| Plus... Free Lindt choc, free wills x2, benefits check-up, Igloo help  THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL
| | How to make possibly £1,000+ of easy cash in time for Christmas
8 simple tips to bring in money at speed
Come January, across the UK, the form of human known as Spendus Regretus, with its distinct call of "I'm broke", is at its peak. We hope to prevent such an outbreak with a range of early intervention plans. This week, it's about quick ways to get legit free cash, to try to help in this high-spend period in the run-up to the festive season. Following some or all of these plans should reduce the risk of debt or disappointment... - £130 paid into your account just for switching bank. The bank switching competition's currently hotter than chestnuts roasting on an open fire, with SEVEN banks vying for your custom with hefty cash or voucher switching offers - many putting cash in your bank quicker than the big fella can drop down your chimney.
We've full info on eligibility and switching criteria in our Best bank accounts guide, but here's our at-a-glance table:
CURRENT FREE BANK SWITCH BONUSES
All accounts below do a not-so-harsh credit check
| ACCOUNT
Min pay-in (1) | PERKS & OUR THOUGHTS | PAYOUT TIME (2) | Santander 123 Lite*
Min pay-in: £500/mth
| Top Pick: For those who pay bills (incl joint bill accounts), as you get the overall biggest financial gain.
FREE £130. Plus 1-3% cashback on bills for a £2/mth fee (£40-£80 annual gain after the fee for medium-large bills). See full Santander review. | Year end
| New. First Direct 1st Account
Min pay-in: None | Top Pick: For a mix of reward and customer service.
FREE £100. 85% rate it great for service. £250 0% overdraft for many. See full First Direct review. | Mid Nov | Virgin Money M Plus*
Min pay-in: None
| Top Pick: For those needing an easy, high-value gift to give (to yourself or others).
FREE £150 experience day gift card. 2.02% interest on up to £1,000. No exchange fees abroad. See full Virgin review. | End Oct
| Nationwide FlexDirect
Min pay-in: £1,000/mth
| Top Pick: For those with bigger overdrafts.
FREE £100 (3). A year's 2% in-credit interest and 0% overdraft. See full Nationwide review. | End Oct
| HSBC Advance
Min pay-in: £1,750/mth | FREE £110 + £30 Uber Eats / Dine In voucher. 1% regular saver. See full HSBC review. | Mid Nov
| Club Lloyds
Min pay-in: £1,500/mth | FREE £100. Choice of freebies, incl cinema tix. Up to 1.5% interest. See full Lloyds review. | End Oct
| RBS Reward
Min pay-in: £1,250/mth | FREE £100 + extra £50 in a year.
£3/mth cashback (pay £2/mth fee, get £5/mth back). See full RBS review. | End Jan | | (1) You need this much going into the account to get all the perks fee-free. (2) Rough date cash/voucher received if you start the switch today and meet all the criteria. (3) Existing customers can get £125 to switch. | - Get a cheque for up to £970 when you claim the marriage tax allowance. This is a whopping tax allowance, and it's thought there are 2.4 million eligible couples who aren't claiming. To get it, you need to first be married or in a civil partnership (just living together doesn't count, we're afraid). Then:
- One needs be a NON-taxpayer (earning under £12,570/yr)
- The other needs to pay 20% basic-rate tax (earning £12,570 - £50,270/yr)
If eligible, the non-taxpayer can transfer 10% of the amount they can earn tax-free each year to the taxpayer, who then pays less tax. And better still, this can be backdated for four years if you were eligible then. Full help, pros and cons in Claim over £1,000 of marriage tax allowance.
When will you get the cash? To get this year's allowance, worth £252, the taxpayer's tax code is changed, so they pay less tax during the year. However, if you're eligible for the up to four years of backdating worth up to £970, that is paid as a cheque or bank transfer taking around six weeks, so you could have it by mid-November.
- Get a £125 Amazon voucher for HALVING your broadband costs. Firms must now tell existing customers whose contracts are ending about their cheapest deals. Yet this doesn't have to include sign-up incentives, which tend to be reserved for newbies.
 Normally, to compare broadband deals we factor intro cash or vouchers into the overall cost. Yet you can flip the logic and focus on the incentive, as long as the tariff is still substantially cheaper than what most pay already. And these three are not only that but they're the cheapest deals on the market at those speeds.
