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| DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
| Urgent! Cheapest loan deals likely to be pulled ANY MINUTE... if you need to borrow, apply ASAP The cheapest personal loan rates have doubled in the last 18 months. While we can't confirm this, we've heard it's very likely that more than one of the market's cheapest loans are about to be pulled - or at least repriced at higher rates - any minute. There's even a chance this could happen as we send this week's email out, so do double-check any rates. If correct, it means if you currently need to apply for a loan, speed is of the essence. After that, we may well be close to rates plateauing and stabilising, so this isn't a call about the longer term. Full info in Cheap loans, but in brief... Please only get a loan if it's planned for, NEEDED and you've budgeted for the repayments. It should be for a necessary, one-off purchase (new freezer, kitchen, car etc) you can't pay for from savings. NEVER borrow willy-nilly to fill gaps in your income, as it can spiral out of control. Before borrowing, budget to ensure you can afford the repayments, borrow as little as you can, and repay as quickly as you can. Overall, if in doubt, don't.- If your aim is to switch credit cards to loans, a balance transfer is likely cheaper. - If you're struggling with debt already, you can't borrow your way out of it. Please read Debt help instead. The UK's cheapest FIXED loan rates - where you can check first if you're likely to be accepted. Loan rates are meaningless if you can't get them. Worse still, applying means a mark on your credit file even if you're rejected. Instead, it's best to go via our Loans Eligibility Calc, which shows which loans you'll likely get without impacting your ability to access credit. All rates are fixed for the length of the loan. - £1,000 to £2,999: Santander* 14.5% rep APR interest, but 0% credit card loans are likely cheaper for many - £3,000 to £4,999: Novuna Personal Loans* 9.9% on £3k to £4k, 9.7% on £4k to £5k, M&S Bank* 9.9% rep APR - £5,000 to £7,499: Santander* 7.2% rep APR, AA* 7.2% rep APR for members (7.3% non-members) - £7,500 to £15,000: Santander* 5.8% rep APR, Tesco Bank* 5.9% rep APR (must have a Clubcard) - £15,001 to £20,000: Santander* 5.9% rep APR, Tesco Bank* 5.9% rep APR (must have a Clubcard)
Always obey the personal loan golden rules. If you do get a loan, ensure you pay on time (preferably by direct debit) or you may be charged and get a missed payment on your credit report, which can cause real problems. And while loan rates are fixed, do monitor the market, especially if your credit score improves. You then might be able to cut existing loan costs with a new loan (it's complex though, so the article takes you through it). |
| Try the MSE app. The site you know & love, plus new tools, via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It's still alive... top 5.2% easy-access savings from a BIG name... but for how long? NatWest Group's Ulster Bank* last week launched its 5.2% AER variable easy-access saver, so you can put money in and withdraw it when you want... as long as you've £5,000+ to open it. We're a bit surprised it's still around, especially as we saw NS&I's top 1yr fix pulled last week. If you've less to save, Coventry BS also offers 5.2% from £1 but only allows three penalty-free withdrawals a year. Full info & more options in Top savings. Tue & Wed only. Amazon 'Prime Big Deal Days' - sort deals from duds, including £100 off Ninja 10-in-1 cooker & 30% off Amazon Warehouse. Full 'Prime Big Deal Days' analysis. FREE CHIPS (well, fries) at KFC and McDonald's this week. One totally free, the other spend as little as 10p to 50p on something else to get them. Free chips Free £25 for saving £500 at 3.5% for 6mths. MSE Blagged. Autosave apps use tech to figure out what you can afford to save from your current account, then they put that amount aside for you. Via this Plum link*, newbies get £25 cashback if they save £500+ for 6mths, including via its free 'basic' plan at 3.51% AER interest. So for six months at that amount, it'd be an effective rate of 14%. More in Autosave apps. Related: Top savings accounts FREE £5 to spend at Hobbycraft - crafts, toys, games. It's a £5 off voucher via its app for use in stores or online, but as there's no minimum spend it's effectively a free fiver (things £5 or under include an enchanted forest paper pad, or an art caddy). See Hobbycraft free fiver.
