Urgent 2024 deadlines, eBayers' tax, 29mth 0% debt shift, beat 5% energy hike, free gym passes, Amazon Prime to show ads

Plus... sub-4% mortgages, £9.50 hols?, 5 cinema tix £22

                                                           

02 January 2024 | View in browser

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

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin: 10 urgent 2024 deadlines, incl... - £10,000s in bereavement support - New. Childcare help for 2yr olds - Beat 67% car insurance hikes - Reclaim tax before April New. Shift card debts to 29mths INTEREST FREE + £25 cashback Energy bills UP 5%: 8 need-to-knows Sell on Etsy, Vinted, eBay etc? Beware tax reporting changes... FREE £175 bank switch Amazon Prime Video to show ads Fixed mortgages fall below 4% - but will they get cheaper? 5 Vue cinema tickets £22 Got a Q for the Chancellor? Totally free 3-day Fitness First pass Grab £15 for saving £100 at 3.51% £1 Northern train tickets & 50% off GWR £100+ payouts for millions of water bill payers? Sun holidays are back - but are they really £9.50? Ends Sun. 2.5% cashback on free prepaid card 90% off 'tailored' dog food FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets Want an MSE Charity grant? This week's best buys, including 6.1% loans, 5.22% easy-access savings, 12GB Sim '£3.57/mth' Should my eldest split their Child Trust Fund with my youngest, who didn't get one? 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