- Get a £75 prepaid Mastercard on £18.50/mth 10Mb broadband & line. This BT-owned Plusnet deal is over a one-year contract. Sign up and you AUTOMATICALLY get the prepaid card sent to you within 45 days of activation, so plenty of time before Christmas. It can be used to pay anywhere that takes Mastercard (almost everywhere).
- Ends Sun. Get a £125 Amazon voucher on £19.50/mth 35Mb fibre broadband & line (or on £21.50/mth for 63Mb). These Vodafone 35Mb fibre and 63Mb superfast fibre deals are over a two-year contract - and both massively undercut what most people pay.
Here you have to CLAIM the voucher (don't forget) by following instructions in an email you're sent after four months. So it won't be in time for Christmas, but we didn't want to exclude these deals just to fit the format, as they're seriously cheap.
- Required to work from home during the pandemic? Get a cheque for up to £140. If your employer required you to work from home, even for a day, since the current tax year started on 6 April 2021, you are eligible for a WHOLE YEAR'S worth of tax relief on working-from-home expenses - which means you'll get a tax code change and pay less tax till April.
And, if you also had to work at least one day from home between 6 Apr 2020 and 5 Apr 2021, you'll get a cheque or bank transfer too worth up to £140. Full help, who's eligible and how to claim in Martin's Working-from-home tax back blog.
When will you get the cash? For this tax year, your tax code will be changed within a few days, so you'll start paying less tax immediately. For the last tax year, you get a cheque or bank transfer. This takes around three weeks, so should come by the end of October.
- Spending around £1,000 a month? Easy way to bag a £150 Amazon voucher or £250+ at Sainsbury's. There's a way some bigger spenders can take advantage of this high-spend time of year. Get accepted for an Amex Gold* credit card ( check acceptance odds) and spend £3,000 on it within the first three months, and it gives enough bonus reward points to get you a £150 Amazon voucher, or to convert to Nectar points worth £265 in Sainsbury's.
That's a huge return on the spending, at no cost. Of course, as always, only do this if you'll clear the card IN FULL each month to avoid the 24.5% rep APR interest. Do note a £140/yr fee starts after you've had the card a year, so cancel before then if you want to avoid it. Full help and more options in Top rewards cards ( APR examples).
When will you get the points? They usually come within a couple of days of spending £3,000 (though it can take up to a month), so it depends how quickly you hit that.
- Earn a £30 Amazon voucher for doing quick surveys.
 Every little helps, and if you're new to paid survey site Swagbucks, you can get a bonus £20 Amazon voucher once you've earned £10 from answering surveys - which you must do within 30 days of signing up.
When will you get the voucher? Within 10 days of you earning the £10, so by mid-November at the latest.
- Walk around your home and ask 'what haven't I used in the last year?' You could be sitting on stock worth £100s. It's time we learnt a bit from the retail trade. Stock management is a key to staying profitable. Yet in the home, many of us have a huge inventory of items we never use that others would pay for.
So walk around your home and find things you've not used in a year, and then consider flogging them. For help on how to do that, see our How to sell on eBay and How to sell on Facebook tips.
You can even Flog your rubbish for cash - for example, loo roll tubes often fetch 6p each, jam jars 92p.
When will you get the cash? For eBay, within a few days of the sale (remember, some things may take a while to sell). For Facebook, you usually swap the item for cash in person.
- Buy through cashback sites to bolster your coffers. Affiliate links are internet links where if you click one and buy something, or do a transaction, the site you came from gets a cut. It's how MSE is funded - we provide info and with some of the links (the ones with a star), if you then act, we get paid, though it never impacts what we write. We're open about how it works, so if you want full info, see How MSE makes money.
Cashback sites also have links that make them money. Their way to get you to use them is simply to give you a cut of what they get. So if you've found something you want to buy and have checked where it's cheapest, then if you can buy it through a cashback website, you'll get some money back for doing so. Do this regularly and it can really add up.
When will you get the cash? With cashback, always keep in your mind that payouts aren't certain till they're in your account. If they pay out, it can be anything from a few days to six months (so some purchases won't help your Christmas coffers). | | 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. | Martin's savings update: things could only get better...
