Overpay mortgages?, £3 IMAX, Are you one of 21m missing out on benefits?, free £175 ends, £400 beauty £55

Plus... 12 motoring MoneySavers, free 4yr railcard if 20-25, new cheap energy fix, top 0% deal ending

                                                           

16 April 2024 | View in browser

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

 

THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL 12 ways to slam the brakes on the cost of motoring, including: - Beat hideous car insurance hikes - Full breakdown cover £57/yr - Get cashback on fuel Are you one of 21m missing out on benefits? 'We've saved £35,000 interest overpaying our mortgage' Ends Mon. The last FREE (£175) cash bank switch £55 beauty box with £400ish of Elizabeth Arden, Supergoop & more Coupons: 'free' £2.50 vegan burger, £1.75 off chicken & more Free car finance reclaim tool - do it NOW Can you find an 80% off Boots bargain? New. Cheapest 1yr energy fix Ending. £20 cashback on LONGEST 0% spending card £3 IMAX tickets Aged 20 to 25? Free 4-year railcard Are you a mental health professional? Free toolkit The Sun '£9.50' holidays are back... Achoo! 180 hay fever tablets £5.95 Chase customer - Can you get boosted 5.1% savings? This week's best buys, including 132Mb broadband '£22/mth', 5.9% loan, 30GB Sim '£5/mth' Should I tell the previous owner of my home he's due a council tax refund? BEST BUYS & TOOLS MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Compare+ Car Insurance 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

