Reclaim £1,000s of student loans?, free chips, cheap loans end, 5.2% big-name savings, Prime Day deals & duds, 125 tulips £11

Plus... beat broadband rip-offs, £25 savings cashback, free Hobbycraft £5, 6% Christmas shopping boost

                                                           

10 October 2023 | View in browser

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

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL STOP overpaying £100s a year in the big broadband rip-off, including: - £19/mth 60Mb broadband - Are you eligible for a cheap social tariff? Urgent. If you need a loan, apply ASAP - cheap deals are ending Martin's warning: Millions overpay student loans - can you reclaim £1,000s? Try the MSE app - our site plus new tools Top 5.2% easy-access savings still on... but for how long? Tue & Wed only. Amazon 'Prime Big Deal Days' - sort the deals from the duds FREE KFC & McDonald's chips Grab £25 cashback on 3.5% savings Free Hobbycraft £5 Tonight (Tue). The Martin Lewis Money Show - World Mental Health Day special FREE £50 investment Ends Sat. Smyths toys £6 off £50 New. Extra £25 cashback on £5+ spend Aged 66+? DON'T bin HMRC letter - it could be worth £10,000s Martin's podcast: Free wills and a brown-trouser phone-in 30% off railcards 6% BOOST on Tesco Christmas spending £150 Warm Home Discount opens soon - do you qualify? 125 tulip bulbs £11 Updated. 'Should you fix energy?' calc 'I saved £450 with a water meter' This week's best buys, including 29mth 0% debt shift, free £200 bank switch, Compare+ Car Insurance I'm a rail worker - should I report my fare-dodging friend? 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

