Martin's Budget Briefing, Black Friday LIVE, 264Mb broadband £18/month, 2.55% easy- access savings, FREE £50 investment

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL

Martin's Budget Briefing:
- Energy bills likely up 43%
- Income, benefits, pensions
- Tax changes & fiscal drag
- Mortgages & rents 264Mb broadband just '£18/month' Ending. 25 months' 0% spending + £20 Unlimited easy-access savings 2.55% Black Friday week LIVE updates Latest coupons: FREE £3 vegan chicken, FREE £2.25 gravy, FREE £1.65 yogurt FREE £50 investment Santander ditching 123 Lite for 'Edge' - any good? Real six-foot Ikea Christmas tree '£15' Kärcher 20% off code West End theatre tickets from £10 Martin's podcast: Budget analysis, cheap credit, Christmas & more Help if struggling to pay water bills £37 Ted Baker specs (normally £135) Book Christmas grocery deliveries now Cheap Christmas train travel Mortgage booked but not started? Check if you can ditch it & save £100s This week's best buys, including £200 bank switch bribe, 34 months' 0% debt shift, 4.36% fixed savings Should I ask my friend to pay me exactly what she owes?

BEST BUYS & TOOLS

MSE Cheap Mobile Finder Credit Club including free credit report 0% balance transfers Compare broadband deals MSE Car Insurance Compare+ Best bank accounts Top savings accounts Credit cards for bad credit Credit Card Eligibility Calculator Loans Eligibility Calculator Mortgage comparison Compare travel money Cheap Energy Club, with Pick Me A Tariff Best Sim-only deals

Energy, mortgages, rent, taxes, benefits, pensions, minimum wage key changes

Martin's Budget Briefing

Don't think you know it - there's more than meets the eye

On Thursday, Jeremy Hunt produced his first Budget (they called it an Autumn Statement, but it was a Budget). Much of it was political, economic and about public spending.
Yet this was also the most impactful Budget on personal and consumer finance, since, well... the Kwasi Kwarteng disaster one... and as the Chancellor repeatedly told us, he'd had to make "tough decisions" - so it's worth you knowing what's coming, and how to protect yourself.
So let's cut out the politics and focus on the personal finance practicals from the speech, and the things that fell out of examining the detail since.

Listening easier than reading? Watch my 10-min instant-reaction video.

1) Energy bills likely to be an average 43% higher next winter than this

This winter's energy costs are almost double last year's, yet I'm afraid things are likely to get costlier still. While it's not good to hear, preparation and forewarning can help. Here's what's happening...

The energy price guarantee has been extended a year. The energy price guarantee started on 1 Oct. It restricts the standing charges and unit rates firms can charge. It was originally due to last two years, then changed to end March 2023, now it's been re-extended to the end of March 2024.
Note for nerds (this is not a must-read, so if you find energy confusing, best ignore): The energy price guarantee actually sits on top of the old three-monthly-changing price cap system. So if the price cap is higher than the guarantee, the state subsidises the difference to keep energy bills lower (yes, staggeringly, current rates are actually subsidised).

The price guarantee rate increases 20% on 1 April 2023. The rate is rising by an average 20%, so someone with typical use will pay £3,000/year (currently £2,500/year).
Note for nerds: If wholesale energy prices (those energy firms pay) drop, so that the underlying price cap is lower than the guarantee, I've had it confirmed the rate will drop to that lower price cap level. That's currently not predicted, but is certainly possible.
I also know many want to know the new standing charges & unit rates. They won't be published until Feb, as they depend on the underlying price cap rates, so I'm afraid my only option's to do it by average % rise, sorry. (All this also means there may be small tweaks to the current guarantee rates from the new 1 Jan cap.)
There will NOT be a £400 all-homes cost-of-living payment in winter 23/24. So while a household with typical use currently pays £2,500 a year, and gets £400 off that (so £2,100 in total), next year the rate goes up to £3,000 with no payment. So all-in that's an increase of 43%. And the loss of the £400 will feel even bigger for lower users.Note for nerds: I know you already worked it out, but obvs that £3,000 rate is only if wholesale rates & thus the price cap doesn't drop.

