Don't be an April fool: Urgent 5% cash ISAs, beat price hikes (water, broadband, energy, Stamp Duty), tax reclaims worth £1,000s

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin: Urgent do-NOWs before Apr: - Savers - use or lose: Top cash ISAs | LISAs - Beat price hikes: Water | Council Tax | Energy | Stamps - Urgent tax reclaims: Marriage Tax | Overpay tax? | Uniform - Last chance State Pension boost: NI buy-back can add £10,000s Beat broadband price rises, eg, 75Mb £21/mth 10GB Sim £2/mth + hot handset deals New. Reward credit card gets free '£165' Martin: 'Secure your mobile banking' New. FREE '£40' if you invest £1  Coupons: £2.50 off teabags & more Longest definite 32mths' 0% debt shift Don't put bananas in the fridge! Max chances of a free Nationwide £100 Martin: 'Do you have Power of Attorney?' Side hustle tax-reporting rule change Can you get FREE 3mths' Disney+? Urgent Pod. Boost State Pension by £10k+? Must listen if 40 to 73 8pm tonight (Tue): The Martin Lewis Money Show Live Mother's Day: 50% off cards, flowers etc FREE 3-day gym passes Hot Diamonds 40% off code Martin: 'My £10m charity pledge update' Follow MSE on WhatsApp This week's best buys: 5.25% savings, free £175 bank switch, 5.8% loan Money Moral Dilemma: Should I stop paying for my irresponsible friend? Free tickets: Grand Designs Live & more BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Car Insurance Compare+ Best bank accounts Top savings accounts Credit cards for bad credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage comparison Compare travel money Cheap Energy Club Best Sim-only deals

