| | | For more tips, alerts & inevitable awful puns follow Martin: |  |  |  | | The kids are back at school, the path to winter starts and it's time to get prepared to prevent costly problems later. Here are our 10 must-do September savings. | 1. | Back up files and photos for free. It can be costly and emotional if your PC goes kaput & you lose precious holiday snaps/work. An easy solution is use a free online back-up site, which gives up to 5GB storage at no cost. | | | | | 2. | Save £100s on boiler cover costs now. Energy providers use a fear of winter crises to sell pricey insurance. Don't just stick with your energy provider; our Cheap Boiler Cover guide may save you £100s. Tips include...
a) Renters - your landlord is usually responsible for the boiler, not you.
b) Compare via uSwitch*, which does the widest-ranging search and you could then add Energyhelpline* & Boiler Choices* for belt 'n' braces.
c) If time, add in those named, incl Npower*, Direct Line, & Eon. | | | | 3. |  Check your tax code. You may be due £5,000 back. Millions have been given the wrong tax code for this & past years. Use the MSE Tax Code Calculator to check. As Chris Kendall says:
"I got the MSE email, checked my code, rang HMRC and it told me I'd get £5,000 to £7,000 back. Incredible." | | | | 4. | Do you know where your stopcock is? Frozen pipes can play winter havoc, causing £100s of damage. So find your stopcock (mains water 'off' switch) now. Don't wait for an emergency, when every second counts. | | | | 5. | Don't fall for auto-renew car insurance hikes. Never just auto-renew, massive savings are possible with little effort. In a nutshell...
a) Combine comparisons for max coverage. Top 2: MoneySup* & Confused*
b) Add those missed: Aviva*, Direct Line* and for 2+ cars, Admiral MultiCar*
c) Haggle & check cashback. See Cheap Car Insurance & Under 25 Car Ins | | | | 6. | Don't miss out on £1,000s of childcare cash. Three checks... a) If you work 16+ hrs/wk (or in a couple, both work 16 hrs+) you may be eligible for payments which avg £3,000/yr+, see Childcare Tax Credits. b) Otherwise, speak to your employer about Childcare Vouchers. These can save £100s/yr by letting you pay from PRE-tax income. c) If you've a 3 or 4-year-old, you're entitled to 15hrs/wk of nursery or child-minding via Early Learning Classes. | | | | | | | | 7. | Sell back unused holiday cash at best prices. Use TravelMoneyMax buyback comparison to see which online bureaux pay the most. Though for smaller amounts, if it's for somewhere you go regularly, eg, euros, avoid conversion commission and just keep it for next time. | | | | | 8. | Get £30 free M&S vouchers to bag free £300 insulation. Loft & cavity wall insulation can reduce bills by £300 a year. Each normally costs about £150. But to fulfil energy efficiency obligations, some firms do it free and pay £30 M&S vouchers (£200 if on benefits). See Free Insulation. | | | | 9. | Can you flog old mobiles for £100s? It's been a year of upgrades, but don't just sell your old handset to anyone. The MobileValuer comparison speedily finds top payers, eg, HTC Desire Z top is £95, some pay just £13. Or the iPhone 3GS 16GB, top is £135, some pay just £41. | | | | 10. | More or same bedrooms in your home than people? If so, a water meter should save you large (not Scotland). To check it out, see the Cut Water Bills guide. As proof, Helen Bevington tweeted: "Thanks to your newsletter we've water metered - monthly DD down from £80 to £25." That's £660/year saved. | | | | | We'd love your help, please forward this email to friends or suggest they
get it themselves via moneysavingexpert.com/tips | | | |  Last chance. Cheap energy fixes ending any minute
Lock in cheap gas & electricity - many will save £250+ a year for TWO WINTERS Scottish & Southern Energy's announced 9% October hikes, others are predicted (no guarantee) to follow. Yet there are still two fixes left which let you lock in SUPER-CHEAP prices pledging NO PRICE HIKES and with NO EXIT PENALTIES, so you can easily leave if other prices fall later. Yet these are likely to be withdrawn imminently...  EDF Blue 30 Apr '14 fix (closing soon): This long fix's links have gone from comparisons. It's still available direct at EDF Blue*, but could close any min. It's c.£250+/yr cheaper than typical standard tariffs (sadly, no fixes allow prepay customers).
- Scottish Power, cheaper 31 Dec '13 fix. Scottish Power's* extended its fix by 2mths, closing the gap on EDF, plus it's a bit cheaper (can be much cheaper in Ldn/SE Eng) and via the links below you can get cashback.
- Compare and get cashback/free wine on top. Exact savings depend on region & use, so check via comparison sites (some won't save). Plus get cashback via these special links if they switch you (after c.3mths). Top comparison: Energyhelpline* £15 per switch. Dual fuel: MoneySup* £30 cash, uSwitch* a crate of wine.
