Cheap Easyjet, energy hike postponed?, 9p Kellogg's, ISA warning, 31-month 0% debt shift

Plus... Beat stamp hikes, £120 off Dyson, 15GB Sim £5/mth, Mother's Day deals, £1,000s pension boost

                                                           

08 March 2023 | View in browser

Banking & Savings Household Bills Deals Insurance Cards & Loans Mortgages Income Reclaim

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Urgent use it or lose it ISA warning for savers, first-time buyers & children Martin: 'It looks like Govt WON'T hike energy bills as planned' Longest 31-month 0% debt shift Heads up! Cheap Easyjet Christmas flights Deadline to boost state pension extended to July 9p Kellogg's, 30p Heinz Beanz & more Stamp prices are rising by up to 15% - how to beat the hike Mother's Day deals, including couriered flowers, £1.59 photo cards & more Martin: 'Govt made £2.4bn from mortgage prisoners scandal - it must now fix this' Get £120 off a Dyson cordless vacuum Have you used a Power of Attorney? Martin podcast: Free wills, super service, energy bill help Hot Diamonds 40% off EVERYTHING 15GB data Sim under '£5/month' FREE Grand Designs Live tix 'Thanks, I got £1,053 back on my water bill through WaterSure' What we've asked the Chancellor for in the Budget This week's best buys, including free £200 bank bribe, 4.31% fixed savings, Car Insurance Compare+ tool I don't want to adopt the cat I feed and have to pay vet bills, am I in the wrong? 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

