Interest rates to rise?, 7% regular savings, 19p veg, £4.75 dresses, £13/mth broadband, urgent pensioners' £324

Plus... Premium Bonds rate rise, 9p choc, Martin's Xmas consumer right need-to-knows, cheapest iPhone

                                                           

14 December 2022 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Mortgage update: Fixed rates down New. 7% regular savings Martin's 10 Christmas consumer rights  19p carrots, potatoes, sprouts & more  New. 2.9% easy-access savings 9p choc, 30p Heinz Hoops etc 'Thanks, I saved £500 on card interest' £4.75 ex-high st coats, shoes, dresses Urgent. Low-income pensioner? Claim pension credit & £324 cost of living help Premium Bond prize rate up to 3%  Ends Wed. Cheapest fibre broadband '£12.91/month' Energy cost-cutting tips & more - Martin's podcast  Last order dates for Asos, Currys etc  £14 hooded blankets, £35 electric blankets New. Cheapest-ever iPhone 14 contract  £200 heating oil/LPG payment update FREE 10-point Halfords winter car check Ikea 'up to 50% off' winter sale The MSE Mince Pie Taste Test 44 craft beers for £50 delivered  This week's best buys, including free £200 bank bribe, 12GB Sim '£4.20/month', car insurance tool Should I keep sending Christmas cards to my partner's family who don't send them to us? 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, with Pick Me A Tariff Best Sim-only deals