Martin: 'I've ten 2024 deadlines & savings that could have a huge impact on your year - for some, £10,000s are at stake...' Happy New Year. I'm just getting my feet back under the work-table ready to focus on 2024's fiscal fortunes. While inflation is thankfully much lower, prices are still rising (so see beat 5% energy hikes below), and that's on top of last year's extreme hikes. So it is still going to be a tough year for many. To help, throughout January in this email, we'll focus on big savings so you can give yourself a money makeover. To start with, I want to highlight some key 2024 deadlines & quick-hit savings, so SCAN THROUGH ALL to see which impact you... Urgent. Partner died since 2001? Possibly £10,000s in backdated support claimable for many UNMARRIED cohabiting parents. Pls spread word. A law change that came into force in Feb 2023, on the back of a court case, means for the first time non-married parents can claim bereavement benefits too, and for them, in some cases it's backdatable to 2001, but for that you must claim by 8 Feb 2024. To help, I've an easy-watch video briefing within our full backdated bereavement support guide. Please spread word to anyone this may help. Many have been in touch with successes, such as Marc, who tweeted: "Helped a relative claim recently and they received over £30,000, a life-changing sum! Thank you @MartinSLewis - it goes a long way to making up for the scrimping & scraping when they couldn't claim." Childcare support in Eng is boosted in 2024 as many two-year-olds will be eligible for funded care for the first time. If you pay for childcare, ensure you know what you're due. From April, many working parents of two-year-olds in England will be entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare a week (ie, state pays, though in some cases you may need to top up). You can apply now if your child was born at least a year and 36 weeks ago (so today the cut-off's 27 April '22), and the funded hours kick in during the term after they turn two. From September, eligible parents of children aged 9mths+ will be entitled to funded care too. Though whether nurseries have the capacity, or are funded enough to help, is a tougher question. Plus also... - Child aged 3 or 4? Almost all get some help, check schemes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. - On a low income? If you get Universal Credit or Tax Credits, you should get an extra payment to help pay for childcare. - Do you pay for childcare? Get a 25% top up. Over 800,000 working parents are missing out on what is effectively a 25% top up on childcare via the appallingly misnamed Tax-Free Childcare scheme (it's not about tax, it's a scheme where you save for childcare then get money added to pay for it). Make 2024 the Year of Cashback, as you can get an easy 1% back (likely £100+) just for doing your normal spending. Huge recent inflation means an unavoidable need for most people to spend more. So you may as well get paid to do it, and the sooner you act, the sooner you get it. The Chase debit card* is easy to get. When you apply for this app-based account it doesn't do a hard credit check and you don't need to switch bank to get it. It pays 1% cashback on all normal spending for at least a year, up to a max £15/mth. So pay money in from your usual bank account and then use the card to do your normal spending on (from the start of your 2nd year, you'll need £500/mth going in to get the cashback - pretty easy as most spend far more than that). See our full Chase review. Some can earn more using the Amex 5% for 3mths cashback card but these are tougher to get and are credit not debit cards, so you must repay IN FULL each month to avoid interest. Full info in Reward cards. It's likely an election year - ensure you're on the electoral roll (it can help you get accepted for mortgages / credit too). The PM has confirmed he'll call a general election sometime in 2024 (though legally it could still be held in Jan 2025). To ensure you can vote, get on the electoral roll and this time you'll also need ID unless voting by post (or by proxy). Being on the electoral roll is also important for your finances, as if not, it can hamper your ability to get credit (see 28 ways to boost your creditworthiness). And don't worry - you can do it and avoid spam mail... when you register, just don't agree to go on the 'open register', which firms can use for marketing. Simply go on the full electoral register only - that way your details aren't widely shared, except for things like credit-checking. Not eligible to vote in the UK? See what to tell the credit reference agency. Savings rates have peaked, and are likely to drop further in 2024, so check you're not being underpaid now - top payers: 5.22% easy access, 5.3% fixed. The City is currently predicting UK base rates won't rise and will likely fall in 2024. Easy-access savings rates tend to move with this yet fixed rates move more with likely future rates, so they're already off their peak (the top 1yr fix now is 5.3%; four months ago it was 6.2%). And if the markets are right, they could drop further. So check now what your savings are earning and make sure you're maxing them - our Top savings and Top cash ISAs guides will take you through what you need to know and all the best buys. Car insurance 'rose 67%' in 2023, and rises are likely to continue till mid 2024. Assessments of how much car insurance rose in 2023 vary from the industry's (ABI's) own 29% up to Consumer Intelligence analysts' 67% - either way it's a shedload! My social media feeds are full of people shocked by their renewals. Sadly many analysts expect rises to continue for at least the first half of this year. So check now to see if you can lock in a price to forestall future rises. Use our MSE Compare+ Car Insurance tool to see your cheapest insurers as a benchmark, and get unique, bespoke, personalised tips - such as timing your quote or adding additional drivers - to cut costs down further. As Chris emailed: "I received the weekly email and was settling for my £968 renewal premium, a hike of £330 on last year's. However, after using the Compare+ tool I managed to get a like-for-like deal for £668, effectively saving me £300. Thank you for the weekly email and the link to Compare+." It's worth checking even if not at renewal, as you may be able to essentially lock in a cheaper price over the next year. See how to change policy mid-year including pros & cons. More than one car at home? Comparison sites don't check multicar cover so you'll need to check manually if it's worth it. The best-known multicar provider is Admiral*, but Aviva, LV*, Diamond and Elephant* also offer it. Don't worry if your renewals are at different dates - they easily sort it. Also see existing-customer discounts for multiple cars. Beat 36% home insurance hikes too A similar story as car insurance here, and our cheap home insurance cost-cutting system has full help - briefly though... - Use as many comparison sites as you've time for. Our order's MoneySupermarket*, Compare The Market* then Confused* (see how we order). - Compare the winner to deals with promos from Coverbaloo + £25 Amazon*, Urban Jungle + £15 Amazon* (code MSE_OFFER) and Home Protect + food hamper/wine*. - If time, add in biggie Direct Line which isn't on comparisons. - Cashback sites' comparisons give up to £34 back. - Don't want to switch? Take the comparisons' best buys and try haggling with your existing firm. Were you aged 66 or older by 12 