Martin's Savings Masterclass, 'free' National Trust pass, Black Friday deals, £10 Baileys, reclaim student loans

Plus... Are solar panels worth it?, 2 pairs of specs £14, Budget need-knows, 30mth 0% debt shift

                                                           

05 November 2024 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin's Savings Masterclass, including: - Top easy access 5.17% - Top fixes 4.7% - Save each month 7% - High earner? ISAs are nisa - Do Premium Bonds really pay 4.15%? - Low earner? 50% savings boost Martin: 'Would your family have enough to live on if you died? Save £1,000s on life insurance' Paying student loan? 1m overpaid - get £100s back 'Free' National Trust family day pass Update. Are solar panels worth it? Stop press. 30mth 0% debt shift TWO pairs of specs £14 Uni tuition fees & maintenance loans up Budget need-to-knows, including Stamp Duty, carers & pensions New. Santander FREE £150 bank bribe Black Friday sales: Boots, Tesco, John Lewis & more - any good? Top 18mth energy fix now even cheaper £10 Baileys - cheapest this year Ends Wed. Disney toys 25% off Car finance mis-selling court ruling... are you owed £1,000s? 'I saved £400+ on car insurance using your Compare+ tool' 30% off Savile Row Company This week's best buys, including '£20/mth' Sky fibre, 5GB Sim '£3.20/mth', 6.1% loans Money Moral Dilemma: Should I borrow to pay off husband's debt? 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 Best Sim-only deals