Mortgage holders update UK base rate's likely to rise on Thursday, but fixed mortgage rates are coming down What should you be doing now? Martin: "The Bank of England announces its latest interest rate decision on Thursday. The markets expect a jump from 3% to 3.5%. Yet the longer term prediction is now that UK rates will peak around 4.5% or 4.75% in 2023, possibly by spring - not the circa 6% or more that was predicted after the calamitous September mini-budget announcement. "And as the rate of new fixed mortgage deals moves more with forecasts than the current UK base rate, fixed rates are off their peak. The lowest rates are now around 4.6% for two years and 4.5% for five and 10 years (in Oct they were 5.62%, 5.34% and 5.09%). The fact that, unusually, longer fixes are still cheaper shows the short vs long-term outlook. "Yet there's no getting around the fact if your current mortgage deal is ending, many will today pay typically around 3 percentage points more, which on a repayment mortgage is circa £160/mth more per £100,000 of mortgage (use a mortgage calc for bespoke figures). "So what next? Well, many brokers and analysts predict slight and gradual falls - see our new mortgage rate predictions news. "Yet a warning. I've heard some people saying things like 'when we return to sub-2% rates'. Actually, while those low rates lasted for years, historically they are an anomaly, far lower than anything before. There is no rule that rates must return to that level - they may, but it's possible 4% to 5%, or owt else, will become the normal range in future.  "Now over to the team for the practicals, including... - How to find the cheapest mortgage - Help if you're struggling" Remortgaging soon? Step-by-step help If you're nearing the end of your mortgage deal, it's best to download our free 62-page PDF remortgage guide. This has full info on what a remortgage is and how it works (also see the first-time buyers' mortgage guide). In brief... 1. Dig out details of your current mortgage. Gather the following information as it'll help when searching for a new deal: - What's the rate? Plus monthly payments & outstanding debt. - What type is it? Fix, tracker or standard variable rate? See fixes vs variables. - When's the intro deal over? For example, when does your fix end? - When must it all be repaid? In 10, 20 or 25 years? - Will you be penalised to switch deals? Does your fix or tracker have an early repayment charge? If so, it's unlikely you'll find a rate right now that makes it worth paying the charge, but you might consider it if securing today's rate is important to you. - What's the loan-to-value (LTV)? This is the proportion of the home's current value you borrow - for example, a £280,000 mortgage on a home worth £350,000 is 80% LTV. Rates get cheaper the lower your LTV. See LTV help. 2. Check what your existing lender can offer. Start by checking what 'product transfers' your existing lender is offering as a benchmark. Right now, many providers offer lower rates to existing customers than new, plus your existing lender is allowed to forgo affordability checks if you're not borrowing more. There can also be less paperwork and fewer fees involved. 3. Do a comparison to speedily see the market's cheapest deal. Rates aren't cheap compared with a year ago, but the top deals are still far better for most than staying on your lender's standard variable rate (SVR). Use our mortgage comparison tool to find the rates currently available. Example cheap rates available (on a £150,000 mortgage) Type Intro rate + arrangement fee Annual cost (1) 2-year fix (60% LTV) 4.85% + £1,007 £10,769 2-year fix (80% LTV) 5.05% + £1,007 £10,978 2-year fix (90% LTV) 5.35% + £999 £11,354 5-year fix (60% LTV) 4.45% + £999 £10,147 5-year fix (90% LTV) 4.80% + £999 £10,507 2-year tracker (60% LTV) 3.24% + £1,034 £9,319 Typical SVR 6% £11,604 (1) Based on monthly payment & including the fees spread across the intro deal period (hence why a 5-year rate can look cheaper than 2 years) on a 25-year term.  4. Use a calculator to compare deals. To simplify the process, plug your numbers in here... - Basic mortgage calculator - including what it'll cost - Compare two mortgages - Compare fixed-rate mortgages 5. Six months or less until your current deal ends? See if it's worth starting the switching process now. Increasing numbers of lenders now let customers lock in a new rate six months in advance. If not this long, most let you lock in at least three months ahead. This can often be done without having to pay any fees upfront. So it's worth checking if you'd be able to do this. Having it in the bag now can be useful, and you've the ability to ditch it without penalty later, if something cheaper comes along. See our Long lock-in mortgage help for more details if you're considering this.  Already locked into a deal at a higher rate? If it's not started yet, you may be able to ditch it for free. See our 'Can you ditch your secured rate?' news story.  6. What counts is whether you'll be accepted - mortgage brokers can help with this. There are two big factors that dictate whether you'll be accepted for a mortgage... Affordability check. Lenders carry out strict checks to see if you can afford mortgage repayments on top of your other expenses. For most people, living expenses are going up, meaning acceptance can be harder. But new lenders don't just assess if you can afford to repay at current rates... they also 'stress test' how you'd cope if interest rates went up, meaning you'll need to have extra leeway in your finances. So it's best to consider being more frugal in the run-up to a mortgage application. For full info on what you can do to ease acceptance, see 17 ways to boost mortgage chances. Credit check. A poor credit history can torpedo a remortgage application. So check your credit file (for free) to ensure there are no errors, then minimise other credit applications, and pay down debts if you can. See 36 tips to boost your creditworthiness. Yet even if you've done everything right with your credit report and minimised outgoings, know that lenders' acceptance criteria differ from one to the next, so not everywhere will accept you.  