Don't be an April fool 17 urgent do-NOWs before April's price hikes & tax deadlines hit, incl... Savers - use or lose: Top cash ISAs | LISAs for 1st time buyers Beat price hikes, incl: Water | Council Tax | Energy | Stamps Urgent tax reclaims: Marriage Tax | Overpaid tax? | Work uniform? Last chance State Pension boost: NI buy-back can add £10,000s April doesn't just shower, it pees down on the nation. A range of price hikes are about to hit, so today I want to show you how to steal a March on them... act now and you may be able to beat or at least mitigate the rises.  Plus, as the tax year ends on 5 April, there are a host of urgent deadlines, whether it's using your ISA, claiming back overpaid PPI tax, or boosting your State Pension. Of course, there are positives too - eg, the uprating of benefits and pension payments - but I'm focused on the need-do-nows, I'll leave the rest till it happens... Let me explain this & answer your questions tonight... The Martin Lewis Money Show Live ITV1 8pm (Tue) Beware April - I aim to run you through all you need to know & do to protect yourself, with price hikes and tax-year end coming. Plus answer questions to settle confusions. Ask Qs via martinlewis@itv.com or #MartinLewis on X. PS: Watch it back after via ITVX 'Martin Lewis'. ISAs - use 'em or lose 'em... Saver or first-time buyer? The tax year ends 5 April Prepare to pop the champagne corks and light the fireworks, 6 April is New Year (for tax at least) when all ISA and tax allowances reset. Yet that also means you've not long left to use this year's allowance, and it's best to do that, just in case you'll be able to fill next year's too...  1. CASH ISAs: Have you used your 2024/25 allowance? A cash ISA is just a savings account where the interest is never taxed. Adults can put £20,000 into ISAs each tax year - either split across all the different types, or all in one type, eg, a cash ISA. Yet if you don't use this year's allowance, you lose it, on 5 April.  When you put money in an ISA, it stays tax-free there year after year. So, if you're lucky enough to have enough, you can fill up this year's now, add another £20,000 on 6 April, and a year later the same again etc - protecting an ever-increasing pile from tax. No wonder some who've maxed it out every year now have £100,000s in 'em. Understanding how ISAs work is a piece of cake... (I've been doing this analogy since 2001, and it's not stale yet) Picture a cake, let's say a chocolate one for cash savings (though it could equally be a strawberry one for shares). Normally it's just sitting there, so the tax collector can come and take a bite. But think of an ISA wrapper like a protective piece of clingfilm you can wrap around some of the cake. Once your cash is inside, nothing changes - the cash in savings is still cash in savings (so a cash ISA is just a savings account), the only difference is... now the tax collector can't eat any. See our full ISA guide for a detailed Q&A. The fact that money put in an ISA is never taxed isn't the end of it. The interest earnt in it DOESN'T count towards your Personal Saving Allowance either (the amount of interest earnable each year on any form of savings), so in effect an ISA is an extra allowance.  Plus, as currently top easy-access cash ISA rates can beat normal savings, even if you don't need tax-protection, they're worth considering. And don't think you're locked into one cash ISA provider; if the rate drops on variable cash ISAs, simply transfer it to a new better payer. Here are the best buys, though beware the top rates changed more than five times today (Tue), so things are moving rapidly. Click the guide links at the top of the table for the latest rates. Top Cash ISAs Full cash ISAs best-buys Top normal savings Full savings best-buys Easy access (variable AER) - Highest paying with short-term bonus: Trading 212 4.5% + 3mth 0.75% newbies' bonus, so 5.25%* (min £1). (Note: Moneybox, Chip & Plum all have 3mth bonuses too & have been scrapping today to be top - they may move any time. See Top cash ISAs for updated rates.) - Top straight rate: Tembo 4.8% (min £10) though it's still variable, so could still change. - Top big name: Post Office 4.4%* (min £100) includes a year's 3.15% bonus, so it'll drop after. Be ready to move. Monument 4.75% (min £25k, max 3/yr withdrawals) GB Bank 4.6% (min £1k) Post Office 4.4%* (min £1) includes a year's 3.15% bonus, so it'll drop after - be ready to move. If you do pay tax on savings, 4.75% is equivalent to just:  3.8% after 20% tax  2.85% after 40% tax 2.61% after 45% tax 1 year fixed AERs Cynergy 4.49% (min £500) Castle Trust 4.49% (min £1k) Unlike normal fixes, here you can withdraw money in emergencies (though lose interest if you do). Cynergy 4.6% (min £1k) Secure Trust 4.6% (min £1k) Vanquis 4.6% (min £1k) If you do pay tax on savings, 4.6% is equivalent to:  3.68% after 20% tax  2.76% after 40% tax 2.53% after 45% tax Got existing cash ISAs? All the above allow you to transfer existing money in. To do it, don't withdraw the cash, just open the new ISA and fill in the transfer request as part of it (this can be done even if you've already used this year's ISA allowance). It's worth remembering NOT EVERYONE PAYS TAX ON INTEREST. Exactly how it works depends on what you earn. See my how savings tax works video, but in brief... On a very low income? You can usually earn up to £12,570/yr from earnings and interest combined before paying Income Tax.  Low earnings & savings interest. The starting rate for savings means some can earn up to £18,570 of earnings and interest combined without paying tax on it (the link explains how it works). Basic 20% or higher 40% rate taxpayers. Most people who pay tax on income get a Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). This is the amount you can earn each year from any form of savings, without paying tax on it... - Basic 20% rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 interest each tax year. - Higher 40% rate taxpayers can earn £500 interest each tax year. - Top 45% rate taxpayers do not get a PSA. In practice, you'd currently need over £21,000 at the 4.75% top savings rate to generate £1,000 interest, so only basic rate taxpayers with more are taxed. For higher rate taxpayers you'd need £10,500 at that rate to generate £500 interest. Cash ISA savings don't count towards the starting savings rate or the personal allowances you get, so if you're going to pay tax, protecting it in an ISA's crucial. PS: Is the cash ISA limit about to be cut? There have been rumours the Govt may do this - the latest suggest it won't be in the Spring Statement but may be in Autumn's Budget. Until then, carry on regardless - the more you can put in cash ISAs now, the more you have protected. 2. JUNIOR ISAs (JISAs): Up to £9,000 a year saved tax-free for under-18s. JISAs let children save up to £9,000/yr tax-free, so if you need it, use your allowance by 5 April or you lose it - the money is then locked away till they're 18. Yet while children are eligible to pay tax just like adults (see above), most don't earn enough for it to be relevant.  