Dec 2023? Check now if you're due Pension Credit... even if you only get pennies, it triggers eligibility for the February £299 cost of living payment. If you (or someone you know - spread word) are a state pensioner with total income under £220 a week, or are a couple with combined total income under £320 a week, take a couple of minutes to read my Are you due Pension Credit? blog. Pension Credit is an income top-up to the state pension with an average payout of £3,900/yr. Sadly over 850,000 ELIGIBLE PENSIONERS ARE MISSING OUT. And even if you're only due pennies, it's also a gateway to many other payouts, including, if you apply soon, the February £299 cost of living payment. Married (or in a civil partnership)? Are you due a £1,260 tax break? Claim before April to max the rebate. This is an important perk that can be very worthwhile. - You need to be married or in a civil partnership, not just cohabiting. - One of you must be a non-taxpayer (ie, earning under £12,570/yr). - The other, a basic 20% taxpayer (ie, earning between £12,570 and up to £50k/yr; £43k/yr Scot). If so, the non-taxpayer can ask to shift 10% of their tax-free allowance to their spouse, meaning they can earn £1,257 extra tax-free. It's worth an extra £252 this year. If you've been eligible since April 2019, it's backdatable to then - provided you apply by 5 April 2024 - adding an extra £990 to the rebate. Our Marriage tax help guide has full info (and the few rare cases where it's not worth it). Expect your broadband bill to be hiked 7% in April, even if you're mid-contract - check now to see if you can save £100s. Outrageously in April 2023 many broadband providers hiked people's bills by between 14% and 17% as they'd written above-inflation hikes into contracts. Thankfully the regulator has proposed to ban these types of hikes, but it's unlikely to be in place before this year's hikes. Most firms increase the cost by either Dec or Jan's inflation plus 4% - those figures aren't out yet, but my best guess is 7%-ish rises this April. So if you're one of seven million people currently out of contract (likely if you've been with the same provider for years), so are free to switch, spend 2mins on our broadband comparison. Many can double speeds and halve costs. Most deals are short-lived, and include promo discounts - current top deals include... - 67Mb Vodafone fast fibre '£21.90/mth' - 100Mb+ Virgin '£22.10/mth' These will likely rise in April too, but a 7% rise on £20/mth is less than a 7% rise on £40/mth which many pay right now. Broadband social tariffs for those on Universal Credit   Up to four million people on Universal Credit and sometimes other benefits are eligible for social tariffs, but few get them. These have consistently low costs, as little as £12/mth. So tick 'show social tariffs' to include the biggies in our MSE cheap broadband comparison tool or see our full social tariffs list which includes a few smaller firms too. Are you owed £1,000s in tax? There's an important April back-claiming deadline. Your tax code is the number - such as 1257L - that tells your employer how much tax to take from you. Millions are wrong every year, and it's crucial to understand the rules say that it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to check it's correct, not your employer's or HM Revenue & Customs'. Our easy Tax Code Calculator will give you an idea if yours is likely to be right or wrong (as well as the calc there's a guide there too that takes you through all you need to know). You can currently backdate any claims to April 2019, but to go back that far you must do it by this April, so the sooner you check, the safer. A final thought: are you in debt crisis? Get free debt help NOW. No deadline here, but if you're struggling this New Year, it'll likely feel urgent to you, so I've three important questions to ask yourself...   - Do you have sleepless nights or depression/anxiety over debt? - Do you struggle to meet your minimum monthly payments? - Is your total debt (not mortgage/student loan) over a year's salary? If you answer 'yes' to any of these, get free, one-to-one debt-counselling help from Citizens Advice, StepChange, National Debtline or CAP (for emotional support too). They have many tools, including 'Breathing Space' which can stop your creditors chasing you for a time. The most common thing I hear after people go is: "I finally got a good night's sleep." More info on how it works is in our Debt help guide.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Don't start the year with a financial hangover! If you can't afford to clear your credit card debt, you can't afford not to check if you can shift it to INTEREST FREE New 29mth 0% balance transfer with £25 cashback If you're starting 2024 with credit card debt, a balance transfer is a powerful tool to slash costs. It's where you get a new credit card to pay off debt on your existing cards, so you owe it instead, but at 0% interest for a set period - meaning your repayments clear the actual debt, not just the interest. Credit card firms know that January is 'debt month', so it's no surprise we've a boosted new top deal. So, if you're paying interest, or soon will be (as your current 0% is ending) don't delay - check our 0% eligibility tool ASAP to see which cards you'll be accepted for. As Brian emailed: "Thanks for your tip on 0% balance transfers. I had a £1,700 debt and was being charged interest on it. I got a 0% balance transfer for 28mths, which should make it easier to pay it back. I feel a lot better mentally for this." That'll likely save him roughly £450 interest over the next couple of years. TOP-PICK NEW CARDHOLDER 0% BALANCE TRANSFERS (longest first) New. Barclaycard Link goes via our eligibility calc, or apply direct* - Up to 29mths 0% - £25 cashback if transferring £2,500+ - 3.45% fee - 24.9% rep APR interest after Longest 0% and cashback for some. For those shifting £2,500+, the cashback offsets some of the fee. But it's an 'up to' card, so if you're not 'pre-approved' in our eligibility calc, you could be accepted and get just 14mths 0%. M&S Bank Link goes via our eligibility calc, or apply direct* - Up to 28mths 0% - 3.49% fee (min £5) - 24.9% rep APR after Decent Barclaycard alternative. Another 'up to' card, but some not accepted for Barclaycard may get this. If you're not pre-approved in our eligibility calc, you could get just 20mths 0%. Santander Link goes via our eligibility calc, or apply direct* - 26mths 0% - 3% fee (min £5) - 23.9% rep APR after Longest definite 0%. All accepted get the full 26mths 0%, so it's worth considering if you get good odds for it in the eligibility calc, and aren't pre-approved for the cards above. NatWest  Link goes via our eligibility calc, or apply direct* - 14mths 0% - NO FEE - 24.9% rep APR after CHEAPEST IF YOU CAN REPAY QUICKLY. No fee, so clear the debt within 14mths and it's totally free. Plus our eligibility calc can tell those pre-approved if they'll get the credit limit they need. Also offered by sister banks RBS and Ulster Bank, but they're not in our calc. Getting a card? ALWAYS follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules: a) Never miss the minimum monthly repayment, or you could lose the 0% deal and it'll cost far more. b) Aim to 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 may hit your ability to get future credit. d) You must usually balance-transfer within 60 to 90 days to get the 0% - check. 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.