This is where mortgage brokers are powerful, as, on top of guidance for those who find sorting a mortgage tough, they have details of most lenders' acceptance criteria, which aren't easily accessible to the public. Plus there are sometimes top deals (even some product transfers) that can only be accessed via brokers. You shouldn't pay a fee to a broker unless they get you a mortgage (and there are some that are fee-free and just take commission from lenders). See our full help on how to find a good broker. 7. To fix or to get a tracker, that's a question... The more you value certainty and being able to stick to a budget, the more you should hedge for a fix, and for fixing longer. See our full fixes vs trackers analysis for help to decide, but there are some short-term elements to this too.  - Trackers are currently cheaper but rates are rising. The cheapest tracker mortgages are about 1.25 percentage points cheaper than the cheapest fixes, so there's certainly a short-term saving, yet the market currently predicts UK rates to rise by at least 1.5 percentage by  mid-2023. If that's right the tracker will cost more than today's cheapest fix (though you will have saved in the short term).  - Brokers expect some modest drops in fixed rates. Read their thoughts in full in brokers' interest rate predictions. - Could you get a short-term tracker? One option to discuss with your broker (as it's complex) is whether you could go to a short-term tracker with no early exit penalties, while you wait for fixed rates to drop. If you're thinking of this though, do consider the 'What if rates don't drop?' scenario. 8. If you've got savings, they can bag you a better mortgage deal. Consider using any savings you have to get a cheaper mortgage. Rates tend to improve as you move down to 90%, 80%, 75% and 60% LTV, so when you remortgage, use savings so you need to borrow less. Use our Compare two mortgages calculator to see if it's worth it for you. Struggling to pay your mortgage? With the cost of living increasing, some homeowners may struggle to meet mortgage repayments. Here's what help to check for: 1. Do you qualify for government help? It's worth always doing a 10-min benefits check, and if you are eligible for some benefits, you may be able to also claim support for mortgage interest later on. 2. Talk to your lender. If you're struggling to meet your mortgage payments, talk to your lender ASAP - even if you've not yet missed a payment, but may be likely to. Communicating sooner always makes things easier. Tools available may include... - Extending your mortgage term - Switching temporarily to interest-only - Being offered a payment break - Being offered affordable, reduced payments These options can help in times of financial hardship as they lower your monthly payment in the short term. Yet all of them add to the cost of the mortgage over the long term, so if possible, switch back when you can. For full info, see ways lenders can help. Martin: My mortgage meet with the Chancellor Last week at a summit at 11 Downing Street, I met with Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the Financial Conduct Authority and the UK bosses of the big banks, to look at what could be done to soften the impact of likely mortgage payment shocks on those who will struggle, and the knock-on to renters - due to landlords' increased mortgage costs. It was a constructive meeting - though at most it will be tinkering not radical change. My prime concern is this spring when we expect interest rates to be higher, energy prices to be rising, and other cost of living impacts. I was pushing for some flexibility and forbearance measures. And so people aren't scared off going for help - say extending their term - ensuring this can be reversed if and when things improve. And it should have limited impact on credit files. See Mortgage round-table news story. 3. Could you downsize? With the huge rise in property prices over the last decade or so in many parts of the UK, and mortgages getting more expensive, downsizing may especially suit any empty-nesters whose kids are now independent adults - with big houses for few people. We know some will balk at the mere idea, but it's just something else to add on the table. 4. Are you a mortgage prisoner? If the current mortgage situation is bad for most mortgage holders, we know it is an escalating, desperate nightmare for the up-to-200,000 mortgage holders - many still suffering the fallout of the 2008 financial crash - stuck paying expensive mortgages to companies that don't issue new mortgages. We've been campaigning on this desperate issue for a number of years. Martin has recently funded the third and final mortgage prisoner report from the London School of Economics, to come up with costed policy solutions which we hope to take to the Government. We do have a Mortgage prisoners help guide though and while it's slim pickings, it is worth a look if you haven't already. 5. If you've multiple issues paying your debts, get one-on-one help. If you're struggling to pay what you owe, whether on a mortgage, cards, loans, energy or all of them, get free, one-to-one debt-counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline. And if you need emotional support, try CAP. They're there to help, not judge. And the most common thing we hear after...? "I finally got a good night's sleep." For additional inspiration, see our Debt-free wannabe forum, where people share their own journeys to becoming debt-free. Plus, we've more help in our Mental Health & Debt and Debt crisis guides. -------------------------------- PS: Goodbye (for this year) from Martin... "At some point next week I'm taking a wee break, leaving the site & email with the more-than-capable brains of the MSE team till it's 2023. "I wish all celebrating a joyous, peaceful and contented Christmas. Plus let's hope for a better New Year. For those who find this time of year difficult, grief-filled, or lonely, may your passage through it be easy, with more smiles than you expect. Martin."