Where it does differ is on money given to under-18s from parents/step-parents (not grandparents or others). If they earn £100+/yr interest from this, it's taxable as if it was the parents' money (to stop parents stashing cash in their child's name). So, if you pay tax on savings, and give your kids money, JISAs come into their own. The top payer is Coventry BS's 4.25% AER variable, but it can't be opened online (it's post, branch or phone). NS&I is the top payer that allows online opens, at 4% AER variable. All let you transfer in existing JISAs or Child Trust Funds (JISAs' predecessor), so just apply, then ask for the transfer in the application. More help in Top JISAs. 3. STOCKS & SHARES ISAs: Investing can beat savings. Investing is generally for money put away over the longer term (say, five years plus), in the hopes it'll substantially outperform savings - and while there's no guarantee that'll happen, it really is something many should consider. I rarely talk about it, not because I'm anti-investing, but because it's not my professional expertise, yet I'd definitely suggest you consider it. You can invest up to £20,000 in a stocks & shares ISA and then you don't pay Dividend or Capital Gains Tax. Or you can split it across different types of ISA, so you could put some into a cash ISA and some into an S&S ISA. One S&S ISA currently gives a FREE '£40'. 4. LIFETIME ISAs (LISAs): Saving for your first home? Get up to £1,000/yr on top. A LISA is a powerful tool for first-time buyers' savings (even if you're buying with someone who's owned before). You can save up to £4,000 each tax year and the state adds 25%, so a max £1,000 free cash every tax year. If you've not filled this year's up yet, and have the cash, do it before 5 April. Do read our full Top Lifetime ISAs guide for a detailed step-by-step. Though I've four basic caveats... - You have to be aged 18 to 39 to open one. - You're only eligible for the 25% bonus once it's been open a year.  - It only works on residential mortgages (not buy-to-let) on a property worth under £450,000. Looking for something costlier? It's not for you.  - Withdraw for any reason other than to buy a qualifying home (ie, one under £450,000), or once aged 60, and you pay an effective fine of 6.25% of your money to access it. PS: I recently gave evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Committee about the LISA system holes that need fixing. Yet that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It's still good for most. Just ensure you understand whether it's right for you first. Quick! Before you lose chance to reclaim tax If you pay tax / are married / had PPI back / wear uniform  With many tax allowances you can claim back four tax years before the current one, so when the tax year closes on 5 April... ... you lose the chance to back-claim the 2020/21 tax year. Specifically, anything that happened 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021, so to claim anything from that, you must do it NOW. This includes... 5. Married or in a civil partnership? Are you one of 2m couples missing out on a £1,260 tax break? This is all about the Marriage Tax Allowance - here are my four checks to see whether you're eligible, then read on for why it's urgent... a) You must be married or in a civil partnership. Just living together, even if you've kids, doesn't count. b) Both of you must've been born AFTER 5 April 1935. If you're older, there's the Married Couple's Allowance instead. c) One must be a non-Income-Tax-payer. Eg, usually earning under £12,570/yr. (People always ask me, "Does it count if... I volunteer? Or work part-time?" etc. Yet this is simple - if you don't earn enough to pay Income Tax, you're a non-Income-Tax-payer, regardless). d) The other must be a basic 20% rate Income-Tax-payer. Eg, usually earning £12,570 to £50,270/yr (£43,662/yr in Scotland). Higher 40% rate taxpayers can't do this. If so, the non-taxpayer can apply to move 10% of their £12,570 Personal Allowance (it must be all 10%) to their taxpaying spouse. So the taxpayer has an extra £1,260/yr income free of 20% tax, saving £252/yr. For an easy explanation, watch my Marriage Tax video briefing (it was recorded when applications were paused; they're open now). Once you're signed up, it's automatically paid year after year. If you've been eligible since 2020/21, you can backdate it for a total gain of up to £1,260, but go quick, as you must apply for backdating before 5 April or you'll miss the 2020/21 tax year's £250. Full pros, cons & Q&A in our Marriage Tax guide. As Jeannie emailed me recently: "I saw your programme on claiming for Marriage Tax Allowance, I thought I'd try it, so posted the form. This morning we received a cheque for £1,046. Thank you Martin & team, this will help us a great deal as we're pensioners." 6. Do you wear a recognisable uniform to work? Even if it's just a branded T-shirt, if you wash or repair it yourself, you can likely claim a small tax rebate. The minimum allowance is £60/yr (so worth £12/yr for a basic 20% taxpayer, £24 for a higher 40% payer). Go quick to backdate to the 2020/21 tax year via uniform tax rebate free help. 7. Is/was your tax code wrong? Millions are - check now. A tax code is a series of letters & numbers, which tells your employer/pension provider what tax to deduct (eg, 1257L means you can earn £12,570 before paying tax - just add a 0 to the number). Yet crucially, it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, not HM Revenue & Customs', nor your employer's, to check whether it's wrong, and if it is, it can mean you're overpaying and are due cash back. And if you did in the 2020/21 tax year, you've only got till 5 April to claim back the money. Full help via our Free Tax Code Calc. As Julieta emailed a while back, within a long list of how she'd saved using MSE: "Dear Martin. THANK YOU... I have received over £1,700 back, after discovering I was on the wrong tax code thanks to your calculator. Thank you, thank you, thank you, gracias." De nada. PS: You may also have underpaid, but funnily enough, then, HM Revenue & Customs may be able to go back longer. It's normally 4yrs, but can be 6yrs for careless mistakes, 12yrs for offshore matters, 20yrs if you acted deliberately. 8. Check now if you got a PPI payout after 5 April 2020. You may still be able to claim the tax back. There were still many payouts in the 2020/21 tax year, the year you're about to lose the ability to claim tax back for. And most people unnecessarily had tax taken off the 'statutory interest' that was included, and can claim this back. See my reclaim PPI tax blog for a step-by-step. As Michelle emailed last year: "I wanted to thank Martin & the team and the TV programme for urging people to apply for a tax refund on any PPI payouts. In March 2024 I got a £488 tax refund via cheque - YAY (THANK YOU)." 