it worth putting the money there for non-taxpayers. | | | | The 15 coolest piggy banks We all have our favourite places to stash our spare cash, whether it's in an old jam jar or a super high-tech coin sorter, but some people take it to the next level — check 'em out. The 15 coolest piggy banks. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team | | |
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