 

 

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.

 

 

 

New. Top regular savings now pay 7% It's a big deal for those who save a little each month If you want to save a lump sum of £1,000 or more, look at the top easy-access or top fixed savings accounts. But if you're putting cash away a bit at a time, you can earn higher rates with regular savings accounts, which let you put up to a few hundred quid away each month. Full info in Top regular savings, but in brief... (All below have £85,000 UK saving safety protection.) Earn up to 7% with bank-linked savers - and get paid up to £200 to switch. The highest-paying regular savings accounts can only be opened if you're a current account customer of a big bank. Existing customers can grab them, and others should consider moving, as these two banks currently pay you to switch to them anyway: - The First Direct 1st Account* pays switchers £175, was rated 88% 'great' in our last service poll, and gives many a £250 0% overdraft too. Its regular saver pays 7% AER fixed for a year, if you put in between £25 and £300 each month. Withdrawals aren't allowed (closure is, but the interest drops). See crucial First Direct switch eligibility info & review. - The HSBC Advance account* pays switchers £200 and its regular saver pays 5% AER fixed for a year. You must put between £25 and £250 in each month and withdrawals aren't allowed (closure is, but the interest drops). It also has a 3% easy-access account you can access. See crucial HSBC switch eligibility info & review. High interest deals if you're a customer of Lloyds, Barclays, NatWest or RBS. These banks don't pay you to switch right now, but for existing account holders, they all pay more than the top open market deal.  - Club Lloyds regular saver pays 5.25% fixed for a year, you can put up to £400/mth in.  - Barclays Rainy Day Saver pays 5.12% AER variable on up to £5,000 easy access, for customers who jump through a few hoops to join its Blue Rewards scheme.  - The NatWest and RBS regular savers pay 5.12% AER variable and you can put up to £150 a month in. Not got these bank accounts, or want to save more each month? Some regular savers are open to all... - Principality Building Society pays 5% AER fixed for a year and lets you put in up to £125 a month. You can skip months, and can access the cash early, but to do that you'll need to close the account.  - Halifax pays 4.5% AER fixed for a year on £25 to £250 a month. You can skip months, and can access the cash early if you close the account. Plus, till Monday, you can also get £175 for switching to the Halifax Reward account (but you don't need to do so to access the regular saver). See crucial Halifax Reward switch eligibility info & review.    Quick regular savings tips. There are a few points to understand to get the best out of these. - Combine a few to save more. Use First Direct, Principality & Halifax to put £675/mth away at an average 5.7%. - The one-year accounts move you to poor interest after. Be prepared to ditch, switch (& open another reg saver). - The interest rates are high, but it may feel less. You only get interest on money in there, so if you put £200/mth in, don't expect 7% of £2,400 after a year, as you'd much less in for most of the time. See how regular saver interest works. - Drip-feed cash in from top easy-access savings. If you have a lump sum, put it in the top-paying easy-access account to earn interest, then, put as much as you can into the regular saver from it, to get the best of both worlds. Can you boost interest further? Some specialised options in our Savings section pay big whacks too: - 50% bonus for many on universal credit or tax credits. See Help to Save. - 25% bonus for first-time buyers aged 18 to 39. See Top Lifetime ISAs. - Earn 5% on smaller savings. See current account savings. - Are Premium Bonds worth it now the prize rate is rising? See Premium Bonds. - Prefer to invest? Higher returns, but more risk. See Stocks & shares ISAs.

 