The big broadband rip-off, under-speed and over-cost! Millions overpay £100s a year - Ends Thu. '£19/mth' 60Mb broadband - Blisteringly fast 500Mb fibre to the home £28/mth OK, so let's start with a very simple question... How much do you pay annually for broadband? Check now, include line rental, and it may surprise you. Many are paying far too much for broadband, including over a quarter who responded to @MartinSLewis' Twitter poll this week who said they pay more than £40/mth. If that's you and you're one of seven million people out of contract, it's likely you're getting slower speeds than necessary (you can do a speed test here) and are paying over the odds for it... Out of contract costs for selected broadband & line Virgin 132Mb, £57/mth = £680/yr Shell 38Mb, £37/mth = £440/yr Plusnet 36Mb, £48/mth = £580/yr TalkTalk 67Mb, £36/mth = £430/yr BT 50Mb, £43/mth = £520/yr Now 30Mb, £35.50/mth = £430/yr Shell 67Mb, £43/mth = £520/yr Vodafone 35Mb, £33/mth = £400/yr Sky 61Mb, £39.50/mth = £470/yr Shell 11Mb, £31/mth = £370/yr While the cheapest deals below cost the equivalent of £230/yr How to easily slash broadband costs As always, the cheapest deals are short-lived switching promos (so you can't have been a customer within a year) you generally can't get direct, but only via comparison sites. We amalgamate them in our broadband comparison tool. As long as you're out of contract, switching should be easy. Though if you're on Universal Credit, check social tariffs first. As Sandra emailed: "Having cut back everything, this was the last to be looked at. I'd been stuck on a 2yr BT contract. Moving to Plusnet, I will go from £59/mth to £25/mth, saving around £400/yr. The speed is quicker. Crazy as they are the same company. Result!" Newbies' broadband deals Postcode-dependent, so links go via our broadband finder tool Deal & equiv cost (1) Analysis Ends 11.59pm Thu. Sky - 61Mb broadband & line '£18.89/mth' 18mth contract. Customer service score: 5.9/10 (OK) (2) Cheapest 60Mb+ fibre since April and decent service. Just launched, but not on for long, you a) pay £25/mth and b) CLAIM a £110 virtual prepaid Mastercard which you can then spend almost anywhere. Don't forget to claim it though. Factor it all in over the 18mth contract, before any calls, and it's equivalent to £18.89/mth. This deal's available to 97% of homes. Ends Sun. Shell Energy - 109Mb broadband-only '£19.49/mth' 18mth contract. Customer service score: 3.9/10 (poor) (2) Cheapest 100Mb+ fibre. Just launched, but not on for long, you a) pay £9.95 upfront, b) then pay £26.99/mth and c) CLAIM (don't forget) a £145 Amazon voucher within four months. So factor in the voucher and it's equivalent to £19.49/mth over the 18mth contract. Though beware, Shell's customer service rating ain't great. This full fibre (FTTP) deal's available to 52% of homes. New. BT-owned Plusnet  MSE Blagged - 145Mb broadband-only £26.99/mth 24mth contract. Customer service score: 7.4/10 (good) (2) Cheapest GOOD SERVICE superfast fibre broadband. If service is important to you, you usually have to pay a bit of a premium for it. That's why we've included Plusnet, as it's the cheapest fibre deal from a firm which has a 'good' service poll rating - and if you've not heard of it, it's owned by BT. It's just a straight £26.99/mth, with nothing to claim. This full fibre (FTTP) deal's available to 52% of homes. Ends Sun.  Vodafone  - 500Mb broadband-only '£27.92/mth' 24mth contract. Customer service score: 5.3/10 (OK) (2) Cheapest blisteringly-fast 500Mb deal. This Vodafone deal is £30/mth, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £50 Amazon / supermarket voucher within four months. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £27.92/mth over the 2yr contract. This full fibre (FTTP) deal's available to 52% of homes. (1) Our 'equivalent costs' - adding all costs, deducting promo credits and averaging over the contract so you can compare easily. (2) Broadband service ratings tend to be worse than other sectors, so all scores are lower. See our Broadband service poll results page. For the fastest speeds, you need fibre to the premises (FTTP). Often called full fibre, this involves laying fibre optic cables directly from the broadband exchange to your home (rather than just to a cabinet near you, and then copper wires to your house) meaning far greater speeds. Only 52% can get it, though that's increasing each year. See Fibre to the premises for full info. You may have a cheaper local provider. We aim to cover as many of the major broadband providers as possible, yet there are a growing number of small local players that can offer good deals. We're working on trying to find a way to get them in our tool, but for now we just want to give you a heads-up in case you see others. If you're in Hull. Switching broadband in Hull traditionally involved choosing from KCOM's offerings only, as it's the monopoly provider in the area. But things are slowly changing, with local alternative networks (or alt-nets) emerging. Two big names are Connexin or Hull Fibre. You could even consider mobile broadband providers, though their coverage may be limited. On Universal Credit or similar? Check out SOCIAL TARIFFS While the deals above are short-lived promos that you'll need to switch again to keep cheap in future, broadband social tariffs usually have consistently low monthly costs - as low as £16/mth - so if eligible, they are unbeatable price-wise if you want to stick with one provider for a number of years. Here's a 1-2-3... 1) Are you eligible? Most tariffs are for those on Universal Credit or Pension Credit, but some allow those on Tax Credits and other legacy benefits to get them too. And TalkTalk offers six months' FREE broadband for jobseekers. 