Car insurance UP, petrol prices UP. So here are... 12 ways to slam the brakes on the cost of motoring This year hasn't been kind to motorists, with many prices up substantially. While less car time can boost your health, finances & the planet, it's not a choice many have. So let's try to drive down those costs... 1. More than 3.6 million are driving on expired licences, check yours. If you don't renew, you risk a fine. Most photocards go out of date after 10 years, so if you're unsure about yours, quickly check if your licence is valid and how to renew.  2. Find a cheaper place to fill up. The average price of petrol is up 10p/litre since January, yet there's a handy online fuel prices tool to find the cheapest forecourt near you. When we checked a postcode in Durham on Tue, we found prices ranged from 145p/L to 173p/L within five miles, a difference of £15 when filling up a typical family car. 3. Car insurance UP a hideous 80% over the last two years... so put yourself in the driver's seat and save £100s Car insurance rises have slowed down substantially in the last couple of months, but some reports show that's on the back of up to 50% average rises in 2023 and 20% the year before, so renewal is still likely to feel dreadful, possibly 80% more than two years ago. Yet with a bit of action, many will be able to substantially reduce the rise. Our Compare+ Car Insurance tool takes you through it... You fill in one form. We borrowed a traditional comparison questionnaire from MoneySupermarket (so if you've used it before, your answers can be auto-filled). Then... Get MSE cost-cutting tips as you answer. Such as our Job Picker tool or best time to buy car insurance quotes analysis. See your cheapest insurers as a benchmark. But of course, we want you to beat the comparison results, so we add... Personalised tips to try for an even bigger saving. These include whether you should look to add an additional driver or pay annually, not monthly - and some have one-click checks, so you can easily find out if they work for you. See if other sites can slice down costs further. We assess if Direct Line (which isn't on comparisons) is likely to be cheaper for you, and give you our latest comparison site order of others to try, as MoneySupermarket may not be your cheapest. More than one car at home? Comparison sites don't check multicar cover, so you'll need to check manually whether it saves you money. Martin's rule of thumb is: "If you're on a multicar policy, check separate policies to see if you can save; if you're on separate, check multicar". - Multicar (one policy for all): Probably the best known is Admiral*, but LV*, Aviva, Elephant* and Diamond also offer these policies. Don't worry if your renewals are at different dates, their systems work with that. - Discounts on separate policies: Axa*, Direct Line, Churchill and Privilege all offer discounts for multiple cars - so check, especially if they're cheapest for one of your vehicles. Since we launched it two years ago, we've been inundated with success stories, including this from Ruth: "I used your Car Insurance Compare+ tool for the very first time and saved £228. Then I went on to haggle with the AA and saved another £130. Huge thanks." Not at renewal? Do bookmark the tool, or if you're really feeling keen, check now if you can save by doing a mid-year switch. 4. MOT due? Do these easy DIY checks. If your car's 3+ years old, an annual MOT is a legal must. Yet a third of them fail first time, often due to avoidable issues, such as lights not working and worn-out tyres, so do our eight pre-MOT DIY checks. Then see tips on how to choose the right test centre (there are more options than you think). 5. Get full breakdown cover for £57/yr (including home start & onward travel). AutoAid* covers you plus, often, a live-in partner in any car, for £57.28/yr for newbies (including a 10% discount via this link) and that's for full service - breakdown, home start and onward travel. Eversure* at £57.50/yr is similar, though unlike AutoAid, which has been a top pick for years, it's newer to us so we've less feedback. For comparison, a similar AA policy can be £300/yr. For cars 10+ years old, AutoAid charges a £25 call-out fee, so Eversure looks better, though it only covers cars up to 15 years old. For cars over 15 years old, AutoAid will cover you but costs £20 more. Also see how to get RAC or AA cover from £81/yr and far more help in Cheap breakdown cover. 6. Pothole pranged your pride and joy? Can you claim towards repairs? Pothole damage to vehicles hit a five-year high last year, with the AA estimating they cost drivers £474 million in repairs. If you've hit one, see if you're owed money using our Pothole damage claims guide. 7. Think of your brakes as a money burner, and the accelerator as a money pump. Accelerate too fast and you up your fuel usage. Step on the brakes and you're burning the energy you paid to put in the car. By thinking ahead and being aware of your road position, you can speed up and slow down more gradually, which can have £100s impact on how much gas you guzzle each year. See our eight ways to waste less fuel. 8. Get cashback on your fuel with the right DEBIT card For those who need to drive a lot, fuel can be a big expenditure - a £50 a week top-up is £2,500 a year. So you may as well take advantage of cashback offers, and get a little bit back via cashback on these two debit cards... 1% cashback on all debit card spending (up to £15/mth). With the free app-only Chase* bank account - there's no need to switch or pass a hard credit-check to get it - you'll get a year's 1% cashback, once activated, up to £15/mth, on all normal daily debit-card spending, so that includes petrol, diesel, and if you pay via card to charge an electric vehicle. For full info and eligibility criteria, see our Chase review. 1% cashback on supermarket and travel (including fuel) spending PLUS bills including energy. The Santander Edge* bank account costs £3/mth, but you get two lots of cashback, both up to a max £10/mth (so £20/mth in total). Though to get this, you must pay £500/mth into it. You get: - 1% cashback on supermarket, fuel, and train and bus travel spending. - 1% cashback on bills paid via it, including energy (so if you charge your electric car, this is cashback on that), water, council tax and telecoms. For households with average bills, we'd expect the gain to be around £80/yr to £100/yr. You also get a linked 7% easy-access saver (max £4,000, can't be opened jointly). For full info and eligibility criteria, see our Santander review. There are also the top cashback credit cards, which can give cashback and rewards on spending, but there you must pass a credit check. 9. Back end a bit bulky? Take that junk out of your trunk. Just to clarify, we're talking about the rear end of your car. There are some easy ways to increase the fuel efficiency of your vehicle, including doing away with unnecessary weight, going without air-con and being precious about your tyre pressure. It can have a bigger impact than you might think. See our five fuel-efficiency checks. 