| Plus... £1 trains?, £3,800 loan saving, M&S Bank warning, £4.50 school uniforms  THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL
| | Petrol prices UP, car prices UP, car hire costs UP - so we've 11 motoring tips to drive down the accelerating strain on your finances Including cheap fuel finder, 2.8% car loans, slash insurance costs and beat MOT test squeeze Anyone who drives will know that costs are speeding into top gear. For example: - Petrol prices have risen to an 8yr high, up 21p/L from a year ago.
- Average used car prices have risen by £1,000 versus a year ago.
- UK car hire prices are up by 84% compared with last year. This is on top of the many warnings that car insurance prices could jump later this year. So if you NEED to run or use a vehicle our 50+ motoring MoneySaving tips can help, but here are 11 to avoid getting stuck in a financial snarl up... -
 Use a handy tool to beat rising fuel costs by finding the cheapest petrol and diesel near you in seconds. The AA and RAC tell us petrol prices are at an eight-year high and diesel prices are at a near three-year high. But you can put the brakes on these soaring costs by picking a cheaper filling station - for example, we found that in Durham on Tue prices ranged from 130.8p/L to 142.9p/L. Speedily find the cheapest forecourt near you.
- Check your car is compatible with the new greener unleaded petrol that'll be on most forecourts from next week. Little-known Government rules in England, Scotland and Wales mean forecourts need to sell greener 'E10' petrol as standard by 1 Sept. Yet 600,000 older vehicles aren't compatible and will have to switch to pricier super-grade fuel.
For those whose cars can handle the new petrol, the underlying price is the same, but while it's greener overall, you may need to fill up more often as it's less efficient. See full new greener petrol help, including how to check if your car is affected.
- Save £100s if you're buying a car by getting the best finance deal. It's always been cheaper to buy a used car rather than new, but average used car prices are up by £1,000+ since this time last year, according to many car firms. That's because a shortage of new cars has pushed buyers into the used car market.
So while your new set of wheels may cost more (though always try to haggle), at least make sure you pay the cheapest way. Using savings works out best as there's no interest to pay (and savings rates are so poor anyway). But many can't afford that. So next best option is usually (in order)...
- A 0% spending credit card. If the seller takes credit card, see if you can get a 0% card. Credit limits vary by person, so put as much as you can on card, and if you need more, try these options.
- A personal loan from 2.8%. Rates tend to be lower than those on specialised car finance packages (but you get less flexibility with a loan). See full help and options in Cheap Car Loans.
- Specialised car finance, eg, PCP. These can work well if you're planning to trade up to newer models regularly, you don't want the car for years and years, or you can't get a cheap loan. Yet they also come with pitfalls. See Cheap Personal Contract Purchase and our other car finance guides for pros and cons.
Of course, higher prices are better for sellers, so it's not a one-sided story.
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 Check NOW if you can save on your car insurance even if not at renewal - as prices are set to rise. You can often cut £100s off your car insurance costs simply by comparing prices a few weeks before your renewal is due rather than sticking with the same insurer.
Prices for newbies are at the lowest they've been for seven years, yet we expect them to rise over the next few months, as insurers prepare for a shake-up that means they'll have to offer new and existing customers the same prices from Jan 2022. So now is a sweet spot for EVERYONE to check if they can save - even if not at renewal.
Full info in Cheap Car Insurance, here are the basics:
- Not at renewal? Follow the tips below to check new policy prices. If savings are big, you can cancel your policy, and provided you've not claimed, you'll get a pro-rata refund if you paid upfront, minus a £50ish fee. However, you won't earn the year's no-claims bonus. See switching mid-year help.
- Buy 23 days ahead of the day you need the insurance to start to save £100s. Our research shows average savings of £500 compared with getting it the day before - see why.
- Combine comparison sites to find your cheapest cover. Try a few as they don't cover the same insurers, nor give the same price for the same insurer. Our current order is: 1) Confused.com* 2) MoneySupermarket* 3) Compare The Market* 4) Gocompare*. (Why? See comparison order.)