Top easy-access now 0.65% (was just 0.4% in March)
Top 1yr fix now 1.4% (was just 0.6% in March)
Top 2yr fix now 1.75% (was just 0.75% in March)
So savers, check what you earn today, if it ain't as high, say bye-bye 
Around six months ago, we were at the bottom of the savings barrel, or possibly even staring up at the barrel's backside from the dirty soil below, as we discussed the risk of negative interest rates. Thankfully, things have improved. It's still not great, but interest on top fixes has more than doubled. The names below may be banks you've not heard of, but don't be unduly put off. They all have the full UK £85,000 savings safety protection, meaning in the very unlikely event there are problems, you are totally protected for up to £85,000 of savings and interest per institution (more than that if spread out). - New. The top easy-access rate is at least 0.6%. That's the MINIMUM you should earn. Easy-access savings are those you can put money in and take out without much delay. These are the bog-standard building blocks of savings, so there's little excuse for most people to have money saved elsewhere if it is earns less.
- Marcus is top again for unlimited withdrawals... 0.6%. Goldman Sachs-owned Marcus* and Saga* have boosted their rates this week to 0.6% AER variable (min £1), and both allow unlimited withdrawals. Existing customer? If you've had the account over a year, you will just be paid 0.5%, but can up it to 0.6% with a quick click.
- Earn 0.65% if you won't need to dip in and out of the cash. Coventry Building Society pays 0.65% AER variable (min £1), but you're limited to four penalty-free withdrawals per year.
- Ends Tue (12 Oct): Autosave with Chip to earn 0.7%. Autosaving app Chip, via Allica Bank, offers 0.7% easy-access. Normally it charges a £1.50 fee every four weeks, which reduces the gain, but until Tue we've a code for newbies that gives £20 cashback, covering a year's fees. It's a good deal, and a good tool, but less straightforward, so to find out all about it see our Chip savings code full info.
- New. The top fixes now pay 1.75% AER for 2 years. Fixed rates really are the business right now, paying over twice the top easy-access rate. Yet you must lock your cash away, with NO ACCESS at all to get it. That means there is a risk if rates keep rising, your money will be locked away, stopping you from moving it somewhere in future that pays even more. Remember though, you don't need to put all your savings in one place, you can split it across a few different account types.
For both one and two-year fixes, Allica Bank is the top payer, at 1.4% AER and 1.75% AER respectively, but you need a minimum £10,000 to save in it. If you've less, for one year Zopa is 1.36% AER (min £1,000), and for two years it's Isbank via Raisin at 1.7% AER (min £1,000) and Masthaven at 1.65% AER (min £500). Also see top longer fixes.
- Can you boost your interest further? Some specialised options in our Savings section pay even more:
- 50% bonus for many on UNIVERSAL CREDIT or tax credits. See Help to Save.
- 25% bonus for FIRST-TIME BUYERS aged 18-39. See Top Lifetime ISAs.
- Pay tax on savings interest? Top CASH ISAs will likely win. See Top Cash ISAs.
- Earn up to 3.5% on smaller amounts if you SAVE MONTHLY. See Regular Savings Accounts.
- Earn 2.02% on SMALLER SAVINGS. See current account savings.
- Prefer to INVEST? Higher returns, but more risk. See Stocks & Shares ISAs. | Martin: Universal credit £20/wk uplift ENDS today - free online 10-min benefits check-up. "The £1,000/yr boost that's provided vital cash to many in and out of work ends today, Wed (I hope I'm wrong, and the Govt's U-turned by the time you read this, but I'll assume not). Coupled with the end of Covid support schemes, high inflation and the energy crisis, a tough winter looms for many on low incomes. If you're worried, do a 10-min benefits check-up to see if you're entitled to owt else." 10,000 FREE pairs of Ideal Home Show Christmas tickets (normally £15). London, 24-28 Nov. Ideal Home 40+ coupons for October, incl these freebies... Lindt chocs, cat food, Pepsi, rice crisps and more. Plus we've updated our tips with how to use the top free cashback apps in your couponing. Coupon and on 'I got a year's home contents insurance for £6.48.' Our latest success of the week is one from MSE Towers itself. MSE Laura F works on the MSE Forum team and said: "I used the Cheap home insurance guide to get contents insurance. After comparing prices, I chose a year's policy for £66.48. The guide suggested going through a cashback site, so I did, and got £60 into my Topcashback account. So essentially a year's cover for £6.48. Very chuffed." Please send us your MoneySaving successes on this or anything else. Why 159 is the new bank safety number. Need to call 'em? Dial it. The number's been set up to help you check suspicious calls. Yet it may not stop all scammers, so watch Martin's 159 video explainer for help. Igloo or Symbio customers, see how your new E.on tariff compares (plus Avro and Green help). Regulator Ofgem has appointed E.on to take over the supply for customers of Igloo and Symbio after they became the latest energy firms to go bust last week. See Energy firm gone bust? How your new deal compares. Be stirred, not shaken... 2for1 films for £1, free Odeon tickets and more. If you want to see the new Bond film but have No Time To Deal with the cost of movie tickets, see 15 cinema savers. Thu 8.30pm, ITV, The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE. Over to Martin: "This week I'm talking banking - free cash, overdrafts, and are you owed £1,000s back? Plus the latest hot tips in News You Can Use. Do watch or programme your VideoPlus." | New. Now TWO free or cheap solicitor-drafted will schemes are taking bookings... If you've not done one, sort it for peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones 