Martin's Savings Masterclass UK base rate cut expected on Thursday Check and boost your interest NOW. You should be earning at least around 5% The talk is last week's Budget will raise interest rates, yet that's not quite right. Yes, they'll likely be higher than was expected, but they will still fall, just likely more slowly. Nationwide's chief economist told me that over the next 12mths it expected them to drop 1% rather than the previously predicted 1.25%. A cut at this Thu's Bank of England meeting is still very much on the cards... the markets imply an 80% probability (it was 95% pre-Budget) it'll drop from 5% to 4.75%. All this of course means the interest rates available to savers are set to continue to decrease. So it should serve as a reminder to everyone with savings to... 'Check your interest. Millions are on pants rates, and can easily & simply move the money to where it pays more. And if you're on a fix, diarise to act before it ends.' OK, so now the team and I will take you through the practicals. All savings listed here have the full UK £85,000 per person savings safety protection. Got more? Spread it over multiple institutions to keep it all protected. Option 1: Top simple EASY-ACCESS savings pay 5%-ish - you shouldn't be earning less Easy-access savings are the bog-standard, simplest form of savings, where you can put money in and take it out when you want. So the top payers here are the basic start point. Then run through the rest of the option to see if you can take it up a gear. Yet easy-access rates are variable, so they can and do move, often with Bank of England base rates, but also for banks' own competitive reasons. As rates change rapidly, do check our regularly updated top easy-access savings guide to see if things change. Top 5.17% rate is from a cash ISA. A cash ISA is just a savings account where the interest is NEVER taxed, so normally you choose it if you need the tax advantage. Yet currently two top easy-access cash ISAs beat top normal savings rates, so they're a winner for anyone (who hasn't already maxed this year's £20,000 ISA allowance). - Trading 212's 5.17% AER* (min £1) allows unlimited withdrawals. - Moneybox's 5.17% AER (min £500) limits you to three penalty-free withdrawals a year. Both also allow you to transfer in all the money you have in previous years' cash ISAs, just apply for them and request it in the application form. It's worth noting that Trading 212's savings safety protection comes from Barclays, NatWest, or JPMorgan - see how it works. Top normal savings easy access pays 5%. If you've used up your ISA allowance and have more to save, then the following accounts let you put large lump sums in (see top easy access for more options)... - Chip's 5% AER (min £1), max 3 penalty-free withdrawals a year. - Furness BS 4.9% (min £1), max 2 penalty-free withdrawals a year. - Chetwood Bank 4.86% AER (min £1), allows one withdrawal a day, and Vanquis Bank 4.85% AER (min £1,000), allows unlimited withdrawals, are the top simple unlimited withdrawal accounts. - Coventry BS is the top big-name account at 4.83% AER (min £1), though it only allows 3 penalty-free withdrawals a year. Earn more if you bank with Santander. Santander Edge current account customers can earn 6% easy access on its Santander Edge saver, but only on up to £4,000 (far less than most accounts). Earn 5.2% in a notice (variable) account. I've squeezed this in here, though it isn't easy access. Santander International* via savings platform Prosper pays 5.2% (5.02% plus a 0.18% Prosper boost), though you'll need to give 90 days' notice to withdraw, and have a minimum £20,000 to do it. It's good for larger savers who can predict when they'll need the cash. Q. What happens to easy-access rates if UK base rates drop? Most providers will likely follow suit within a few days. A few may hold on to the existing rate to get a short-term competitive advantage. So in a couple of weeks it's likely 4.7% to 4.9% will be the benchmark, so if you're near that you're good. Yet the key is to regularly monitor your rates compared to the top available as ditching & switching easy access is easy. Get £100 cashback on top of good rates (min £10,000) Currently via this Raisin* link, newbies can use the code SAVINGS100, open a savings account and deposit £10,000+ by 30 Nov and you can get £100 automatically added (paid 28 days after opening a fix, or if it's easy access, you need keep the £10,000 in for 6mths to get it). What is Raisin? It's a savings marketplace where you can move money between the savings providers it offers with no paperwork - useful for larger savers who move money regularly. Yet your savings legally (and for savings safety rules) are with the underlying account providers, not Raisin. The savings accounts it lists are competitive. (Check against other savings here.) For example, its top easy-access rate is 4.87% and top 1yr fix is 4.85% - if you were saving £10,000 in those, the cashback is effectively like you get 1 percentage point extra interest. Option 2: Get a guaranteed FIXED rate, at just under 5%, if you can lock money away With fixed-rate savings, the interest rate is guaranteed for a set time, but in return your money is locked away without access. So the benefit is certainty, especially useful when interest rates are dropping, the cost is lack of flexibility (I believe MC Hammer wrote his hit song U Can't Touch This about fixed-rate savings). At the moment, due to the expectation that interest rates will drop, you get a better rate for fixing for one year rather than longer. Top 1-year fixes: Union Bank of India UK 