One month 'use it or lose it' warning Interest rates are up, so ISAs are back for many - yet you need to sort them by 5 April (or likely sooner) Cash ISAs for savers | Lifetime ISAs for first-time buyers | Junior ISAs for children Martin: "Forget 31 December, that's just a sentimental date. The real year-end that matters is 5 April, as the end of the tax year has a material impact on your life and pockets. "This is especially true for ISAs. Each tax year, you get an allowance where you can put money away to protect it from tax or get perks (like a 25% bonus towards a first home). Here are some key ISA need-knows: 1. Don't delay. The deadline may be 5 April, but in practice you'll need to get money in sooner, as firms need time to process. So don't delay. 2. The benefit lasts. Once the money's in, it's tax-free year after year. 3. It doesn't carry over. Don't use a year's allowance and you lose it. 4. The max an adult can put in ISAs is £20,000 per tax year. Yet as you can do this each tax year, and it's been running since 1999, some now have £100,000s in ISAs protected from tax. Understanding ISAs is a piece of cake... I've been doing this analogy since 2001, and it's still appetising... Picture a cake, let's say a chocolate one... for cash (though it could equally be a strawberry one for shares). Normally a cake (cash savings) is unprotected, so the tax collector can come take a bite. Yet picture an ISA wrapper as a piece of clingfilm you can put a certain amount of cake in. Once inside nothing changes, the cash in savings is still cash in savings, the only difference is... now the tax collector can't bite it. 5. ISAs are not always the best place for everyone to save. Even though they're tax-free, that can in some cases be defeated by the fact rates are higher elsewhere. So now over to the team to talk you through how to decide for each product, and the best buys." Top cash ISAs Savings accounts that are NEVER taxed A top cash ISA is just a savings account you can put up to £20,000 in per tax year where interest is NEVER taxed. Watch Martin's three key questions for anyone with ISAs (then check the up-to-date best buys below) as a good start point, or read on: Most people don't pay tax on savings anyway. Since 2016, the personal savings allowance (PSA) means basic (20%) rate taxpayers can earn £1,000/year interest in ANY savings tax-free - while the limit's £500/year for higher (40%) rate taxpayers. So currently you'd need over £29,000 (£14,500 at higher-rate tax) in top easy-access savings before you earned enough interest to be taxed, over £22,000 (£11,000) in the top two-year fix. Though if interest rates rise further, those amounts will get smaller. Normal savings usually pay slightly more than cash ISAs. You'll see the rates below, the gap isn't huge, so those who aren't bigger savers should just go for the highest rates, which means top savings, not ISAs. To help, remember if you've under £20,000 - as unless rules change (unlikely), you could always just dunk that in an ISA in future - there's no harm going for higher rates now. So cash ISAs are best for those with bigger savings, as once in an ISA, the interest doesn't count towards the PSA (so you can earn £1,000 interest on top of whatever your ISAs pay). Yet remember if you haven't used your cash ISA allowance this year, the clock's ticking. Today's top savings AERs All accounts have full UK £85,000 savings safety  Top cash ISAs  Top savings Links go to our guides, as top players change often & we can update there Easy access (no notice to withdraw) - Cynergy 3.05% (min £1) - Shawbrook 3.01% (min £1,000), min £500 withdrawal. - Chip 3.4% (min £1) - Zopa 3.21% (min £1) - Sainsbury's 3.05%(min £1,000). Top big name. 3 free withdrawals a year. ----------------- - Barclays 5.12% (max £5,000). ONLY for Blue Reward customers. 1-year fixes - Shawbrook 4.06% (min £1,000). 90 days' interest fee to withdraw early. - Barclays 4% (min £1). 3 free withdrawals, then 90 days' interest fee on more. - SmartSave 4.31% (min £10,000) - Atom 4.3% (min £50) No early withdrawals allowed. 2-year fixes - Virgin 4.11% (min £1). 90 days' interest fee to withdraw early. - Shawbrook 4.11% (min £1,000). 180 days' interest fee to withdraw early. - SmartSave 4.46% (min £10,000) - Atom Bank 4.45% (min £50). No early withdrawals allowed. Already got cash ISAs? Most can massively BOOST the interest. Cash ISA rates are much higher than they used to be, so check yours rate now. If it's worse than those above, just ditch & switch... - To move a cash ISA. Open up a new one (you can do this while putting this year's money in, or not), and within the application form it'll ask you if you want to transfer existing ISAs. Don't just withdraw the money or it'll lose its cash ISA status. All the ISAs above allow transfers in, though some have to be requested as part of your application, so make sure you check. - Got a fixed-rate cash ISA? You can likely ditch, switch & gain too. Unlike normal fixes where you're locked in, fixed cash ISA rules mean you must be allowed to withdraw early - usually for an interest penalty. As rates are now much higher than in the last few years, many are better off paying the penalty to move to a new higher-rate ISA. Our fixed-rate cash ISA switch calculator works it out for you... Carol emailed us after doing this: "Thank you Martin. My 1.5% fixed ISA had only eight months left, so I didn't think it'd be worth the trouble and penalty for switching. However, I found an ISA at 3.65% maturing in 10 months and transferred to that. I will be about £1,000 better off." Stocks & shares ISAs You can put £20,000 in an ISA, and that can