| | MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter Got credit card debts? 10 need-to-know-NOWs
Take advantage of the price war to slash £100s or £1,000s off debt costs It's back to school and back to reality. The silver lining if you owe cash on credit cards is the market's fizzing with new deals as banks fight for your custom. So now's the perfect time to slash costs (before you know it, it'll be Christmas.) | 1. | Record longest EVER 0% debt shift - now 28 months: A balance transfer is where you get a new card that repays your old cards for you, so you owe the new card instead but at a cheaper rate. A year ago, we raved about a new record 0% deal nearing 2 yrs. Now that wouldn't even get a mention.
Aim for the card with the lowest fee, provided you can clear it in that time. Beware, you can't usually shift debts between cards from the same lender.
The savings are huge. Someone owing £5,000 on a standard 18.9% card, repaying £200/mth, would take 32 mths to clear the card at a £1,270 cost. Shifting it to Halifax'd clear it 6 mths quicker at a cost of just £135. | | | | 2. | The BIG question: Will you be accepted? To get cards, you must pass a credit score. Each card has its own requirements, but by jiminy - wouldn't you know it, the 'baskets' don't publish 'em. Worse, if you apply to find out, that marks your credit file and can hit future scores.
To help, we've built the free Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker, which uses a soft search (you see it on your file, lenders don't, so it has no impact on your score) and tells you your odds of getting most of the cards on offer. Please only use it if you're serious, as we pay for each search done. | | | | 3. |  Poorer credit score - shift to 6mths 0%. If you've a poor credit score, and really need to cut costs, getting accepted is far tougher. It's a bit like giving you a brolly while the sun shines then asking for it back when it rains.
Yet while the Capital One Balance* card will credit score you, it doesn't auto-exclude those with CCJs, defaults or bankruptcies over a year old. Accepted cardholders can shift debts at 0% until March 2014 with a 3% fee.
Once the 0% ends, it's a huge 34.9% rep APR. So unless your current cards are already costlier, only shift debt you can clear within 6 mths. See Poor Credit Balance Transfers for more info. | | | | 4. | Balance transfer without a new card. While the offers tend not to be quite as good, your current card provider may allow you to shift debts from other cards to it. Barclaycard and MBNA are especially strong if you ask.
The advantage is there's no mark on your credit file - it's often useful to do in addition to a new customer deal if you've multiple cards. See the full Existing Customer Balance Transfer guide for top tips to max your gain. | | | | 5. | The Balance Transfer GOLDEN RULES... If you're shifting debts, take note.
a) Repay at least the set monthly minimum, or you may lose the 0% rate.
b) Aim to clear the debt or shift again before the 0% ends, or rates rocket.
c) Don't spend on these, it isn't usually at the cheap rate.
d) Beware borrowing elsewhere, focus on pushing towards a debt-free day. | | | | 6. | You can shift your overdraft to a 0% credit card. Debit card spending may feel better than credit. But if you're overdrawn, it's a debt card too, often with higher interest costs and hideous bank charges if you go over.
The Virgin card* lets accepted new cardholders shift overdrafts to it for 26mths 0% for a 4% fee (2.99% fee for normal transfers). Very few cards do this cheaply, so don't assume it's universal. See Shift Overdrafts To 0%. After the 0%, it's 20.9% rep APR though, so follow the golden rules. | | | | 7. | Always pay by direct debit to avoid late fees/missed payments. Forget or pay late and you risk losing any 0% deals, a fine and a credit score hit. To prevent that, set up a direct debit to cover at least the monthly minimum. But then pay manually on top, as normal, to the right amount. | | | | 8. | Don't pay all cards equally - repay the highest APR card first. If you've multiple cards, focus all spare cash on clearing the card with the highest APR as that's the one growing fastest, just paying the minimums on the others. Then once that's clear, shift your focus to the second costliest, etc.
