This week | MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter Happy new ISA year! Get up to 3%
EVERYONE gets new tax-free savings allowance. If you've savings, USE IT If you're thinking "you covered ISAs last week," true, but Saturday saw the new tax year start, wiping the slate clean. Every UK over-16 gets a new, bigger £5,760 tax-free savings allowance, even if you opened last year's on Friday... | 1. | A cash ISA's just a tax-free savings account. Don't overcomplicate it. A cash ISA is just a normal savings account. Yet crucially, while usually the taxman takes a chunk of your interest, in a cash ISA you keep all of it.
While I'm mythbusting, you NEEDN'T LOCK MONEY AWAY in cash ISAs. Get an easy-access one and you can withdraw the money whenever you want. | | | | 2. |  A 3% ISA can beat 5% normal savings. With normal savings, a basic taxpayer loses 20% interest in tax (higher rate 40%, top 45%). So put money in a 3% cash ISA and you get back as much as you would in a 3.75% savings account (higher 5%, top 5.45%). | | | | 3. | BEST BUYS. Earn 2.6% AER easy access: Top rates have improved slightly. Here are the top picks if you may need to withdraw cash at any time. Full info: Top Cash ISAs
2.6%, no transfers allowed. The Coventry BS Poppy ISA promises to be a min 2.6% until April 2014, plus gives 0.1% to the Poppy Appeal.
2.3%, min £1,000 transfers allowed & longer rate promise. If you want to boost old ISAs' rates as well as add new cash, Cheshire BS* pays 2.3% including a 1.8% bonus until Oct 2014. The rate will plummet then, but meanwhile, it effectively works as a 1.8% min.
These are both variable rates and can change, so as always, monitor your account and be prepared to ditch and transfer to a better rate if they drop. | | | | 4. | Best buy fixed rates: Up to 3.1% AER. You can earn more with a fixed rate if you're prepared to lock cash away. Full info: Top Fixed Cash ISAs.
3 years 3% fix min £500: Halifax offers 3% fixed for 3 years or 3.1% for five - though at current paltry rates, tying up for two years longer for a smidgeon more interest is questionable. Existing Santander 123 account customers ONLY, can get 3% AER for two years with Santander's Major ISA. | | | | 5. | Don't delay, open it now (you can always add to it later). You might think that with a year to go until the start of another ISA year, there's no rush. True, but the rates they pay are usually (no promises) better at the start of the year. Plus the sooner you start saving, the longer you'll be earning interest tax-free. | | | | 6. | Once in, it's tax-free, year after year. The real cash ISA benefit is once it's in, your interest remains tax-free, year after year. So, use your allowance each year, and ever more of your cash is protected from the taxman (some who filled ISAs each year could now have £70,000 saved tax-free). | | | | 7. | BEST BUYS. 3% ISA transfers. Many old ISAs now pay spitworthily low rates. Yet you've a RIGHT TO TRANSFER to boost them. Combining new & old together makes it easier to transfer again when needed.
For most, the top easy-access payer is the Cheshire BS* 2.3%, as explained above (point 3). Yet those who bank with First Direct* and have £40,000+ in cash ISAs get its 3% AER easy-access variable exclusive. More options in Top ISA Transfers.
Transfer tips: a) Don't withdraw the cash, it'd no longer be in an ISA. Instead, ask the new provider to shift the money across for you. b) You can transfer even without new money - the two things are separate, so you could open a new ISA for new money, and a different new ISA for transferred cash. | | | | 8. | New junior ISA year too. Every under-18 also got a new junior ISA tax-free savings allowance of £3,720 on Saturday. Yet this is less clear-cut, as kids tend not to pay tax anyway, and junior ISAs force you to lock cash away until they're 18. Full help & best buys: Top Junior ISAs and Top Children's Savings. | | | | 9. | Are cash ISAs still the best place to save with rates so low? As long as you've no high-cost debts (if you do, see the Use Savings To Repay Debts? and Use Savings To Repay Mortgage? guides), then for most people, yes.
All savings rates are currently dismal, but cash ISAs' untaxed interest mean you get more. Plus right now, best buy cash ISAs have mostly higher rates than best buy savings. A few specialist regular savings deals pay higher amounts, but only for the short term on limited cash.
To try for much higher returns, you need to be prepared to take some risk with your capital. Options include peer-to-peer lending or stocks and shares ISAs, which aren't really our bag, but the basics are in the ISA Guide. | | | | 10. | You're protected up to £85,000 per person. Providing your cash ISA's with a UK-regulated bank or building society (all above are), the Govt-backed FSCS scheme protects up to £85,000 per person, per institution.
This sounds a lot for ISAs, yet the key is it applies to all your savings in one place, totalled. So if your ISAs and savings in one institution top £85,000, you may want to spread your money elsewhere. See Savings Safety. |
Need more help? For much more info, options, simple explanations and even a video, see our Top Cash ISAs and Top ISA Transfers guides.