The Christmas veg price war has started - 19p carrots, potatoes, sprouts & more. See where to find 'em in veg wars. Related: MSE reveals Aldi is cheapest for Christmas dinner. New. 2.9% easy-access savings, with a 'but'... App-only Chip offers the new top rate of 2.9%, but it's not interest, it's a bonus, which means it doesn't compound year after year. And, while your savings are protected, the bonus isn't - see full Chip help. Next highest payer (but max 6 withdrawals a year): Coventry BS 2.85% AER. Top for unlimited withdrawals: Yorkshire BS 2.6% AER* if you've £10,000+. If you've less, try Tandem* or Atom, both app-only and paying 2.55% AER. Big name: Nationwide 2.5% AER* (max 3 withdrawals a year). Full info in Top savings. Chocolate 9p, Heinz Hoops 30p, pasta sauce 45p & more - via 10% off code for already reduced, past 'best before' food. MSE Blagged. Approved Food sells cheap groceries near or past 'best before' dates (NOT past 'use by' dates, which are about health). Min £22.50 spend, delivery's £3+. 'Massive thanks - I saved £500 on credit card interest.' We recently wrote that anyone paying credit card interest should check for a 0% balance transfer as deals may worsen. Andy did just that and is our success of the week: "Massive, massive thanks. Read your 0% balance transfer credit card note, did the eligibility check and applied. Just by keeping the same monthly payments, I'll have paid off the balance by this time next year and saved over £500 in interest. Believe it or not, I haven't used the card for a few years and naively thought I was just running down the balance." If we've helped you save money (on this, or anything else), please send us your MoneySaving successes. 1,000s of high-street coats, shoes, dresses £4.75 to £6.61 with code. MSE Blagged. Find surplus stock and non-branded items from high-street names (previously including H&M, Topshop, New Look and more) at Everything5pounds - where, bizarrely, not everything's £5 anymore... but it's still cheap, though do factor in delivery from £3.95. Urgent. Low-income pensioners only have till Sunday to qualify for £324 cost of living payment. More than 800,000 eligible pensioners are missing out on pension credit, yet start a successful claim by Sunday and as well as increased pension income, you'll get a £324 cost of living payment too. See who qualifies in Martin's pension credit blog. Premium Bond prize rate to rise to 3% from January. Yet someone with typical luck's likely to earn less than this. It's tough to compare now, as it's likely easy-access rates will also have jumped, but see our full Premium Bonds analysis. Ends 11.59pm Wed. Cheapest fibre broadband '£12.91/month'. Newbies can get this Shell Energy 38Mb broadband & line deal for £4.95 upfront, then £22.49/month. But you get 3 months' bill credit, plus you can claim (don't forget) a £110 Amazon voucher. Factor those in and it's equivalent to £12.91/month over the 18-month contract. Want faster speeds or higher service rating? Our broadband comparison shows top deals. PS: And it's true... Martin is singing (if you can call it that) for Food Aid & the Trussell Trust this Christmas - find out more.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - Approved Food 10% off code Ends Wed 21 Dec - Everything5pounds 5% off code Ends Saturday - 44 craft beers for £50 (normally £60) 1,000 cases	DID YOU MISS? - Tesco shakes up Clubcard voucher offers for 4 million - Do the ads for diesel-drivers' claims stack up? - £138 of Boots No7 skincare for £41 - Unfair fixed energy direct debits? Can you switch to variable? - 3 months' FREE Spotify Premium (normally £9.99/month)

 

 