If you've just one card, try to pay a fixed amount - not the min repayment or you'll be locked into near-permanent debt. See Danger: Min Repayments. | | | | 9. | Got savings? Use them to clear costly debts. I know, I know, you don't want to because your savings are a safety net. Yet you need to understand...
a) Debts cost far more than savings earn. Imagine you've £1,000 in top savings and £1,000 costly card debt. The savings only pay £14/yr after tax, the card costs £180/yr. So clear the card and you're £166/yr better off.
b) You could always borrow back. Many worry if they use their savings they'll have no emergency fund. Yet you still have the card, so in a crisis (roof collapse, not new shoes), you could use the card and be no worse off, meanwhile you've saved interest. Full help in Repay Debts With Savings? | | | | 10. | Struggling to deal with debts? Not sleeping due to it? The solutions above are for cutting debt costs. But if you can't meet min payments, have non-mortgage debts bigger than a year's salary, or sleepless nights worrying, you're likely to be in debt crisis. If so, ignore the above.
Instead, get free, one-on-one debt counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline, or, if you're struggling emotionally too, CAP. They're there to help, not judge you. The most common comment we hear after is: "I finally got a good night's sleep." Full info in Debt Crisis Help. | | |
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| Wed 4 Sep 2013 |
Flight delayed? You're due up to £500 per person
Revealed: Airline-by-airline guide to which are most likely to play fair and pay out what you're due Have you suffered a holiday flight delay? If so, it's the first summer you've rights to up to £500/person compensation (and it applies to older flights too). Full info in our Flight Delay Compensation guide. Here's a short hop through the core info...  "I got £1,360 back" Mike is typical: "Thanks for the info. I completed your template for a 6-hr delay for four back in Sept '10 to Malaga. Today we got cheques for £340 each."- Revealed: Over 65% who complain to BA report success. Our feedback's been binary. Some write & get a cheque back in weeks. Others find airlines play hardball (but don't give in if they do, see below). See our full airline-by-airline payout rates.
- The flight delay compensation rules - do you qualify?
You need to have arrived 3+ hours late – see how to check past delay lengths.
You can claim for any flight since 2005. Ignore airlines claiming a 2yr limit.
You must've departed or arrived at an EU airport (but if arriving, it must be an EU airline). If not, see other flights.
Compensation's £200-£500/person; based on delay & journey length, not flight price. See How Much Is Due?
It must be the airline's fault, so weather and security don't count. See full What Counts As The Airline's Fault?
- How to complain. Use our free template letters. If the airline rejects you, don't despair. While there's no ombudsman, you can ask the CAA or other bodies to pressure airlines if you think you're due. See full How To Claim. Though for shorter, no-hassle delays on cheap flights (eg, £10 budget airline) ask yourself whether £250 compensation is really fair, as it could push all our prices up. See Martin's legal vs moral concerns.
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| 20% off Topman - rare code. MSE Blagged. Works on full-price and already-discounted items. Topman Deals Massive UK hotel sales
40% off 4-star Puma hotel night + 3-course dinner + brekkie at 21 hotels across the UK.
300,000 £21 Travelodge winter rooms, incl XMAS AND NEW YEAR. For December to March stays. £1 beauty: Stila foundation (usually £21), Eylure lashes (£4). Plus Rimmel, OPI & more in Beauty Deals. £11.25/btl Nicolas Feuillatte champers (min 6). RRP £30. Tesco in-store & online. Bubbly (be Drinkaware) |
Have you committed a home insurance sin?
When did you last check your deal? Not within the last year? REPENT. You're likely overpaying by £100s
Commit these deadly home insurance sins and you'll be in financial hell, wasting great swathes of cash. Slash the cost with our updated Cheap Home Insurance guide. But for now, MoneySavers, here are a few quick tips to keep out of trouble.  Forgive me, I did auto-renew. Companies fine us for apathy. So shockingly, apply as a new customer (even to your existing insurer) and you could pay a fraction of the price. As one MoneySaver told us: "We paid the same insurer for 7 yrs. The latest quote was £1,270, but after cancelling, I could get the same policy as a new cust for £390."