10. Got an electric vehicle (EV)? Check out the top EV tariffs. A handful of energy suppliers offer special tariffs for charging EVs at home. You typically get a few hours of cheap rates (7p/kWh to 10p/kWh), usually overnight, so used correctly you could save £100s/yr. See EV tariffs for full analysis. - Can you charge EVs for free? It's limited, but see our free EV charging info. - Considering an EV? See Electric vehicles - are they right for you? 11. Time to ditch your car? If you don't drive much or you're in an urban location, you could save by getting the occasional cab or joining a car club as required rather than owning a car. This could be supplemented by our MoneySaving tips for cyclists (and if your boots are made for walking, how Martin averaged 25,000+ steps last year) and how to cut the cost of train travel guides. 12. If that wasn't enough, we've more tips for you... This is all just the start - check out our 50+ motoring MoneySavers for lots more.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Benefits up by 6.7%. Are you missing out on a share of up to £19 BILLION from 21 million unclaimed benefits? Don't assume 'it's not me'. Even some with higher incomes are due Benefits were increased by 6.7% last week (some relating to pensions by 8.5%), impacting the incomes of millions of people, including many who are in work. The increase also means some, at the edges of thresholds, will be eligible who weren't before (as you can now earn a higher amount before you lose benefits). As it's estimated millions are missing out on what they're entitled to, it's worth checking. Try our free 10-minute Benefits Calculator to check if you're missing out Our quick benefits check-up, built in conjunction with benefits specialists Entitledto, has been updated for the new rates. Just plug your details in and it'll try to make the outrageously complex benefits system as simple as possible - showing if you're likely entitled to one of a range of benefits (and how much you might get)... Universal Credit | Council tax support | Pension Credit | Child Benefit | Housing Benefit | Carer's allowance | Free school meals and more Last year, think tank Policy in Practice estimated the scale at which people were missing out, and we then added our own info on who can claim each under-claimed benefit. The numbers have likely gone up further since the uprating last week, but we don't have updated figures, so we'll use last year's again below to see if we can help get you what you're due... UNIVERSAL CREDIT - 1.25 MILLION miss out on an average of up to £10,000 a year. The catch-all monthly benefit to support those of working age (with low or no income) with living & housing costs. Who's likely missing out? Households with lower incomes, up to roughly £35,000/yr, though if you've kids, high childcare costs and rent, it could be £60,000. If you've checked before, check the Benefits Calc again as Universal Credit rates have gone up. ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE - 1.1 MILLION pensioners miss out on at least £3,778 a year. This is a non-means-tested benefit giving a fixed payout of either £3,778/yr or £5,644/yr to cover some of the costs of providing help for those who need it. Who's likely missing out? Those who've needed help over six months, day or night, with daily living (such as washing and eating) or supervision (someone to watch you if you're a danger to yourself or others). It's common for those with Parkinson's, dementia, terminal illness, blindness, learning difficulties and more. See our full Attendance Allowance help guide, which has had many successes including this one from Patricia: "Dear Martin, thank you for telling us about the Attendance Allowance. My husband has inoperable cancer, which has spread. I help him with medications and with daily tasks. I sent off all the letters three weeks ago, yesterday we received three weeks' higher rate [£5,644/yr] into our bank account. I rang the DWP helpline to see if it was an error, but they said it's correct as he has terminal cancer. The extra £100 a week makes a huge difference to make life easier for him!" COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT (not N Ireland) - up to 3 MILLION miss out on £1,000+ a year. Every council runs its own scheme, so what you get depends on where you live, but it can cut your council tax bill by up to 100%. Who's likely missing out? If you qualify for means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, you're often due this, but it's not automatic, YOU MUST APPLY, which is why so many miss out. See our Council tax discounts guide. CARER'S ALLOWANCE - 500,000 carers miss out on up to £4,000 a year. This is a specific payment for some who act as unpaid carers - whether for a family member, spouse, child, or even someone you're not related to. Who's likely missing out? You must care for someone who usually gets Attendance Allowance, or some on personal independence payment or disability living allowance; spend 35+ hours a week helping with everyday tasks such as washing or cooking; and earn under £151/wk or have a low state pension. Check using our Benefits Calc. PS: If you care for someone for less than 35hrs a week, you may be entitled to carer's credit, which helps build National Insurance years for your state pension (it's back-claimable too, so click the link to read more). PENSION CREDIT - 850,000 pensioner households miss out on £3,900 a year. Pension Credit tops up your income. On average it's worth £3,900/yr, but claim even if you're only due 50p, as its SUPERPOWER is to qualify you for extra benefits such as council tax reduction and free TV licences. Who's likely missing out? Tough to say, but it's worth a check if you're of state pension age and have a weekly income below £235 (£350 if you're a couple, both of state pension age). See Martin's one thing all pensioners should know blog. HOUSING BENEFIT - 250,000 pensioners miss out on an average £5,000 a year rent help. For eligible under-66s, support for housing costs is part of Universal Credit, but not for those of state pension age. Who's likely missing out? Renters eligible for Pension Credit, for instance, on a relatively low income. When you apply for Pension Credit, you can usually apply for Housing Benefit at the same time. If you already get Pension Credit, apply with your council. FREE SCHOOL MEALS - 250,000 families miss out on £650 a year worth. A cooked meal served to eligible under-18s during the school day. Who's likely missing out? Many new Universal Credit (UC) claimants with very low, or no, income (who don't realise you can only apply once you've had your first UC payment), and others who don't know they must re-register at the start of every year for each child. See Free school meals for more info and how to apply. WATER SOCIAL TARIFFS - 5.7 MILLION households miss out on £160 a year. Every water company (in Eng & Wales) has a social tariff scheme for those on low incomes (each with its own definition). Who's likely missing out? Fewer than 2 in 10 who are eligible get help, with nearly £1 billion in unclaimed support. Read water social tariffs for firm-by-firm info. BROADBAND SOCIAL TARIFFS - 5.3 MILLION households miss out on a £20+ a month discount. Social tariffs are discounted broadband deals offered by some firms to people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and sometimes other means-tested benefits. Who's likely missing out? Only 3% of those eligible have signed up, so if you're on Universal Credit especially, check it out. Our broadband comparison shows them alongside the cheapest mainstream deals - just tick the 'social tariffs' box (if your current firm doesn't offer one, you can move firm, providing you're out of contract).