4.8% (min £5k), SmartSave 4.76% (min £10k), Atom Bank 4.7% (min £50), or Isbank 4.85% via savings marketplace Raisin (min £1k). Top 2-year fixes: Market Harborough BS 4.65% (min £10k), United Trust Bank 4.62% (min £5k), Atom Bank 4.6% (min £50). All longer fixes pay less, though you can still fix above 4%, though if interest rates drop substantially, grabbing a long fix now may look good with hindsight. See top longer fixes. Q. What happens to fixed rates if the Bank of England drops UK interest rates? Existing fixes are, well, fixed, so nowt. Yet the rate you can get a new fix at is impacted. However, fixed rates are set more on the market's future rate predictions, so the fixes available now have likely somewhat factored in this week's predicted 0.25% drop, so while they may shave a little off, it probably won't be too much (in fact, the Budget may mean they hold as things are predicted to drop less quickly). Q. How does tax work on fixed rates? The interest crystalises for tax the moment you can access it (whether you do or not). For many it's irrelevant, but some near a tax bracket should go for monthly interest to spread it out over tax years, rather than risk a one-off payment pushing you up. Or if, say, you're retiring and may be a lower taxpayer in future, go for interest at maturity to delay it until then. For more, see our fixing: a taxing question help. Option 3: Earn 7% on smaller amounts in REGULAR SAVINGS (plus a possible free £175) Regular savings accounts offer higher rates on smaller amounts. They're designed for those who are putting away cash each month out of income. Most usually last one year (then you can just open one again) and some lock the money away. You can have multiple regular savers in different places, so you could save a combined £1,000+/mth in them (those with lump sums can play this by moving money out of normal savings each month into these, to earn more). Top regular savers linked to current accounts. The top payers are perks for current account customers. Many of these bank accounts pay you to switch to them too... - First Direct 7% FIXED for a year on £25 to £300/mth (so max £136.50/yr interest). Bank switchers can get a free £175. - Co-op Bank 7% variable for one year on up to £250/mth (so max £114.21/yr interest). Bank switchers can get a free £75. - Nationwide 6.5% variable for one year on up to £200/mth (so max £84.50/yr interest). Bank switchers can get a free £175. - Lloyds Bank 6.25% fixed for a year on up to £400/mth (so max £150/yr interest). Bank switchers can get a free £200. Those who bank with NatWest, Skipton, TSB, Yorkshire BS, Bank of Scot, Halifax, HSBC all have linked regular savers which pay 5%+. Full info in top bank regular savers. Top regular savers open to all. Anyone can open these online (your local building society may have a decent rate too), though the amounts here are very small... - Principality BS 8% fixed for six months on up to £200/mth (so max £27.53 interest in that time). - Principality BS 7% fixed for a year on up to £125/mth (so max £56.58/yr interest) over the year. - Halifax 5.5% fixed for a year on up to £250/mth (so max £82.50/yr interest) over the year. This is the highest interest possible, even if it mightn't feel it Many 'feel' they're being conned on interest in regular savers. Yet let me assure you, for money in the account, nowt pays more. The problem is if you've £3,600 saved at the year end, some expect 7% of that as interest. But you haven't had £3,600 in for a year: you've been building it up by £300 a month. In fact, your average balance is roughly half that, £1,800, so you get around 7% of that. More in regular savings. Option 4: Higher earners or those with bigger savings - your money is nisa in a CASH ISA Bizarrely, easy-access cash ISAs currently outpay normal savings (see above). Yet there are also fixed-rate cash ISAs that pay less than their equivalents, but are worth considering. Each tax year, every UK adult gets a £20,000 allowance (in last week's Budget, we learnt this'll be frozen at this level until 2030) where you can put money away as savings (in a cash ISA) or investments (in a stocks & shares ISA) to protect it from tax. Once it's in an ISA, it stays tax-free year after year, so some who have maxed it every year now have £100,000s in ISAs. As for what ISAs are, I've used the same analogy since 2000. It works, so here it is again... Understanding ISAs is a piece of cake... "Picture a cake, let's say a chocolate one... for cash (though it could equally be a strawberry one for shares). Normally a cake (cash savings) is unprotected, so the tax collector can come to take a bite. "Yet an ISA is a wrapper, like a piece of clingfilm you can put a certain amount of cake in. Once inside nothing changes, the cash savings are still cash savings, the only difference is... now the tax collector can't bite it because of the wrapper." Who pays tax on savings (which ISAs can protect you from)? With normal savings, while interest is paid tax-free, it is taxable as income, yet each year you get a personal savings allowance, which means: - Basic 20% rate taxpayers don't pay tax on the first £1,000/yr of interest. - Higher 40% rate taxpayers don't pay tax on the first £500/yr of interest. - Top 45% rate taxpayers pay tax on all interest. As interest rates have risen in recent years, you earn over the threshold with less savings, so more people's interest is taxed, meaning that cash ISAs, even if the rates are lower, are a better bet. Amount above which you'd pay tax on interest in top normal savings Top 1yr fix (4.8%) Top easy access (5%) Basic 