There WILL be specific cost of living payments though. Next year there will be £900 for those on benefits (it was £650 this year) and £300 for pensioners and £150 for those on disability benefits, both matching this year. Exact timings and details yet to be confirmed.

It's now £200 not £100 for oil/LPG-heated homes THIS WINTER. The £100 payment due for those with oil/LPG heating is being doubled to £200 but still no details on when it'll be paid.

Two big consultations could change things. The price guarantee may after April next year become a 'volumetric cap' (ie, cheaper rates up to a certain usage level, higher above). Plus from 2024 there's a consultation on introducing a social tariff (something I've long campaigned for) where vulnerable customers automatically get cheaper rates even without switching.

What should you be doing now to help yourself? There are no meaningfully cheaper tariffs available, so you can't switch and save right now. Yet there are three areas to focus on...
- Easy ways to cut your usage. Lots of help that can easily reduce what you use: first go to our 60+ energy savers checklist for pain-free changes, then the Heat the human guide and finish with Energy mythbusters (eg, is it cheaper to have the heating on low all day?).
- Are you paying the right amount? Use our Direct debit too high? calc.
- Have you got all the help available? Especially important as some on prepay meters haven't claimed their £400 help. Plus if you can't pay, check out Struggling to pay - energy help to see if there are any grants.

2) Income, benefits, pensions

This had been the hottest of hot potatoes, so I'm pleased many on the lowest incomes at least got rises to help them try and keep up with inflation.

National minimum wages to rise 9.7% on 1 April 2023. Over-23s' will rise to £10.42/hour (from £9.50). Other rates up by similar - for exact details and lots more help (including why 100,000s on min wage should legally be paid more), see our National minimum wage - are you being UNDERPAID? guide.
State pension to rise 10.1% on 6 April 2023. That means the full new state pension will be £204/week (from £185), so that's £10,600/year; the old state pension, £156/wk (from £142), so around £8,100/yr. See state pension help for the difference between them.
It's worth noting that means, for many, energy bills alone will be a third of that. Pension credit will also rise 10.1%, so earn under £200/wk if single, URGENTLY check if you're due a pension credit top-up.
Most benefits to rise by 10.1% on 1 April 2023 - check if you're due them. See full list of which benefits will & won't rise.
Remember you may be due benefits even if you work...
So a reminder, my rule of thumb is family income under £40,000? Spend 10 mins on a benefits calc. I'm not saying you will get something, just that it's worth checking in case you do.
As Ashik emailed: "After reading one of your universal credit success stories, I thought 'I'm in the same boat, why don't I try it?' I typed my details on the online benefit calculator and I was amazed. I'm now receiving £700 a month." 3) Tax changes and fiscal drag

The big change here is that there is no change! Well, to most income tax and national insurance thresholds anyway - they are frozen (you can see what tax you should pay with our Income Tax Calc).
This is the biggest revenue raiser in the Budget, and it is all about what is called 'fiscal drag'. For that imagine Jeremy Hunt in rouge... it doesn't help the explanation... but it's a fun thing to do.
Fiscal drag means if you don't increase thresholds, instead you freeze them; when average earnings are rising around 6% a year and inflation is 11%, people pay more tax. An example should help...

Imagine Pat Timeworker earns £12,500/yr...

She doesn't pay any tax on it, because of the personal allowance: the amount you can earn income tax-free is currently £12,570/yr.
Next year... Pat gets a pay rise of around 5% taking her to £13,100/yr. Yet with 11% inflation, her spending power is actually less than it was the year before.
Now for the fiscal drag. As the personal allowance is frozen at £12,570/yr, and she now earns £530 more than that, she'll pay 20% tax on that bit - taking a further £106 and giving it to the tax office.
This effect works for everyone whose income increases, as if thresholds don't rise, you pay a bigger proportion of your income in tax.

PS: The Scottish Parliament has some tax-varying powers, and it hasn't yet announced its new tax rates. So this is for Eng, Wales & NI.
There was one income tax change though. From next April, 45% tax will be paid on all income above £125,140 rather than above the current £150,000 - bringing more people into the very top band. And there were a couple of other tax changes starting next year.