9. Aged 40 to 73? Check whether you can boost your State Pension by £10,000s DO IT NOW, IT'S EXTREMELY URGENT This is a much bigger deadline than the others. It's about checking whether you're missing old National Insurance (NI) years that would boost your State Pension. Currently, you can back-fill them to 2006, but from 6 April you can only go back to 2019, so the opportunity for 13 years' worth disappears. It'll be incredibly lucrative for some. I've covered it repeatedly, so this is a quick reminder of a choice of ways to find out: - READ step-by-step help - LISTEN to my new full BBC podcast on it, including Q&A - WATCH my full ITV special on it from 4 March As Tracy emailed last week: "Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I had 11 years of contributions already and I have now paid an additional 18 years of missing class 2 NI contributions, which cost me £2,968. This has increased my pension from £70/week to £183/week. I reckon this has given me an additional £5,916/yr. If I live 20 years, that's an incredible £118,000 extra! Wow, unbelievable." Don't be a fool - beat April's price hikes  Energy, Water, Council Tax, Broadband, Mobiles etc If only April Fool's Day was the month's most frustrating tradition - sadly each year there are a raft of public service & utility price hikes too. 10. Energy Price Cap to RISE by an average 6.4%. 1 April. The Energy Price Cap, which two-thirds of homes in England, Scotland & Wales are on, moves every 3mths - and it will rise 6.4% on 1 April. As the current cheapest fixes are 7% below today's Price Cap, they're 13% cheaper than the average cost of April's Price Cap, so use our cheapest fixes comparison to see what's out there for you. However, it's worth noting, things are looking a bit better in July and beyond - predictions change weekly but currently they indicate prices then will drop back to roughly what the current Price Cap is. After that, it's harder to tell. So if that makes you nervous, at the very least, there's a no-risk option, the EDF no-exit-fee fix*, at 0.9% below the current Cap (6.9% below April's). So if prices do fall, you can leave penalty-free, whenever. 11. Stamp prices rise up to 21%. 7 April. 1st class stamp prices for standard letters are set to rise to £1.70 (from £1.65), while for large letters they're rising to £3.15 (from £2.60). But buy now and they're valid after, and they're unlikely to drop in price, so stock up on all you'll need in future now - see beat stamp price rises. 12. Stamp Duty in England & N. Ireland to cost more as it's paid on homes over £125,000. 1 April. In the process of buying a home in England or N. Ireland? If you can, complete by the end of the month, else you may have to pay more Stamp Duty - the tax on purchasing a property. Eg, for non-first-time buyers, buying a new home... Now: You start paying Stamp Duty of 5% on the amount your property is worth over £250,000 (then 10% on the amount over £925,000, and 12% over £1,500,000). 1 April: You start paying Stamp Duty of 2% on the amount your property is worth over £125,000, rising to 5% on the amount over £250,000 (then 10% on the amount over £925,000 and 12% over £1,500,000). That means someone buying a £350,000 property currently pays £5,000 Stamp Duty... but it'll be £7,500 from 1 April. There are similar changes for first-time buyers - who'll also see a lower threshold at which they start paying. Full info in our Stamp Duty guide & calc. Rates in Wales and Scotland aren't changing in April. 13. Huge water bill rises in England & Wales, UP a typical 26%. 1 April. Sadly there are huge rises for most people, with some regions worse than others, eg, Southern Water will see average 47% rises (SES Water is down 2%). Yet, even then, individual customers may see bigger rises as the exact cost depends on how price increases are allocated to different charges, eg, metered, non-metered, water and sewerage charges. See how much your water firm is increasing prices by. In Scotland, it's up 10% but it's a different system. Yet there are ways you may be able to bring this down. For example, in England & Wales... More bedrooms in your home than people (eg, three bedrooms, two people), or the same number? If so, a water meter is likely to save you cash. As Emma tweeted last year: "Well looks like @MartinSLewis was right. Got a water meter fitted and my Thames Water bill has gone from £54/mth to £23/mth [a £372/yr saving]."  If they say you can't have a water meter, ask for an 'assessed charge'. It's often the best of both worlds. Plus, there's lots more help, including info on discounted tariffs, for those on low incomes or on benefits, or with medical conditions, in our water savings guide, and some of these work for Scotland too. 14. Council Tax bills up typically 5% to 10% (often £100+/yr). Can you slash yours? Most English councils have signalled they'll raise bills by the max 5% this year, adding a typical £110/yr for a band D property (a few have been given permission to raise it more). In Wales it can be 7%, in Scotland 10% rises will affect many. For more, see what's happening to Council Tax bills in April. Little can be done about rises, but there are two important checks you should make to see whether you can cut costs...  a) Are you one of up to 400,000 in the wrong band? If yours is too high, you could be due a backdated payout of £1,000s plus a lower bill. Try my 10-min Council Tax check 'n' challenge to see whether you can potentially get your band lowered. The guide goes through step-by-step. Do follow it - get it wrong and you risk you or your neighbours potentially paying more. b) Live alone (or with children), student, on low income, have a disability or a 'Severe Mental Impairment' - eg, serious dementia or stroke? Are you missing out on a discount? Full info in Are you due a Council Tax discount? 15. Many broadband and mobile bills rise 6% to 7.5% on 1 April. Many will see above-inflation rises even if mid-contract (this has been banned for new customers, but not existing ones). These are so big we've given them their own space below... - See our full Slash broadband costs to £19/mth. - And Cut mobile bills down to £3/mth. On Universal Credit (UC)? 16. Check NOW whether your child's eligible for free school meals. As a rough rule, in England, if your household income is under £7,400 (not counting any benefits), your child will qualify for free school meals and some holiday childcare too.  Apply NOW, as if you do it before 31 March, your child will get free school meals for the WHOLE of their current phase of education (ie, if in primary school, until they finish that; if in secondary, until that finishes) without you having to apply again. If you do it after April, the rules change and it's likely to mean more regular eligibility checks (the Govt. won't confirm exactly what this means). 17. Unbeatable 50% savings boost scheme 'Help to Save' to be available to more people from 1 April. Currently, to qualify for the unbeatable Help to Save scheme, you need a min take-home pay of £800ish a month (per couple if a joint claim). From April, you just need £1+ in your most recent month. With Help to Save you get a huge 50% bonus on your savings up to a max £1,200 over 4 years. It's very much worth a look at.

