Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Tesco Wine 1,000pts, 31mths 0%, £3 roses, free Bare Minerals, Travelodge £29, £18/mth superfast b'band & phone, Ideal Home tix

Martin's Money Tips Email. Viewing on a mobile, or can't see full email properly (may affect Gmail/Yahoo users)? Read it online.

View mobile friendly version

Martin Lewis

MoneySavingExpert.com weekly email

Cutting your costs, fighting your corner Martin's Money Tips Wed 12 Feb 2014
Cards Reclaim Shopping Deals Utilities Banking Travel Insurance Mortgages Income

This week

Don't bin CPP letters worth £100s
50 MoneySaving wedding tips
Valentine: £20 couriered roses or £3 in-store, free £6 card, £22 for £40 Sanctuary gift set; M&S £20 dine-in
Get £80 M&S e-card with home ins
"I saved £550/yr on a water meter"
Tesco Wine sale 1000 extra pts code
Free Bare Minerals foundation
FAST b'band & line equiv £18/mth
Now 1m are tarting their energy
Travelodge £29 Easter rooms
Codes: Incl Homebase 15%, Kurt Geiger 25%, Body Shop 40%
Free £14 Ideal Home tix in £4 mag
£20 Grand Theft Auto or CoD
5 rules for a happy relationship
FLASH euro, dollar, etc sale
£1 comedy DVDs incl Mike McIntyre
£30 pair of comedy tix £7
Vouchers Index: Restaurants / Shopping
Best Buys: 0% cards | Car insurance
Best Buys: Gas & Elec | Bank Accs

MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter

New longest-ever 31mths 0% debt shift
PRICE WAR! Lenders punch-up to top the table. Grab deals to cut costs

price warOn Thurs afternoon, BOOM - Halifax entered the battle of the longest 0% balance transfers, launching a 30mth card to match Barclaycard's best. Within a couple of hours, POW - Barclaycard hit back, upping its 0% to an unprecedented 31mths. This time last year the record was just 25mths, two years ago 22mths.

The real boon, though, isn't the top deal lengthening - these deals are ONLY for new cardholders, so more cards battling means more people can save.

1.

So, what is a balance transfer? It's where you get a new card that repays existing card debts for you, so you owe it instead, but at a cheaper rate. Thus you clear the actual debt, rather than just servicing the interest.

- Is store card debt transferable too? Yes, that's not a problem.
- Can it clear multiple cards? Yes, if the new credit limit's big enough.
- Can I transfer up to the credit limit? Usually not. They let you do 90% of the credit limit, so there's room for you to spend (avoid that though).
- How do they decide if I'll get a card?
It depends on your credit score. Use our Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker to see which card'll most likely accept you.

How much will it save me? If you had a £5,000 debt at 18%, repaying £150 a month, it'd take almost 4 yrs to clear, costing £1,750 in interest. Shifting to the top 0% deal means you'd clear it in 3 yrs, costing just £150 (the fee).

   
2. New. Longest EVER 0% balance transfer. Yet it's only for new cardholders, so avoid cards if you've already got it.

TOP PICK BALANCE TRANSFER CREDIT CARDS
Get the lowest fee card, within the time you're sure you can clear it.
Card Intro offer One-off fee (1) Rep APR after
Barclaycard* Longest 31mths 0% (2) 2.99% 18.9%
Halifax* Longest if got Barclaycard 30mths 0% (2) 3% 18.9%
Tesco* Decent long-term deal 29mths 0% 2.9% 20.6-26.7%
Lloyds* Long lower fee 24mths 0% (2) 1.5% 17.9%
Santander* Longest for sub-1% fee 17mths 0% 0.9% 18.9%
Halifax* Decent low-fee deal 15mths 0% 0.8% 17.9%
Fluid* Lowest fee 12mths 0% 0.75% 19.9%
FULL INFO: Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples)
1) % of the amount transferred. 2) With these cards, some get shorter 0%.
   