20% rate £20,800 £20,000 Higher 40% rate  £10,400 £10,000 Top fixed-rate ISAs have a second special power. As well as never being taxable, unlike normal fixed savings, they can't lock you in - they must allow you to withdraw money, though can charge an interest penalty (say 90 or 180 days' interest) for doing so. So it's very useful if it's unlikely you need access, but want the option in an emergency. Top 1-year fixed cash ISAs: Shawbrook Bank 4.47% (min £1k), Cynergy Bank 4.46% (min £500). The top normal fix beats this at 4.8% if you don't pay tax on interest, but if you do, once you take the 20% tax off, that's only 3.84%, so cash ISAs easily win (it's 2.88% at 40% tax). Top 2-year fixed cash ISAs: Cynergy Bank 4.3% (min £500), Shawbrook Bank 4.27% (min £1k). Again, less than the 4.65% top normal fixes if you don't pay tax on interest, but far more if you do. Already got cash ISAs? Especially older fixed rates... If your existing cash ISA pays less than those above, you've a right to transfer it to a new top payer (all above allow transfers in). To do this, apply for the new one, and as part of the application, you'll be asked if you want to transfer your existing cash ISA over (don't just withdraw cash to move it, it then loses its 'cash ISA' status). And if you've an older fixed-rate cash ISA, you're likely locked into a terrible rate, and should pay the penalty to move. Use our Should I ditch my fixed ISA? calc to check the maths work for you.  Option 5: Should you gamble on PREMIUM BOND 4.15% interest? (Spoiler: Yes, only for bigger savers who pay tax on interest) Premium Bonds are savings, where the 'interest' each person earns is decided by a lottery. For a full explanation, see our Are Premium Bonds worth it? guide, but I'll explain super-briefly... The prize-fund rate is dropping to 4.15% (from 4.4%) for its December 2024 draw and beyond. That means £4.15 is paid out for every £100 in there, but that doesn't mean you'd get £4.15 if you had £100 in, as the smallest possible win is £25, so most with this amount get nothing. In fact, even with £1,000 in, someone with typical luck (defined as median average winnings) would win nothing. To get closer to the published amount with typical luck, you need to have more in. And even if you have the full £50,000 in, with typical luck you'll win less than 4.15% (as for each £1m winner, many must win nowt). Even then, the 4.15% is substantially less than top normal savings and cash ISAs. However, as the payout is always tax-free, like ISAs, if you earn enough or have enough saved to pay tax on savings, and have a decent whack in, that's when it's likely a winner. Our Premium Bonds Prize Predictor Calculator shows what you're likely to earn for each amount. Of course that's done on unemotional logic, yet many enjoy the idea they may just win the £1m. But do understand that for most people with typical luck, without the tax advantages, you'd be worse off than normal savings. Option 6: On Universal Credit or Tax Credits? An unbeatable 50% HELP TO SAVE boost If you are on Universal Credit or Tax Credits, you may qualify for an unbeatable 50% Help to Save bonus - to help you build financial resilience. Here you save up to £50/mth, then after two years, you get 50% on top of the HIGHEST amount you had in. So imagine you saved £50 each month for a year, so you've £600, but then you take an amount out for an emergency, and put nowt in for the rest of the period - you still get a £300 bonus after two years. A second 50% bonus is paid after four years, calculated on the difference between the highest balance in years three and four, and the highest balance from the first two years. Currently, you need to take home £793+ a month to get it, but in last week's Budget, it was announced that from next April, eligibility will be expanded to anyone on Universal Credit earning £1+. Full details and how to apply in our Help to Save guide. Option 7: Specialist interest boosting... There are a few specialist savings options some can take which pay more. So here's my checklist of other things to look at... 1. Are you a wannabe FIRST-TIME BUYER aged 18 to 39? There's a whopping 25% bonus possible via top Lifetime ISAs if you're buying a first home up to £450,000 (so ensure that's the max price). You can get a £1,000/yr boost if you max it. 2. Got expensive DEBT? Paying it off is often more lucrative than saving. See Should I pay debt with savings?, our Should I overpay my mortgage? guide, and use our Mortgage Overpayment Calculator. 3. Autosave apps can help you get in the savings habit. Autosaving apps use clever tech to work out what you can afford to save, then automatically move money from your bank account to their savings account, so you can easily build up savings without noticing. Yet rates  often aren't high, so best use them, then when you build up savings, once every few months sweep the money into a top normal account. See our Automatic savings apps guide. 4. Prefer to INVEST? With investing, you aim for higher returns, but accept the risk you could lose some or all of your initial investment. I don't talk about it much, not because we're against it, just because it's not my, nor MSE's, area of expertise. Yet over the longer run, investing is often very much the right call (I do it personally as well as save). For an introduction, see Stocks & shares ISAs, but you'll need websites other than ours for help on what to invest in. PS: The focus today is on adult savings, but some may also want to look at our Top children's savings, Top junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds accounts.