- Forgive me, I believed my home's market value is what counted. Usually only freeholders need buildings cover. Many mistakenly waste cash by covering their home's value, rather than the correct and usually much lower cost of rebuilding. See Cost Of Rebuilding Calcs.
- Forgive me, I've more stuff than I thought. Many vastly under-estimate their contents cover - clothes alone can be worth £1,000s. Yet don't think "no problem, I'll never claim that much". As an example, you cover £15k, but after your £1,000 TV's stolen, the insurer says you've £30k contents - you may only get 50% of your claim. See Contents Calcs.
- Want the cheapest price quick? Here's how... To bag as many quotes as possible at speed, combine comparison sites for widespread coverage. Mainstream: Confused.com* & Compare TM*. One bedroom? Confused.com* & Tesco Compare*. Claimed before? Compare TM* & Gocompare*. High value contents? Confused.com* & Tesco Compare* plus Hiscox*, John Lewis*, Home & Legacy.
- Forgive the comparison sites, as they miss some... Add in the biggies, Aviva* and Direct Line*, that they miss.
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| Specs code gets Sisley £11 all-in, Versace £44 (norm £104), etc. MSE Blagged. Incl lenses. Specs Eurostar £59 rtn - sale starts THURS. Rare discount (usually £69+) for Paris, Lille, Brussels. Oct-Dec. Eurostar Deals Travel insurance £15/year. If you, like millions, book an overseas holiday in Sept, ensure you grab insurance ASAP, or you're not covered for cancellation. Cheapest annual cover if you'll go 2+ times over the next year: Europe individual £15, World £27 | Europe family £27, World £50. One-off cover starts at £7, use the MoneySup comparison*. For FULL help & info, including over-65s, pre-existing conditions and 'top value' picks, see Cheap Travel Insurance. When Martin met Jamie... he blagged 200 free Save with Jamie books. The MSE met the chef via Radio Times to discuss food MoneySaving. Watch the encounter or read about it, or find out about the book giveaway. |
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| New. Cheapest EVER personal loan - 4.8% APR. Until 23 Sept, Sainsbury's* is offering 4.8% rep APR on £7.5k-£15k loans paid back over 1-3 years. Ensure you budget and can afford repayments. Full help: Cheap Loans, APR Examples Free Karcher power washer (RRP £80) OR £70 M&S with car insurance. MSE Blagged. Two deals. 1) Churchill's* giving a limited number of Karchers via this link if you get car insurance. The page'll say when they're gone. 2) Use code avivamse70 at Aviva* to get £70 M&S e-gift card with ins. Important: Never assume these are cheapest - ALWAYS compare with combined result of Gocompare* & Google* . Better still, read the FULL Cheap Car Insurance guide. 32 tulip bulbs £9 (RRP £25) | 5 herb plug plants £4 (RRP £14). Limited stock. See Bloomin' Good Deals. |
5 months 0% borrowing, even with poor credit
Rare interest-free chance for those usually rejected. Relieve overdraft bank charge and payday loan problems Applying for 0% cards normally needs a decent credit history. But currently there's a 0% new spending deal that even allows some with past CCJs, defaults or bankruptcies to apply - possibly enabling you to avoid far nastier debts.  New. Easy-to-get 5mths 0%. Via this link, Barclaycard Initial* gives accepted new cardholders 5mths 0% on spending, though after it jumps to a huge 34.9% representative APR. It'll credit score you, but unlike most cards it won't automatically reject those with past credit problems, as long as they're not within the last year.
Be very careful borrowing if you've had credit problems. Yet done right, this card can give respite from bank charges/payday loans. Do normal spending on the card, leaving your income building in your bank account - then use that to reduce your overdraft or repay the lenders. You need to budget, and plan to fully repay the card within the 5 months, to make this work. See full B'card Initial Tips.- 18mths 0% if you've a better credit score. The Tesco* card gives accepted new cardholders 18mths 0% on spending. To see your chances of getting other Top 0% Cards, use our 0% Eligibility Checker. See APR Examples.