all be in cash, all in shares, or split between them. Our expertise is saving, so we focus on cash ISAs, but we don't want you to think that means we're against stocks & shares ISAs - we just talk about them less as it's not what we do. Investing is where you hope for higher growth, but understand you are risking some or all of the money you put in. Over the long run, it is often more lucrative than saving. With shares ISAs, you can invest and not pay dividend, capital gains or income tax on any gains or income. For help, including some of the cheaper platforms to invest in, see our Stocks & Shares ISAs guide. Lifetime ISAs for first-time buyers Fill up your £4,000 allowance now A Lifetime ISA (LISA) is the powerhouse financial move for many wanting to buy their first home, as you can put up to £4,000 per tax year in savings or investments and get a 25% FREE bonus from the state on it, so up to £1,000 per year. Do read our full Lifetime ISA guide to take you through key how-it-works info, but here are eight brief tips: 1. You can open one if you're aged 18 to 39. 2. You must never have owned a home before. 3. The home must cost under £450,000 (unchanged since 2017 - see our Outdated LISA rules costing first-time buyers campaign). 4. You can't use the bonus unless your LISA's been open over a year. Open up a LISA with £1 now, even if you're not sure. 5. It's an individual product, so you get the bonus, regardless of whether anyone you buy with is a first-time buyer or not (they can have one too if they are). 6. You can also keep the money in until you're 60 and use it for retirement savings, though it's not the best route for most (see pension v LISA). 7. Withdraw before you're 60, without buying a qualifying home, and there's an effective 6.25% penalty - so you lose that (see how the penalty works). 8. If you get - or have - a LISA, max out what you can by 5 April. To find out the highest-paying LISAs, see our Top cash LISAs list (investment LISAs tend to be for those using LISAs for retirement). As Amy emailed: "I opened a LISA when they were relatively new in 2017 (after hearing through Martin). I managed to pay in the maximum for six years and bought my first home in 2022. So £6,000 free money! And a £30,000 deposit instead of a £24,000 one. Thank you!" - Already got a LISA? You can up its rate by transferring to the top payer. Don't just withdraw the cash, you'll pay the 6.25% withdrawal penalty. Instead open the new LISA and ask the new provider to move the money across. - Got a Help to Buy ISA? This was the predecessor of the LISA. See our Help to Buy ISA v LISAs comparison to decide which is best. Junior ISAs for children Earn up to 4% interest on £9,000 per tax year Children are mostly taxed just like adults (see children's tax). That means they can earn £12,570/year tax-free, and if they've no earnt income, up to £18,570/year tax-free from savings interest. So in practice, most children don't earn enough to pay tax. Money from parents and step-parents (not grandparents) is different. For under-18s, if these savings earn them more than £100/year interest from one parent (so roughly £2,500+ in a top children's account currently) or £200 from two parents, the whole amount is taxable at the parent's tax rate. It's done to stop parents stashing large amounts in their child's name. Yet as explained above, most parents don't pay savings tax anyway because the PSA means basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000/year interest tax-free. For those parents who do, a junior ISA becomes stronger, as then all the child's interest is tax-free, even if given by a parent. Our full Junior ISAs guide takes you through it. Here are eight brief tips: 1. You can put £9,000 per tax year in a junior ISA. 2. Once in, it stays tax-free year after year. 3. You have until 5 April to put this year's allowance in. 4. The money is locked away until they're 18. 5. Then it is their money and their decision what to do with it (your gorgeous baby now may be different at 18. If you're saving for their uni costs, they may spend it on a drinking trip). 6. The top junior ISAs currently pay up to 4% interest. 7. The top 'normal' children's savings pay up to 5% interest. 8. There are stocks & shares investment junior ISAs too. - Already got a junior ISA? Can you boost the rate? If you find a junior ISA that pays more, just go and open the new ISA, and in the application form you'll usually be able to apply to transfer your existing junior ISA to it (assuming the new provider allows it - most do). See junior ISA transfers. CHILD BORN 1 SEPT 2002 TO 2 JAN 2011? Up to 1m have £1,000ish in savings, but don't know it UK-born children aged 12 to 20ish had a Child Trust Fund (CTF) opened in their name, with £250 (£500 for those from low-income families) automatically paid in to it by the state. This tax-free savings product can't be touched until you hit 18 (which is now quite a decent number of people). Lost track or weren't aware of the CTF? It's your money and there's an easy tool to reclaim it. To find out, either watch Martin's 3-min Child Trust Fund reclaim video, or read our full Reclaim your Child Trust Fund help. It worked for Trevor, who emailed us his success: "After reading your weekly email, I informed my grandson who we enrolled in 2002. He has just received £1,974, and my second grandson who is 17 will be able to claim his when he is 18, albeit a slightly lesser amount. Yippee, forgot all about them." - Child still under 18? Ensure your CTF pays max interest. Many have pants rates, but you can transfer it to get 4%. - Child now 18+? What to do with it. See our Maturing CTF help.