 

 

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Beat April's broadband price hikes Millions can halve costs & double speeds to beat April's often 7.5% (mid-contract) rises. Eg, get 75Mb for £21/mth 'Hold your horses. I thought they'd banned inflation-linked mid-contract broadband price hikes? Why are you saying bills are going up by 7.5%?!?' You're right... but... while for recent new contracts, they've had to tell you the pounds & pence rises before you sign up (see compare top broadband deals), most people are still on old contracts and will face percentage type rises until they sign up to a new deal. Here are the big firms' typical rises... BT, EE & Plusnet 6.4% or £3/mth (31 March) | Sky avg 6.2% (1 April) | TalkTalk 6.2% or £3/mth (1 April) | Virgin Media 7.5% or £3.50/mth (1 April) | Vodafone 6.4% or £3/mth (1 April). See detailed firm-by-firm rises list. The solution is to grab a new contract. Not only will the price often be less than half of what you pay now, you'll usually know if and when it'll rise, and by exactly how much. A whopping SEVEN MILLION households are currently out of contract and free to switch. As always, the best deals are via short-lived promo deals via comparison sites (which we collate via our broadband comparison tool). Here are some of the headlines... Cheapest broadband deals (of the 30 providers we check) All go via our revamped broadband comparison, so you can see what's available at your address New. Community Fibre 920Mb broadband only '£19.46/mth' (24mth contract) Local Available in many London boroughs & parts of Surrey and Sussex. You pay £25/mth now then there'll be a price rise in April 2026 when it'll go up to £27/mth, but you can also CLAIM (don't forget) a £155 shopping voucher (eg, Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's) within 4mths. Factor in the voucher and price rise, and it's equivalent to £19.46/mth. Service rating: 7.5 / 10 ('good') (1) New. Sky 75Mb broadband & line '£20.84/mth' (24mth contract) National Cheapest fibre deal. You pay £25/mth and can CLAIM (don't forget) a £100 prepaid Mastercard or shopping voucher within 4mths. Factor that in over the contract and it's equivalent to £20.84/mth before any price hikes. Service rating: 5 / 10 ('OK') (1). Note: Sky opts out of giving price rises in advance, but it says this deal's exempt from those it's announced for this April, and if it does later raise prices during your contract, you can leave penalty-free. Ends Thu. Virgin Media 132Mb broadband only '£21.91/mth' (18mth contract)  National Cheap 100Mb+ fibre. You pay £23.99/mth now, then there'll be a price rise in April 2026 when it'll go up to £27.49/mth, but you also get £55 bill credit automatically added to your first bill. Factor the bill credit and the price rise in, and it's equivalent to £21.91/mth over the 18mth contract. Service rating: 3.4 / 10 ('poor') (1) Ends Thu. Sky 500Mb broadband & line '£28.46/mth' (24mth contract) National Cheap 500Mb+ fibre. You pay £32/mth and can CLAIM (don't forget) an £85 prepaid Mastercard or shopping voucher within 4mths. Factor that in over the contract and it's equivalent to £28.46/mth before any price hikes. Service rating: 5 / 10 ('OK') (1). Note: Sky opts out of giving price rises in advance, but it says this deal's exempt from those it's announced for this April, and if it does later raise prices during your contract, you can leave penalty-free. On Universal Credit or similar benefits? Try a social tariff. Many providers offer special discounted social broadband tariffs, which give long-term cheaper prices of usually £13 to £20/mth for 30Mb+. Add your postcode via the link above and, within your search results, you'll see the social tariffs local to you. Our 'equivalent costs' - here we add all costs and deduct any promos, and average it over the contract. (1) Broadband service ratings tend to be poor across the board, so scores are lower than other sectors. See our full broadband service poll results. Broadband-switching need-to-knows Slow broadband? Before switching, test your speed - is it the Wi-Fi or the connection? Do a speed check - first via Wi-Fi, then by plugging your device into the router (if you can). If Wi-Fi's a lot slower, try our speed-boosters. At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. Plus all bigger providers must also indicate your estimated minimum speed pre-application. You no longer need to contact your current provider to switch. Until recently, switch broadband and with some providers you had to contact both your old and new firm (sometimes leaving you paying for both during the overlap). Now, Ofcom has rolled out a 'One Touch Switch' service, so the new firm should seamlessly sort it for you. Don't want to switch? Haggle. In our December poll, the vast majority of those who'd haggled with the big broadband firms were successful. Use the deals above as a benchmark. Read full Broadband haggling tips. Bundling your broadband, TV and phone with one provider can work out cheaper. Bundles can unlock cheaper prices, though you'll have fewer switchable options when you get to the end of your contract, and exit fees can be high if you need to cancel early. See Broadband and TV deals to compare. Switching usually only means about 2hrs' downtime. You're told the switch time, and most don't need an engineer, even if you're getting fibre to the premises, though someone may need to look at the externals of your home (you needn't be there). There are exceptions, eg, if you're moving to or from Virgin, you may need one (you're told before applying). Members of cashback sites can sometimes undercut deals. In some cases, the cashback can mean these sites undercut promos elsewhere, though sometimes the deal differs - so check carefully. More in Top cashback sites.