Ends Sat. Smyths toys £6 off £50 or £12 off £100. Online and in stores, including Lego, Barbie and more. Toy deals New. Free £25 when you spend £5+ at one of 5,000+ places online. MSE Blagged. Newbies to cashback site Topcashback can get an extra £25 cashback when they sign up via our special links and spend £5+. Topcashback Aged 66+? Don't bin an HMRC letter that may be worth £10,000s - it's not a scam. HM Revenue and Customs has started writing to 100,000s of people - mostly women - who took time off work for childcare between 1978 and 2010, as they may be missing 'home responsibilities protection' that could boost their state pension. This isn't a scam, so DON'T ignore the letter. See Underpaid state pension. |
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| Martin's warning to graduates (even grey-haired ones)... Student loan repayments work more like a tax than a loan - you only repay once you earn enough and in proportion to earnings. And just as millions unwittingly overpay tax (are you owed tax back?), many university leavers unwittingly pay too much off student loans. Our new Freedom of Information request reveals that in the 2022/23 tax year, over a million former UK students OVERPAID, adding to millions more who had in past years. Some get £100s back just with a quick call, others may have to push harder, as Fiona emailed: "Thank you so much. I knew something wasn't right when I lodged my tax returns, and reading Martin's article was the catalyst for a sustained attempt to work out what had happened. Finally, I received £3,773 back." Our Reclaim student loan overpayments guide has step-by-step instructions on how to get your money back, but here's a heads-up... The most common reasons why people overpaid. It's often due to incorrect details or processing by you, your employer or the Student Loans Company. Here are the figures for 2022/23... 833,000 repaid loans despite not earning enough in the tax year. Student loans are repaid at 9% of everything earned over the ANNUAL threshold (£27,295 for most, but it varies by the 'plan' - see what's my repayment threshold). However in practice, repayments are taken from the payroll monthly, if you earn over the MONTHLY equivalent threshold (£2,274 for most).So those with variable incomes or commissions, or who had some time out of work in the tax year, are likely to have paid in some months when their annual earnings aren't high enough, so can reclaim. PS: if you earnt over the annual threshold, but paid too much for the year due to some high earning months, sadly you can't reclaim then. 165,000 were on the wrong student loan payment plan. If you've not told your firm which plan you're on, the Govt tells it to assume you've a Plan 1 loan where you repay on income above £22,015/yr, yet millions are on plans where you only repay over £27,000/yr - so if the default setting is then used, you'll have overpaid. 57,000 had money deducted after the loan was fully repaid. After a set time the loan is wiped, often after 30 years, but again it depends (see When will my loan be wiped?). However, you could still repay even after your loan is cleared due to PAYE timings - it will pay this back automatically, but that can take time. To prevent this, you can set up a direct debit for the last two years of your repayments. 39,000 started repaying their loans too early. You are only eligible to start repaying in the April after you left your course. If you misstated when your studies finished or your employer got it wrong, you could've repaid too early. 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 repay less interest. Yet student loans don't work like normal loans. It's complex... Many are on Plan 2 loans (eg, 2012 to 2022 uni starters from England) with its current 7.3% interest rate. So on the surface, overpaying may look a good idea. However, the Govt's own stats show over three-quarters of people won't clear these loans in full before they wipe after 30 years. If so, overpaying these smaller amounts won't usually actually reduce what you will pay in future, so you don't gain by overpaying (the very highest earners who will clear the loans in time will gain). This works differently for other plans - see should I reclaim overpayments? for plan-by-plan details. How to reclaim? It's usually pretty simple and you can go back as far as you like. 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, this can often be done in a phone call. There's no time limit here either, so even if this was a decade ago you can still do it. Full details in how to reclaim student loan overpayments. |