- Try insurers and hot deals comparisons miss. Check if biggie Direct Line* can beat your top quote, as it isn't listed on comparisons and can be competitive for some. Also see deals comparisons miss, such as a £60 shopping voucher.
- Also use these counter-logical tricks. Use trial and error to see if comprehensive cover beats 3rd party, check if insuring extra, responsible drivers can slash costs, and see if legitimately tweaking your job description can also cut the price.
- If you've an electric vehicle, a clever checker lets you search for free charging. See free electric charging.
- Save up to 30% on fuel... by driving less like Lewis Hamilton. For example, accelerating gently and slowing gradually (where possible) uses less, as does streamlining your car and turning off the air-conditioning when not needed. See 13 tips to help you guzzle less.
- Save up to two-thirds on rocketing car hire prices by booking early. Plus don't fall for costly insurance upgrades. It's not just cars you own that've got more expensive to run, cars you rent are also more expensive - whether to use at home or abroad.
For example, as more people are holidaying here, UK firms have hiked costs due to demand and to try to make up pandemic losses, leading to prices being 84% higher than this time last year, according to car hire excess insurer iCarhireinsurance.com.
Yet you can fight soaring costs here too. Booking early saves up to two-thirds, and buying standalone excess insurance usually costs about £2 a day, compared with up to £25 a day via hire firms. See Cheap Car Hire for more cost-cutting tips.
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 MOT due soon? Arrange a test NOW as there's a booking backlog. You could be fined £1,000 if you drive without a valid certificate. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency tells us seven million tests are due in Sept and Oct - 1.3 million more than in the same period in 2019, as some were delayed by the pandemic. The AA says test centres are already 'feeling the strain'. And we've tips to find cheaper tests and help you minimise fails in Cheap MOTs.
- Warning. Some petrol pumps now (temporarily) take £100 off your card, even if you spend less - what you can do. Garages may authorise this on your card at self-service pumps to check you can afford the fuel, yet some MoneySavers have reported waiting days for the difference between the £100 and what they spent to be returned. Full info, help (especially if it means you can't pay bills as a result) and how to avoid this in Fuel pumps alert.
- Check you've taxed your motor - if not, you risk a £1,000 fine. More than 600,000 people are driving untaxed, risking a fine or having their car impounded. See how to check if you've paid vehicle tax.
- Cut your car costs... by not using a car. The average length of a car trip is 8.4 miles. Think before you get behind the wheel - could you walk, cycle or get public transport? Check out our 12 MoneySaving tips for cyclists and, while trains can be expensive, we've ways to cut train costs, plus can you find £1-£5 train tickets?
| | DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning. | There's a new bank switch bribe in town
Free £100 to switch to Nationwide, or boost it to £125 if you're an existing customer (or via our nifty trick)
 The biggest bank cash bribe in 18 months ended last week - a free £140 from HSBC - but Nationwide was quick to fill the void. Its offer is slightly less generous but it's well-rated for service and, unusually for a switch bonus, its 16 million+ customers are eligible - in fact, most of them can actually get a bigger bribe. So it's another good option if you're fed up with your bank or just want a freebie. And as we always say, switching is easy as the new provider moves all payments for you and closes your old account - and it's all done in seven working days.
Nationwide's free £100 or £125 to switch. It's available on three of Nationwide's current accounts, but we've focused on Nationwide FlexDirect* as it has the best perks of its free accounts. You get:
- A free £100 or £125 (see below for info) - paid within 10 days of the switch.
- A 1yr 0% overdraft (39.9% EAR variable after) - the limit is based on your credit record up to a max £2,750.
- 2% AER fixed savings interest on up to £1,500 in year 1 (then 0.25% AER variable) if you pay in at least £1,000/mth.
- Decent service - Nationwide was rated 'great' by 67% of respondents in our July bank customer service poll.
To get all that, open the account (passing a not-too-harsh credit check) and switch in a current account from another provider using its official online switch service, including 2+ direct debits. The switch must complete in 30 days. How you apply and what bonus you can get is based on whether you're already a Nationwide customer... - Not got a Nationwide current account, savings account or mortgage? Bag £100 if you want to keep it simple. If so, anyone can use this FlexDirect link* to apply & switch from another provider.