- The golden rules. a) Always pay at least the monthly min, else you'll lose the 0% deal. b) Clear the card before the 0% ends, or you'll pay hefty interest. c) Don't shift debt/withdraw cash - that's not usually at the cheap rate.
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Yankee Candle 50% off. In-store only sale. Incl large jars for £10 (usually £20). Can you find 'em? FREE TICKETS to Grand Designs (norm £15), Art Fair (£14), Cake & Bake (£30) & more
Free: 1,000 (norm £14) The Other Art Fair pairs London | 10,000 (£12) Home Improv Show pairs London | Unltd (£5) Allergy Show tix L'pool | 250 (£30) Cake & Bake Show pairs London (£2.50 booking fee) | 1,000 (£15) Grand Designs tix
2for1s: Wedding fair (£17) tix and baby show (£17) tix Manchester & Kent | Pet show (£16) tix Kent. See Days Out. New. Cheap long energy fix - no price hike for 3 yrs. Scottish Power's new Fixed Price Energy Jan '17 tariff promises no price hikes till 31 Dec 2016 and slightly cheaper bills straight away for those on bog-standard tariffs. For a full comparison and to see how it stacks up against the competition for you, join our free Cheap Energy Club. |
60 ways to boost your income
Can you earn extra cash? Check out a host of ways from renting out your driving space to just clicking on the web Our usual schtick is to save you cash, but of course, the other side of the see-saw is boosting the amount coming in. From hobbies to techniques, there are a host of small ways in our 60 Tricks To Boost Your Income list. Let's whet your appetite:  Now it's easier to rent out your driveway for up to £200/mth. Live near a city centre, airport, train station or footie ground? You could earn up to £200/mth or more renting out your drive. The Govt's just made it easier by overruling councils asking for a £385 'change of use' fee in England. See full Rent Your Parking Space.
- Rent spare rooms, storage and more for cash too. You can let your spare room, storage space or even your house as a film set. See Rent It Out For Cash for more.
- Earn £100s doing personal stock control. Retailers cannily manage their stock levels, it's time we did the same. So walk around your home, and if you haven't used something in a year, consider flogging it. Whether it's CDs, TVs, LPs or even an old WC, use our 40+ eBay Selling Tricks for a crash course in getting the best price. Or, for ease, old mobiles can fetch £100s via our Mobile Phone Buying Comparison, plus see other ways to flog stuff without hassle.
- Click at home and make money. Our 30 Ways To Earn Cash Online guide shows how to get paid to watch videos, write, Google & more. Plus earn up to £800/year giving your views with Top 20 Online Survey Sites.
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| 'Free' mobile broadband on £1 Sim (great for tablets). MSE Blagged. Use code MSE100 to get a Samba* Sim with 100MB of data for £1 (norm £5) - after that, it's free if you watch brief online ads. Good feedback. Samba Deal Codes... Deb'hams 20%, Dorothy Perkins 25%, Body Shop 40% & more...