- Capital gains tax allowance cut. The amount of profits you can earn per tax year before paying tax on it will be cut from £12,300 this year to £6,000 from April 2023, and £3,000 from April 2024.
- Dividends allowance cut. The amount you can earn in dividends per tax year before paying tax on it will be cut from £2,000 this year to £1,000 from April 2023, and £500 from April 2024.

4) Mortgages and rents

There was not much said about this in the Budget speech, but there were a few more things in the background documents worth noting.
PS: If you're looking at changing mortgages now, see our Mortgage Best Buys comparison and Remortgage help booklet (downloads PDF).

Live in social housing? (Eng) rent rises will be capped at 7% from April. This applies to almost all council and housing association properties in England. There is always a cap in place - it was due to be 11% next tax year, but the Chancellor cut it to 7%, which means rents can't go up as much (the cap for this tax year is 4.1%). In Wales next year's cap will be 6.5%, Scot & NI haven't confirmed theirs yet.
'Support for mortgage interest' to be made easier from spring 2023. If you lost your job, currently after 9 months you can get some money to help cover your mortgage interest. From spring 2023 (nothing more accurate than that I'm afraid), you'll only need to be out of work for 3 months, and for the first time will not be excluded if you have a little income. Full info in mortgage support changes.

On the mortgage front, I am concerned spring could be a perfect storm - energy bills up, inflation continuing to rise and interest rates peaking.
I had a one-on-one with the Chancellor early last week, and this was one of the things discussed. On mortgages I suggested that some lender and regulatory changes could make things easier (eg, softening remortgaging affordability checks, making it easier to change mortgage term, take payment holidays, temporarily switch to interest-only).
And of course this impacts renters too, as many rents are impacted by the mortgage costs of landlords.
On the back of that, he wants to get me, him and others together with lenders soon, to discuss this in more detail. Watch this space.

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.

Broadband Black Friday
Can you get 10 TIMES the speed for half what you pay now?

264Mb fibre broadband '£18/month' and more cheap deals

Black Friday isn't just for gadgets and clothes - broadband firms also fight it out with hot short-lived deals, and most are already up and running. If you're one of the seven million who are out of contract, free to move, but overpaying by about £300/year, it's time to take action. Most deals here are right up there, especially the Virgin superfast one, but things may change this week, so before we run through the top deals - most of which are short lived - two quick questions...
1) Want to wait till Friday to see if there's anything new? Use our broadband comparison - it'll be fully updated.
2) Are you on universal credit or similar? You may qualify for special discounted social tariffs which have consistently low monthly costs. Vodafone, BT, Virgin, Sky and more offer them, so do check them out as well as the deals below.

