| | | Incl flog your rubbish, piggybank warning, McDonald's hack & Ryanair trick
Every week among the serious MoneySaving stuff we've fun, quick tips to boost your coffers. And as many have been big hits, this week we've compiled the year's traffic blockbusters, plus added a few new ones and old favourites to soup it up. See 80+ MoneySaving Hacks for the full list, but without further ado... | 1. | Flog your RUBBISH for cash - loo rolls, jam jars, corks. Eg, make up to £1.35 per jam jar, 35p per loo roll, £8 per perfume bottle. Sell your junk | | 2. | Warning for EVERYONE with a piggybank or coin jar. Soon you may not be able to spend the money in there. See coin warning. | | | | | 3. | Flying this summer? How to get free water at airports. Avoid rip-off prices after security - see Free airport water. Lyndsey tweeted: "Worked for me at Heathrow and Amsterdam." | | 4. |  New. Find discounted grub restaurants sell late in the day. A free app hooks you up with cafés, bakeries and restaurants to grab cheap grub and prevent food waste. We found a 'magic' sushi box from Yo Sushi for £3.50 (staff fill it with whatever’s left, boxes are normally £5+). See Cheap leftovers. Hannah used the app: "Lovely Chinese meal for two for £6." | | | | | 5. | Trick for 2for1 entry at 150+ UK attractions. Incl London Zoo, Blackpool Tower, Carlisle Castle, Tower of London and more. See 2for1 attraction trick. | | | | | 6. | How to hack McDonald's & Burger King (and we don't mean their computers). Spend 70p & get as many Big Mac & fries as you can stomach for £2 a time, or buy a £4.40 Bacon Double Cheeseburger for £2. | | | | | 7. | Booked a hotel for summer? Check the price NOW for a possible discount. See the hotel rebook trick. Alison tweeted: "I saved £200 when the price dropped two days before travel." | | | | | 8. | Psst. How to buy stolen goods on the cheap. Fancy a bag of swag or bit of bling? Don't worry, even the police are in on it. This year we expanded our guide with even more ways to buy cheap stolen goods. | | | | | 9. | Flying Ryanair? Trick to cut the cost of checked-in bags. See how to save big on luggage charges (plus more Ryanair tips and Easyjet tricks). MSE Steve saved on flights to Gran Canaria: "We slashed the cost from £152 to £106." | | | | | 10. | New. How to buy cheap 'advance' train tickets 10 mins before you go. Now works with more firms. See Book early, late. | | | | | 11. | About to shop in a big-name store? Sneakily buy a gift card at a discount. A special site sells unwanted gift cards/vouchers for M&S, John Lewis, Argos and more, with 2-25% off. Gift card trick | | 12. | How to spend a penny & protect £10,000s. For why, see penny protection. | | | | | 13. | Pay £1, get 25p off most Costa, Pret & Starbucks drinks EVERY time. Use our 'bring your own mug' trick. | | 14. | Same supermarket, same item - different prices. We tell you where to find 'em. Save big by shopping in the baby aisle or the world foods aisle, and avoid overpaying in the free-from aisle. Janet told us: "Great tips. I always buy cotton wool in the baby aisle." | | 15. | Legitimately dodge queues. There's a sneaky way to avoid queues at restaurants, clubs, gyms, attractions, Ikea and more - and you don't need to be a VIP. | | 16. | Free 'Amazon delivery trick' tool. This nifty tool helps you add a wooden spoon or two to hit the e-giant's free delivery threshold - usually £20 - in the cheapest way. See Free Amazon Delivery Tool. Ben tweeted: "Brilliant, just saved myself Amazon's delivery." | | 17. | When thongs beat knickers (on eBay, that is). You can sell for more if you tweak your vocab and use the right keywords. See the full 130 keywords. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Grab a 0% credit card, spend £100 anywhere for £30 cashback, and if any of it is at M&S you get a £5 vch too
This mega-popular M&S deal is back. You can spend on the credit card, clear the debt at no cost and then cancel if you want (though if you need the borrowing there's no cheaper way than interest-free). But it's not an excuse to overspend - ensure it's planned and budgeted, and clear before the 0% ends. Full info and options in Top 0% Cards - but briefly... -
 New. Free £30 cashback + £5 voucher + 25mths' 0% spending. Accepted new M&S Bank (eligibility calc / apply*) credit card-holders who apply via our link and spend £100+ on it by Thu 31 Aug get £30 cashback credited to their account.
