This week | MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING: For more tips, alerts & awful puns, follow Martin on Twitter Urgent. Cash ISAs year ends in TWO weeks
The 10 things EVERYONE with savings needs to know - use it or lose it The ISA year ends on 5 April. Sadly the hoped-for ISA season, when big providers usually push out hot rates, has only weakly materialised (more may come, but don't hold your breath). Yet if you've any savings, your cash is still n-ISA in an ISA, and opening one can take time, so go for it.
Though never forget if you owe money, little's as lucrative as repaying debts with savings, and for some, overpaying a mortgage (links give full info). | 1. | It's not fancy-schmansy, it's just a tax-free savings account. Cash ISAs aren't complex. Everyone over 16 can save £5,640 PER tax year in them, and once in, the taxman can't chomp on the interest. Crucially, YOU DON'T NEED TO LOCK CASH AWAY. Easy access ISAs let you withdraw whenever. | | | | | 2. | BEST BUY: 2.5% AER and you can get cash when you need. If you want to withdraw anytime, you need an easy access deal. All are variable, so rates can change. Full list in Top Cash ISAs, here are the headlines.
2.5% bonus account (post only): Cheshire BS pays 2.5% (min £1k), yet 2% of this is an intro bonus till July 2014. While the rate will then likely plummet to 0.5%, so you'll need to ditch & transfer, until then it effectively means the rate will be a min 2% - valuable with rates plummeting.
2.5% account (avail ONLINE): Santander is 2.5% (min £2,500). While there's no bonus, the bank can change rates when it wants and it’s likely to drop after a year so monitor it and ditch & transfer if it does.
2.8% if you give 2mths notice: Coventry BS pays 2.8% but you must give 60 days' notice or pay 60 days' interest to withdraw (doesn't accept transfers). | | | | | 3. |  Once in, it stays tax-free, YEAR AFTER YEAR. Even with today's dismally low rates, getting cash in each year's crucial. Once in, it's permanently protected from tax, so you can gradually protect more and more from the taxman. Those fortunate enough to have filled their cash ISA every year since they started in 1999 could have £70,000 saved tax-free now. | | | | | 4. | BEST BUY: Minimum 2.8% AER for two years. Most people dunk money in their cash ISA then don't touch it. If that's you, Santander's Major ISA pays a fixed 2.8% for 2 years (3% for Santander 123 customers) but you can't access your cash during that time.
It promises to pay a one-off tax free bonus of 0.10% if Rory McIlroy wins a golf major in the next two years - a bizarre promo gimmick, but as it's a top rate anyway, who cares? Full pros, cons & best buys in Top Fixed Cash ISAs. | | | | | 5. | At 2.5% tax-free, it can equal 5% savings. In normal savings, interest is taxed so a basic taxpayer loses 20%, higher 40%, top 50%. In cash ISAs, you keep it all. To match the top 2.5% deal, a basic taxpayer needs normal savings at 3.12%, higher rate 4.17% and top rate 5%. That ain't happening. | | | | | 6. | BEST BUY: Get up to 3% AER if you've old ISAs. You've a right to boost old ISA rates by transferring them (NEVER withdraw cash, ask the new provider to transfer it for you). All accounts above, unless stated, allow this, but in some circs they can be beaten. Full help in Top Cash ISA Transfers.
First Direct 3% (min £40,000): New or existing bank account customers of top pick First Direct* can get 3% AER on its Cash ISA with £40,000+.