 

Do you sell on Etsy, Vinted, eBay, Airbnb etc? Firms to report sales to HMRC - ensure you know if you'll need to pay tax. The key question for regular sellers is 'Are you a trader?' - see online seller tax news. FREE £175, 7% interest and a 0% overdraft, just by switching to a top-service bank. If you're doing a New Year financial sort-through, only one bank's offering switchers free cash, but at least it's a good 'un. First Direct* has topped nearly every customer service poll we've ever done, and right now accepted switchers to it get a FREE £175, a linked 7% saver they can put up to £300/mth in, and fee-free overseas spending on the debit card. Plus many get a £250 0% overdraft. Full eligibility info in Best bank accounts. Amazon Prime Video customer? From 5 Feb it'll charge you to avoid ads. See Prime Video ads. Mortgage rates falling, five-year fixes now below 4%, but will they get cheaper? See our mortgage analysis. 5 Vue cinema tickets £22. Want some escapism during the dark winter months? Save some wonga watching Wonka (or any other film) before 31 March - and you needn't use 'em all in one go. Plus 28 other cinema savers. Got a question for the Chancellor? Martin will be interviewing him for a New Year kick-start to his ITV show next Tue (9pm not the usual 8pm). If you've a consumer finance question to suggest Martin poses to Jeremy Hunt, let him know via this Twitter post or email the show team at martinlewis@itv.com. Totally free three-day Fitness First pass. MSE Blagged. Normally £15 to £40 for one day. Fitness First Free £15 for saving £100 via autosaving app Plum. MSE Blagged. Autosave apps use tech to figure out what you can afford to save from your current account, then put that amount aside for you. Via this Plum link*, newbies get £15 cashback if they save £100+ in the first 90 days, including via its free 'basic' plan, which pays 3.51% AER interest (and once in you can then sweep it out to higher payers). More in Autosave apps. £1 Northern train tickets and 'up to 50% off' Great Western Railway tickets. For travel between January and April. Get on track for a bargain HELP YOUR FRIENDS SAVE MONEY IN 2024... just suggest they sign up to get this free email like you do.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - Free three-day Fitness First gym pass Ends Tue 16 Jan - £15 cashback when you autosave £100 Ends Wed 17 Jan - Tails.com 90% off 'tailored' dog food Ends Thu 29 Feb	DID YOU MISS? - Sign up to the FREE MSE Academy of Money - Get a £40 Asda voucher for £21 - Socks again? Your gift return rights - Save £670 in 2024 with the 1p Savings Challenge - Taken a seasonal job? Check you haven't been UNDERPAID