2) Does your current provider offer them? More than 10 firms now do, and most of the big ones, including BT, Virgin, Sky, Now Broadband, KCOM, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and G Network, also offer social tariffs. To see social tariffs in our comparison tool, check the 'Show social tariffs' box and enter your postcode, and we'll show you those with near-national coverage (plus each provider's eligibility criteria) alongside all standard deals available to you, so you can compare. You can also see our full social tariffs list, which includes smaller firms too. 3) If your provider doesn't offer it, you can switch to get it. All except Sky will accept new customers to a social tariff. But it's highly worth checking with your provider, as Andrea emailed: "My gran is 91 years old and only really has internet for her TV, doorbell cam and Facebook Portal. I did a quick check with her current provider to see if she was eligible as she receives Pension Credit, and she was. She has gone from paying £55/mth to £20/mth. This will be a saving of £420/yr, happy days!" Quick broadband switching tips A few things you need to know if you're planning to switch... You are far more likely to get the advertised speeds than you used to. The rules now are that at least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. All bigger providers also must indicate your estimated minimum speed pre-application. With Virgin, Plusnet and Sky (not Shell Energy), you can cancel penalty-free if, at any time, your speed is below the minimum for three consecutive days and they can't fix it within a month. Switching usually means about two hours' downtime, but could be longer. Most won't usually need an engineer, but if you're in an area where 'full fibre' (FTTP) is being rolled out, or are switching to or from Virgin, it's more likely - you're usually told before you apply. Switching may change the type of landline you have. The old plug into a phone socket landlines are being phased out, and by 2025 the transition to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), where you plug a landline into your router, will be complete. This is being done region by region, and when you switch, if you're in a region where it's happening, you may be asked if you're OK with that. People with panic or burglar alarms that work via a landline should check it'll still work before switching. Put your router higher up and make sure nothing is blocking it. A nice high router, not hidden in a cupboard or by walls, should help your speed. And of course, nearer is better. For more, see our 8 speed-boosters to make it faster. Happy where you are? Haggle. Broadband firms are often easy to haggle with. In our last poll in December 2022, the success rates for those who tried were over 75% for Virgin, Sky and TalkTalk. So first use our broadband comparison to benchmark a cheap deal available in your area, then use How to haggle with broadband providers for how to cut prices down. Members of cashback sites may be able to undercut some deals. Our Top cashback sites guide explains how these sites work - they often feature broadband deals and give cashback on 'em. In some cases, the cashback means they can undercut promotional deals elsewhere - though don't assume it's the same deal, they can be structured differently, so check.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Urgent! Cheapest loan deals likely to be pulled ANY MINUTE... if you need to borrow, apply ASAP The cheapest personal loan rates have doubled in the last 18 months. While we can't confirm this, we've heard it's very likely that more than one of the market's cheapest loans are about to be pulled - or at least repriced at higher rates - any minute. There's even a chance this could happen as we send this week's email out, so do double-check any rates. If correct, it means if you currently need to apply for a loan, speed is of the essence. After that, we may well be close to rates plateauing and stabilising, so this isn't a call about the longer term. Full info in Cheap loans, but in brief... Please only get a loan if it's planned for, NEEDED and you've budgeted for the repayments. It should be for a necessary, one-off purchase (new freezer, kitchen, car etc) you can't pay for from savings. NEVER borrow willy-nilly to fill gaps in your income, as it can spiral out of control. Before borrowing, budget to ensure you can afford the repayments, borrow as little as you can, and repay as quickly as you can. Overall, if in doubt, don't. - If your aim is to switch credit cards to loans, a balance transfer is likely cheaper. - If you're struggling with debt already, you can't borrow your way out of it. Please read Debt help instead. The UK's cheapest FIXED loan rates - where you can check first if you're likely to be accepted. Loan rates are meaningless if you can't get them. Worse still, applying means a mark on your credit file even if you're rejected. Instead, it's best to go via our Loans Eligibility Calc, which shows which loans you'll likely get without impacting your ability to access credit. All rates are fixed for the length of the loan. - £1,000 to £2,999: Santander* 14.5% rep APR interest, but 0% credit card loans are likely cheaper for many - £3,000 to £4,999: Novuna Personal Loans* 9.9% on £3k to £4k, 9.7% on £4k to £5k, M&S Bank* 9.9% rep APR - £5,000 to £7,499: Santander* 7.2% rep APR, AA* 7.2% rep APR for members (7.3% non-members) - £7,500 to £15,000: Santander* 5.8% rep APR, Tesco Bank* 5.9% rep APR (must have a Clubcard) - £15,001 to £20,000: Santander* 5.9% rep APR, Tesco Bank* 5.9% rep APR (must have a Clubcard) Cheaper loans for some amounts, but no way to know if you'll get it AIB (NI) is phone-only for applications (unless you're an existing customer), but has very cheap headline rates - 12.3% on £1,000 to £3,000, and 5.6% on £5,000 to £25,000. Yet it ISN'T in our eligibility calculator, nor does it offer its own eligibility check, you just have to apply blind. There's no way to know how tough its credit-scoring is. We'd suggest you first use the eligibility calc to see if you're generally getting acceptance before deciding if it's worth calling AIB. Then use our Loan Cost Calculator to see what the cost differences would be at the headline rates. Sadly, lenders needn't give you the rate they advertised at. All loans listed, and virtually all personal loans on the market, are 'representative APR'. That means they only need to give 51% of accepted customers that rate - the rest can be charged more without limit. This is very frustrating, and worse still, the only way to find the rate you'll get is by applying, which marks your credit file. A few lenders do now give guaranteed rates via an eligibility check, but they tend not to be the cheapest. We continue to push for change, but don't have a solution right now. Always obey the personal loan golden rules. If you do get a loan, ensure you pay on time (preferably by direct debit) or you may be charged and get a missed payment on your credit report, which can cause real problems. And while loan rates are fixed, do monitor the market, especially if your credit score improves. You then might be able to cut existing loan costs with a new loan (it's complex though, so the article takes you through it).