We don't like thinking about dying. So forgive us for being blunt, but it is something you need to consider. Making a will should be top of the death discussion list, especially if you have assets and loved ones to look after. If you die WITHOUT A WILL, who your property, money and savings go to is usually governed by intestacy rules, not your wishes. So if you don't have one, whatever your age, consider it. Solicitor-drafted wills are the gold standard - usually costing £150+, but two current schemes make this far more accessible. - Cohabiting unmarried couples warning. Just to highlight this, people often talk about their 'common law' partner, but that's mostly bunkum in actual legal practice. If you're not married nor in a civil partnership (which are in themselves effectively contracts), even if you've three kids and have been together for decades, your partner is due nowt of your inheritance in law without a will - possibly not even your share of any home you bought together, depending on how you own it.
- Scheme 1: October is Free Wills Month - which is NOW on for those 55+. Free Wills Month lets people aged 55 or older get a new (or updated) solicitor-drafted will for free, in the hope you leave some money in your will to one of its partner charities, including Age UK, the British Heart Foundation and more. The suggested bequest is £300, but it isn't compulsory (though if you can, do). Regardless, there's no upfront cost.
The scheme is widely available, but some areas operate it in October, and some do in March. Those included this month are much of the Midlands, northern and south-west England, plus Wales and Northern Ireland. See all areas included in Oct and how to book. And GO QUICK, as places tend to be booked up fast.
- Scheme 2: Will Aid's in November, it's for any age and available in far more places. Book now as it fills quickly. This is the biggest scheme of the two, yet even so, we wanted to give you advance notice as it usually fills up very quickly. With the Will Aid scheme , more than 400 solicitor firms across the UK can draft a will for you in the hope that you will make a charitable donation.
The suggested amount is £100 for a single will and £180 for a 'mirror' will (where it's the same will for you and your spouse), though if you can't afford it, you can give less. For a range of other options, including 50% off wills from Which?, see our Free and cheap wills guide. PS: For many people, a Power of Attorney is just as important as a will. This means that if (and only if) you lose your faculties, someone can take over your finances to, for example, help pay for your care. | Tell your friends about us They can get this email free every week | THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you just head to Amazon when you shop online? Amazon is the first port of call for many when it comes to online shopping, with one-third of you heading straight to the retail giant without comparing prices elsewhere, according to our 2020 poll. As we're entering the high-spend period in the run-up to Christmas, we want to see if that's changed - so tell us, do you compare prices when shopping online, or just head to Amazon out of habit? Vote in this week's poll. Over three-quarters of you always repay your credit card in full. Of the 8,400 people who responded to last week's poll, we noted the vast majority follow our mantra to pay off their card IN FULL to avoid interest as 76% said they do just that. And of those who have credit card debt and don't pay off in full every month, two thirds don't pay any interest as all the debt's at 0% (hopefully they pay at least the monthly minimum and they've budgeted to clear the card before the 0% runs out). See the full credit cards poll results. | MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 6 OCT ONWARDS) Wed 6 Oct - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm. Listen again
Thu 7 Oct - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.55am
Thu 7 Oct - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV, 8.30pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Thu 7 Oct - BBC Radio Leicester, Mid-morning with Ady Dayman, from 11.35am
Mon 11 Oct - BBC Radio Manchester, Drive with Phil Trow, from 2.20pm
Tue 12 Oct - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 12.40pm | CONSUMER ROYALE & THE MAN WITH THE MONEY MANTRAS - YOUR MONEYSAVING BOND TITLES That's all for this week, but before we go... James Bond is back, and for a bit of fun you've been sharing your Bond film titles with a MoneySaving twist. From Buy Another Day and You Only Shop Twice to Pricefall and The Spy Who Loved Cheap MOTs, users flooded us with great titles. So if you fancy a laugh or to add your own, see our MoneySaving Bond titles Facebook post. We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team | |
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