 

 

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

 

 

 

Martin's life insurance beginner's guide: save £1,000s and avoid rip-offs What'd happen to your children and/or partner financially if you died? Would there be enough to pay the bills, or would financial misery be heaped on top of the grief? This isn't pleasant to write, yet the bitter taste of discussing this nightmare scenario is nothing compared to the bitter impact of not having discussed it if it happens. Roughly one child per school class may lose a parent before they're 16, some due to illness, others - as happened to me - more suddenly (may I briefly plug Grief Encounter, a brilliant childhood bereavement-help charity I'm a patron of). So deep breath, let's be blunt and practical... Level term is a simple life insurance type paying a fixed amount if you die within a set time. The advantage of level term is you pick an amount for it to pay out, eg, £200,000, if you die within a chosen term, eg, 20yrs. As in normal cases there's usually little argument about whether someone is dead, provided the insurer is reputable, the cheaper the better. Related is decreasing term, oft called mortgage life insurance - designed to pay off your mortgage if you die, so the potential payout decreases roughly as your mortgage does, so, unlike level term, it doesn't cover any other costs.  Don't confuse either of these with whole-of-life insurance - a product usually aiming to cover Inheritance Tax costs. How you buy level term has a big impact on cost. A huge chunk of many people's costs is commission paid to the firm that sells it (or kept by the insurer itself). This can make £1,000s' difference over the full term... How much a 45-yr-old non-smoker would typically pay for £200,000 level-term insurance for 21 years - Buy direct from a bank or insurer: c. £27/mth (£6,800 over the term). - Via an advisory broker (or comparison site): c. £19/mth (£4,800 over the term). - Via execution-only non-advised broker: c. £15/mth (£3,800 over the term). Yet I'm not saying everyone should just go for the cheapest. You need to get this right, and if you're unsure, advice is worth it (& usually no more costly than a non-advised comparison site anyway). Which brings it to two cheap options... Execution-only brokers - for those who know what they're doing. If your circumstances are straightforward and you're confident in choosing a policy without advice, these give you an online comparison, then you pay a £25 fee to get the product, and - crucially - they rebate the commission to you in the form of lower prices. Cavendish Online, Moneyworld and Money Minder have been MSE top picks for over a decade. They tend to have similar prices, but it's worth doing a quick check (they may call to verify details, so ensure you tell them you want 'non-advised', or it could get pricier). Advisory broker - if you're unsure, have a medical condition or complex circumstances. Slightly pricier, but you get personalised help (oft over the phone) from trained advisers who guide you through the cheapest & best policy for your needs. They ask in-depth medical questions, and look into your finances to gauge your commitments. We didn't find any one broker consistently cheaper than others, it depends on the circumstances, so get a few quotes if you've time. Here are the big three, which our MSE Blagged links also give extra incentives on (or if you have an independent financial adviser, it may be able to help too). - LifeSearch* allows you to claim an Amazon voucher after 3mths (£60 on policies up to £30/mth, £140 over that). - ActiveQuote* will email you an Amazon voucher after 6mths (£60 on policies up to £35/mth, £130 over that). - Howden Life & Health* new customers get £100 cashback paid into their account after 6mths. This is Financial Conduct Authority-regulated advice, so if they were to do it wrong you have recourse through the Financial Ombudsman, same if the insurer doesn't treat you fairly. The execution-only brokers above also have advisory arms if you want to try more. How long and how much cover may be needed? If you have children, cover should usually last until they've finished full-time education. If it's for a partner, it should last as long as they would need the extra income. And a very rough rule of thumb is aim to cover 10 times the annual income of the highest earner, to leave enough money (after the impact of inflation) to cover future spending, mortgage repayments and other outstanding debts. It's done on the highest earner's income, as that's roughly what you're used to. Though if you can't afford it, just cover what you can afford. If you have an existing mortgage life insurance this can be factored in to reduce the amount of cover needed. You may also have employer's 'death-in-service' cover (be wary over-relying on this in case you change employer though).  For more detailed help, see full how much to cover info. Write the policy in trust to avoid probate & tax issues. If not, the payout will usually be included in your estate, then subject to Inheritance Tax. Yet write it in trust (which is just a free, relatively simple form) and the payout goes directly to your beneficiaries, so no Inheritance Tax and no delays with long probate. All the providers above (including execution-only) have this option as you get the policy. Confused? An advisory broker will talk you through it, or speak to your independent financial adviser. Declare ALL pre-existing medical conditions or it could invalidate the policy. If you've needed medical treatment, assistance or medication in the past, for physical or mental health conditions, it could be considered a pre-existing condition, eg, high blood pressure. Check how far the insurer asks you to go back, and be honest, or it could nullify the policy or reduce the payout (though I accept for some, sadly, pre-existing conditions can make it very costly - hence get advice). More in our Life insurance with a pre-existing condition guide. Already got a policy & quit smoking over a year ago? Non-smokers pay less than smokers, because they're less likely to die during the term, so get a new quote if you've been genuinely nicotine-free (including vaping) for at least a year. Eg, while for a 30-yr-old smoker it was £9/mth, it was just £5/mth for someone smoke-free. PS: I hope if you get a level-term policy it never pays out!