HSBC customers 2.75% (min £15,000): HSBC current acc custs with over £15,000 in total can get 2.75% AER easy access in its Cash e-ISA. | | | | | | | 7. | USE IT by 5 April or you LOSE IT. Once midnight bongs on 6 April, the current tax year's allowance vanishes like Cinderella. So if you have cash, do it now. Admittedly, the next day you get a new, bigger £5,760 allowance, so you may ask "what's the rush?" Well, even if that's more than enough, play safe, put it in THIS YEAR in case you get an unexpected windfall next. | | | | | 8. | Consolidate old and new cash ISAs to ease hassles. Be under no illusion, to keep ISA rates high, you'll need to transfer every couple of years. Combining old and new into the current top payer makes that easier to do each time, as they can then be moved in one lump. | | | | | | | 9. | BEST BUY: Filled your ISA? Get up to 3% on savings. The top savings account, bizarrely, is Santander's 123 current account*, which pays 3% AER as long as you've £3,000-£20,000, plus up to 3% cashback on household bills. There's a fee of £2/mth, but this is usually dwarfed by the cashback. See Santander 123 Analysis.
For standard savings, you can get 2% AER easy-access with Coventry BS, though you're only allowed 4 withdrawals a year. Otherwise Skipton BS is 1.85% AER (min £1,000). Both have year-long bonuses, so diarise to ditch & switch then. Of course, here your interest is taxed. More in Top Savings. | | | | | | | 10. | There are stocks and shares ISAs too. If you want to invest rather than save, you can do that in an ISA too, though the tax benefits are more limited. We don't cover investing, but the basics are in our ISA Guide. | | | | PS. £22,000 to Comic Relief. We PLEDGEd £1 FOR EVERY new member of our free Cheap Energy Club who signed up last week. 21,956 did. |  | | |
Blagged for MoneySavers |
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 Get permanently cheap energy Our new 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 |
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| The Ones Not To Miss | Wed 20 Mar 2013 |
| PS. The Martin Lewis Money Show's on Thurs, ITV, 8.30pm. This week: Council tax reclaims, petrol fuel duel & more. New. Family travel, mobile & breakdown insurance £10/mth
While it's marketed as a current account, think of Nationwide's new deal as cheap insurance & you may save £400 Fee-charging accounts are often oversold, underused and a waste of cash. Yet there's a new best, which, thought of as cheap high-quality insurance, if needed, is a big MoneySaver. Our Packaged Account Analyser has full info, but in short...  £600 of insurance £10/mth. Nationwide FlexPlus* includes family w'wide travel insurance up to age 74 (declare past conditions), family smartphone insurance, Europe breakdown cover & extended warranties. Buying ALL individually could cost £600/yr, so £120/yr's a corker. It pays 3% interest (on first £2,500), though avoid its overdraft.
If you don't need breakdown. Co-op Privilege is £9.50/mth for world family travel cover (max age 79) and 4 family smartphones. Both accounts require a credit check.
- Can you reclaim £100s on mis-sold packaged accounts? Millions unnecessarily pay a bank fee. Worse, some were given worthless insurance, eg, travel cover when over the age limit. See our Reclaim Mis-sold Package Acc Fees guide. As one forumite said: "Used your guide, 4 weeks later and the bank's credited my account with £863."
- Free £100 or 5% interest on fee-FREE accounts. No.1 for service by far, First Direct gives switchers £100 (min income £13,600), Nationwide a year's 5% interest (up to £2,500), Santander 123 3% (up to £20,000) and cashback.
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| M&S web outlet 70% off RRP + £10 off £50 code. More cuts on clearance items. Outlet Discount Finder
 50% off Sky TV codes. MSE Blagged. Newbies 50% off Sky TV & broadband + £25 M&S. 50% off Virgin TV. Newbies 50% off Virgin packages, PLUS £75 off & free installation. TalkTalk TV, b'band, calls & line £21/mth. MSE Blagged. Dirt cheap TalkTalk TV.
Don't let Cyprus panic you. Savings are safer in banks than under mattresses. To explain why, listen to Martin (with Radio 2's Jeremy Vine). Or to find out how protected you are, read our full Safe Savings guide. |
Childcare costs help - are you missing £1,000s?