Top switchers' broadband & line deals Deals are postcode dependent, so links go via our broadband tool which shows if you can get 'em
264Mb (extremely FAST) fibre New. Virgin Media MSE Blagged - 264Mb fibre & line '£18.40/month' 18-month contract Only available to 55% of homes - you're told if yours qualifies when applying	Cheapest broadband at this speed we've ever seen. Apply via this Virgin 264Mb link and you'll pay £23.95/month, but get £100 bill credit automatically added to your first bill (so there's nowt to pay for four months, unless you make calls). Factored in, before calls, it's £18.40/month over the 18-month contract. Virgin was rated 'OK' in our last service poll (1).
38Mb & 67Mb (fast) fibre Ends Sun 4 Dec. Shell Energy - 38Mb fibre & line '£12.91/month' - 67Mb fibre & line '£14.16/month' 18-month contract Mid-term higher-than-inflation price hike allowed in contract	Cheapest fibre & fast fibre. Apply via Broadband Genie using these Shell 38Mb or Shell 67Mb links, and you'll pay £4.95 upfront then £22.49/month (38Mb) or £23.99/month (67Mb). You can then CLAIM (don't forget) a £110 Amazon voucher within four months AND you'll also get three months free via bill credit. Assuming you'd have spent at Amazon anyway, factor it all in over the 18-month contract, before calls, and the 38Mb is equivalent to £12.91/month, the 67Mb £14.16/month. Shell was rated 'poor' in our last service poll, so there's a trade-off between service and price (1).
67Mb (fast) fibre & decent service Vodafone - 67Mb fibre & line '£16.59/month' 24-month contract Mid-term higher-than-inflation price hike allowed in contract	Cheap fast fibre, better service. Apply via this Vodafone 67Mb link and you'll pay £22/month, but you can CLAIM (don't forget) a £130 Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's or M&S voucher. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £16.59/month over the 24-month contract. Vodafone was rated high end of the 'OK' range in our last service poll (1).
63Mb (fast) fibre & good service Now Broadband - 63Mb fibre & line '£20.42/month' 12-month contract Mid-term higher-than-inflation price hike allowed in contract	Cheapest fast fibre with good service. Apply via this Now Broadband 63Mb link and you'll pay £5 upfront, then £20/month. There are no vouchers to claim, so factor in just the £5 upfront and it's equivalent to £20.42/month over the 12-month contract. Now Broadband was rated 'good' in our last service poll (1).
To compare, we use 'equivalent costs' - adding all costs, except calls, deducting promo credits & averaging over the contract. (1) Broadband service ratings tend to be worse than other sectors, so all scores are lower, and feedback is relative. To see the full results go to our broadband service poll results page.

Slow broadband? Test your speed - is it the Wi-Fi or the connection? Do a broadband speed check - first when using Wi-Fi, and then plugging your device into the router (if you can). If Wi-Fi's a lot slower, try our eight speed-boosters.
At least 50% of customers must get the advertised speeds at peak times. All providers above also tell you the estimated max speed you're likely to get before you sign up.
Switching usually only means about two hours' downtime. You're told the switch time, and most don't need an engineer to set it up - though about 40% switching to Virgin will (you're told before applying). A few leaving Virgin may need an Openreach engineer.
Don't want to switch? Haggle. If you want to stay with your existing provider, use the deals above as a benchmark price to help you haggle costs down. Not sure how? Read full broadband haggling tips.
Members of cashback sites can sometimes undercut deals. In some cases, the cashback can mean these sites undercut promos elsewhere, though sometimes the deal differs - so check carefully. More in Top cashback sites.

New unlimited easy-access savings 2.55% - why earn less? As the savings all-change continues, the new top easy-access rate for unlimited withdrawals is app-based Tandem's 2.55% AER interest* (no min deposit). Paragon's 2.6% AER (min £1) is a tad higher, though you're restricted to 3 withdrawals a year. But if you're prepared to lock money away, you can earn more in a fix. Full help & options in Top savings.

BLACK FRIDAY WEEK LIVE updates: best deals, predictions, news & analysis. We help you sort the deals from the duds in our constantly moving, ongoing, Black Friday analysis or follow the MSE Deals Twitter.

November coupons: FREE £3 VFC vegan chicken, FREE £2.25 Pieminister gravy, FREE £1.65 yogurt. See our latest list of 50+ supermarket coupons.

Grab one of 5,000 totally FREE £50 investments. This is frankly a ridiculous deal. If you put £50 (or more) into robo-investment firm Wealthify (it chooses the investments for you to make it easier), then after a year it will give you £50 cashback. So put fifty quid in, get the investment, and then you get your money back, so whatever the investment is worth in a year is a win. Even if your investments flop, at worst you break-even. Full info in Robo-investing cashback.

Santander's ditching its 123 Lite account for 'Edge' - is it any good? Read Santander all-change analysis.

Get a real six-foot Ikea Christmas tree for '£15', plus 23 more Ikea hacks. Read stacks of our Ikea hacks.