FULL updated help (incl for key meters) in Cheap Gas & Electricity Related: Free Insulation, Energy Grants, Boiler Cover | Balance transfer 0% price war
Big card companies are fighting to cut your debt costs - let 'em. Save £100s or £1,000s We've just seen a flick-flack of new deals scrapping to top best buy tables. A balance transfer lets you shift costly debts to a new card, so you owe it instead, at a cheaper rate. All are new customers only and you need to pass a credit score.  New longest 0% deal: 23mths. New cardholders shifting to Barclaycard* now get 23mths 0% (was 22) and a lower fee of 2.8% of the amount transferred. Repay before the 0% ends or it's 17.9% representative APR.- New top non-Barclaycard 0%. Tesco* is 22 mths 0% (2.9% fee), pipping NatWest* / RBS's* 22mths 0% (3.2% fee). After the 0% ends they jump to 17.9%-24% rep APR.
- Low fee 0% if you can repay quicker. The Fluid* card's 15mths 0% with a 1.5% fee, as is Lloyds* if you shift over £1,500 (as then it halves usual fee). After 0%s end they're 18.9% and 17.9% rep APR.
- Important must-knows. 1) Repay at least the monthly min or you can lose special rates. 2) Don't spend on these cards, it isn't usually at the cheap rate. 3) Uncertain repayments or need longer? Lock in at 5.9% for LIFE. 4) For help deciding, use Which Card Is Cheapest? tool. 5) Step-by-step help in Best Balance Transfers & Official APRs.
| Eurostar £59 Paris & Brussels 2012 rtns. Rarely discounted, also Lille & Calais. Eurostar Deals
New top 3% easy-access savings. Rates are plummeting, but you can still get 3% AER from Santander*. Includes a year-long bonus (diarise to switch then). See all in Top Savings. Has full £85,000 UK Savings Safety protection
Free tank of petrol? Big spenders' extreme couponing. For each £10 gift card for stores incl Debenhams, Currys & House of Fraser, you can get 1p/L off fuel. So £100 gets 10p off, £1,400 gets it free. If you're due to make a big purchase at one of these stores, buy gift cards to get freebie petrol. Full how-to in Cheap Petrol
'I'm on benefits, but I'm no scrounger.' With the Paralympics on, and disability issues in the spotlight, a reminder of this brilliant I'm No Scrounger piece written for us by Ross Goodall, who has an arm tumour. | 'I got a £338 uniform tax rebate in 3 weeks'
If you wear/wore a uniform for work and wash or repair it, you could get £100s back Whether it's full nursing or police attire, or perhaps even just a simple T-shirt, provided you DON'T ever wear it for owt else, if you wash and maintain the clothes you may be due an extra tax-free allowance each year.  If you wear or wore ANY uniform, try it. It just involves writing a letter, step-by-step help in our Uniform Tax Rebate guide. Claims can be backdated for 4yrs, so even if your uniform days are behind you, you may be able to claim. Armed forces? Shouldn't need to claim as it's done automatically for you. - "£338 back in 3 weeks." Most successes are £20-£60, but some, such as forumite Polomint, got much more: "I work for the police & recently reclaimed laundry allowance. Three weeks, and £338 later, I'm very happy. A bonus, as the girlfriend does the washing. Should I split it? Nah." We hope you at least took her out to dinner...
| | |  | Tell Govt its ban on credit card surcharges should start ASAP
The Government said it'd ban excessive credit card fees by the end of 2012, rather than the EU-scheduled June 2014. Complete BIS's surcharge survey and tell it to keep its promise. Don't be put off. The form looks complex, but the key is answering Q1, and if you've more time, Q6 & Q8. Or for ease, leave views on the Which? surcharge conversation (which BIS will look at).
Spotted a campaign? This space is for MSE to support money-based work by other organisations. Send us a Campaign of the Week suggestion. | | | | | | | | | | | Wednesday 5 September
This Morning, ITV1, between 11am & 12pm.
Energy prices. Friday 7 September
Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, 1-2pm.
Subject tbc. Monday 10 September
Daily Politics, BBC2, 12-12.30pm.
Guest of the day.
Tuesday 11 September
Daybreak, ITV1, between 7am & 8.30am.
Subject tbc. | | All Martin's Appearances | | | | | | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 125.36 | 114.58 |  | $ | 158.06 | 144.39 |  | TL | 280.50 | 252.34 | | Rates correct at 4pm Tue | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | | | | | | | Some car insurers automatically renew policies. The advantage is you can be fined for not having insurance if you've a car, even if you're not driving. The disadvantage is it can lock you into their overpriced policy.
Which of these do you think is right? | | | | Is the landline dead?
Predictably, of the 20,608 that voted, the majority that rarely/never use the home phone for calls were in the sub-60 age categories (7,566). Of the 4,467 voters in the 60+ age category, only 5% don't have a home phone, compared with 57% who use it for all/almost all calls. See Full Results. | | | | | | | Q: Can I reclaim mis-sold PPI on behalf of my late father? Jackie, by email. MSE Wendy’s A: If your father was found to have been mis-sold a PPI policy, then yes, you can reclaim. Any monies owed become part of his estate, so the person who inherits is entitled to any refund.
If there's no will to decide who inherited any of your father's assets, this follows the rules of intestacy. It's worth noting there may be problems proving what happened at the time of the sale if only your dad was present. But if you believe he was sold inappropriate insurance, contact the lender to complain. Please suggest a Question of the Week (we can't reply to individual emails). | | | | Awesome map of thousands of planes in flight... It's geek heaven, even for non-plane spotters. Check out this PlaneFinder map of thousands of planes in the air around the world. We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team | | |
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