The Government's announced radical changes to start in 2015 - but don't miss out on help available NOW The Govt's just announced plans for up to £1,200 per child tax breaks on childcare costs for families where all parents work, see our New Childcare Plans - Winners & Losers. Yet that's from 2015, so don't miss out on help now. This isn't just for babies. If you pay for school clubs for hairy, 16st rugby-playing 15-year-olds (and that's just the girls), it counts too.  Get poss £3,000 childcare tax credits. Check IF you're eligible for Childcare Tax Credits (the average annual payout's c.£3,000) if in your home: a) All parents work 16+/week, either single or couple. b) You pay for any Ofsted-registered 'childcare', eg, nursery, childminder or school clubs. c) Your household income's under £42,000.- Childcare vouchers. Here you pay for childcare from PRE-tax earnings, so you trade £1,000 of salary for £1,000 of vouchers. After basic tax that's worth just £700 from your pay packet, so you're £300 UP. Sadly, it's only available if your employer chooses to offer it. Full help: Childcare Vouchers.
- Free early learning classes for 3/4-yr-olds and school clubs. For at least 38wks a year you're entitled to 15hrs/wk childcare. Families with a low income may also get free classes for two-year-olds, see Early Learning Help. Plus some schools, community centres and youth groups offer clubs after school or in summer holidays. Some are free, but if you need to pay, vouchers or tax credits are usually valid. See School Clubs info.
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| £10 Breo watch £1. Also £1 Aussie/Toni&Guy shampoo, L'Oreal moisturiser and Horrible Histories. Pound Shop Deals FREE £10 train voucher and FREE London-Birmingham trains...
Free £10 train voucher (in £2 paper) | FREE Ldn-B'ham rtn via app, 300 per day | London Midland up to 50% off
National Express £5 Easter coaches | See all Cheap Train & Coach Deals Until Mon. Cheapest EVER personal loan 5%. Derbyshire BS's* offering 5% representative APR (credit score-dependent) on £7,500-£15k loans until 25 Mar. Don't borrow unless budgeted for & affordable. Full help: Cheap Loans 'I saw the DeLorean & the world's fastest car for free.' Martin filmed in Coventry Transport Museum last week and loved it. For this and other inspiration near you, see our 180 Free Museums List & Map.
Rumour 50% Next sale this wknd | Confirmed Debenhams sale starts Thurs. Next is a rumour, but looks likely. Debenhams up to 50% is definite, plus Amex cardholders get £25 back on £50 spends. Info in Sales Updates. Free £80 M&S vouchers with home insurance. MSE Blagged. Use the code MAR4 with Legal & General* to get £80 of M&S vouchers with its buildings & contents policy. Important: We're NOT saying it's always cheapest, compare best from Confused.com* & MoneySup* (and add Aviva* & Direct Line*). Better still, read full Cheap Home Ins guide. Forum Hottie. 8 Cadbury Creme Eggs for £1. In-store only. Usually 60p each. See Home Bargains Want to watch the Budget with Martin? Wed 12.30, live comment via Martin's Twitter & MSE News reports. |
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Urgent. Travelex two-hour FLASH sale
Boost airport euro, dollar & other rates | Not going for a few weeks? Ensure PERMANENTLY cheap exchange The pound's in the doldrums. So if you're going away, it's never been more important to get the best rates... | Specialist 'load-free' worldwide cards (with no annual fee) | | Card | Load | ATM fee | ATM interest per £100 (1) | Rep APR
Fully repay to avoid | What's my chance
of getting it? (2) | | Top pick: Halifax Clarity* | 0% | FREE | £1 | 12.9% | Eligibility check | | Select* (Nationwide custs only) | 0% | 2.5% (min £3) | £2.30 | 12.9% | Not available | | Saga* (over-50s) | 0% | 2% (min £2) | None | 11.9% | Eligibility check | | Post Office* | 0% | 2.5% (min £3) | £2 | 16.9% | Eligibility check | | Aqua - poorer credit scorers | 0% | 3% (min £3) | £3.30 | 34.9% | Not available | | (1) These apply on ATM withdrawals, even if you repay the card in full. (2) MSE tool telling you your likelihood of getting a card. Unlike applying, this doesn't hit your credit score so you can use to check. | back to top ↑ |