- You can also earn another £5 to spend at M&S. You're sent a voucher with the card - swipe it at the till or quote the code online when you use the card to buy most things at M&S, incl food. You'll then get 500 points, which convert to a £5 voucher. Plus you'll earn one point (worth 1p) for every £1 spent at M&S and every £5 spent elsewhere. - Will it affect my credit score? An application leaves a footprint on your credit report, which is trivial unless you do many in a short time or are about to make an important credit application, eg, a mortgage. It's best to check your chances first using our free eligibility calc, which doesn't affect your creditworthiness. -
Is this a good 0% deal? It's strong, though you can get longer - without such high upfront freebies. There's up to a whopping 32mths 0% with the AA (eligibility calc / apply*) - the longest ever, yet you could be offered fewer months. Sainsbury's Bank (eligibility calc / apply*) offers 31mths 0% and 5,000 bonus Nectar pts (worth £25) if you spend £250 in Sainsbury's in the first month, plus ongoing Nectar pts. Full info and top picks in 0% Spending Cards. -
Always follow the 0% Card Golden Rules.
a) Never miss paying at least the monthly min or you can lose the 0% (and stick within the credit limit).
b) Plan to clear the card (or balance-transfer) before the 0% ends or the interest rate jumps - the cards above are 18.9% rep APR after the 0%.
c) These cards are usually ONLY cheap for spending, not balance transfers or cash withdrawals.
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| | | | Airport lounge access from £13.50 via 25% off code. MSE Blagged. A suite deal. Works at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham & Edinburgh. Full info plus lots more tips for lounges worldwide in Cheap airport lounges.
£2 Asos, New Look, Topshop etc clothes, £2.50 shoes. Super-cheap surplus stock from high street fashion stores. Normally £5 per item, but there's a sale on. Delivery's £4-£20, ends Sun. Everything5pounds.com
£18 beauty box code incl Eyeko, Nails Inc, St Tropez (norm £85ish indiv). MSE Blagged. Gets £2 off plus free delivery. 3,000 avail. Cosmo beauty box
Cheapest-ever loan for borrowing £5k to £7.5k - 3.3%.TSB* is down to a record 3.3% rep APR - next l owest is Hitachi* at 3.4% rep APR (TSB 1-5 yrs, Hitachi 2-5). To find out if you'll be accepted for these (or the cheapest loans for any amount) use our free Loans Eligibility Calc. And remember - only borrow if you need to, and it's planned, budgeted and affordable. Full help & more best buys in Cheap Loans.
Next 50% off sale rumour for this weekend. No official confirmation, but likely from Sat. Next
British Gas faces investigation due to MSE exit fees campaign. Regulator Ofgem says our evidence dossier sparked its probe. Exit fees
Ever tried to implement a Power of Attorney? Martin's researching whether institutions treat those with PoAs fairly. Please take 5 minutes to do this Power of Attorney survey. |
| | | | | | | | | | Millions languishing on expired contracts overpay, so change your Sim and stop wasting £100s/yr
The price of Sim-only deals - where you get a Sim card on a contract but no new handset - has dived in recent years, so huge savings are possible. Even if in contract, diarise to check as soon as it ends. Switching's easy as it usually just takes one working day to move your number to a new network. Full info in Cheap Sim-only Deals, here are the key digits... -
Free tools to analyse bills. Billmonitor* and MobilePhoneChecker* check your last three months' bills to show the average mins, texts and data you use. They then match that to the cheapest deals from the market. Compare their results to our top finds below (if you can pay the same and get higher allowances, it gives a safety net). -
 Ends Thu. Some can get a huge 20GB data + unlimited texts & mins for equiv £8/mth. BT broadband customers* can pay £16/mth (£21/mth if not on BT b'band*) for this 1yr contract deal from BT Mobile (which uses the EE network). Factor in a £95 Amazon/iTunes voucher you can claim after two weeks but within three months of getting the Sim (BT won't remind you so diarise to use this claim form) and it's equiv £8/mth, £13/mth for non-BT custs. So it's a winner for high and medium users.
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Top Sims for medium (or slightly higher) use if not a BT b'band cust. You can get 4GB data + unltd texts & mins for £9/mth from Three*. If you want more, Three's* 8GB, unltd texts & 600 mins for £12/mth wins. Both are on 12mth contracts. The 4GB deal does NOT give the free roaming in many non-EU countries you get with Three's Feel At Home feature. The 8GB deal DOES off er it. -
Top Sim for low use. You can get 1.5GB data, 5,000 texts & 500 mins for £5/mth from iD Mobile* (uses the Three network) on a 30-day rolling contract. -
Unlocking your phone is key - but also easy. Some networks 'lock' the handset so you can only use their Sims. Call your network if unsure, and if it is locked, unlock it for free if out of contract (some charge if in contract). -
Don't want a contract and prefer pay-as-you-go? They're usually pricier, but avoid a credit check. See Best PAYG.
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| | | | | | | | The older you get, the more expensive it is, and many rip you off - but we've tricks to save
Older travellers get milked by insurers as firms' fear of hefty claims pushes up costs. Yet scour hard (we've done it for you) and there are still ways to get decent rates. Davy emailed: "Quoted £309 but after your tips got it for £87, saving £222. Thanks." Full details in our Over-65s' Travel Insurance guide, here's the lowdown... -
 Top annual travel insurance whatever your age. All our top picks for annual policies (best if going away 2+ times a year) meet our minimum cover criteria. Insurers assume you don't have a pre- existing medical condition. If you do, declare it to see if it makes a difference. If so, read our Pre-Existing Conditions travel insurance guide.