 

 

Energy bills went up by 5% for millions on Monday Most now pay more than EVER before, so here are eight need-to-knows to cut costs wherever possible Over 20 million households in Eng, Scot and Wales are on a tariff controlled by the Energy Price Cap - that's pretty much everyone (unless you're on a fix). On Monday, energy regulator Ofgem increased the Cap by an average 5%, and as prices are still sky high, and this winter there's no '£66 off your bills each month' government support as there was last, most people will be shelling out more than ever before for energy. So we've eight need-to-knows to help... Find out what you'll pay - 5% is just an average. There's no total cap on what you'll pay - the regulator only sets maximums for the daily standing charge and the cost per unit of energy used. These vary by region and how you pay. For what you'll pay, use our 'What'll I pay from Jan?' calc, or see full region-by-region rates. To give you an idea, here are average Direct Debit rates across all regions: UNIT RATE 1 Jan Price Cap (per kilowatt hour) STANDING CHARGE 1 Jan Price Cap (per day) Gas 7.42p per kWh, UP 0.53p (that's up 7.7%)  29.60p per day, DOWN 0.02p Electricity 28.62p per kWh, UP 1.27p (that's up 4.6%) 53.35p per day, DOWN 0.02p As the rise is all about the unit rates, higher-use homes, and especially those with gas, are worst hit. The standing charge is down by (woo-bloomin-hoo) under 1p/mth, so it still costs a shocking £300+/yr even if you use nowt - something we're campaigning to change: see Martin's 'Why are standing charges so high? What can be done?' blog. Substantial DROPS predicted for April. Each Price Cap lasts three months. The April one will be set based on wholesale prices from 16 Nov to 15 Feb, which we're about halfway through (see how the Price Cap's calculated), so predictions from analysts at Cornwall Insight are firming up, and as wholesale rates look to be improving, a big 14% drop is possible. After that it's more crystal-ball gazing, but the current mood music is good. Easy switch option - E.on Next's Pledge tariff tracks 3% below the Price Cap. The Pledge variable tariff is open to both new and existing customers who pay by Direct Debit, and promises to remain 3% below the Price Cap (so £50/yr at typical use) - so if the Cap drops 14% in April as predicted, so will this tariff. If you're going to stick on the Price Cap, you may as well do this as it's just a discounted Price Cap tariff (more info & Martin's video explainer via the link). Is it worth fixing? On current predictions, over the next 12mths on average you'll pay about 9% less than now. Yet as you'll see in our full list of top fixed tariffs, the cheapest straightforward open-market fixes right now are 4% below the current Price Cap. So while you will get lower prices for the rest of this winter, after that you'll likely be paying more and there are hefty exit penalties to leave. For more pros & cons see Is it worth fixing?  Is your Direct Debit right? With the Cap change, now's a good moment to check if you're paying the right amount. Enter your usage into our 'Is your Direct Debit right?' calc, and we'll give an estimate of what you should be paying. If it's out of kilter, ask 'em why and read how to challenge unfair Direct Debits. Energy firms have billions of our Direct Debit (DD) cash - check & get excess credit back. Martin's rule of thumb is, right now, if you're more than two months' worth of DDs in credit, it's too much. If that's you, first make sure you've done an up-to-date meter reading (unless you've a working smart meter), then politely ask for any excess credit back. See full how to get energy credit back help. Are you getting all the help you qualify for this winter? There is no £400 energy support package for everyone like last winter, but there's still support, mainly for those on certain benefits: £299 benefits cost of living payment to be paid between 6 and 22 Feb | £150 warm home discount for some on benefits with high energy use, paid until March | £25 cold weather payment for some each time temperatures are forecast to be 0 degrees or below for 7 days in a row | £55 Scottish winter heating payment paid this month. Cut your bills by cutting energy use. Obviously, cutting use cuts bills - and hopefully there are cuts you can make to improve efficiency that don't affect your lifestyle too much. Plus, many suppliers will actually PAY YOU to cut your energy use this winter. For full info, see 70+ energy saving tips | Energy mythbusters. Really struggling to pay? See our Heat the human, not the home guide and Help if you can't pay your bills.