 

Ends Mon. The last FREE (£175) cash bank switch available is ending. A few weeks ago, five banks were paying for your custom, now just one's left and its offer ends on Monday. Top customer service bank First Direct* pays new switchers a free £175, gives many a £250 interest-free overdraft, and you get access to a linked 7% regular saver. Full eligibility criteria in Best bank accounts. We hope more switch offers will launch in the coming weeks, but can't be sure. £55 beauty box with £400ish of Elizabeth Arden, Rodial, Supergoop and more products. MSE Blagged. It's from Red magazine, normally costs £75, but we've blagged £20 off. Plus you get a digital subscription. Beauty box It's coupon time... 'free' £2.50 vegan burgers, £1.75 off chicken dippers & more. New supermarket coupons. Car finance: reclaim £1,000s. Free complaints tool - DO IT NOW. The clock is ticking, if you haven't checked out Martin's free car finance mis-selling guide & tool, do it now. It's for anyone who got a car, van, motorbike or camper van on PCP or HP between April 2007 and 28 January 2021. You could be due £1,000s back if you had a discretionary commission arrangement, and the sooner you do it, the less chance you have of being timed out. Can you find an 80% off Boots bargain? In store & online. It's not easy, but there's the odd Boots spring clearance gem out there. New cheap 1yr energy fix 8% less than the Price Cap. Outfox the Market's launched the cheapest standalone fix for many. To see how it stacks up, do a personalised Cheap Energy Club comparison or read more in our Should I fix? guide. Ends Tue (23 Apr). £20 cashback on the LONGEST 0% for purchases card. If you need to borrow, until next Tue the longest 0% deal, Barclaycard's 'up to' 21mths 0%, pays £20 cashback to newbies who put £250+ spending on it within 90 days of opening their account. Golden rules: 1) Never borrow willy-nilly, only do it for planned, budgeted-for, one-off purchases. 2) Always pay at least the min monthly payment or you can lose the 0%. 3) Never withdraw cash. 4) Clear the debt before the 0% ends or it jumps to a horrid 24.9% rep APR. Full help in 0% spending cards.

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - £397 of beauty products for £55 Ends Thu 18 Apr	DID YOU MISS? - £300 Ninja air fryer & multi-cooker for £165 with code - Spotify prices to rise by up to £24/yr - check if you can save - A YEAR's 2for1 at 400+ UK gardens with £9.50 mag - NS&I's British Savings Bond launches with 'meh' 4.15% for 3yrs - Flogging clothes on eBay is now free

 

 