3. FREE tool shows which card you're most likely to get. Many top deals cherry-pick only the best credit scores. So these days, it's not just about which cards top the best buys - the real question is what's the best card YOU can get?

Usually the only way to find out is to apply, but that marks your credit file. So use our free Balance Transfer Eligibility Checker, which shows your odds of getting each top card, without it affecting your file. This way you can hone your applications.

If you've a poor credit score, don't give up. The check includes cards such as Capital One Balance*, which offers a 0% debt shift until Aug 2014 for a 3% fee, even to some with CCJs, defaults or bankruptcies over a year old.

Yet once the 0% ends, it's a huge 34.9% rep APR, so unless your current cards are a higher rate, only shift debt you can clear before August (or can shift back once the 0% ends). See Poor Credit Balance Transfers for help.

Your existing provider may also sometimes let you shift other debts to it, if you've room on your credit limit. The offers don't tend to be quite as good, but this protects your credit score. Full info in Credit Card Shuffle.
   
4. Shift your overdraft to 0% too. Debit cards often feel better than credit. Yet if you're overdrawn, they're a debt too, often with higher interest costs and hideous bank charges if you go over your limit.

Many ask if they can shift overdrafts to 0% cards. Usually the answer's 'no', but a few balance transfer deals let newbies do 'money transfers' too. Here, for a higher fee, they pay cash into your bank account.

MBNA* is 29mths 0% for a 4% fee (2.89% on normal balance transfers), Fluid's* 28mths 0% for a 4% fee (2.89%). After the 0% ends, the rates jump to 22.9% representative APR. Use the Money Transfer Eligibility Checker to see which you're most likely to get. Full help in Money Transfers.
   
5. Not sure of your repayments? Go for 6.9% for LIFE. If you can repay quickly, or are willing to tart from 0% to 0%, the deals above are winners. If you need longer or - more importantly - are unsure about what you can repay each month, then a long-term, low-rate balance transfer is safer.

Any debts shifted to the MBNA Rate for Life* card within the first 60 days remain at 6.9% until repaid, slashing roughly 2/3 off typical interest costs (but you need to make at least min payments, or you pay 18.9% rep APR).
   
6. Top 0% deals for shifting debts AND new borrowing. Spend on most balance transfer cards and you pay large. Yet a few all-rounder cards give 0% deals on spending too. Only do new borrowing if it's planned, budgeted for and affordable. Willy-nilly spending to fill income gaps is dangerous.

Halifax's* 15mths 0% (0.8% balance transfer fee) - 17.9% rep APR after.
NatWest* / RBS* 15mths 0% on both (0.9% BT fee) - 16.9% rep APR after.
Sainsbury's* is 7.8% rep APR (no fee), good if you need long-term stability.

To find out which cards you're most likely to get, use the All-Rounder Eligibility Checker. More help in Top All-Rounder Cards (APR Examples).
   
7. The BIG balance transfer golden rules. If you're shifting debt, obey these:

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 cards, it isn't usually at the cheap rate. And if you're trying to clear debt, new borrowing doesn't help.
d) Use our Which Card Is Cheapest? tool if unsure which card to go for.
   
8. Use any savings to clear costly credit card debts. I know, I know - you don't want to as 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 a top savings account and £1,000 costly card debt. The savings pay £12/yr after tax, the card costs £180/yr. Clear the card, and you're £168/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, and meanwhile you've saved interest. See Repay Debts With Savings?
   
9. Sometimes 31mths 0% isn't 31mths 0%. For a long time, we've been warning that if it says 'representative APR', that means only 51% of accepted customers need to get that rate, the rest can get worse.

Now something similar is happening with 0% rates. A few get accepted, but with shorter 0% than advertised. Sadly, there's no way to know (even with the eligibility checker) - the best we can do is warn you if a card does this, as three cards in the table above do. Please report what 0% length you get.
   
10. If you're struggling, get free one-on-one debt help. If you're struggling to meet your minimum repayments, have card debts of more than a year's take-home salary, or just can't sleep at night, then the solutions above aren't for you - you need a totally different type of debt rescue.