- Got a Nationwide current account, savings account or mortgage? Get a boosted £125. Here's how...
- Already got a Nationwide FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus current account? If you also have a current account with another firm, switch it into your Nationwide account - select 'Switch to Nationwide' in online banking (not the app).
- Got a Nationwide mortgage, savings or different current account? Open the FlexDirect* account online and switch in a non-Nationwide current account.
- Trick for anyone to get £125, and bag a good savings account. Don't already qualify for the £125? Try this...
- Step 1: Open a Nationwide savings account with £1+. The standout is its 0.45% AER variable easy-access deal*, which is the top easy-access savings rate from a high-street firm (though you're limited to three penalty-free withdrawals a year), though it's beaten by other savings accounts.
- Step 2: In a few days you become eligible for the £125. Once you've held the savings account for at least a day (note it can take a few days to open), you can apply for the FlexDirect* account and switch in a non-Nationwide current account.
- Step 3: Keep the savings account open with £1+ till the £125 comes. Though it's a decent savings account anyway. See Best Bank Accounts for more help & deals, including how to get the bonus on Nationwide's FlexPlus account, which offers £500+ of travel, mobile & breakdown cover for £156/yr. Or, Virgin Money offers switchers a £150 experience day voucher. | Up to £230 off Shark cordless vacuums, including basic model £170 (normally £200), high-end £250 (£480). MSE Blagged. Via codes on three models. 8,000 avail. Jaws-ome deal Updated. Find PCR travel tests from £40 in our guide - which only lists real prices (unlike some). The Government's admitted its site has displayed some wrong prices as a few firms misled it about true costs. While we can't vouch for providers' service, our guide has only ever included real prices and we've triple-checked it again to ensure none listed are playing games. Plus we've added more options this week. See Cheap Covid tests. It's back - free food or cash with McDonald's Monopoly. We've tips to boost your chances. Please eat responsibly. Ending. 1.25% easy-access savings via special MSE code. It lets newbies who apply before 11.59pm on Tue 31 Aug earn 1.25% on up to £10,000 via autosaving app Chip, almost double the top normal 0.65% easy-access rate. Yet this is far from a normal account, so read our 1.25% savings explainer first. Mega-cheap train tickets - can you find 'em? Eg, £1 Manchester-Blackpool, £5 York-Newcastle. There are 1m one-way fares for £1 on some Northern routes and 200,000 one-way tickets from £5 on LNER, for travel from 6 Sep-mid Oct. Cheap train sales Warning. M&S Bank closing ALL current accounts next Tue - last chance to switch. You need to start a switch by 31 Aug. If you do nothing, the account will be closed - see full M&S Bank help. | 'I saved a massive £3,800 by switching my loan' What a result. And with near record low rates, if you've a loan, can you save £1,000s too? We hoped to inspire others with the 15 big MoneySaving successes we featured in this email two weeks ago - which included a £1,800 loan-switching saving, where you use a new, cheaper, loan to pay off an existing one. And boy did it work for Nicola, who took it to a new level. She emailed: "Thank you so much for your loans tip - just saved £3,788 by switching my loan. As a single mum this is massive." With rates as low as 2.8%, EVERYONE with loan should use our system to check if you can follow in Nicola's footsteps... - Call your lender for the settlement figure to clear your current loan. This is the amount you'd need to borrow on the new loan you'd switch to. It's the remaining debt plus any early settlement charge (max 2mths' interest).