 

Try the MSE app. The site you know & love, plus new tools, via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It's still alive... top 5.2% easy-access savings from a BIG name... but for how long? NatWest Group's Ulster Bank* last week launched its 5.2% AER variable easy-access saver, so you can put money in and withdraw it when you want... as long as you've £5,000+ to open it. We're a bit surprised it's still around, especially as we saw NS&I's top 1yr fix pulled last week. If you've less to save, Coventry BS also offers 5.2% from £1 but only allows three penalty-free withdrawals a year. Full info & more options in Top savings. Tue & Wed only. Amazon 'Prime Big Deal Days' - sort deals from duds, including £100 off Ninja 10-in-1 cooker & 30% off Amazon Warehouse. Full 'Prime Big Deal Days' analysis. FREE CHIPS (well, fries) at KFC and McDonald's this week. One totally free, the other spend as little as 10p to 50p on something else to get them. Free chips Free £25 for saving £500 at 3.5% for 6mths. MSE Blagged. Autosave apps use tech to figure out what you can afford to save from your current account, then they put that amount aside for you. Via this Plum link*, newbies get £25 cashback if they save £500+ for 6mths, including via its free 'basic' plan at 3.51% AER interest. So for six months at that amount, it'd be an effective rate of 14%. More in Autosave apps. Related: Top savings accounts FREE £5 to spend at Hobbycraft - crafts, toys, games. It's a £5 off voucher via its app for use in stores or online, but as there's no minimum spend it's effectively a free fiver (things £5 or under include an enchanted forest paper pad, or an art caddy). See Hobbycraft free fiver. TONIGHT (Tue) 8pm ITV, The Martin Lewis Money Show World Mental Health Day special Over to Martin: "Money & mental health issues often go hand in hand - a marriage made in hell. ITV says Get Britain Talking about mental health, but does that include telling your bank if you're unwell? I'll go through my guide to money & mental health help, products and tips, and the HSBC big boss joins me so I can ask him what big banks can, should and actually do do too. You can also see our free MSE Mental Health & Debt help booklet for more." FREE £50 investment. 6,000 left. Newbies putting £50+ into Wealthify, which is a robo-investment platform (it picks the investments for you, so it's easy), get £50 cashback after a year. So invest £50, wait, and then you get your money back, and whatever the investment's worth in a year is profit. Even if it flops, at worst you break even. Robo-investing cashback Ends Sat. Smyths toys £6 off £50 or £12 off £100. Online and in stores, including Lego, Barbie and more. Toy deals New. Free £25 when you spend £5+ at one of 5,000+ places online. MSE Blagged. Newbies to cashback site Topcashback can get an extra £25 cashback when they sign up via our special links and spend £5+. Topcashback Aged 66+? Don't bin an HMRC letter that may be worth £10,000s - it's not a scam. HM Revenue and Customs has started writing to 100,000s of people - mostly women - who took time off work for childcare between 1978 and 2010, as they may be missing 'home responsibilities protection' that could boost their state pension. This isn't a scam, so DON'T ignore the letter. See Underpaid state pension.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - Plusnet 145Mb broadband for £26.99/mth Ends 1 Nov - £25 cashback when you autosave £500 Ends Wed 18 Oct - £25 cashback when you spend £5+ 15,000 available - 125 tulip bulbs for £11 delivered 10,000 sets available	DID YOU MISS? - Up to 50% off toys at Morrisons and Tesco, including Barbie - Over 55? Book NOW to get a free solicitor-drafted will - £200+ of beauty & skincare for £55 - Christmas delivery slots open for Asda & more - 30 digital coupons, including 'free' £2.20 pretzel thins & more