Get free, one-on-one debt counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange, National Debtline, or, if you're struggling emotionally too, CAPUK. See full info in Debt Crisis Help. And don't worry, they're there to help, not judge you.

Blagged for MoneySavers

Did you miss?

Get permanently cheap energy
Our club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.
Join free: Cheap Energy Club
Reclaim PPI for FREE
Claims handlers aren't more successful.
Free help & templates: Reclaim PPI

MSE News

Top story: Consumer Rights Bill will boost rights but it's 'too complex'
40 million consumer gripes went unaddressed last year
Love pound shops? Now they're moving online
Water bills in England and Wales going up by 2%
Energy prices still heading up despite Government action
Proud to be a MoneySaver? Pass this on
If this email's ever helped you, please forward it to friends and suggest they get it via moneysavingexpert.com/tips
Use the Money Mantras If you're skint If you're not skint
The Ones Not To Miss Wed 12 Feb 2014
WARNING: Don't bin your CPP letter - it could be worth £100s
CPP is sending out its claim forms this week. Don't bin it thinking it's a circular, you're likely due real money back

Many throw financial circulars away thinking they're spam. Yet now's not the time. Starting this week, until the end of Feb, CPP's sending up to 7m people claim forms. You need to sign, seal & deliver. Full CPP Reclaim Help, but in summary...

  • cpp letter Keep an eye on the post. Look for a CPP-branded letter (see pic of what to look for) asking if you "want to be considered for redress". In a nutshell, that means "do you want compensation for your mis-sold insurance?". Er... yes you do.

    Fill in the simple form, noting truthfully why you were mis-sold (if you're eligible to claim, you'll get a letter) then you'll get your money. Send it back in the envelope provided by 30 Aug or quicker, as then you'll get your cash quicker.

  • Typical payouts are £100-£300. CPP policies were either sold directly or via banks. It primarily protected from risks that didn't exist. The £1.3bn redress scheme is for 7m customers mis-sold since 2005. Here are the problems with the policies they WERE selling. See full What Counts As CPP Mis-selling.

    Card protection: Mainly worthless, as banks cover losses anyway. At c.£30/yr, if you had it for 3yrs, expect £100ish.
    ID fraud protection: These overstated the risk. They cost c.£80/yr, so if you had this for 3yrs as well, expect £300+.
  • Beware scam CPP emails or calls. No doubt dirty, nasty scammers will try to leech onto this. So if you do get an email or a call asking for private details about this, ignore it. CPP is only sending letters to people.
  • Think you were mis-sold, but no letter? It may not have your address. See how to claim if you don't get a letter.
  • FREE 'lost card' protection tool. The only real value of card protection was it'd auto-cancel lost cards for you. Yet tell our free CardsGone.com tool what's in your wallet - credit/debit cards, loyalty cards, driving licence and more. It remembers 'em, then if you lose 'em, it provides all the up-to-date numbers for you to cancel.

Tesco Wine code gets 1,000 extra pts (worth up to £40), incl on 50% off deals. MSE Blagged. First 6,000 new & existing custs using Tesco Wine* code XXLMKY get 1,000pts (min £60 spend). Full info: Wine Deals. Drinkaware

Free up to £5 Bare Minerals foundation sample. Via Facebook, get 3g sample in-store. Limited. Bare Minerals

Fast fibre optic broadband AND line rent, equiv £18/mth. If you pay line rent upfront. This is a seriously cheap deal. On a 12mth contract, get a) Up to 30Mb fibre optic broadband: Virgin Media* newbies pay £7.50 for 6mths, then £15.50 for the next 6mths (avail to 50% of UK). b) Line rent (required): Free installation then £16/mth or sign up, then call to pay a year upfront at £128. c) £50 credit. Comes off first bill. Total cost? Factor in the £50, pay upfront and it's £216 for a year, equivalent to £18/mth (or £23/mth if you pay line rent monthly). Superfast Broadband