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 Get permanently cheap energy Our new club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.
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| The Ones Not To Miss | Wed 10 Apr 2013 |
New. Guarantee no energy hikes for TWO winters + get cashback
Lock into a new cheap energy fix that lasts until Feb 2015. With price rises predicted, savings could be large According to the boss of energy regulator Ofgem, the need to import gas may mean prices rise. Industry insiders predict, unless wholesale prices change, there'll be 5-10% price hikes by 2013 end. Yet a brand new tariff can protect from this. | Size of possible savings | Cost/yr | | Typical standard tariff | £1,420 | | Cheapest 1yr fix (has exit fees) | £1,172 | | EDF Blue 22mth fix | £1,192 | | All dual fuel. Typical tariff is based on Ofgem avg, the others monthly direct debit | - Save £200/year & TWO winters of no price hikes. The new EDF Blue Feb 2015 fix* typically saves someone on a standard dual fuel tariff £200/year (also avail for elec only) and ensures no price hikes for a monster 22 months. Plus there are no early exit fees, so you're free to leave if things change. It's by far the cheapest super-long fix, but some variable deals (where prices can be hiked) are cheaper.
- How good is EDF? Compare, get £40 cashback + permanently cheap bills. This depends on your usage, postcode & current tariff. Use our free MSE Cheap Energy Club to do a full comparison, if you switch via it you get £30 dual fuel cashback (£40 EDF this week). Then, switch or not, each month it does a background comparison to constantly monitor your tariff, then alerts you when it's time to switch (again).
Alternatively, use these special links to comparison sites (ie, no monitoring). If they switch you, uSwitch* gives six bottles of wine, and Energyhelpline* currently pays £50 on some top tariffs incl EDF. Full help: Cheap Gas & Elec back to top ↑ |
| Free £4.80 YSL foundation sample. Just 'like' its Facebook page. This and more freebies in Beauty Deals 'Bedroom tax': Who's affected? Can I challenge it? Actually it's not a tax, but the Housing Benefit Under-Occupancy Charge. Who's affected? Those with ALL the following: a) Under pension age. b) On housing benefit. c) In council house/social housing. d) A spare room. See Bedroom Tax Explained. Can I challenge? Govan Law Centre thinks so, see its challenge tool. Stop press: eBay Super Weekend. We've been tipped off this Fri-Sun, there's a big eBay promo of up to 70% off limited numbers of popular electrical, home & garden and fashion items. Info & updates: eBay Super Weekend |
The top 10 places to haggle 2013. Revealed.
Take the haggle challenge to see what you can save on broadband, TV, insurance, breakdown... Mature service businesses, where firms can't grow the market, must fight to win customers off others, and keep their own. At renewal, haggling becomes a powerful weapon. Full help in our new Haggle With Sky, AA & More guide. A taster... back to top ↑ |
"The Martin Lewis Money Show" EVERY Fri, ITV, 8pm
This Fri: 5-star hotels, 3-star prices & credit card cost-cutting.
Last week: ISA special (see ML as 'ISA Man') - watch again. |  |
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| 20% off at 8,000 takeaways. MSE Blagged. Sushi, curry and more - Hungryhouse. See All Restaurant Vouchers. Reminder. £125 for switching to No1 cust service bank. New First Direct* switchers get £125 via this link, and now only need £1,000/mth income (equiv £13,600 salary) to get it. It's won every service poll. Full info: Best Banks Codes incl H&M 25% code, Oasis 25%, Burton EXTRA 20% off sale
Oasis 25% code & vch | Dorothy Perkins 25% code & vch | H&M 25% code | Figleaves 20% code | M&S Outlet 20% code
Tesco Direct £10 off £50 code | Warehouse 25% off code & vch | Burton extra 20% off sale code Full list: Discount Vouchers 25p London-Birmingham trains. Marylebone to Moor St till 17 May (originating London only). Chiltern Railways |
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| FREE KFC fries. 'Like' its Facebook page, print voucher and use in a participating KFC on Tue 16 Apr. See KFC Deals. Prescription designer sunnies £23 with code (RRP £43). MSE Blagged. For full info, see Glasses Deals. Magazine Beauty Freebies inc £29 moisturiser in £4 mag
£29 Aromatherapy Associates moisturiser in £4 mag | £7 Cowshed body butter in £3.80 mag |
£9 Ciate nail polish in £3.80 mag | £5.50 Phil Smith argan oil hair cream in £3.60 mag. More in Beauty Deals London Eye, Tussauds, Dungeon & Sealife 2for1. Click & print Ldn attractions 2for1 (can save £30). Days Out |
Marmite accounts - love 'em or hate 'em?