'I saved £35,000 & will clear my mortgage 10 YEARS early' Martin's six Should you overpay your mortgage? need-to-knows The days of 1% mortgages have passed. This year alone, 1.5m will see their cheap fixes mature, joining millions of others on higher rates. At the same time, years of low-cost mortgages, plus low pandemic expenditure, mean over £100bn of extra savings have been built up. No surprise then that 'should I save or overpay my mortgage?' is a question I'm asked all the time. So assuming you don't have other, more expensive debt (if so, see should I overpay cards & loans?), here are my need-to-knows... 1. If your mortgage rate is higher than you can earn in savings, overpaying adds up. Let me oversimplify a little... £10,000 saved at 4% earns £400 interest (£320 if basic-rate tax is taken off), yet use it to overpay a 6% mortgage and it saves you £600 interest (try our Mortgage Overpay Calc). So using the savings to overpay is a winner - it's a bit like saving, tax-free, at the mortgage rate. Done right, it can be very lucrative, as this success of the week from Paul shows... To: successes@moneysavingexpert.com Subject: Mortgage overpayment success Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2024 Hello team. Thanks for all the fantastic work you do. My wife and I follow the site and Martin's show avidly. We moved jobs seven years ago, and had to buy a small property to use for work purposes. We managed to get a 100% mortgage, although it was expensive. We've always listened to you and I set up a small regular overpayment, throw all my overtime money at it, and every day check my bank balance - if there is an odd amount, say I have £1,525.36, that's either £5.36 or £25.36 put towards the mortgage, budget depending. We've saved £35,000 in interest & knocked 10 years off our mortgage (originally 27 years). We're continuing to plan to get rid of the mortgage altogether ASAP! Thanks for all your help & advice. Best wishes, Paul. 2. Yet ensure you're comparing to the HIGHEST savings rates you can get. If your savings pay a paltry 1%, as too many do, unless they're locked away in a fix, it's easy to ditch and switch. You can earn over 5% in both top easy access & fixed savings right now, so unless you're locked in, that's what you should be comparing with. And while we're on that, it's worth checking your mortgage rate is as low as possible too, use our mortgage best buy comparison and free remortgage guide for step by step help. 3. If it does add up... TWO KEY CHECKS before you do it. It's not solely about the financial mathematics... Are there overpayment penalties? Many lenders let you annually overpay 10% of your mortgage balance penalty-free. Above that there are often penalties, which wipe out any gain, so do check. Always keep a cash emergency fund. The fact you've overpaid your mortgage doesn't automatically mean if circumstances change and you suddenly can't repay, the lender will say 'oh, no probs' - you'd still be in arrears. So my rule of thumb is always have money to cover 3 to 6 months' bills accessible in savings, and only overpay with any money above that (unless it's a specific offset mortgage). 4. And in some cases where the maths doesn't add up, it may still pay to overpay. If you can save at higher than your mortgage rate, use our Mortgage Overpay vs Savings Calc to see the pound-for-pound difference. If savings are substantially better... SAVE. Yet if they're only trivially better, two things to consider... If you borrow over 60% loan to value (LTV, the amount of your home's current value you're borrowing), reducing your mortgage debt may lower the rate of future mortgage deals - see LTV thresholds which improve mortgage rates. This is a long game. Savings may have improved, but savings rates tend to drop faster and further than mortgage rates, so less mortgage debt could be erring on the safe side. 5. When you overpay, do it the right way - put it towards reducing the term. Overpay and a few firms just reduce your future repayments, and keep you paying over the same period. That may help your cash flow later, but it's not where the big saving comes. The real reduction is from shortening the term so there's an interest gain. So when you overpay, ask it to reduce the capital owed and the mortgage term (also see my old decrease term or overpay? blog). 6. Still on a very cheap mortgage rate? Save the right way. If your mortgage rate is still low, then you'll likely be better off in top savings. Yet save now, so the money is accessible when the deal/fix ends, so it can then be used to reduce the borrowing if needed. You could use fixed savings that mature just before you need the cash. PS: I've focused on overpaying vs saving. There is of course also overpaying vs investing, yet that's impossible to give any definites on as it's comparing a certain outcome with an uncertain one (& investing's outside my wheelhouse).

 

This Sat ONLY. £3 IMAX Oppenheimer, Super Mario Bros & more. At 26 Cineworld locations - normally costs up to £23. Not the latest films, but a rock-bottom price if you want to see 'em on the big screen. See this and more cinema savers. Till 30 Apr, 20 to 25yr olds can join students in getting Santander's FREE 4-year railcard worth £100. The Santander student bank account* bank account has long offered a free 4-year railcard. It's open to current 1st-year students, switchers with at least 2yrs left to study & new level 4 to 7 apprentices. Yet now non-students aged 20 to 25 can apply to get the railcard too by opening either: a) the Edge account*, which costs £3/mth but pays 1% cashback (max £20/mth) on bills and supermarket, fuel & travel spending. b) the Everyday account, it's fee-free but there's no cashback. To get the railcard, you need to deposit £500+ & set up mobile/web banking. Full eligibility / info in Best bank accounts. Are you a mental health professional? Martin wanted to do a quick plug for this toolkit from the Money and Pensions Service, which can help you talk to your clients about their finances, as the link between mental health issues and money problems is so strong. It was developed with help from his charity Money & Mental Health Policy Institute. The Sun '£9.50' holidays are back... but are they ever really £9.50? Our analysis suggests otherwise, though decent savings are still possible. For hols from now to Nov 2024. The Sun holidays Achoo! 180 hay fever tablets for £5.95. It's gettin' in to sneezin' season, so see our Cheap hay fever meds. Chase customer? Check if you can get a boosted 5.1% easy-access saver. It'd top our tables if everyone could get it. See if you qualify in Chase savings boost.