HURRAH! Cheap Energy Club now has 1 million members (in a year & a day). Take on the big 6. Our free club takes the hard work out of being an energy tart. It finds the cheapest deal for you (many can save £100s), and alerts you when it's time to move again. If you've joined, thank you - we hope it helps. If not, try it: Cheap Energy Club

My 50 big fat wedding tips
Getting married? Congratulations - here's how to say 'I do' to the one you love, not to £1,000s of debt

It's Valentine's week and ba-da-bing, love is in the air. Yet for those cementing their union, the average bash is a heart-breaking £18,000. We've 50+ Cheap Wedding Tips, here's a taster. Why not send this to engaged couples who may miss it?

- wedding savings30% off National Wedding Show tix. Code for Feb/Mar wedding show in 3 locations.
- Tap friends' skills. Know a photographer, a florist or a cakemaker? Ask pals to help, not give.
- 66% off rings.
Swap Tesco pts for Goldsmiths vch, get a £600 sparkler for £200. Budget Bling
- Film star gown, Z-list price.
£100 custom-made, worn once or high street dream dresses.
- Unusual dates pay. Picking unpopular days or months slashes costs. Cheapest Times To Wed
- Classy free invites. Stationery can be £100s. Make stunning DIY invites with craft sites.
- Hidden local eBay bargains. From cake stands to champers flutes, map local eBay deals.
- Be your own wedding planner. A host of free wedding tools & apps map seating plans, playlists and more.
- Venue-squeezing checklist:
Some have more add-ons than Ryanair. Use our 10 top questions, eg, "is the cake knife free?"
- £1,000 wedding packages. Three big chains do this, eg, food, drink & room hire for 50 guests. See £1K Weddings.
- Don't let your bank grab your wedding cash. A proud dad paid £12,000 to his daughter's account for her big day. Two days later, the bank used £6,000 of it to pay her credit card debt. See Wedding Money Tips to avoid this & other pitfalls.

Romance is great. Over-commercialised peer pressure ain't. So while here are our last minute 2014 Valentine's Deals, don't feel under pressure to spend.

Wed ONLY: 12 couriered roses £20. Debenhams has boosted its discount with a special code getting 12 red roses for £20 including delivery. You must order today (by 2pm for some postcodes). 13,000 avail. Valentine's Day Roses

Cheapest in-store roses £3 for 12. Full round-up starting at £3. See Valentine's Day Roses.

Sanctuary heart-shaped gift set £22 (norm £40). Great last min gift. Sanctuary set.

FREE Valentine's day £6 card + £3.50 Hotel Chocolat slab (O2 cust only). Cracking deal via O2 Priority Moments. It says stock is low, but we've still been able to get it. Worth a try. Free Card & Choc.

FREE Valentine's gift cheques. You don't need to spend. Give time instead. Use our Free Valentine's Gift Cheques to promise something nice (or naughty), eg, a 'massage', brekkie in bed or candle-lit bath.

Last-min gifts: £10 champagne | Lastminute.com 10% off spa treatments | £20 H Samuel voucher for £12.50 | £5 prosecco | Debenhams 15% off lingerie and jewellery. See Valentine's Day Deals 2014.

Valentine's restaurant vouchers and dine-in deals.
Dine-in: £20 M&S starter, main, side, pud, fizz, chocs | £10 Sainsbury's main, pud & wine | ALL dine-in deals
Valentine's Day vouchers:
Harvester £10 main, pud, salad, drink. Walk in | Pizza Hut Del 2for1 till 2 Mar | ALL vouchers
Day before/after vouchers:
Prezzo 2for1 for £2.50 Wed-Thu, Fri till 6pm & Sun | Strada 2for1 for £1.25 Wed-Thu, Sun
Cheap Valentine's Day set menu: Ember Inns £10 2 courses & drink | Fayre & Square £13 3 courses & drink