 

'Free' National Trust family day pass (normally £30ish) with £1 paper. Excludes NT Scotland sites. Days out Updated. Are solar panels worth it? New Energy Saving Trust figures and increased Price Cap costs mean the maths are better if you're thinking of getting them. See our Are solar panels worth it? guide. Stop press. New longest 0% debt-shift card - up to 30 months interest-free. A balance transfer's where you get a new card that pays off debt on existing cards for you - so you now owe it, but at 0% for a set period. HSBC's up to 30mth 0% card (3.49% fee) is the new longest, though as it's an 'up to', some get a shorter 0%, so our link goes through our eligibility calc so you can check. We'll do more on this next week. Golden rules: Repay at least the monthly minimum & clear the card before the 0% ends, or it'll jump to 24.9% rep APR interest. Full info in 0% balance transfers. TWO pairs of specs £14 delivered. MSE Blagged. Stack our code with existing offers. Glasses Direct Tuition fees and maintenance loans (Eng) to rise. Full info and Martin's 'what it means for you' guide. The Budget need-to-knows. The Budget's focus was on big NHS and school-building spending boosts, the economy and the way the nation invests, paid for by "difficult decisions on tax, welfare & spending". Our focus though is personal finance. For a full briefing, watch Martin's ITV 1hr Budget special or listen to his BBC Budget podcast, and in brief... Why buying a home could cost you £1,000s more next year. Watch Martin's Stamp Duty video explainer on the changes that weren't in the Budget speech. Carers will be able to earn more before their allowance is taken away. Carers changes explainer. Pensions will be subject to Inheritance Tax (IHT) from April 2027. See IHT shake-up. And lots more in our MSE News Budget summary, including State Pension & Pension Credit to rise 4.1%, benefits 1.7% | Capital Gains to rise on shares & other assets (not 2nd homes) | Income Tax thresholds frozen until 2028 | ISA allowances to be frozen until 2030 | Child Benefit WON'T be assessed on household income, it'll stay on highest earner. New. Santander offers newbie bank switchers a FREE £150. The Santander Edge account's free £150* is the latest bank switching deal. As well as the free cash, the account, which costs £3/mth, gives you an ongoing 1% cashback on bills and groceries/fuel (max £10/mth on each, so £20/mth total). Bigger spender or got bigger bills? You can also get the free £150 with Santander's Edge Up account*, which costs £5/mth, but offers 1% cashback up to £15/mth each for bills and groceries/fuel (so £30/mth total). Full eligibility info, plus five other free cash switch offers, in Best bank accounts. Early Black Friday sales on from Boots, Tesco, John Lewis, Currys & more - any good? See our regularly updated Black Friday deals analysis. Improved deal. 18mth fixed energy rate 8% cheaper than the Energy Price Cap. E.on Next's 18mth fix is now 8% LESS than the October Price Cap (last week, it was 6.4%), including MSE cashback for new users only. So if you want longer-term peace of mind, it's a strong deal as it beats all current 1yr fixed tariffs. As your cheapest depends on where you live and how much energy you use, see our Cheap Energy Club comparison. From Wed. £10 for one-litre Baileys. Cheapest all year - normally £22. Baileys (please be Drinkaware). How to boost your savings interest (plus tuition fee update): The Martin Lewis Money Show LIVE, ITV1, 8pm tonight (Tue). Martin: "Yes, I'm focusing on savings this week, explaining as I've written above how to max every penny. If you've a question, ask via #MartinLewis on X (Twitter). Plus I'll also be going through the rise in tuition fees and lots more. Do watch or set the VHS."