Be a SAD FART to ensure your festive purchases are protected Martin's 10 Christmas consumer rights need-to-knows Ho ho ho. The festive season is closing in, and legally that means, er, NOTHING for your consumer rights. Yet the law and the practical realities can differ. Many rules aren't statutory (ie, set by law), they are set by stores that can and sometimes do change them during Christmas & January sales periods. So I want to tool you up with my 10 core need-to-knows (for more detail, see our Consumer rights help)... You DON'T have a legal right to change your mind & return store-bought goods (even if wrong colour / size). If you buy something in store (not online), shops are under no legal obligation to take your goods back unless they're faulty (see what counts as faulty below). So if you buy something in a hurry thinking you can always return it later, beware you may not have that choice. This surprised 29% in my Twitter poll & 21% weren't sure. Of course when I say 'the wrong size', I mean it doesn't quite fit. If it were labelled XS but in reality was an XXL, that's clearly faulty. If stores have published returns policies that forms part of the contract. Some stores allow no-fault returns, eg, John Lewis is usually up to 35 days after you buy them. If these are published, then they're enforceable. However, if they say: "You need a receipt, must ask in French, and we only give credit notes", then as you've no legal rights, you must accept it. (OK, maybe not the French bit, but you get the point.) Return rights can be suspended during sales. So if you think the store has a returns policy, it's worth double-checking in the sales before you buy it, if you may want to return later. You DO have a legal right to change your mind when buying online. This is designed to protect people when buying things remotely. For most items, you've... up to 14 days to notify them of a return... then up to 14 days after that to send it back. If their websites say you must be quicker, they're wrong. There are exceptions here, the main two being no returns of personalised or perishable items. See our full list of exceptions to online right to return. Know your SAD FART rights. If items are faulty, that trumps everything else. So what counts as faulty? Years ago I came up with my SAD FART mnemonic to make it easy to remember it (see Returning faulty goods help for more). If items are faulty, you only need proof of purchase. If you're returning something that's faulty, by law you don't need a receipt, just proof of purchase (eg, credit card statement). For powerful protective voodoo on bigger items, pay at least 1p on a credit card. Buy something costing £100.01 to £30,000 and pay for any of it, even a penny, on a credit card, and the card firm is jointly liable with the retailer for the WHOLE amount. So if you can, put at least some of it on a credit card (paid off IN FULL to avoid interest). Then if the retailer goes bust, won't play fair with faulty items, or you buy abroad and can't take the item back, you can go to the card firm. Full info, including when it doesn't work & how to claim in the Section 75 guide. Debit card spends & credit card purchases under £100 have the lesser, though still decent, chargeback protection. Beware buying items online from abroad - you have to pay to send returns back. In online returns, you get back the price you paid, plus the minimum delivery cost paid (ie, if it's free delivery but you paid £10 for express, you don't get the tenner back). Yet you don't have an automatic right to get back the cost of returning items, and if they come from abroad, sending it back can be more than you paid in the first place, so beware where it comes from before you buy, especially on the likes of Amazon and eBay, where it's less easy to see. If you paid for express parcel delivery but it didn't arrive on time, you may be due a refund or compensation. See our Parcel delivery rights guide for full details. Related: Cheap parcel delivery firms. Even if the gift you got is faulty, YOU don't legally have a right to return it. Return rights, whether legally enforced or voluntary, generally apply only to the person who actually paid for the item, so gift recipients have no right of return themselves. While most shops do allow it if you've a receipt, to be watertight - a gift receipt transfers the rights to the gift recipient (or write on the receipts that you're doing this). Full help in Christmas gift rights. Sadly, if it all goes wrong, enforcing your rights is tough. If you end up in dispute with a store, you can go to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline in England and Wales (or similar services in Scotland and Northern Ireland) for help. Yet ultimately the only way to get adjudication is to go to court (see 'Small claims court' help - it's not called that anymore, but that's common parlance), which is a faff for low-price items. It's one reason the credit card protection route is so helpful, because then you can go to the ombudsman instead.

 

Scores of energy cost-cutting tips, mortgage update, 7% savings. In the latest The Martin Lewis Podcast. Last order dates for Asos, Currys, John Lewis, M&S & more. Ordering earlier can mean free or cheap delivery, so we've these dates - as well as the absolute final dates - in major retailers' Christmas last order dates. £14 hooded blankets, £35 electric blankets & more. With winter truly upon us, and energy costs at all time highs, we've rounded up cheap ways to stay warm in our Heat the human, not the home guide. New. Cheapest iPhone 14 contract we've seen - 100GB data for '£39/month'. MSE Blagged. The latest smartphones aren't MoneySaving, but if you'll buy one anyway, at least do it the cheapest way... Three newbies can get a 128GB iPhone 14 with 100GB/month of data for £49 upfront, then £37/month through Fonehouse. That's £937 in total - equivalent to £39/month over the two-year contract. Note: Three is responsible for the contract, Fonehouse for the handset. Want a different handset or a Sim-only deal? See MSE's Cheap Mobile Finder tool. The £200 heating oil/LPG payment won't now come until the New Year. See our oil/LPG update. FREE 10-point Halfords winter car check. Includes battery, light and tyre checks, normally £15. Halfords Ikea 'up to 50% off' winter sale - for example, £30 shelves. Full analysis, plus 23 more Ikea tips and tricks. The MSE Mince Pie Taste Test 2022 - see who won. In answer to the famous question 'Who ate all the pies?', well the MSE team did, purely for your benefit to compare the posh pies with the cheap ones... Mince pies 44 craft beers for £50 delivered (normally £60). MSE Blagged. Flavourly newbies only. 1,000 boxes available, though not in Northern Ireland. Flavourly (please be Drinkaware).