- Find YOUR new top rate for the amount needed to clear your current loan. The best-buy table is below, but always use our Loans Eligibility Calculator first. This shows which of the cheapest loans you're most likely to be eligible for (it does a 'soft search' of your credit report, so doesn't affect your ability to get credit in future).
| The UK's cheapest personal loans (over 1-5yrs unless stated) | | £7,500 - £15,000 | M&S Bank* (1-7yrs), Cahoot* and MBNA* 2.8% rep APR. Or £7,500 - £15,000 eligibility calculator | | £5,000 - £7,499 | Sainsbury's Bank* (if you've had a Nectar card for 6mths+) 3.3% rep APR, Virgin Money* and Tesco Bank* (1-3yrs) 3.4% rep APR. Or £5,000 - £7,499 eligibility calculator | | £3,000 - £4,999 | AA* 8.2% rep APR for members (otherwise 8.3%), Post Office* 8.3% rep APR. Or £3,000 - £4,999 eligibility calculator | | Under £3,000 | A money transfer credit card 'loan' is likely cheaper. It pays cash into your bank, so you owe it instead, but at 0% interest for up to 18mths, for a 3%-ish fee. Though if you prefer the structured repayments of a loan, use our sub-£3,000 Cheap Loan Finder to find your cheapest. |
Note: Rates are 'representative APR', so only 51% of those accepted need to get 'em - others may pay more. You're usually only told after application, so check. Even our eligibility calculator mostly has to work with rep APRs, so high chances don't always mean cheap rates. Though we've been working to change that and a few lenders now give certainty.
- The BIG reveal: check if you can save. Plug the old and new loan details into our nifty loan-switching calculator. If you can save, apply. If accepted, use the new loan to pay off the old one.
- Follow the Loan Golden Rules. Full info & options in Cut existing loan costs (APR examples).
a) This is about switching loans. Don't be tempted to borrow more just because rates are so low.
b) Pay on time (ideally by direct debit) or you may be charged a late fee and have a missed payment on your credit report. Though if you can afford to, it's better to overpay so you clear the loan as quickly as possible. | Tell your friends about us They can get this email free every week | | AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS | | New. £100 to switch (or £125 for existing customers): Nationwide
£150 experience day gift card to switch: Virgin Money | | CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Should over-50s get free, automatic pension guidance? Government service Pension Wise offers over-50s free pensions guidance appointments - but most don't take advantage, leaving them vulnerable to poor financial decisions. Now a coalition of four organisations (retirement financial services provider Just Group, plus charities Age UK, Independent Age and Macmillan Cancer Support) has set up a campaign website called Good Guidance Now, calling for Pension Wise to automatically give free appointments to over-50s to encourage take-up. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is consulting on pensions guidance rules, and Good Guidance Now can help you send a template email to the DWP to express your support (if you want to). | THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you risk going on holiday without travel insurance? For years we've emphasised the importance of getting travel insurance ASAB - As Soon As you've Booked - so you're covered if you need to cancel before you go. That message still stands, and with holidays back on the cards for many, whether you're going abroad or staying in the UK, we want to know if you risk going without travel insurance? Cuckoo takes the broadband customer service crown. In last week's poll, small firm Cuckoo came top in our poll among providers with 75+ votes, with 98% of its customers rating it 'great'. It just edged out Zen, which was 89% 'great'. Plusnet was best of the biggies at 47% 'great', while Virgin took the wooden spoon with 58% rating it 'poor'. See full broadband poll results. | MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Sat 28 Aug - BBC Radio Leicester, Mid-morning with Summaya Mughal, from 11am
Mon 30 Aug - BBC Radio Manchester, Drive with Phil Trow, from 2.20pm
Tue 31 Aug - BBC Radio Berkshire, Mid-morning with Sarah Walker, with MSE's Guy Anker, from 11.35am
Tue 31 Aug - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 12.40pm | 'I GOBBLED UP A £25 TURKEY JOINT FOR £1.30' - YOUR TOP YELLOW-STICKER DISCOUNTS That's all for this week, but before we go... we often talk about yellow-sticker discounts as a way of saving cash and waste, so it was great to hear of the bargains our Twitter followers recently bagged at the supermarket. There's nothing fishy about the MoneySaver who enjoyed £8.50 of M&S sushi for just 85p as it neared its sell-by date, while another gobbled up a £25 Morrisons turkey joint for £1.30. Others have been using their loaf to pick up bread for just 5p at their local stores before it was thrown out. Let us know your best yellow-sticker finds in our MSE Deals Twitter post. We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team | |
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