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - TWO pairs of specs for £14 delivered Ends Thu 14 Nov - 30% off code at Savile Row Company Ends Sun	DID YOU MISS? - 'Free' £2 Harry Kane crisps, 'free' £2 energy drink & more - 500,000 Travelodge rooms £35 or less - can you find 'em? - Marriage & divorce - financial pros of marriage, cheap divorces - £50 Grüum home fragrance set £17 delivered - Free TV audience tickets, eg, Martin's show; Wheel of Fortune

 

 

Are you paying off a student loan? Over 1 million overpaid last year (& millions more in past years) and it's easy to get £100s back Your student loan, like tax, is repaid via the payroll, and what you pay depends on what you earn. And, just as millions can reclaim tax overpayments, many uni leavers can reclaim unwittingly overpaid student loans. We've just asked the Student Loans Company (SLC) for its latest figures, which show there were 1.1m overpayments in the most recent tax year (2023/24) - and, as we know from past info requests, this adds to at least 4 million people who've overpaid before. When Martin did a video explainer on this last year, it went viral & we were awash with your successes, such as Kelly's: "Followed your advice about checking with the SLC if I'd overpaid. They are refunding me £840, which could not have come at a better time given an expensive vet bill coming up. I'd have never known this was a thing, so I've set an annual reminder to request it." In May this year, we highlighted that the SLC introduced a new system allowing some refunds to be requested online. Since then around 250,000 people have been refunded almost £62m (an average £250 each) through it. The big four reasons you may have overpaid your student loan Reason 1: You repaid the loan in some MONTHS, despite not earning enough in the tax YEAR. (1,064,211 affected in 2023/24.) Student loans only need to be repaid if you earn over an ANNUAL threshold (eg, £25,000 for current English starters, but it varies, so check what your plan's threshold is), but they are taken by the MONTH, so if you earn over the equivalent monthly threshold, it'll be deducted by your firm's payroll. So some have money taken monthly, even when their total annual income isn't enough. It's common for those who don't work a full tax year (eg, your salary's above the threshold, but you only worked nine months), or are on variable incomes or commissions. So check if you repaid some loan when your total annual earnings were under your plan's threshold... PS: Paid too much in a month, but earnt OVER the annual threshold? You CAN'T reclaim. Earn, say, £2,000/mth on Plan 2, you'd make no repayments as it's under the £2,082 monthly threshold. Yet get a £4,000 bonus in December (so total £6,000), and you'd have 9% of the excess over the monthly threshold taken (so £353). So even though your annual earnings are only £705 over the £27,295 threshold (and 9% of that is £63), you can't reclaim the excess. Reason 2: You're on the wrong student loan payment plan by default. (20,575 affected in 2023/24.) If your firm doesn't know which plan you're on, the Govt tells it to default to a Plan 1 loan, where you repay on income above £24,990/yr. Yet millions are on plans where you only repay if you earn over £27,000/yr - so if the default setting is then used, you'll have overpaid, so should a) speak to your payroll to fix it & b) reclaim past overpayments. Reason 3: You started repaying your loan too early. (59,251 affected in 2023/24.) You're usually only eligible to start repaying in the April after you left your course. If you mis-stated when your studies finished, or your employer got it wrong, you could've repaid too early, and are due that cash back. Reason 4: You had money deducted after the loan was fully repaid. (37,722 affected in 2023/24.) After a set time the loan is wiped - often after 30 years for those currently repaying, but it does vary (see when will my loan be wiped?). However, you could still repay even after your loan is cleared due to pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) timings. If this does happen, you will automatically be repaid, so don't need to reclaim. Yet better still, to prevent this, you can set up a Direct Debit for the last two years of your repayments, rather than do it through the payroll. How to reclaim (you can go back as many years as you like)... There's no time limit here either, so even if this was a decade ago, you can still do it. 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 - a new system allows many of these claims to be done online, and others can be done with a phone call. Full free help in how to reclaim student loan overpayments. 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 pay less interest. Yet student loans don't work like normal loans. It's complex... see Martin's should I reclaim overpayments? analysis (spoiler alert: for many, the answer is 'yes').