 

 

Martin's warning to graduates (even grey-haired ones)... Exclusive. A million people with student loans OVERPAID last year, often unaware. Can you reclaim £100s or £1,000s? Student loan repayments work more like a tax than a loan - you only repay once you earn enough and in proportion to earnings. And just as millions unwittingly overpay tax (are you owed tax back?), many university leavers unwittingly pay too much off student loans. Our new Freedom of Information request reveals that in the 2022/23 tax year, over a million former UK students OVERPAID, adding to millions more who had in past years. Some get £100s back just with a quick call, others may have to push harder, as Fiona emailed: "Thank you so much. I knew something wasn't right when I lodged my tax returns, and reading Martin's article was the catalyst for a sustained attempt to work out what had happened. Finally, I received £3,773 back." Our Reclaim student loan overpayments guide has step-by-step instructions on how to get your money back, but here's a heads-up... The most common reasons why people overpaid. It's often due to incorrect details or processing by you, your employer or the Student Loans Company. Here are the figures for 2022/23... 833,000 repaid loans despite not earning enough in the tax year. Student loans are repaid at 9% of everything earned over the ANNUAL threshold (£27,295 for most, but it varies by the 'plan' - see what's my repayment threshold). However in practice, repayments are taken from the payroll monthly, if you earn over the MONTHLY equivalent threshold (£2,274 for most). So those with variable incomes or commissions, or who had some time out of work in the tax year, are likely to have paid in some months when their annual earnings aren't high enough, so can reclaim. PS: if you earnt over the annual threshold, but paid too much for the year due to some high earning months, sadly you can't reclaim then. 165,000 were on the wrong student loan payment plan. If you've not told your firm which plan you're on, the Govt tells it to assume you've a Plan 1 loan where you repay on income above £22,015/yr, yet millions are on plans where you only repay over £27,000/yr - so if the default setting is then used, you'll have overpaid. 57,000 had money deducted after the loan was fully repaid. After a set time the loan is wiped, often after 30 years, but again it depends (see When will my loan be wiped?). However, you could still repay even after your loan is cleared due to PAYE timings - it will pay this back automatically, but that can take time. To prevent this, you can set up a direct debit for the last two years of your repayments. 39,000 started repaying their loans too early. You are only eligible to start repaying in the April after you left your course. If you misstated when your studies finished or your employer got it wrong, you could've repaid too early. Should you claim the money back if you've overpaid? Overpaying on normal loans is a good thing, it means you clear the debt quicker and repay less interest. Yet student loans don't work like normal loans. It's complex... Many are on Plan 2 loans (eg, 2012 to 2022 uni starters from England) with its current 7.3% interest rate. So on the surface, overpaying may look a good idea. However, the Govt's own stats show over three-quarters of people won't clear these loans in full before they wipe after 30 years. If so, overpaying these smaller amounts won't usually actually reduce what you will pay in future, so you don't gain by overpaying (the very highest earners who will clear the loans in time will gain). This works differently for other plans - see should I reclaim overpayments? for plan-by-plan details. How to reclaim? It's usually pretty simple and you can go back as far as you like. If possible, gather old payslips, your payroll number and a PAYE reference number. But if you don't have those, don't let it put you off, this can often be done in a phone call. There's no time limit here either, so even if this was a decade ago you can still do it. Full details in how to reclaim student loan overpayments.

 

