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DON'T believe the fake ads on Facebook |
Martin asks: 'Are you due £2,000 PER CHILD to help with childcare costs?' In April 2017, the confusing and somewhat inaccurately named 'Tax-Free Childcare' scheme launched. It was beset with problems, poor communication and technical glitches, and huge numbers of those who can take advantage have been put off. Yet now I believe it's time to look afresh. For those paying for childcare, it can be worth £2,000 annually per child towards Ofsted (or equivalent) registered nurseries, childminders, nannies, after-school clubs, play schemes and home care. Here are the need-to-knows:
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Updated. How Brexit impacts mortgages, flights, your rights & more. It's been delayed until at least Fri 12 Apr, and there's still huge uncertainty. See facts where there are facts & Martin's analysis where there aren't in our 25 Brexit need-to-knows. PS: Next Tue at 8pm on ITV - Martin's live Brexit special. An important watch. He'll be covering the practicals not the politics in an ask-him-anything special. 250,000+ water-saving FREEBIES - eg, £20 shower heads, £2 Save-A-Flush bags. Cut your water use & bills, esp if you've a meter. This week water firms have boosted the number of freebies avail across Eng & Wal (& now Scot too), though it depends on your supplier. Free gadgets £12 for £40ish of No7 skincare & make-up. Incl primer, serum & eye cream. Boots No7 VICTORY: Our mortgage prisoner campaign means mortgage holders should find cheaper deals easier to get. After four years the regulator has finally supported our call to redefine 'affordability checks' for those switching mortgage deals - making it easier, and freeing up 10,000s of mortgage prisoners. Full info: Mortgage affordability victory. 'Free' £6 box of chocs & more last-min Mother's Day deals. Eg, £2 flowers, £5ish prosecco. Mother's Day round-up Confessions of a MoneySaving...Idiot - claiming for a train delay. Not a natural MoneySaver? You'll be surprised to hear that while we've many MoneySaving geeks on our team, not everyone is. Our features writer Kelvin is great at his job, but calls himself an idiot when it comes to his own cash. Yet after a double train delay he donned his MoneySaving cape & embarked on an epic battle to get a refund - read a MoneySavingIdiot's train delay reclaim tips. |
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Ends Mon. Biggest FREE cash bank switch - £150 (& linked 5% savings) Banks pay to gain your custom, but the biggest upfront switching incentive is about to disappear Yet another top free-cash switching deal is being pulled. HSBC pays new customers £150 - but only if you open an account by 11.59pm Monday. It's brought the offer back before, but we don't know if it will again. Firms switch these off and on, though if you want it, now gives you certainty. Switching is easy - it takes just 7 working days and the new bank moves all your payments for you. So if you're fed up with your bank or just want free cash, here's info on HSBC's offer and other top deals...
Full eligibility info, incl exactly when the bonuses come, in Best Bank Accounts. |
Can you take kids on term-time holidays without being fined? Many do it as holidays are cheaper then, yet the number of fines has almost doubled in the last year. To avoid being caught out, see our School Hols Fines guide. How to get up to 50p off most Costa, Pret, M&S, Starbucks etc drinks EVERY time. We've updated our blog with 7 new chains where this trick works. Save a latte 20,000 FREE £12 Grand Designs Live tickets. For London, 4-12 May. Grand Designs Six craft beers for £6 delivered. Norm £25. 1,250 bundles avail via HonestBrew. Pls be Drinkaware. £69 Ray-Bans, £25 Nike/Oasis/Ghost specs (norm £100+). MSE Blagged. Incl free del. SpeckyFourEyes First Utility customer? Not any more - it's now Shell Energy & HURRAH, 100% renewable elec. If you're one of 700,000 customers of the mid-sized energy firm, it's all change. Full info in First Utility renamed. |
AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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Vodafone price hike, cheap iPhone XR and 100GB cheap Sim ending Millions overpay for their mobiles, and with the last of the big networks announcing price hikes last week, that's about to get worse. Yet if you're out of contract, check now if you can cut the cost - either with a new handset or just by switching your Sim (don't worry, with both you can keep the same number). Many can save £100s a year. Full info in our 30 Cheap Mobile Tips (plus you can analyse your usage with a free tool). Here's this week's news...
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B&Q rare £5 off £50 spend via code. Only online, but these don't come around often. Ends Sun. B&Q £5 off STUDENT LOANS RECLAIM - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: |
THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you FEEL Brexit will affect your personal finances over the next few years? The UK's exit from the EU has now been delayed until at least Fri 12 Apr. We wanted to test your gut reaction about Brexit and its effect on your pocket, rather than the specifics. How do you FEEL Brexit will affect your finances over the next few years? Most think the £30 contactless spending limit should be relaxed. Last week, we asked if the current limit should be increased, and 10,500 of you told us your views. Around a third said they wanted it to stay the same, and just 3% said it should be lower. A majority said it should be relaxed, with 30% wanting to increase it to £50, 10% backing a higher limit and 17% wanting to set their own personal limit. See the full contactless poll results. |
MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I start spending more to go plastic-free? I want to reduce my plastic use, and have made some easy changes such as switching to reusable bags. But sometimes it costs more to use less plastic, eg, buying bars of shampoo and conditioner instead of bottles. Should I fork out more for the planet's sake? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I spend more to go plastic-free? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE QUICKIES - Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: What small Debt-Free Wannabe things will you do? |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 27 MAR ONWARDS) Thu 28 Mar - Good Morning Britain, ITV, Deals of the Week, 7.40am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC) Fri 29 Mar - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am |
QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: My son is now the main driver of my wife's car. Can he be given the no-claims discount from the current insurer? Andrew, by email. MSE Tony's A: Unfortunately, no he can't. It's the policyholder who earns a no-claims discount (NCD) for each claim-free year. Assuming that's your wife, she'll be entitled to the NCD, not your son. Some insurers allow an NCD to be transferred to spouses, but not to children. If your son gets his own new policy now he's the main driver, he won't benefit from your wife's no-claims discount, but he will be able to start earning his own. However, if your wife keeps her policy but puts your son as the main driver, he will benefit from any NCD your wife's already earned (though the premium will likely go up). If she chooses this option, it's vital she contacts her insurer immediately to inform it your son's now the main driver. Not telling the insurer is known as 'fronting' and is fraud. For more help, see our Young Drivers' Car Insurance and Cheap Car Insurance guides. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
SEVEN-YEAR STAMP STASH RETURNS RIGHT ROYAL SAVING That's all for this week, but before we go... the price of stamps went up again on Monday, but one MoneySaver's had the hikes licked for the past SEVEN years, having bought a whopping £2,500 worth of stamps in 2012. Read all about Glenn's stamp stockpile - and see his back-of-the-envelope estimates of how much he's saved - in our 'I beat the stamp price hike' news story. |
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