Kärcher 20% off code - for example, £52 window vac bundle (normally £95). MSE Blagged. Valid on all home and garden products, including already reduced items. Kärcher code

Starts Thur. £10 to £50 West End theatre tickets for Mastercard holders, including Mamma Mia, Frozen, Wicked. It's for 1 Jan to 10 Feb performances, and Mastercard holders get first dibs. Go quick as popular shows often sell out fast. £10 to £50 London theatre

MARTIN'S 'BIG QUESTIONS' END OF YEAR FINALE. Tonight (Tue 8pm), ITV. It's the last Martin Lewis Money Show of 2022 so over to Martin: "After the huge Budget last week, I'll take you through everything you need to know, plus answer your questions. To help I've a tax and a benefits specialist joining me to cover as many issues as we can. Got questions? Tweet the show team using #MartinLewis or email them at MartinLewis@itv.com."

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- 264Mb Virgin Media fibre & line '£18.40/month' Ends 1 Dec
- 20% off Kärcher, including £52 window vac bundle Ends Thu
- £37 Ted Baker prescription specs (normally £135) Ends 11 Dec

DID YOU MISS?

- Unique MSE Amazon Warehouse Discount tool
- Ends Sun. £10 for one litre of Baileys
- £13m of Clubcard vouchers expiring this month - extend 'em
- The Christmas Deals Predictor - see when prices will be sliced
- Martin's 'EASY ways to cut energy use and save cash' video

Ending. Longest 0% spending card - get 25 months interest-free + £20 cashback

If you need to borrow, then top 0% spending credit cards give you interest-free debt for around two years - unbeatable over that time period. Yet the market for these cards is changing. We've seen Sainsbury's and M&S Bank shorten previous good deals from 24 months at 0% to 21 months in the last few weeks, which means this remaining 25-month 0% card is all the more important - if you need it. And right now it offers £20 cashback - though not for long. Full details are below, but first, a warning...

Don't borrow willy-nilly. Credit cards are like fire. Used right, they're a useful tool, but used wrong, they'll burn. So DON'T use one to fill gaps in day-to-day spending - that just risks a debt spiral. They should only be used for planned, necessary expenditure that you can afford to pay back before the 0% ends. In this case, 0% borrowing is as cheap as it gets.
Ending. Barclaycard gives 'up to' 25 months 0% on spending PLUS £20 cashback. This Barclaycard* (best to check your eligibility odds before applying) is the longest 0% spending card, but the 'up to' means that poorer credit scorers could get just 12 months at 0% (it's 22.9% rep APR interest after the 0% ends).
Plus, apply by Wed 30 Nov and there's £20 cashback for accepted newbies who haven't had a Barclaycard in the last year, and who spend at least £250 in the first 90 days - though DON'T use this as a reason to overspend. As we say above, 0% cards are best used for your planned borrowing only.

M&S has the longest non up-to card at 21 months 0% (though NatWest/RBS customers could get 24 months). This M&S card* has a shorter 0%, but here ALL accepted get the full time at 0%, so if you've strong eligibility odds for this and weaker with Barclaycard, it's a better bet. You'll also rack up M&S points on spending. It's 23.9% rep APR interest after the 0%. Though if you're a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank customer, you can access an existing-customer only definite 24-month 0% card. For a full list of alternatives, see our 0% spending cards guide.

Follow the 0% Card Golden Rules. Full info in 0% credit cards, but in brief...
a) Never try to borrow your way out of debt - if you're struggling, see our Debt help guide.
b) Always pay at least the set monthly minimum and stick within the credit limit, or you can lose the 0% offer.
c) These cards are usually only top picks for spending - avoid cash withdrawals or shifting debt to them.
d) Plan to clear the card (or balance-transfer away) before the 0% period ends, or the rate jumps to the rep APR.

Budget analysis, cheap credit, Christmas & Jeremy Hunt's fiscal drag show. All in the new BBC The Martin Lewis Podcast episode.

Struggling to pay your water bill? Check if you can get up to 90% off. All water suppliers in England and Wales offer special discounted tariffs for those on low incomes. See our supplier-by-supplier round-up.

£37 Ted Baker prescription specs (normally £135). MSE Blagged. Via SpeckyFourEyes code.

Book Christmas delivery slots now as they open at all major supermarkets. Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Waitrose are now taking bookings. But go quick as they get snapped up fast. See Christmas food delivery info.