 

Ends 11.59pm Wed. 25% off Disney toys code. Two-day flash discount on 100s of full-price and already-reduced toys, costumes and stationery. Plus how to get boosted cashback deals. Disney Store Car Finance Mis-selling landmark court ruling... are you owed £1,000s? In case you missed last week's email, see Martin's crucial Car Finance Mis-selling update, which includes how to put in a claim for free. 'I saved over £400 on my car insurance using your Compare+ tool.' Our success of the week comes from Ashley: "My car is due for renewal this November. My quoted premium increased from £500 to £900, even though I've never claimed in over 50 years of driving. Using MSE's Compare+ tool, I have secured fully comprehensive cover for £470 (saving £430), which is less than last year... without losing any benefits. Thank you Martin for your valued guidance." If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes. 30% off online at Savile Row Company, including sale items, via code. MSE Blagged. Plus free delivery from the upmarket menswear retailer, eg get a £50 shirt for £13 delivered. Savile Row Co

 

 

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS 0% balance transfers New. Longest 0%: HSBC (check eligibility / apply*) 30mths 0%, 3.49% fee, 24.9% rep APR No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility, NatWest's asked us to link only to our eligibility calc) 13mths 0% (24.9% rep APR) Best bank accounts Free £200 + perks: Club Lloyds Free £180 + cashback: NatWest Reward Broadband top picks Fibre (55Mb+): Sky '£19.92/mth' Fast fibre (100Mb+): Virgin '£21.39/mth'  Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Vodafone '£25.84/mth' On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs Car insurance Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Santander (check eligibility / apply*), 7.2% rep APR Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 6.1% rep APR (for Clubcard holders) Top savings accounts Top cash ISA: Trading 212 5.17%, min £1 Top easy access: Chip 5%, no min Top one-year fix: Union Bank of India UK 4.8%, min £5,000 Top energy deals Try our relaunched Cheap Energy Club Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.93/mth' for 3GB 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.20/mth' for 5GB 10GB to 30GB data: iD Mobile, '£3.63/mth' for 15GB 31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£5.84/mth' for 100GB

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL Are you planning to spend on Black Friday? Black Friday's no longer just one weekend of deals, with many retailers starting offers in early November and often running them through into December. So this week, we want to know if you're planning to shop in the Black Friday sales this year and, if so, how much do you intend to spend? Vote now. Two-thirds of MoneySavers don't have life insurance. Last week, we asked whether you had life insurance, and if not, why not? Over 65% of the almost 5,000 MoneySavers who responded DON'T have any life insurance, rising to more than 80% of those who are single. The most common reason for not having any was: 'No one depends on me financially', followed by: 'I don't think I need it'. See the full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Barclays completes takeover of Tesco Bank - here's what it means for you - Tesco shoppers have got one month to use £18 million in Clubcard vouchers - or extend them with our trick

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should I borrow to help my husband pay off his debt? My husband of just over a year (though we've been together for seven years) has got into £20,000 of debt. It's not clear how, although he's a generous person. I own the house we live in, and told him at the start of our relationship I didn't want any debt in the house. I don't earn a great salary, but I'm good with money and have savings. I've thought about getting a 0% credit card or a loan to help pay off his debt, but he struggles with confrontation and has walked out a couple of times, so I'm reluctant to take any of it on in case things don't work out. Should I help him? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I borrow to pay off my husband's debt? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - How to be a Scandi saver - my £126 Copenhagen & Malmö trip - MSE Forum highlights: Haggling, Halloween markdowns & hybrid cars

 

 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 5 NOV ONWARDS) Tue 5 Nov - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV1, 8pm Thu 7 Nov - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm Tue 12 Nov - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.20am

 

 

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 trading212.com, prosper.co.uk, raisin.co.uk, lifesearch.com, activequote.com, howdenlifeandhealth.co.uk, santander.co.uk, hsbc.co.uk, tescobank.com Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MONY Group Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA 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 MONY Group Financial Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.