Packaged bank accounts, where you pay fees, are awful for millions, brilliant for millions. Should you love or hate? It's estimated 10m have these accounts. And now the regulator, the FCA, has clamped down. It's telling providers they must both tell you whether you're eligible for the insurance, then do an annual statement confirming it.  LOVE 'EM - Family travel, mobile & breakdown insurance £10/mth. Consider these a cheap route to quality insurance you need. The RIGHT policies can be BIG savers. Full details in our Packaged Account Analyser tool. The standout top pick is...
Nationwide FlexPlus*, for £10 a month, gives: 1) Family world travel insurance up to age 74. 2) Smartphone insurance, incl iPhone 5, for the family. 3) Europe breakdown cover. 4) 1yr extended warranties on electricals. Separately, this cover could cost £600/year. - HATE 'EM - Worthless policies, commonly mis-sold. If you didn't actively choose an account, but were upsold it after a call from, or appointment with, incentivised bank sales staff, it could be wrong for you. Ask two Qs.
1) Is it worth it? Multiply the monthly cost by 12, eg, £20x12=£240. Could you buy the insurance you actually use for less? (See cheap Travel, Mobile & Breakdown guides.) If so, switch to a free account: Best Bank Accounts.
2) Were you mis-sold? Banks are obliged to ensure insurance is appropriate at point of sale. Many weren't, eg, you were 67 and the travel insurance only covered under-65s. See Reclaim Package Account Fees. This can be serious cash. As forumite phoebe1989seb posted: "Reclaimed a few hundred £££ of LTSB Platinum account fees last year." back to top ↑ |
£10 Lastminute.com 1-day FLASH spa sale. Starts Thu. Incl spa days & treatments at 38 locations. Lastminute Don't ask, don't get SSE refund. Did you sign up on doorstep/shopping centre? Scottish & Southern Energy has been fined £10.5m for mis-selling. Check if you're due a refund (incl M&S customers), typically £65. SSE Refund Help Free £5 on Sainsbury's baby range. £5-off voucher when you buy owt (eg, a pack of crisps). See Sainsbury's Deals. Sales: House of Fraser up to 70% off blue cross, Asos 50%. For full info, see High Street Sales Diary. |
Insurance claim rejected? Know your rights
The law's changed so firms now must ASK what they need to know, not expect you to tell them EVERYTHING The problem with insurance is it's easy to judge firms based on their promises, but until you have to claim, you've no idea whether they really are worth it. Yet even if your claim's rejected, you've still got strong rights...
 Unfairly rejected? Fight back. If you feel you haven't been 'treated fairly' (a key phrase, quote in correspondence), make a formal complaint. If that fails, you've a right to an independent decision from the free Financial Ombudsman. Unlike going to court, which can only look at the law, it can consider 'fairness' and 'standard industry practice' too. Full how-to in How To Make A Financial Complaint.
- New law. Insurers must ask for the info they want. A law from a bygone age meant, even if filling out a web application form, the onus was on you to declare everything. A woman with leukaemia's critical illness claim was rejected because when getting the policy, she hadn't mentioned an unrelated ear infection.
Thankfully on Sat, due to a campaign MSE was part of, this changed. Now, it's insurers' responsibility to ask what they need to know (unless you're deliberately misleading them). Full info in Insurance disclosure news story.
- Get the cheapest deals on all insurance. While we're on insurance, of course, if you're looking to find the best deals, see our Car Insurance | Home Insurance | Travel Insurance | Mobile Phone Insurance guides and more.
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| Swap 1,000 Nectar pts for £10 (usually £5) at some Sainsbury's. Starts today: Sainsbury's is offering 2x redemption till 30 Apr in selected depts incl clothing, home & frozen food at 50 stores. Nectar Boosting 10 kids' books £13 all-in (eg, Hello Kitty, Dora). Mix 'n' match from 140+ titles. Full info in The Works Deals. A warning to freelancers and the self-employed. It's a new tax year, make sure you put your tax aside. A reminder of Martin's Self-Employed Warning, and to see roughly how much you'll need, see the Income Tax Calculator. Free The Other Art Fair tix - 1,000 pairs (worth £14). MSE Blagged. Unsigned artists' fair in London. Art Fair Pay £35, get 13 vouchers for a dozen Millie's Cookies (RRP £85). Crumbs. Full info: Millie's Deals
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Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers & sales | Top deals |
| The Moneysaving community |
 CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK:
What should MPs ask your energy provider?
MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee will be quizzing the big energy firms about prices, profits and poverty next week, and they want your questions. Tweet using the hashtag #AskEnergyFirms before 11.59pm on Thu 11 Apr (unfortunately, it'll only accept tweets). Suggest a campaign: This is for MSE to support work by other charities, groups and campaigners. Send your campaign of the week suggestion. BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Berlin travel guide. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Find out if you got one. MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
I won a £100 restaurant vch - must I pay for my friends?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... I've won a £100 restaurant voucher, and have invited two friends to dine with me. I'm having financial problems at the moment, so is it OK to ask my friends to pay their share to me in cash, while I use the voucher to pay? Or should I just pay the first £100 and then let them split anything above that? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my friends pay towards £100 voucher meal? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE GREAT HUNT:
Cheap kids' birthday parties
Children's birthday parties can be a huge drain on parents' wallets, particularly if it's a "special" age. We'd like to gather MoneySavers' fantastic collective wisdom on how to cut the cost on everything from venues to party bags, entertainment to dressing up and, of course, the cake. Share yours/read others': Great Kids' Birthday Parties Hunt Past topics: View all CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline: Aer Lingus Sale: From £29.99 each way Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is Aer Lingus, for flights from 14 UK airports to Ireland till 31 May 2013. We found flights from London Gatwick to Dublin for £37.99, including some taxes and charges. To find flights quickly, use the FlightChecker on a £50 one-way max search. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges - see the Budget Airline Fee Fighting guide. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED:
Your tips for single MoneySaving
Last week, we asked for your ideas to cut the cost of flying (and more) solo. You came up with some great thoughts, including making full use of your freezer, not having to do a weekly shop and trying singles holidays. back to top ↑ |
Quick forum tips | Freebies |
Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances 11 April
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week. | 11 April
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5, 12noon-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Listen to past shows. | 12 April
The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8pm-8.30pm.
Secret hotels and the credit card shuffle.
PS. Missed past shows? Watch them here. | 15 April
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12noon.
Subject tbc. | |
MSE team corner - Team blogs:
- No team blogs this week
- Team appearances:
- No team appearances this week
| Board of the week The Student Money Saving Board Share advice and tips on how to save money while studying. Discussions include Student Budget - Food, Open Uni and NUS Extra and Post graduate NHS funding? | Cheap travel money |
This week's poll: Do you know your ISA from your elbow? A brand new tax year has started, allowing all UK over-16s to save £5,760 in a cash ISA where the interest is tax-free (see Top Cash ISAs for full info). Yet many still find them confusing.
Which of these is nearest to your cash ISA scenario? - Not got one as I'm in debt/no savings
- Not got one as I invest in ISA stocks/shares instead
- Not got one as there are better options out there
- Got savings, but no cash ISA as they confuse/worry me
- Just started to understand ISAs and will be using this year's allowance
- I use cash ISAs - have up to £1,000 saved
- I use cash ISAs - have £1,001-£5,000 saved
- I use cash ISAs - have £5,001-£10,000 saved
- I use cash ISAs - have £10,001-£20,000 saved
- I use cash ISAs - have £20,001-£50,000 saved
- I use cash ISAs - have £50,001+ saved
| Poll resultsHave daily deals sites had their day?
Daily deals sites seem to have lost their sheen, with 61% of voters choosing not to use them.
- 22% don't bother now and never did.
- 21% still get the emails but never look at them.
- 19% take up the occasional deal.
- 8% check most days.
8,695 voted. See the full results. |
Question of the week I've a buy-to-let mortgage. Need I tell the mortgage firm if tenants move out? Is it legal to move in? Gillian MSE Helen S's A: Whether it's you moving into a buy-to-let, or someone else moving renters into somewhere with a residential mortgage, this is a change of use and most mortgage contracts require you to inform them. While you may have heard others boast they got away without telling them, that would be breach of contract. If it found out, your mortgage company would be within its rights to cancel the loan and ask you to pay up.
In your case, as residential mortgages are usually cheaper than buy-to-let (use our mortgage calculator to compare), it's worth considering switching to one of those. The only problem is if you've early redemption penalties on the mortgage, which could make that expensive. If you can't save by living in it, then you can always let the property out to new tenants. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
 Archna's free game of the week: Parking Mania |
| I can't get you out of my head (annoying catchy songs, that is)
That's all for this week, but we thought we'd help you if you've an annoying tune stuck in your head - I don't know, maybe now a random Kylie one. A nifty website will stop that earworm wriggling around in your mind - replacing it with something better instead: Unhearit |
| Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.
What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, how this site is financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. MSE, Money Saving Expert, MoneySavingExpert and Moneysavingexpert.com are registered trade marks belonging to MoneySavingExpert.com Limited. More about MoneySaving Expert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with over 6 million people getting this email and nearly 10m using the site. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: how to save cash and fight for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 30 full time staff about half of whom are editorial researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE Who is Martin Lewis? Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the Sunday Post as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog What do the links with a * mean? Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:
Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email thecheshire.co.uk, firstdirect.com, edfenergy.com, uswitch.com, energyhelpline.com, barclaycard.co.uk, natwest.com, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, nationwide.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, bt.com.
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