 

Martin: 'Phone theft's UP 40%. Five ways to secure your mobile so they can't access your banking.' Watch Martin's 2-min mobile security tips video, then if you've more time, read our full guide for details. New. FREE '£40' if you invest £1. 30,000 available. If you've never opened a Trading 212 account before, you can open its stocks & shares ISA* using code MSE40 to get £40 shares in a randomly selected popular company for free, if you deposit £1+. You can sell them immediately (likely still worth about £40) & the cash will be added to your account, which you can withdraw after 30 days. Or you can wait & see how they perform. Though you'll need to be able to use this year's £20,000 ISA allowance, so can't do it if you've maxed that out. Full info on the £40 for £1 offer in our Stocks & shares ISA guide. Coupons: free £2 energy drink, £2.50 off teabags, £1.40 off Sharwood's curry kits. See March coupons. Now the longest 0% balance transfer gives all accepted 32mths 0%. A 0% balance transfer's where you get a new card that pays off old cards for you, so you owe it instead, but interest-free for a set period. Normally the longest deals are 'up-tos', where not everyone gets the full length, but today's longest is Tesco's 32mth 0% (3.19% fee), which gives ALL accepted the full time at 0% - a winner if you've decent acceptance odds (to be clear, it's top now as a slightly longer up to 0% was pulled). Golden rules: Repay at least the monthly minimum & clear the card before the 0% ends, or it jumps to 24.9% rep APR interest. Full help in top balance transfers. Don't put bananas in the fridge! It's Food Waste Action Week, so see our updated 14 ways to stop food & drink waste. Max your chances of getting a free £100 from Nationwide. Its Fairer Share scheme, to reward 'loyal' customers, looks likely to return this year - but go quick to boost your chances. Related: Nationwide to pay £50 bonus to 12 million in April. Martin: 'Do you have Power of Attorney? Arguably it's more important than a will.' Watch Martin's Power of Attorney video briefing for how it works, and how to get one. The side hustle tax-reporting rules are changing (eg, selling goods online, dog walking). See side hustle reporting changes. Tesco Clubcard holder? FREE 3mths' Disney+ for some via 2-click check. Can you get free Disney+? Urgent Pod. Can you boost State Pension by £10,000s? A must-listen if you're aged 40 to 73. It's about missing National Insurance years - step-by-step help including contracting out, Pension Credit, free years & more, all in the new Martin Lewis Podcast. Listen via BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify or wherever you get your Martin fix.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - Hot Diamonds 40% off full-price, 50% off outlet Ends 25 March - Lebara '£2.08/mth' for 10GB Ends 25 March - Lebara '£2.54/mth' for 35GB Ends 25 March	DID YOU MISS? - Teachers can now get the same discount card as NHS staff - FREE WILLS MONTH (for those aged 55+) - Martin's 60-second holiday-booking warning - Huge car finance mis-selling news - automatic payouts likely - Ben & Jerry's and two pizzas for £5 (£14 separately)

 

 