Free wills and a brown-trouser phone-in... The Martin Lewis Podcast. A jam-packed pod including free wills, why Power of Attorney's more important, Martin berating Nihal, a brown-trouser phone-in, 'when did a wedgie ever hurt anyone?', what's the most cash you've ever held, cheap toys, savings and more. All in The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple Podcasts & more. Annual railcards 30% off code - pay £21, not the usual £30. These digital cards (smartphone or tablet) get you a third off travel. Railcards include: 16 to 25 | 26 to 30 | Family & Friends | Network (London and South East) | Two Together (any named pair) | Senior. Works on three-year railcards too. Railcard code Ends Wed 18 Oct. Huge 6% BOOST on Tesco Christmas spending. Supermarket Christmas saving schemes encourage year-long saving, yet a loophole lets you get a year's bonus within a few weeks. The Tesco deadline approaches. The £150 Warm Home Discount scheme opens on Monday - check if you're eligible. If you're in Eng & Wal it's paid automatically, but you can check if you'll get it from Mon 16 Oct. If you're in Scot, some get it automatically, others need to apply. Full details in Warm Home Discount. 125 tulip bulbs £11 delivered. MSE Blagged. Normally £29ish, 10,000 sets available. Precious Plants Updated. 'Should you fix your energy?' calculator. If you've been offered a fix and are not sure it's worth considering, use our updated our 'Should you fix?' calculator. 'I saved £450 a year by getting a water meter.' Our success of the week comes from Gloria, who made a massive saving after reading our guide on how to cut your water bills. She said: "I took your advice on having a water meter installed in April this year after our bill for 2023/24 came in at a whopping £799. I've just had my half-yearly bill and, based on that estimate, our annual bill should be around the £350 mark [saving £449/year]. I've done absolutely nothing different as regards water consumption. Many thanks once again." If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 29mths 0%, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR) No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 14mths 0% (24.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts £200 to switch + 8% regular saver: Nationwide £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct Top savings accounts Top easy access: Ulster Bank 5.2%, min £5,000 Top one-year fix: Ahli United Bank UK 6.1%, min £1,000 Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR Broadband top picks Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£18.55/mth' Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£18.83/mth' Fast fibre (55Mb+): Sky '£18.89/mth' Superfast fibre (100Mb+): Shell Energy '£19.49/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.70/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.45/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£3.57/mth' for 12GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile '£6.25/mth' for 70GB data

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your bank's app? If you access your current account via your bank's app, please tell us how it rates for the range of features it has, and how good those features are. Vote in this week's poll. 64% of MoneySavers haven't turned their heating on yet. More than 19,000 people responded to our poll last week, and 64% of them said they hadn't turned their heating on because they were waiting as long as they could due to the cost. Of those who had switched it on, there was a big regional divide, with 54% of those in Northern Ireland and 46% of those in Scotland having already done so, compared with just 7% in London, the east and the south of England. See the full heating poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: NS&I suddenly pulls 6.2% savings deal - but Martin says it's no surprise - Thousands of single bus journeys capped at £2 until December 2024 - British Gas extends offer of half-price electricity on Sundays for some customers - Lycamobile customers face disruption after cyber attack - here's what's happening - Asda shopper? Christmas delivery slots are now available to book

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA I'm a rail worker - should I report my friend for dodging fares? I've recently learned one of my friends has been deliberately evading train fares for some time by 'short faring' - buying tickets for only part of the journeys he makes. Should I report him to the train firm concerned, which could lead to him being issued a penalty fare notice or even being taken to court? Or should I turn a blind eye as he's a friend, even though he's effectively damaging the industry I work in? Enter the Money Moral Maze: I'm a rail worker - should I report my friend for dodging fares? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - Passports, petrol and (guinea) pigs - last week's MSE Forum highlights

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 11 OCT ONWARDS) Wed 11 Oct - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm Tue 17 Oct - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.30am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Thu 12 Oct - Steph's Packed Lunch with MSE's Gareth, Channel 4, midday

 

HAIRBANDS FROM OLD TIGHTS & BUYING THE SAME SOCKS... YOUR SNEAKY WAYS TO SAVE THE PENNIES That's all for this week, but before we go... there's a long-running MSE Forum thread full of sneaky ways to save, and it's the gift that keeps on giving. Doing home improvements? Add a little white paint to leftover wall paint and you have a new shade to use in a different room. Want to save on beauty? Add a drop of nail varnish remover to old nail varnish to make them usable again, and cut up laddered tights to use as elasticated hairbands. Long commute? Collect crosswords and sudokus from free papers instead of buying a book of them. And finally, only ever buy identical socks so it never matters if you lose one. Or - even better - just embrace wearing odd socks (apparently it makes children giggle). Add your own smart savers to the Sneaky ways to save the pennies MSE Forum thread. We hope you save some money, The MSE team

 

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