| Free personalised £2 photo postcard code. MSE Blagged. 2,000 avail. Or 'free' £4 poster (£2 p&p). Photo Deals Tesco 3mth delivery pass £18 (RRP £36), 6mth £30 (£60) codes. Gets half-price delivery. See Tesco Deals Hi-Tec shoes 70% off code. MSE Blagged. £20 golf trainers (were £70) + 58%-66% off other styles. Hi-Tec Deals £30 pair of comedy tix for £7. MSE Blagged. Code for venues in Ldn, B'ham, Reading & Leeds. Highlight Deals |
Hidden 'no repairs' council MOT centres
It's the busiest month for MOTs - insider tips to save £100s with special centres and DIY pre-checks A whopping 40% fail first time. Our full Cheap MOTs guide should help, here are a few key points to get you geared up...  Don't fall for obvious fails, walk around your car first. One in five fail MOTs due to lights not working, many more due to windscreen wiper or tyre problems. Use our DIY MOT-Saving Checklist to walk around your car and fix before the test if you can.- Choose the right test centre. If your motor's mint and fails are unlikely, focus on the cheapest test possible. If a fail's likely, focus on who'll repair for less. Or...
- 'Garage said £400 repairs, council MOT centre no fails.' Over-zealous fault-spotting can gain garages lucrative repair business. If happy with your test centre, great - if not, huge anecdotal feedback says little-known council centres which generally don't do repairs can reduce fails, without compromising safety. One forumite says: "Local garage said fail & £400 to fix. Council MOT centre passed, no problem. Thanks." Find your nearest: Council MOTs Map
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| 2for1 Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, SeaLife centres. Just buy a 50p newspaper - valid till Dec. Merlin Deals Running the London Marathon? Make donations go the extra mile. See Top Charity-Giving Sites. |
Restaurant vouchers | Discount vouchers & sales | Top deals |
| The Moneysaving community |
 THE GREAT HUNT... REVEALED:
Easy MoneySaving DIY tips
We received some great tips, including buying from trade centres and starting when shops are open, in case anything goes wrong. We loved the nickname one forumite gave her dad - "bodge it on a budget" - while sharing his tips. Behind-the-scenes tweets from Martin & MSE. We've a stand at the Ideal Home Show in London (till 1 April). Follow @MoneySavingExp to see what we're up to (plus our usual MoneySaving tips). CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK:
Do you need an ATM nearby?
Link, the cash machine network, is asking consumers to suggest new sites. Is your nearest too far away? Tell Link online or call 0845 602 3824. Suggest a campaign: This is for MSE to support work by other charities, groups and campaigners. Send your campaign of the week suggestion. BOOK GIVEAWAY:
Berlin travel guide. 25 blagged for MoneySavers. Want one? MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
Holiday nightmare - should we forgo £6,000 or pay £1,000 more?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... We recently paid £12,000 for a "holiday of a lifetime", which includes a Rocky Mountains train ride. AFTER paying, the company told us we'd need to cross picket lines. As trade unionists, we refuse to do this. We want to cancel but the firm says we'll lose half our cash. The alternative's paying £945 to rearrange our trip. Should we cancel and lose £6,000, or pay the extra and travel with a company that has deceived us? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we forgo £6k or pay £1k more? | Suggest an MMD | View past MMDs THE GREAT HUNT:
Which gadgets were your biggest waste of cash?