- Under 65? We're focusing on 65+, but if younger see Cheap Travel Insurance.
- 65-74: Holidaysafe Lite* - £17 in Europe, £33 world when 65. If 66+ yrs, £25 with same firm (Europe), £50 (world) with Leisure Guard*.
- 75-79: Holidaysafe Lite* - £31 Europe, £60 world.
- 80-85: Insure and Go (Silver) - £252 Europe, £377 world.
- Over 85: Here it gets tricky. Try Age UK*, All Clear Travel & Benenden (which all have a wide age range). -
Going away once? Single-trip policies win. They start from £14, see Single-trip over-65s' travel insurance. -
Are you under 65, going away with someone older? Trick to cut costs. If in a group or couple and only one is over 65, it's often cheaper to get individual cover so the younger person isn't charged an over-65 rate. We checked for a 64 and 66-yr-old couple going to Spain. A joint policy was £45; two individual policies were £41.83 in total. -
Or get worldwide family travel insurance up to age 74 (+ phone & breakdown cover) for £13/mth via a current account. Nationwide FlexPlus* gives travel insurance for all family members under 75 registered at the same address. Even if older it's a not-too-steep £50/person surcharge. Always declare medical conditions which could push prices up. It also gives UK & European breakdown cover for account holder(s) and mobile insurance for all family members at that address. It's £10/mth, rising to £13/mth on 21 Sep 2017. Robert emailed: "Moved to Nationwide, saved £558 on travel insurance. Winning."
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| | | | £1 kids' books, eg, Horrid Henry (norm £5) & Famous Five (norm £6).Scholastic's summer sale is a huge hit with parents & teachers every year. £10 min spe nd & delivery's £3, but good if you're stocking up. £1 books
SUCCESS OF THE WEEK: (Send us yours on this or any topic)
"Vaguely recalled taking out a loan, but had zero paperwork. Did a PPI reclaim via Resolver, five weeks later a letter arrived... £5,600. Result - wouldn't have happened without MSE (and my mum nagging)."
FREE £17 Doncaster Races tickets via code. For Thu 20 Jul. Only 2,000 avail so not around fur-long.
The Sun '£9.50 holidays' are back... and they're cheap, but never actually £9.50. See our fullSun hols analysis. |
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| Do you have mobile phone insurance? If so, what type? Martin had his phone nicked this week, so we want to know if you have insurance. It also covers for loss or breakage, but it's not necessarily worth it for everyone. Are you insured? The cost of a roof over your head. Last week we asked what you spent on your mortgage/rent. The majority of homeowners and private renters (72%) spend 11-50% of their monthly income on housing, whereas 40% of those living with family pay nothing at all. See full housing costs poll results. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Virgin Trains - 1st class East Coast sale, eg, £20 Ldn-Leeds
Eurostar - £50/£60 day return to Paris, Brussels or Lille
Haribo - FREE Minions sweets via O2 app
Pitcher & Piano - FREE £8ish cocktail or £5ish cider
Habitat - up to 50% off sale online & in stores
| | Burger King - meal deals from £1.99 with voucher
KFC - FREE side via app, incl wings & fries
Domino's - 2for1 pizza collection
Zizzi - 30% off mains with voucher
Mystery Dining - free meal at Wagamama?
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| | | | | | | | Thu 13 Jul - Good Morning Britain, ITV, Deals of the Week, 7.40am
Fri 14 Jul - This Morning, ITV, Martin's Quick Deals, time TBC. View previous
Mon 17 Jul - This Morning, ITV, time TBC. View previous
Mon 17 Jul - BBC Radio 5 Live, Lunch Money Martin, noon. Subscribe to podcast | | |
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| Wed 12 Jul - Facebook Live Q&A #AskMSE, 5pm
Wed 12 Jul - BBC Radio Cumbria, 'Money Talks', from 6pm
Fri 14 Jul - BBC South West stations, breakfast, travel money tips
Tue 18 Jul - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, 2.20pm |
| | | | | | Q: I was made bankrupt in 2009 and discharged a year later. When I look on my Experian Credit Report I can find no record of my bankruptcy and now I wish to get a mortgage. Do I have to declare it? Charlie, via email.  MSE Sam's A: It'll depend on whether you're asked by the mortgage lender. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for up to six years from the date of the order (ie, when declared bankrupt), or the date of your discharge (when it's finished). As it's more than six years it'll no longer be visible on your credit report, or to lenders searching it.
However, some lenders may ask you on their application forms to declare if you've been previously bankrupt, potentially affecting their decision to lend to you. In this scenario it's best to talk to a mortgage broker to help find you the type of lender most likely to accept you - see how to find a FREE mortgage broker. Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails). |
| | | | | | That's it for this week but before we go... Last week saw the eagerly awaited annual MSE sports day. Events included the 100m relay, tug-of-war and all-time classic the egg-and-spoon, and we managed to record a few videos too. Watch Martin and the team compete (plus some amazing team dances) in our forum post: MSE Sports Day 2017. We hope you save some money,
The MSE team |
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