Dorothy Perkins 25% off code/vch | Debenhams 20% off code/vch in newspaper | Vertbaudet £15 off £20 code
Body Shop 40% off code/vch | Bonmarché 20% off code | Kurt Geiger 20% off code/vch | Discount Vouchers 'Try me free' Malaysian food kit (RRP £2) & sink sanitiser (RRP £3). Take a look at Supermarket Coupons. |
Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers | Top deals |
 THE GREAT HUNT... REVISITED
What shops don't want us to know
Past tips include check price codes for clearance stock and use warranties as a bargaining tool. Now we want fresh insider knowledge on shops' secrets for saving money. Share yours/read others': Shops' secrets Past topics: View all MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
Should I be let off houseshare kitty?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... I live in a houseshare. Being organised, I'm usually the one to buy communal items (dishwasher tablets, sponges, etc) before we run out. I don't like to make a fuss, so haven't asked my housemates for money. They've now started a kitty for these items and have asked me for a £10 contribution. I feel I should be let off, as I've spent so much more in the past, but I don't want to cause problems. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I skip paying into the kitty? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs "I'll never win" MSE comper wins penalty kick at Old Trafford. Another huge win on the comping forums - read forumite Leanne McKenna's brilliant story: I won, I won, I won! CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Jet2 Sale: From £24 Ends: Ongoing
This week's pick is Jet2's autumn and winter sale. Prices start from £24 for one-way flights to various European destinations from eight UK airports. It's for travel until 29 Mar 2014, and includes taxes and charges. We found flights from Blackpool to Majorca (Palma) for £24. 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 best free online workouts
Short, high-impact workouts seem popular, whether they're YouTube videos or good old-fashioned exercise sheets. One MoneySaver recommends Parkrun, which organises free weekly runs as a way to get fit with the help of others. back to top ↑ |
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Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances 4 September
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week. | 5 September
Martin isn't on Radio 5 Live's Consumer Panel as it's Rosh Hashanah. | 9 September
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Subject tbc. | | |
MSE team corner - Team blogs:
- No blogs this week.
- Team appearances:
- No team appearances this week.
| Discussion of the week Food shaming
Eat fresh, 5-a-day - they're familiar notions, but everyone indulges from time to time. Discuss your guilty pleasures on the Food shaming thread. Angel Delight, fish finger sandwiches and noodles and Smash are all nostalgic favourites, so get involved and divulge your food secrets. | Cheap travel money |
This week's poll: How good is your money maths? Every few years we run this poll to see how good people are at figuring out a basic, but not straightforward money sum.
Once you've clicked your answer below, jump to the 'discuss' link that will be on the results page to see the correct answer.
Which of these stock market scenarios gives the best return? It rises 10% a year for 4 years, then drops 10% a year for 4 years
It drops 10% a year for 4 years, then rises 10% a year for 4 years
The market stays the same
All the above answers are equal
| Poll results Bank card readers: Love 'em or hate 'em?
One in five voters would switch banks to avoid them, but on the whole, it seems voters aren't too bothered.
- 20% would switch to avoid them.
- 38% find them annoying, but can live with them.
- 15% would switch to use one.
- 12% don't care either way.
6,782 voted. See the full results. |
| Q: My daughter's off to uni next week. She's not taking a TV, but will be taking her laptop to watch TV on BBC iPlayer, etc. Does she need a TV licence? Jimbo19 on the forum. MSE Becca's A: It doesn't matter if she's going to watch on a TV or another device - it's all about if she watches 'live TV'. Watch shows as they're broadcast, whether via a laptop or owt else, and you must have a licence or you risk a £1,000 fine. If your daughter only watches catch-up services or Lovefilm and Netflix, she won't need a licence.
If she'll watch live telly, she'll usually need a separate licence for her room if staying in halls. For shared houses, you only need one licence for the household as long as you've signed a joint tenancy agreement. Full details in TV Licences. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
 Archna's free game of the week: Live Puzzle 2 |
Could you be the next Sarah Beeny? Reckon you could be the next presenter of Property Ladder? Try to guess how much these homes on Google Street View sold for... How much is that house? We hope you save some money, Martin & the MSE team |
| 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. 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 barclaycard.co.uk, halifax.co.uk, natwest.com, lloydstsb.com, bankofscotland.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, virginmoney.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, tescocompare.com, gocompare.com, hiscox.co.uk, johnlewis-insurance.com, aviva.co.uk, directline.com, moneysupermarket.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, omgpm.com, voucherwindow.com, google.co.uk, tescobank.com, admiral.com, sambamobile.com, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, firstdirect.com, santander-products.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, bt.com.
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