'Tis the season for cheap Christmas train tickets. Most rail firms have now put advance fares for the festive period on sale, so be quick if you want to save big - see how to track down cheap Christmas trains.

Got a mortgage deal that hasn't started yet? Check whether you can get a cheaper one now that rates have dropped. If you fixed while rates were at their peak, check now whether you can get a cheaper deal, with most lenders letting you cancel without a fee, provided your new mortgage hasn't started yet. Mortgage help

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

0% balance transfers

Longest 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 34 months 0%, 2.88% or 3.88% fee (21.9% rep APR interest)
No-fee 0%: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - up to 19 months 0%, no or 1% fee (21.9% rep APR) or NatWest - 22 months 0% if you're a NatWest/RBS customer (21.9% rep APR)

Best bank accounts

£200 to switch + 5% interest for a year: Nationwide
£200 to switch + 3% savings account: HSBC

Top savings accounts

Top easy access: Paragon Bank 2.6%, min £1
Top one-year fix: Investec 4.36%, min £5,000

Car insurance

Try our new Car Insurance Compare+ tool

Cheap loans

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR interest
Cheapest £7.5k to £15k: M&S Bank (check eligibility / apply*) and HSBC (apply), both 4.9% rep APR

Broadband top picks

Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£12.91/month'
Fast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£14.16/month'
Superfast (100Mb+): Virgin Media '£18.40/month'

On universal credit or similar? Check discounted social tariffs

Cheap Sims

Up to 3GB data: '£2.40/month' for 3GB, Lycamobile
4GB to 9GB data: '£3.38/month' for 5GB, Lebara or Lycamobile
10GB+ data: £4/month for 12GB, Smarty

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Can you spare three hours to help get food to vulnerable people this winter? From Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 December, you can support charity FareShare by volunteering your time in Tesco stores across the UK to encourage shoppers to donate long-life food. The charity will then give donations to those in need via foodbanks. If you can't spare the time, but want to (and can afford to), you can also donate food in store. Volunteer with FareShare.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Are you shopping in the Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday sales this year? The cost of living crisis has meant greater belt-tightening for many - so we want to know if you're planning to shop in the Black Friday sales this year and, if so, how much you intend to spend. Let us know in this week's poll .

Most MoneySavers plan to spend up to £500 this Christmas. Last week, we asked how much you are planning to spend on Christmas this year - including food, drink, decorations, presents, travel and more. More than a third of the 5,000 who responded said they'll be spending less than £300, with a similar number saying they'll be spending less than usual this year. See full Christmas spend poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Joules falls into administration - your refund and shopping rights
- Supermarkets charging too much for petrol, RAC says - how to cut your fuel costs
- Energy firms failing vulnerable customers, industry regulator finds
- 850,000 households on prepay energy yet to redeem £66 government help vouchers
- Royal Mail warns of delivery delays as 115,000 workers walk out

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I ask my friend to pay me exactly what she owes? I've a new friend that I go to concerts with. I usually book the tickets, then send her the booking confirmation with the cost. But when she pays me back, she rounds down the amount - so if her ticket cost £53, she'll transfer me £50. While individually they're small amounts, it's starting to add up. Should I mention it - I don't want to jeopardise this friendship, as I rely on her as my concert companion? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should my friend pay me exactly? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- Nine ways to digitally detox and stop spending in sale season
- MSE Forum highlights: Poems, patios & pants

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC)

Tue 29 Nov - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

FREE FOOD, DRINKS & TICKETS - WHAT ARE THE BEST PERKS YOU GET FROM FRIENDS' JOBS?

That's all for this week, but before we go... we asked you what jobs friends and family have that mean you get freebies, mates' rates or insider knowledge. One lucky peanut-loving dad got 64 packets of peanuts for £6.40 as his daughter works at a supermarket, while a teacher has several students working at cafés so gets their caffeine fix for free. And one bookworm told us their aunt in publishing gives them free books when covers are mistakenly printed upside down. Yet some freebies come with a cost - one football fan said a friend who works at a football academy was able to get him a ticket to a game - but he supports the other team! Tell us your friends' best jobs in our Facebook and Twitter conversations.

We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team

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