 

 

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: 'Phew. All unofficial indications now show it looks like Govt WON'T increase energy bills by 20% as planned. Thanks to all 110 charities who backed our campaign' We've updated our calc to show the impact, plus £200 heating oil payment update Martin with the story so far... "Last Nov, the Govt announced that this April it'd increase the Energy Price Guarantee rate by 20%. This Guarantee currently sets the price almost everyone (not N. Ireland) pays, so for every £100 you pay now, you'd expect to pay £120. And as this coincides with the end of the £400 (£67/mth) winter energy support payments, the practical impact would be hard. "So three weeks ago, I wrote to the Chancellor to ask him to postpone the increase. That letter's now backed by 110 charities (including Which?, Alzheimer's Society, National Energy Action, Citizens Advice, Samaritans etc) and the industry trade body Energy UK. Last week, I said it was 50-50 to succeed, early on Friday I was 85%, now I'm in the very high 90%s. "This is partly due to 'sources', partly due to, on Friday, The Times and the BBC saying they understood it wouldn't happen, and also as last Thursday energy firms had to submit April's pricing to prepay meter firms, and I'm hearing they didn't include the 20% rise as the Govt told them it's trying not to do it. Frustratingly there's still no official confirmation, but at this point 'owt else would be a shock. I will be asking Grant Shapps on my live show at 8pm tonight (Tue). "And if you're asking why 'postpone', not cancel, well from July, the Energy Price Cap set by the regulator (based on wholesale prices) is likely to substantially undercut the Guarantee, and we pay whichever is lower, so the Guarantee will no longer be relevant, and prices should drop then." New calc. What you pay WILL change, even if there's no 20% rise, not just because you lose the £67. For those who like the nitty-gritty, read the next bullet point for a techie explanation. Yet for most, just use our updated April price rise calculator with our rough estimate of what you'll pay from 1 April, showing BOTH if the 20% rise happens or not, and the real % increase, factoring in the end of the £67/mth winter energy support payments. Now the nitty-gritty, what we think the new rates will be. If you don't understand this, just use the calc, but we know many want the specifics. No new Guarantee rates have been published, yet we know the standing charge as that's set by the new Price Cap, and that is published, so they're correct. For the unit rates, we've used a mix of our calculations and Martin's 'sources', and hope we're pretty close for a national average (though there is regional variation): Direct debit rate  Currently (Jan - Mar)  If no 20% rise If 20% rise ELECTRICITY unit rates  34.04p/kWh 33.2p/kWh (estimate) 44.7p/kWh (estimate) ELECTRICITY standing change 46.36p/day 52.97p/day (correct) 52.97p/day (correct)  GAS unit rates 10.33p/kWh 10.3p/kWh (estimate)  11.4p/kWh (estimate)  GAS standing charge  28.49p/day  29.11p/day (correct)  29.11p/day (correct) - Lower users will pay a little more due to this change, but a LOT more due to the £67/mth going. The standing charges are up, so everyone on direct debit will now pay £300/yr pro rata just for having gas and elec, compared to £273/yr. That is a bigger hit for lower users. Yet the real big impact is the end of the £67/mth payments, which of course proportionately helped lower users far more. - Relative costs for prepay and pay in receipt of bills drop. If there's no 20% rise, on average, we guess someone on typical bills will continue to pay £2,500/yr pro rata dual-fuel direct debit. On prepay, they'd drop from £2,559/yr to £2,535/yr, and on payment in receipt of bills, £2,715/yr to £2,645/yr. (PS: If you do that, check out variable direct debit. It's cheaper.) Important. On heating oil or LPG but not got your £200 payment yet? Apply now. If you're on heating oil, LPG or other alternative 'off-grid' fuel for heating, and have an electricity supplier, you should've got your £200 payment either in your bank or electricity account (check both), or by a voucher if on prepay electricity. If not, it's likely your electricity firm didn't get the data that you were on these fuels, so you'll need to apply to the Govt. More energy need-to-knows... - Live in a park home, houseboat, or pay landlord for energy? You can now, finally, apply for the £400 energy support payment (Eng, Scot, Wales) or the £600 N. Ireland support payment. - Traditional prepay voucher recipient? Use them ASAP. Don't forget to use your £67 prepay vouchers before they expire. - Cut bills by cutting usage. Try our 70+ energy savers, then Heat the human not the home and Energy mythbusting. - Struggling to pay your bill? Hardship grants may help. See our full Struggling to pay energy bills help.