 

 

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

 

 

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers Longest 0%: Barclaycard (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 28mths 0%, 3.45% fee (24.9% rep APR interest) No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility / apply*) - 13mths 0% (24.9% rep APR interest) Broadband top picks Fast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£22.34/mth' Fibre (30Mb+): Now Broadband '£23.84/mth' Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Sky '£27/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Top savings accounts Top easy access: Bank of London 5.02%, min £10,000 Top one-year fix: SmartSave 5.17%, min £10,000 Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Santander (check eligibility / apply*), 7.3% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: TSB (check eligibility, TSB has asked us to link only to our calculator), 5.9% rep APR Top energy deals Try our relaunched Cheap Energy Club Best bank accounts £175 to switch + top service + 7% regular savings: First Direct 1% cashback on bills & travel: Santander Edge Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£3.40/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.65/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: iD Mobile, '£5.34/mth' for 30GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£7.92/mth' for 100GB

 

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK Your chance to ask MPs how they make decisions about how your taxes are spent. Ever wondered what data and evidence is used to develop Government policy? If you have a question on this - it can be about energy, childcare, housing, the environment or anything else you care about - or want to raise an issue about how policymakers use evidence, submit it by Fri 31 May via this online form. You could be picked to raise it directly to MPs and their advisers in June as part of Evidence Week in Parliament (or have it asked on your behalf).

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you buy your clothes? With the rise of online marketplace Vinted, eBay's announcement it has scrapped selling fees on clothes and high-street clothing chain Ted Baker's financial woes, this week we want to know where and how you buy your clothes - whether new or preowned, and whether online or on the high street. Vote in this week's poll. One in five spend between 30% and 50% of their income on mortgage or rent. Last week, we asked what proportion of your income you spend on mortgage payments or rent. Nearly 12,000 of you responded, and of those who do pay a mortgage or rent, almost three-quarters (73%) spend 30% or less of their income. Meanwhile, one in five (21%) are spending a relatively high 30% to 50%. Private renters were more likely to be spending a greater proportion of their income keeping a roof over their heads than those with a mortgage. See the full poll results.

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I tell the previous owner of my home he's due a council tax refund? I recently bought a house, and during the sale process the previous owner made various promises he didn't keep, leaving me around £2,000 out of pocket. After moving in, I followed Martin's guide on challenging your council tax band, and was successful, so I'll save £550 a year. This means the previous owner's likely owed around £8,000 as he'd been paying the wrong rate for years. While it'll be his with one phone call, he probably won't know about it unless I tell him. I've no goodwill towards him because of the broken promises... should I let him know anyway? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I tell the previous owner of my home he's due a council tax refund? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - MSE Forum highlights: mixers, moths & music - Gardening on a budget: Ways to save money, whatever size your plot

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 16 APR ONWARDS) Wed 17 Apr - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm Tue 23 Apr - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.15am

 

FISH, FROGS AND FEATHERS - WHAT STRANGE THINGS HAVE YOU SEEN VIEWING HOMES? That's all for this week, but before we go... when one MSE Forumite was rushed around a flat viewing and kept out of certain rooms, we asked on Facebook what strange experiences you'd had when viewing a property. We heard plenty of bizarre bathroom stories, including a shower you had to kneel in, the homeowner using the toilet with the door open, a frog down the loo, a bedroom cupboard with a shower in it and a bath tub in the kitchen. Away from the bathroom, one poster didn't think a home with four fish tanks built into the walls was particularly fin-tastic, and someone else was left saying 'oh my cod' when they viewed a studio flat that could only be accessed through a chippie. One person's feathers were ruffled when they saw shelf after shelf of dead, stuffed birds, yet we like another's Narnia-esque tale of the bedroom wardrobe you can climb through... to get to another bedroom. Read all MoneySavers' strange sights, and add your own, in our Facebook conversation. 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 admiral.com, lv.com, elephant.co.uk, axa.co.uk, autoaidbreakdown.co.uk, eversure.com, chase.co.uk, santander.co.uk, firstdirect.com, barclaycard.co.uk, natwest.com 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.