Beat April's mobile phone price hikes Many already pay FOUR TIMES too much for their mobile - now, if you do nowt, what you pay will typically rise 6% New. Cheapest ever 10GB Sim, just £2/mth & hot handset deals Let's make this as plain as possible... - Switchers' deals have plummeted in price: Four years ago, 50GB data would've cost £12/mth. Now, it's less than £3/mth. - Existing contract costs have rocketed: Year-on-year above-inflation rises means costs are up to 40% higher than in 2021. And we're about to see further 6.4% rises next month for many on mobile contracts (see firm-by-firm price hike info). Yet many can avoid them by acting NOW. Heather emailed Martin after using our Cheap Mobile Sim Finder to tell him: "Following your show, I contacted my provider, which couldn't give me any reduction on my £12/mth. I compared new Sims, and the following day received one at £3/mth over 12mths [saving £110/yr]. Thank you." Step 1: Text 'INFO' for free to 85075. First, check if you're one of the 14 MILLION people that are out of contract and free to move to a far cheaper deal. Ofcom forces firms to tell you this via a free text (those with Three, Smarty or iD Mobile will need to reply with their date of birth to prove identity). You're looking to see something along the lines of 'a £0 early termination/cancellation charge' to find out if you're free to move. Step 2: Switch Sim to save. A Sim is just the (sometimes virtual) chip in the back of your phone that gives it its identity, so switch it to a cheaper one to save. Our Cheap Sim comparison tool has all the deals - here's a taster: New. Cheapest Sim-only deals Full info via our Cheap Sims Comparison and use our Data Calc if you're unsure how much you use Provider (network) Key info Average monthly cost over the first year Lebara (uses Vodafone's signal)  4.1 / 5 ('good') customer service MSE Blagged - 10GB/mth data - Unlimited minutes & texts - Free roaming in Europe An average of '£2.08/mth', made up of: 80p/mth for the first 9 months, then £5.90/mth. It's a rolling 1mth contract, so you can cancel at any time (even after the 9 months). Lebara (uses Vodafone's signal) 4.1 / 5 ('good') customer service MSE Blagged - 35GB/mth data - Unlimited minutes & texts - Free roaming in Europe (1) An average of '£2.54/mth', made up of: 75p/mth for the first 9 months, then £7.90/mth. It's a rolling 1mth contract, so you can cancel at any time (even after the 9 months). iD Mobile (uses Three's signal)  3.1 / 5 ('OK') customer service - 50GB/mth data - Unlimited minutes & texts - Free roaming in Europe (1) An average of '£2.59/mth', made up of: £8/mth, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £65 Amazon or Currys voucher (which we factor into the average cost over the 12mth contract). iD Mobile (uses Three's signal)  3.1 / 5 ('OK') customer service - 120GB/mth data - Unlimited minutes & texts - Free roaming in Europe (1) An average of '£4.59/mth', made up of: £10/mth, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £65 Amazon or Currys voucher (which we factor into the average cost over the 12mth contract). Smarty (uses Three's signal)  4 / 5 ('good') customer service - Unlimited data - Unlimited minutes & texts - Free roaming in Europe (2) An average of '£9.59/mth', made up of: £15/mth, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £65 Amazon voucher (which we factor into the average cost over 12mths). It's a rolling 1mth contract, so you can cancel at any time (you need to stay with it for 6mths to get the voucher). Beware caps on data usage when roaming abroad as these can be lower than your normal monthly data allowance.  (1) Up to 30GB/mth usage. (2) Up to 12GB/mth. Thinking: 'But I like my signal, I'm worried about switching'? There are only four networks in the UK: Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE - all others piggyback on their signals. So you can just use the filters in our Cheap Sims tool to find out which is the cheapest deal that stays on your existing signal (though if you rely on 5G, Wi-Fi calling or 4G calling, do check it does that). Step 3: To keep your number, text 'PAC' to 65075. Then you get a code to send to your new provider, which will transfer it over, usually in one working day. Hot handset deals, including cheapest-ever iPhone 16 & Galaxy S25 Our main focus today is on Sims, but as we're talking mobiles, it's worth mentioning a raft of cheap handset contract deals have just launched. Of course, it's far cheaper to stick with your current phone and just change Sim, but if you're looking for a new handset, the deals include the cheapest we've seen for an iPhone 16e with 128GB storage and 10GB/mth data, an iPhone 16 with 128GB storage & 100GB/mth data, a Samsung Galaxy S25 with 128GB storage & 100GB/mth data and a Google Pixel 8 with 128GB & 300GB/mth data. The links explain all. Use our Cheap Mobile Handset Finder for top deals on other mobiles.

 

What you need to do before April: savings, bill hikes, tax deadlines & more... The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE, ITV1, 8pm tonight (Tue). Martin: "This is the last show in our current run, and I'm going to try and jam-pack it with everything you need to know before I go. April is a big month - it's all go with the tax-year end and a wrath of tax hikes (that's my collective noun). Do watch, or at least set the VHS." Mother's Day deals: 50% off cards, £28 delivered flowers, free gift cheques. It's a week on Sunday (30 March) - see lots more in our full Mother's Day deals round-up. Related: Free/cheap ways to treat mum. FREE gym passes, eg, 3 days' Nuffield Health till end of March. Plus 3-day Anytime Fitness pass. Free gyms Hot Diamonds 40% off full-price code AND 50% off reduced-outlet-items code. MSE Blagged. Alongside free delivery code - and yes, you can stack all three codes together. Hot Diamonds Martin: 'What happened to my 2012 pledge to give £10m to charity?' In summary... the £10m became £20m+ & the total donated so far is £12.5m direct & £5m indirect. The top three recipients are MMHPI, Martin's Covid Poverty Fund & financial education (including free textbooks for all schools). Left to donate: £8.5m. Martin's charity fund 2025 update gives all the details. He does this annually for transparency, as it was his public pledge when he sold MSE (though he's still the boss!). MSE is on WhatsApp - follow us there too. A new way to get the latest from MSE. WhatsApp-ening?