Travelodge £29 Easter rooms. Up to £29 deals still available for stays till Wed 30 Apr. Hotel Sales

Codes... Homebase 15% off, Kurt Geiger 25% off, Dotty P 20% off, etc...
Kurt Geiger 25% off code/vch in £4 mag | Brantano £10 off £40 code/vch | Achica £20 off £60 (home & luxury brands)
Dorothy Perkins 20% off code | Homebase 15% off code | Body Shop 40% off code | Discount Vouchers

'Free' Ideal Home London entry in £4 mag. Or instant 2for1 from £13.70. Ideal Home Show

£20 Grand Theft Auto 5 or Call Of Duty: Ghosts (usually £30-£40). Xbox/PS3 games, for 18+. Tesco Deals

Martin's 5 rules for a happy relationship. The love doctor is in... Martin's relationship rules blog.

FLASH euro and US dollar sale. FairFX is having a flash sale on euros and US dollars noon Wed - noon Thurs. Use our Travel Money Comparison while it's on to compare. Always pay by debit card - not credit card - to avoid extra fees.

Get an £80 M&S e-gift card with home insurance
The hot home insurance deals you WON'T find on comparison sites - full system to slash your costs to the bone

No one home insurer's cheapest, but use our FULL Cheap Home Insurance guide to lay foundations for bargains. In brief...

  • home insurance STEP 1: NEVER auto-renew. Combine comparison sites. Wonder why your premium rises each year, even though you haven't claimed? Some insurers profit from apathy. So never auto-renew. Instead, combine as many comparison sites as you've time for, as they search different providers. This month's order: Confused*, CompareTM*, Tesco Compare*.
  • STEP 2: Check against hot deals and insurers they miss. Some deals aren't on comparisons, so we list the ones they miss. Currently this includes two deals to get vouchers if policies are still active after c.75 days. So if they're close to your cheapest quote, factor this in & they may be winners.

    - New: £80 M&S e-gift card: If you use this link to get joint buildings & contents from broker Policy Expert*
    - New: £70 M&S or £70 Asda: If you get joint buildings & contents from Legal & General* and either of these codes: MSFEB or ASDAFEB.
    - The two biggies not on comparison sites:
    Plus, always check big competitive insurers Aviva* and Direct Line*.
  • STEP 3: Home insurance golden rules. It's not just about the policy you've picked...

    a) Never overinsure on buildings. Cover the cost of rebuilding, not its market value. See Buildings Cover Tips.
    b) Never under-cover contents. Or any claims could only be paid out in proportion. See Contents Cover Tips.
    c) High value contents? Check Hiscox*, Home & Legacy and John Lewis*. See Big Ticket Item Help.
    d) Fit a five-lever mortice deadock: The savings from secure locks may pay for themselves in reducing cover costs.
    e) Avoid paying monthly: They charge you interest. Pay upfront, or if you can't afford it, get a 0% credit card.
    f) Double-check & get cashback: Once you've found your winner, always check on the provider's site to see if it's suitable (and the excess is right). Plus, see if cashback sites pay anything on it. Full help: Cheap Home Insurance.
Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Balance Transfers Car Insurance Cheap Loans Top Cash ISAs
Longest 0%: Barclaycard*
31mths 0%, 2.99% fee

(18.9% rep APR)

Low fee 0%: Lloyds*
24mths 0%, 1.5% fee

(17.9% rep APR)
Get quotes in this order...

MoneySupermarket*
Gocompare*
Direct Line*
Aviva*
Admiral MultiCar*

Sainsbury's* (£5k - £7.5k)
5.7% rep APR



Clydesdale* (£7.5k - £15k)
4.6% rep APR

Britannia 1.75% AER
Min £500, no bonus
Post/branch. Transfers allowed

Darlington BS 1.7% AER
Min £1, no bonus
Post/branch. Transfers allowed


See Card APR Examples & Loan APR Examples

£1 comedy DVDs, including Lee Evans, Peter Kay and Michael McIntyre. Usually £3-£5. Poundland Deals

£30+ pair of comedy tickets for £7. Code for Fri/Sat nights in B'ham, London, Leeds & Reading. Highlight Deals

"We saved £550 a year with a water meter"
News: Water bills set to rise 2% (some up to 5%) in England & Wales from 1 April. Don't be a drip, sort it now

Water bill rises were announced on Monday. The big question is: should you be switching to a free meter? Full help in our Slash Water Bills guide. Here's a taster... (Scottish bills up 1.6%, but meters aren't free there. In NI, water's included in rates.)