Following the theme of our poll below, which gadget buys are your biggest never-used regrets? From 'egg crackers' to broken tablets of biblical proportions, we want to tap MoneySavers' collective wisdom - share your stories and experiences. Share yours/read others': Which gadgets are your biggest waste of cash? Past topics: View all CHEAP FLIGHT SALES ALERT:
Airline: Monarch Offer: £25 off code Ends: Ongoing
Our pick this week is Monarch's £25 off return flights code. It's valid on all return flights, but doesn't apply to infants. Enter the promo code BIG25 at the checkout. To find flights quickly, use the FlightChecker on a return 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 back to top ↑ |
Quick forum tips | Freebies |
Martin's blogs | Martin's appearances 21 March
Daybreak, ITV, 7.35-7.45am.
Deals of the Week. | 21 March
Ideal Home Show, Earl's Court, 2pm.
Martin giving a talk. | 21 March
The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8.30-9.00pm.
Council tax, petrol cost cutting, annuities. | 25 March
This Morning, ITV, 11am-12pm.
Green Deal. | |
MSE team corner - Team appearances:
- No team appearances this week
| Board of the week The UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments Board Share advice and tips on UK activities. Discussions include Romantic area of Isle of Wight, London museum with cafe close to accessible tube station and Canal boat holidays - extra costs? | Cheap travel money | UK's Best Currency Rates | | £100 will buy you: | | Best | Worst |  | € | 116.01 | 105.83 |  | $ | 150.06 | 137.36 |  | TL | 266.00 | 243.93 | | Rates correct at 4pm Tue | Find all top currency rates
Compare travel cash | |
This week's poll: Which gadgets do you own? Consumer tech's becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. We'd like to see what's changed since we last did this poll in 2010. Which gadgets do MoneySavers now rely on?
Please select all the ones you own. | Poll resultsWhich are the best airlines?
Virgin Atlantic beat BA in the battle of the full-service carriers on customer service, while Jet2.com beat Easyjet as top budget airline. Ryanair flew away with the wooden spoon.
- 68% said Virgin Atlantic was great.
- 57% said British Airways was great.
- 42% said Jet2.com was great.
- 60% said Ryanair was poor.
6,983 people voted. See the full results. |
Question of the week Q: Can I pay council tax by direct debit over 12 months if my council says I can't, but on the Government website it says I can? Anonymous, by email. MSE Helen K's A: You can in England, but only from this April. Households can spread council tax payments over the full tax year, rather than over 10 months. We understand some councils don't like this initiative as it may impact their cash flow, meaning they might not tell you about it.
But you still have a right to get payments spread over 12 months, so ask your council ASAP. They are required to reissue new bills for those switching to payments over 12 months by 15 April, so it's likely your deadline to let the council know is before then. Each council has its own deadline, so check. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
 Archna's free game of the week: Rainbogeddon |
Scroll through pictures of pretty ......s (Mrs Slocombe)
That's it for this week, but before we go take a look at this online cat-alogue. Add a pic and details of your feline, or just browse through 11,000 furry friends from all over the world (we like Miracles - a "sensual and elegant" tabby from Chile). See the Cat Map. 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. MSE, Money Saving Expert, MoneySavingExpert and Moneysavingexpert.com are registered trade marks belonging to MoneySavingExpert.com Limited. More about MoneySaving Expert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with over 6 million people getting this email and nearly 10m using the site. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: how to save cash and fight for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 30 full time staff about half of whom are editorial researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE Who is Martin Lewis? Martin set up and runs MSE, he's an ultra-focused money saving journalist and consumer campaigner. He has regular slots on Daybreak, Lorraine, Radio 2 Vine, BBC1 Watchdog, Radio 5 Consumer panel and presents ITV Tonight. He is a columnist for amongst others the Sunday Post as well as an author. More info: See Martin Lewis' biog What do the links with a * mean? Any links with a * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to it. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See how this site is financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:
Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email firstdirect.com, moneysupermarket.com, nationwide.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, natwest.com, confused.com, directline.com, aviva.co.uk, admiral.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk, legalandgeneral.com, halifax.co.uk, saga.co.uk, postoffice.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, uswitch.com, firstdirect.com, postoffice.co.uk, bt.com.
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