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Tesco (check eligibility) 32mths 0%, 3.19% fee, 24.9% rep APR interest No-fee 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility) up to 14mths 0%, 24.9% rep APR Best bank accounts Free £175 + TOP service: First Direct 1st Account Free £175 + 5% interest: Nationwide FlexDirect Broadband top picks Fast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin '£21.91/mth' Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Sky '£28.46/mth' Cheap insurance Car: Use our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Home: Try our new Compare+ Home Insurance tool Cheap loans £5,000 to £7,499: People's Choice (check eligibility), 7% rep APR interest (6.5% rep APR on £7,000 to £7,499) £7,500 to £25,000: People's Choice (check eligibility), 5.8% rep APR Top savings accounts Top easy-access cash ISA: Trading 212 5.25% with 3mth bonus, min £1 Top easy-access savings: Monument 4.75%, min £25,000 Top one-year fix: Cynergy Bank 4.6%, min £1,000 Top energy deals Use our whole-of-market Cheap Energy Club Cheap Sims 10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£2.08/mth' for 10GB 31GB+ data: Lebara, '£2.54/mth' for 35GB

 

New. Triple reward credit card: how to grab it at max gain, no cost, to get... FREE £165 at Amazon (or Sainsbury's / M&S) PLUS £10/mth Deliveroo cashback PLUS 4 airport lounge passes There's no doubt this Amex card is targeted squarely at higher-spending middle Britain, with rewards at Amazon, M&S, Deliveroo & airports. Yet that doesn't make it a bad thing, as for some, do it right and it's an easy way to grab lucrative freebies. Providers want you to spend on credit cards, so much so that some pay you to do it. They hope they'll earn it back and more in interest, but to stop that, just neuter their interest-charging ability by ALWAYS setting up a Direct Debit to repay the card IN FULL each month. Then it's interest-free and you can reap the rewards. Just ensure you only use it for regular spending, never withdraw cash on it, bust your credit limit, or see it as an excuse to overspend. Free £165 shopping + Deliveroo cashback + airport lounge passes. The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card (link goes via our 'eligibility & apply' calc so you can see whether you'll be accepted) has temporarily increased the points you get for signing up, making it a powerful deal for some. This is only available for those who haven't had an Amex card within the last two years. You get... 1) Bonus points worth £165 at Amazon, M&S or Sainsbury's if you spend £3,000 within 3mths. Open the card now and you'll get 30,000 bonus points (normally it's 20,000). And they're on top of the standard one point per pound spent if you spend a total of £3,000+ over the first 3mths. (So this is for higher spenders, but many families do £1,000/mth if they put all usual spending on it.) That would mean a total of at least 33,000 points, enough to be exchanged for... - £165 in Amazon, M&S or Currys vouchers, or Sainsbury's Nectar points - Or 33,000 air miles with Avios, Virgin, Etihad and other airlines - Or 49,500+ Hilton, Marriott or Radisson hotel points 2) Two £5 Deliveroo cashbacks a month (worth up to £120/yr). Save the offer to your card (found under 'offers' in the Amex app or online banking) and use the card to pay for Deliveroo (min spend £5), and you'll automatically get £5 credit on two orders a month. 3) Four free airport lounge passes a year (worth around £50 each). These should come within six weeks of acceptance, and you can use them in many airport lounges worldwide. Warning. The card is fee-free in year one, but £195/yr after. Remember to cancel before year two if you don't want to pay the £195. Plus, if you don't repay IN FULL each month (in which case we'd say don't get it), it charges 31% APR interest on purchases. Make sure you've a Direct Debit in place to ensure that never happens. When we say pay off IN FULL, we mean IN FULL, not nearly in full. The words IN FULL are Martin's catchphrase for a reason. If you spend £1,000 in a month and clear the card entirely, there's no interest. Spend £1,000 and pay off £999.99, and you usually pay interest on the whole £1,000, not just the 1p left.

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I stop paying for my irresponsible friend when we go out? My friend and her partner are irresponsible with money, wasting it on takeaways and other treats. She often asks us to collect them when we go out as they've no fuel in their car, and readily accepts if we offer to pay for meals and drinks, which we do knowing that they're often short of money. Yet I'm sure that they earn more than us. I don't want to damage our relationship and would miss going out with them, but why should we keep paying for their irresponsible behaviour? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I stop paying for my friend to go out? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

FREE tickets for upcoming shows - Homebuilding & Renovating Show (normally £12) 15,000 available for Birmingham, 20 to 23 March, plus other locations - Sailawaze Live cruise travel show + Family Traveller Live (normally £20) 5,000 available - both events at Twickenham, 22 & 23 March - Grand Designs Live (normally £12 to £14) 15,000 available for London, 2 to 5 May - Build It Live (normally £12) 2,000 available for Bicester, 7 & 8 June, or Exeter, 13 & 14 September

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: Lawns, luggage & upcycling	DEALS HUNTER BLOG - 'Off-peak eats' - how eating out at quieter times can bag a saving at Greggs, Burger King & more

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 18 MAR ONWARDS) Tue 18 Mar - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm Thu 20 Mar - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, noon Tue 25 Mar - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.20am

 

 

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 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 MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com? Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third 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 Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography. What do the links with an * mean? Any links with an * 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 products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. 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 trading212.com, postoffice.co.uk, edfenergy.com Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MONY Group Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MONY Group Financial Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.