  • water billsDo you have more or the same number of bedrooms as people? If yes, big savings are often possible by shifting from bills to a meter. As ChrisBland31 tweets: "We got a meter fitted and our bill went from £62 to £16 per month. £550/yr saved." Full help & calcs to see if this is the right move for you in Will I Save With A Water Meter?
  • Not allowed a meter? Get an assessed bill. If they say it's impractical to give you a meter (often in flats with shared pipes), ask for an assessed charge which bills you on likely usage, not on the size of your home. Great for homes with low occupancy.
  • If it's yellow, would you let it mellow? If you're on a meter, using less water saves you (and as a lot of water's heated, can cut energy bills). We've 30+ Water Saving Tips from the extreme "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" to grabbing Water Saving Freebies, eg, a shower head which boosts pressure, not water use.

The Martin Lewis Money Show: Cheap Holidays & Reclaim PPI. Last Fri was the last in the ITV series. Watch it. Plus full help in Cheap Package Holidays, Cheap Flights, plus Reclaim PPI and Should I Overpay My Student Loan?

Alert: Site maintenance 1am-7am Fri. The site will be shut while we kick the tyres. After that, it should run as usual.


Click the titles for full info and all our top picks
Gas & Electricity Bank Accounts Home Insurance Landlines
Get permanently cheap energy.

Our club ensures you're always on the cheapest tariff.

Join free: Cheap Energy Club

Up to £30 cashback for dual fuel, £15 for single switches.

First Direct
£100 bonus and top cust service


Santander 123*
Up to 3% cashback on bills

(£2 per month fee)
Get quotes in this order...

Confused.com*
Compare The Market*
Direct Line*
Aviva*

Post Office*
with weekend calls
£10/mth (pay a yr upfront)



BT Line Rental Saver*
£11.75/mth (pay a yr upfront)
Do a Money Makeover Budget Planner MSE car sticker £13 Travel Insurance

Restaurant vouchers

Discount vouchers

Top deals

The Moneysaving community
The MoneySaving Community

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK
Do you know your consumer rights and how to use them?

MPs are examining the new Consumer Rights Bill. The new rights should make things clearer, but they could be improved. Would you like more info when you buy something, or easier ways to complain? MPs want to hear what you think, so we're collecting views in the MSE Forum which we'll feed into the inquiry. Plus, see Martin give evidence in Parliament (at 14:45).

BOOK GIVEAWAY
Arabic For Dummies.
25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA
What's the etiquette on asking guests to bring a bottle?

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... I need to buy supplies for my housewarming party soon, but don't know what the etiquette is for drinks. As it's my party, should I buy all the food and drink, or count on guests bringing drinks with them? Is it acceptable to ask them to bring a bottle? I'd hate to run out of booze, but costs are already spiralling. Help! Enter the Money Moral Maze: Can I ask guests to bring a bottle? | Suggest an MMD | View Past MMDs

THE GREAT HUNT
Which 'world foods' can you recommend?
Many supermarkets now have a 'world foods' aisle, full of goodies such as sauerkraut and ackee. If your country's cuisine sits in these aisles, which products are the best value? Forumite terra_ferma would like some recommendations. Share yours/read others': Which 'world foods' can you recommend? Past topics: View all

CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT
Airline: Thomson Price: £30 off return flights Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is Thomson's ongoing sale, which includes taxes & charges. It's for flights between May and October to 65 international destinations from 19 UK airports. To find flights quickly, use FlightChecker on a return search. There's no code to enter, the discount appears automatically. Extra charges warning: Avoid payment and check-in charges - see Budget Airline Fee Fighting. Related: Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels, Spending Abroad, Cheap Currency, Travel Insurance

THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED
What's the best bank for piggybanking /jam-jar accounts?