 

... and Martin questions Energy Sec Grant Shapps MP. Tue 8pm, ITV, The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE! Over to Martin: "Well, you've read what I think is happening, let's find out when I put your questions and mine to the man in charge. Plus, I'll explain the big picture of energy bills going forward, and my usual News You Can Use. Don't miss it (or at least set the VHS)." Heads up! Cheap Christmas 2023 Easyjet flights launching early Thursday. Prices usually rocket quickly, the early bird gets the plane. See Easyjet flight launch trick info. Crucial deadline to boost your state pension extended to 31 July. As the deadline to boost your state pension (see Martin's massively popular state pension explainer vid from last week) neared, the Government helpline you need to call had been overwhelmed, cutting many off. Thankfully the deadline has now been extended from 5 April to 31 July, so you have more time to get this done. So keep trying, but don't panic if you can't get through straightaway. 9p Kellogg's, 30p Heinz Beanz & more - through 10% off code for already-reduced, past 'best befores'. 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+. Approved Food 1st and 2nd class stamp prices are rising by up to 15% - but there's a way to beat the hike. From Monday 3 April, the price of a 1st class stamp will rise to £1.10 (up 15p), and 2nd class to 75p (up 7p). See Beat stamp price hike. Mother's Day deals, including couriered flowers, £1.59 photo cards, £13 Baileys 1L & more. Plus free and cheap ways to treat Mum without spending. See our full Mother's Day round-up. Martin: 'Government made £2.4bn selling mortgage prisoners to no-way-out closed book lenders. Time to release these financial-crash victims.' A new report from the London School of Economics, funded by Martin personally and commissioned by MSE, delivers on the Government's requests for costed solutions to release mortgage prisoners and shows how Government profited. Get £120 off a Dyson V10 Total Clean cordless vacuum via code. MSE Blagged. It's normally £420, but our code makes it £300, the cheapest we've seen. 3,000 available. Dyson Have you used a Power of Attorney to open or manage a bank or savings account for someone? Please complete our survey so we can help others in a similar position. Related: A Power of Attorney can be more important than a will.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £120 off Dyson V10 cordless vacuum code 3,000 available - Approved Food 10% off code Ends 15 March - Hot Diamonds 40% off everything code Ends 17 March	DID YOU MISS? - Ends Thu. Aldi 20% off garden furniture, BBQs and more code - Get a FREE solicitor-drafted will if you're 55+ - £20 off trips to Kensington Palace, Liver Building and more - £8ish Sainsbury's fruit & veg £2 - FREE kids' book vouchers, hidden Kindle freebies and more

 

 