 

Millions of water bill payers could get £100+ payouts if new group legal claims succeed. Six water firms are being accused of breaking competition law and overcharging. It's early days, but see water bill legal action. The Sun '£9.50' holidays are back... but are they ever really £9.50? Our analysis suggests otherwise, though savings are still possible. For hols from February to November 2024. Sun holidays Ends Sun. Get up to 2.5% cashback for 3mths + a (fiddly) free £10 with free prepaid card. 3,000 available. Newbies signing up for app-based prepaid card HyperJar via this link* and ordering a free physical card can earn 3mths' cashback of 1.5% on most spending up to £750, and 2.5% on £750+ (max cashback £500/mth). Plus, if you don't mind some hoop jumping, there's also a free £10 up for grabs - full details in Prepaid cards. One month's 'tailored' dog food for £3.60 (normally £36) via 90% off code. MSE Blagged. Newbies only. Tails FREE Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets (normally up to £13.50). For 2024 shows including Birmingham (21 to 24 Mar) and London (27 to 29 Sept). Free tickets Want an MSE Charity grant? Funding opens 15 Jan. We're offering up to £8,000 each to non-profits that can help people facing long-term challenges by teaching them vital financial skills. The grant-giving round opens on 15 Jan and 40 applications will be accepted. Check NOW if your group qualifies, plus there's help to prep your application.

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 29mths 0% + possible £25 cashback, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 14mths 0% (24.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct   1% cashback on bills/travel costs: Santander Edge Top savings accounts Top easy access: Metro Bank 5.22%, min £500 Top one-year fix: Investec 5.3%, min £5,000 Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 7.3% rep APR (must have a Clubcard) Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 6.1% rep APR (must have a Clubcard) Broadband top picks Fast fibre (55Mb+): Vodafone '£21.92/mth' Superfast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£22.06/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: TalkMobile, '£3.45/mth' for 6GB 10GB to 30GB data: Lebara, '£3.57/mth' for 12GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£7.09/mth' for 100GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your mobile network? We want to find out how each provider rates for service (how it treats you) and coverage (how strong the signal is when you need it). In truth, there are only four main networks providing signals - the rest use these, but under their own brands (see our mobile networks guide for who piggybacks on who). Please rate the firm that sends your mobile phone bill. Vote in this week's poll. MoneySavers' favourite selection choc is a Maltesers Teaser. Last week, we asked for your favourite chocolate selection box and favourite individual chocolate. Based on 13,000 votes, Quality Street is the selection box most likely to contain a MoneySaver's favourite chocolate (29%). However, it's actually the Celebrations box which contains the most popular individual chocolate: Maltesers Teaser (nearly 10% of all votes). See full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Rail fares in England to rise by up to 4.9% in March

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should my eldest child split their Child Trust Fund savings with my youngest, who didn't get one? I've three children, born in 2005, 2008 and 2011. My first and second child received Child Trust Funds from the Government; my third didn't, having been born after they were available. My first child received £500 and my second £250, and we've not topped up either account. My first child's has now matured and is worth £880, and I think they should give half to my third child, as they only have the money as they were born in the right year. Needless to say, first child doesn't agree... what would you do? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my eldest give half their Child Trust Fund to my youngest? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 3 JAN ONWARDS) Tue 9 Jan - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.20am Tue 9 Jan - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 9pm (watch previous episodes)

 

NO-SPEND NEW YEAR... CAN YOU RESIST BUYING STUFF YOU DON'T NEED IN 2024? That's all for this week, but before we go... MSE Forumites have been sharing their experiences of 'no spend' days, and wondering how they can stretch the concept to weeks, months or even the whole of 2024. The idea is to avoid spending on things you don't really need, which has many benefits. One Forumite managed 11 months last year and found they had money for unexpected bills come December. Another who'd previously attempted it became unstuck when their cooker broke and a series of 'freecycled' ones conked out - meaning they had to buy one that would last longer. Many felt a whole year sounded too daunting - if it does to you, why not set yourself a more modest target, such as 12 no-spend days a month? Get more inspiration in our No Buy Year and January No-Spend Day Challenge forum threads. We hope you save some money, The MSE team

 

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