Some MoneySavers recommend Lloyds and NatWest for piggybanking, but many also recommend ditching jam-jar accounts and returning to good old pen and paper (or a spreadsheet).
Some forumites simply use different banks for separate pots, though this can have an impact on your interest rates.

Quick forum tips

Freebies

Martin's blogs

Martin's appearances

13 February
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35am-7.45am.
Deals of the Week.
Watch last week's show.
13 February
Shelagh Fogarty, Radio 5 Live, 12pm-1pm.
Consumer Panel.
Subscribe to podcast.
17 February
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Subject tbc.
Watch this week's show on Martin's "love and money" rules.
PS. Missed The Martin Lewis Money Show? Watch past episodes.

MSE team corner

Discussion of the week

Is everything always 50/50?

Sharing your life with someone else can be tricky. But should everything, including finances, be split 50/50 to make an equal partnership? Have your say in the Is everything always 50/50? discussion.

Cheap travel money

UK's Best Currency Rates
£100 will buy you:
Best Worst
Euro Flag 119.90 107.91
US Flag $ 163.11 146.75
Turkish Flag TL 355.80 318.93
Rates correct at 4pm Tue
Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash

This week's poll: How do you rate your bank account's service?

Please vote based on CUSTOMER SERVICE for your main CURRENT account over the last SIX MONTHS. Please ignore rates or any other products, or service from before six months ago.

Poll results

You CAN use a 2for1 voucher on a first date

There was little difference between men and women. Both said if a man asked a woman out and said he'd pay, then...

- 30% say he's a keeper.
- 55% say it's not an issue.
- Only 14% say she should run.

7,719 voted. See the full results.

Question of the week

Q. Does it matter where your energy provider’s based when it comes to power cut compensation? Lorna, by email

MSE Marcel's A: If you've suffered a power cut, it's not your energy provider (eg, Npower or British Gas) that you claim compensation from.

Instead, you claim from the company that distributes electricity across the country to your home. This is your regional distribution network operator (DNO), such as UK Power Networks or Western Power Distribution. You can find your DNO on the back of your bill, or call your energy supplier and ask it.

Yet you can only claim if you've been blacked out continuously for over 18 hours (24 in severe weather) and the amount ranges between £22 and £54.

If it was during severe weather, you can claim if it lasted 24 continuous hours, but you can only claim for 27 hours at most.

Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails).

 Debs' free game of the week: Sky Pigs

Ask your granny to be a flower girl at your wedding

That's it for this week, but sticking to the Valentine's theme, as well as our MoneySaving wedding tips above, you may like these 30 fun, creative ideas to spice it up a bit... 31 'wedding with a difference' ideas.

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, and still writes this email each week (unless it says so). He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time The Martin Lewis Money Show, weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Daybreak, amongst others. He’s a columnist for publications including the Telegraph and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography

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, tescobank.com, lloydsbank.com, santander-products.co.uk, fluid.co.uk, capitalone.co.uk, mbna.co.uk, natwest.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, rbs.co.uk, tesco.com, virginmedia.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, policyexpert.co.uk, legalandgeneral.com, aviva.co.uk, directline.com, hiscox.co.uk, johnlewis-insurance.com, lloydsbank.com, moneysupermarket.com, gocompare.com, admiral.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, cbonline.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, productsandservices.bt.com.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note

Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances constitute an FCA regulated activity. For this reason, pages with links which take you to the sites of insurers or insurance intermediaries are hosted by MoneySavingExpert.com Limited on behalf of MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC. MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is MoneySupermarket House, St. David’s Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ.

To change your E-mail or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips

No comments:

Post a Comment