New. Longest 0% debt shift card, 31 months interest-free If you can't afford to clear your debts, you can't afford NOT to check if you can shift 'em It's slightly surprising to see the longest 0% balance transfer deal get a bit longer, as the trend has been the opposite, but MBNA's new card does just that. Then again, its fee is slightly higher than its nearest competitors, so it's a fine call. A 0% balance transfer is where you get a new card that pays off debt on old credit and store cards for you, so you owe it instead, but at 0% interest. Two important tips before we get to the best buys... To avoid rejection, by far the best route is to spend two minutes on a 0% eligibility calculator. This shows your bespoke acceptance odds for most top cards, so you can minimise applications, protecting your ability to get credit in the future. As Andrea emailed Martin: "I was reading the MSE email about clearing debt and saw the link for the eligibility checker, and decided there was no harm in trying. I was pre-approved, so I applied and was accepted for 30 months 0% with a limit high enough for me to transfer two of my credit card balances! Thank you." If you've a choice, go for the lowest fee, within a 0% time long enough to clear your debt. Most balance transfer deals charge a one-off % fee of the debt transferred, so minimise that. UNSURE? Play safe and go long. TOP-PICK NEW CARDHOLDER 0% BALANCE TRANSFERS New. MBNA Check your acceptance odds through that link, or apply direct* - Up to 31mths 0% - 3.49% fee - 22.9% rep APR Longest 0% card, but a higher fee and an 'up to' unless you're PRE-APPROVED. The 'up to' means some accepted customers get just 14 months 0%, not the full 31 months. Yet if our eligibility calculator shows you're PRE-APPROVED, you'll get the full 31 months. If not, one of the definite cards is likely better if you've good odds there, especially as the fee is lower. NatWest*, RBS & Ulster For these, the best route is to apply direct through their own eligibility calcs - the links take you there - 30mths 0% - 2.99% fee - 23.9% rep APR Longest definite 0% - all accepted get the full 30 months. With all three sister banks, if accepted you get what's promised. The lower fee means if you're not trying to eke out every last month, it's cheaper to go here. You can't transfer a balance from any of these banks to another of them. M&S Bank Check your acceptance odds through that link, or apply direct* - 28mths 0% - £25 cashback if shifting £2,500+  - 2.99% fee (min £5) - 23.9% rep APR Good deal if transferring £2,500+, as while shorter, a definite 0% and there's cashback. All accepted get the full 28 months at 0%. Plus, through our links, transfer £2,500+ within 90 days and you'll get £25 cashback, credited to your account within 60 days - so it effectively reduces the fee - making it cheaper if you can clear within that time. NatWest, RBS & Ulster  Sadly not in our eligibility calculator, so links take you to apply direct - 19mths 0% - NO fee - 23.9% rep APR Can you clear your debt in under 19 months? If so, this NO-FEE 0% is your winner. This is a corking deal if you can repay quickly, as there's no cost at all if you can clear your debt in 19 months. This one isn't in our eligibility calculator, but NatWest, RBS and Ulster will check your eligibility during your application. Getting a card? ALWAYS follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules: a) Never miss the min monthly repayment, or you could lose the 0% deal and it'll cost far more. b) Clear the card (or balance-transfer again) before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to the higher APR. c) Don't spend or withdraw cash. It usually isn't at the cheap rate and withdrawals hit your ability to get future credit. d) The balance transfer must usually be done within one to three months to get the 0% and any cashback - check your card. Quick balance transfer FAQs (click links for Martin's answers) Q. Is it worth applying if my eligibility odds are low? | Q. What if my credit limit isn't big enough? | Q. Can I shift debt to existing cards too? | Q. Should I try to pay off my biggest debt first? SPOILER: NO. Full help and info, including options for poorer credit scorers, in Best balance transfers.

 

Free wills, super service, energy bill help. All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen on BBC Sounds | Apple | Spotify and more. Hot Diamonds 40% off EVERYTHING code, including £50 ring £15. MSE Blagged. Includes already-reduced outlet items. Hot Diamonds 15GB data Sim under '£5/month'. Newbies to iD Mobile (uses Three's network) can get a 15GB/month Sim with unlimited mins & texts for £8/month, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £40 Currys, Amazon or Tesco voucher after three months and, if you'd have spent there anyway, factor that in and this is equivalent to £4.67/month over the 12-month contract. Need more/less data or a new phone? Do a full comparison using our Cheap Mobile Finder. 75,000 FREE Grand Designs Live London tickets. For 29 April to 7 May, normally £13 to £16. Grand Designs 'Thanks to your weekly email, I got £1,053 back on my water bill through WaterSure.' This week's success of the week comes from Tom: "I found out about the WaterSure scheme [a cap for those either with certain medical conditions, or 3+ children and who claim certain benefits] from your weekly email. My water company said I should've been on this scheme from 2019 and back-paid me £1,053. It's not usually back-paid, but I complained about my high usage several times over the years and I was never advised of WaterSure. It said I should have been asked, and apologised. I'm over the moon! Thanks MSE". If we've helped you claim or save money (on this, or anything else), please send us your MoneySaving successes. What we've asked the Chancellor for in the Budget. Next Wed (15 March), Jeremy Hunt will announce key policies on the nation's finances. This is a key opportunity for our campaigns - see MSE Katie's blog on what we've called for.