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 34 months 0%, 2.88% or 3.88% fee (21.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (apply) - up to 19 months 0%, no or 1% fee (21.9% rep APR) or NatWest - 22 months 0% if you're a NatWest/RBS customer (21.9% rep APR)  Best bank accounts £200 to switch + 3% savings: HSBC £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct  Top savings accounts Top easy access: Coventry Building Society 2.85%, min £1  Top one-year fix: SmartSave Bank 4.32%, min £10,000  Car insurance Try our new Car Insurance Compare+ tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR interest Cheapest £7.5k to £15k: M&S Bank (check eligibility / apply*) and HSBC (apply), both 4.9% rep APR   Broadband top picks Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£12.91/month' Fast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£14.16/month' On universal credit or similar? Check discounted social tariffs Cheap Sims 4GB to 9GB data: Lycamobile, '£2.40/month' for 4GB 10GB+ data: Lebara, '£4.20/month' for 12GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How often do you dip into your easy-access savings? Most easy-access savings accounts allow you to deposit and withdraw cash whenever you like. But, with rates often lower than for fixed savings accounts - where your money's locked away for a set period - we wondered how often you're taking advantage of the 'easy-access' element of your account. Vote in this week's poll.  Virgin Media is the easiest firm to haggle with. Last week, we asked which companies you've tried to haggle with in the past year, and if you got a better deal - nearly 3,500 of you responded. A huge 85% of those who'd tried haggling with Virgin Media reported some form of success, as did 84% of those who haggled with TV and broadband rival Sky. Haggling with breakdown firms also bore fruit, with 85% of those who tried with the RAC having success and 81% with the AA. See full haggling poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Cold weather payments triggered in England and Wales - Train or Tube journey affected by December strikes? Your refund rights - £200 alternative fuel payment for households with heating oil or LPG boilers to be paid 'in the New Year' - M&Co falls into administration - your refund and shopping rights

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I keep sending Christmas cards to my partner's family who don't send them to us? I love sending Christmas cards, and always send them to my partner's family, who we don't often see or hear from. It's been years since any of them sent us a card, and with cash tight this year, I'm starting to think I'm wasting my money as it's not cheap to buy and send cards to them all. But it doesn't seem in the Christmas spirit to stop sending them because we don't get anything back, and I worry about my partner losing contact with his family. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I keep sending Christmas cards to my partner's family? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: Secret Santa, sisters & speeding tickets

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 14 DEC ONWARDS) Wed 14 Dec - Co-presenting Good Morning Britain, ITV, from 6am Wed 14 Dec - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 20 Dec - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

 

WHAT'S THE BEST CHEAP PRESENT YOU'VE GIVEN OR RECEIVED? That's all for this week, but before we go... 'Tis the season for Secret Santa, so we asked what's the best cheap present you've given or received. For many, the best gift is an act of service, whether that is a voucher for an evening's baby-sitting, tackling someone's ironing for a year or lending someone their DIY expert husband for a day. For those buying physical gifts, shopping for bargains at charity shops was popular, while useful presents such as mugs, diaries and packets of vegetable and flower seeds were all appreciated. But the ultimate MoneySaving present has to be the £1 reusable Starbucks coffee cup that also gets the recipient 25p off every cuppa. If you need some present ideas or want to add your best gifts, see our Twitter and Facebook conversations. We hope you save some money, stay safe, The MSE team

 

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