 

 

Tell your friends about us They can get this email free every week

 

 

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: MBNA (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 31 months 0%, 3.49% fee (22.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: NatWest - 19 months 0% (23.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts £200 to switch + £36/year cashback: NatWest / RBS £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct Top savings accounts Top easy access: Chip 3.4%, min £1 Top one-year fix: SmartSave 4.31%, min £10,000 Car insurance Try our Car Insurance Compare+ tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 4.8% rep APR (must have Nectar card) Broadband top picks Fast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£18.96/month' On universal credit or similar? Check discounted social tariffs Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.94/month' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.70/month' for 5GB 10GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£4.67/month' for 15GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you have a will? If not, why? If you want to dictate where your assets go when you die, you need a will - a legal document telling everyone what should happen to your money, possessions and property. Wills can be made cheaply, and sometimes for free (see our Cheap wills guide). So please let us know if you have a will. And if not, why? Cuckoo clocks in at number one for broadband customer service. In last week's poll, we asked what you thought of your broadband provider. Of those with more than 100 responses, Cuckoo came out on top, with 98% of its customers rating it 'great', followed by Zen, with 94% of its customers voting it 'great'. Shell took the wooden spoon, with 56% of its customers rating it as 'poor'. See full broadband poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Virgin Media makes it easier to get cheaper broadband if you're on benefits - Now hikes its Boost and Sports membership costs

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA I don't want to adopt the cat I feed as I'll have to pay vet bills, am I in the wrong? Last summer, a cat began coming into my house. It didn't have a collar and looked thin, and when it began spending most of the day at mine, I started buying it food. Eventually I found out it belonged to a neighbour, who has several other pets. They asked if I wanted to adopt the cat since it now effectively lives with me. I said no, because to me that just means paying vet bills... the neighbour didn't seem happy. Am I in the wrong, or should they be thankful I'm already paying for their cat's food? Enter the Money Moral Maze: I don't want to adopt the cat I feed as I'll have to pay vet bills, am I in the wrong? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - Spring Budget 2023: What are we asking the Chancellor to do? - MSE Forum highlights: Blue stones, green fingers & purple mould

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 8 MAR ONWARDS) Wed 8 Mar - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm Tue 14 Mar - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.20am Tue 14 Mar - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV, 8pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 14 Mar - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

 

BINNING PRIZE TICKETS & UNDERVALUING A RARE GUITAR... WHAT'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST MONEY MISTAKE? That's all for this week, but before we go... following news of the woman who ate a heart-shaped crisp potentially worth £100,000, we asked: "What's the biggest MoneySaving mistake you've ever made?" Some focused on financial mistakes, such as getting credit cards much too young or signing up to a 10-year fixed mortgage right before rates started to decrease to their lowest-ever level. One commenter innocently sold a rare Gibson 'Flying V' guitar for a fraction of its worth, and we commiserate with the MoneySaver who binned a Mayfair sticker during a McDonald's Monopoly promo (which would have been worth £100,000 combined with their cousin's Park Lane). Read more and share the pain of your own money regrets in our MoneySaving mistakes Facebook discussion. We hope you save some money, 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 can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com? Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE. Who is Martin Lewis? Martin Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography. What do the links with an * mean? Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too: Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email bank.marksandspencer.com, mbna.co.uk, natwest.com, sainsburysbank.co.uk Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.