| Free wills and a brown-trouser phone-in... The Martin Lewis Podcast. A jam-packed pod including free wills, why Power of Attorney's more important, Martin berating Nihal, a brown-trouser phone-in, 'when did a wedgie ever hurt anyone?', what's the most cash you've ever held, cheap toys, savings and more. All in The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple Podcasts & more. Annual railcards 30% off code - pay £21, not the usual £30. These digital cards (smartphone or tablet) get you a third off travel. Railcards include: 16 to 25 | 26 to 30 | Family & Friends | Network (London and South East) | Two Together (any named pair) | Senior. Works on three-year railcards too. Railcard code Ends Wed 18 Oct. Huge 6% BOOST on Tesco Christmas spending. Supermarket Christmas saving schemes encourage year-long saving, yet a loophole lets you get a year's bonus within a few weeks. The Tesco deadline approaches. The £150 Warm Home Discount scheme opens on Monday - check if you're eligible. If you're in Eng & Wal it's paid automatically, but you can check if you'll get it from Mon 16 Oct. If you're in Scot, some get it automatically, others need to apply. Full details in Warm Home Discount. 125 tulip bulbs £11 delivered. MSE Blagged. Normally £29ish, 10,000 sets available. Precious Plants Updated. 'Should you fix your energy?' calculator. If you've been offered a fix and are not sure it's worth considering, use our updated our 'Should you fix?' calculator. 'I saved £450 a year by getting a water meter.' Our success of the week comes from Gloria, who made a massive saving after reading our guide on how to cut your water bills. She said: "I took your advice on having a water meter installed in April this year after our bill for 2023/24 came in at a whopping £799. I've just had my half-yearly bill and, based on that estimate, our annual bill should be around the £350 mark [saving £449/year]. I've done absolutely nothing different as regards water consumption. Many thanks once again." If we've helped you save (on this, or owt else), send us your successes. |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| THIS WEEK'S POLL How do you rate your bank's app? If you access your current account via your bank's app, please tell us how it rates for the range of features it has, and how good those features are. Vote in this week's poll. 64% of MoneySavers haven't turned their heating on yet. More than 19,000 people responded to our poll last week, and 64% of them said they hadn't turned their heating on because they were waiting as long as they could due to the cost. Of those who had switched it on, there was a big regional divide, with 54% of those in Northern Ireland and 46% of those in Scotland having already done so, compared with just 7% in London, the east and the south of England. See the full heating poll results. |
| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA I'm a rail worker - should I report my friend for dodging fares? I've recently learned one of my friends has been deliberately evading train fares for some time by 'short faring' - buying tickets for only part of the journeys he makes. Should I report him to the train firm concerned, which could lead to him being issued a penalty fare notice or even being taken to court? Or should I turn a blind eye as he's a friend, even though he's effectively damaging the industry I work in? Enter the Money Moral Maze: I'm a rail worker - should I report my friend for dodging fares? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma |
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| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 11 OCT ONWARDS) Wed 11 Oct - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Thu 12 Oct - Steph's Packed Lunch with MSE's Gareth, Channel 4, midday |
| HAIRBANDS FROM OLD TIGHTS & BUYING THE SAME SOCKS... YOUR SNEAKY WAYS TO SAVE THE PENNIES That's all for this week, but before we go... there's a long-running MSE Forum thread full of sneaky ways to save, and it's the gift that keeps on giving. Doing home improvements? Add a little white paint to leftover wall paint and you have a new shade to use in a different room. Want to save on beauty? Add a drop of nail varnish remover to old nail varnish to make them usable again, and cut up laddered tights to use as elasticated hairbands. Long commute? Collect crosswords and sudokus from free papers instead of buying a book of them. And finally, only ever buy identical socks so it never matters if you lose one. Or - even better - just embrace wearing odd socks (apparently it makes children giggle). Add your own smart savers to the Sneaky ways to save the pennies MSE Forum thread. We hope you save some money, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe 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 LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? 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 santander.co.uk, novunapersonalfinance.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.com, theaa.com, tescobank.com, withplum.com, ulsterbank.co.uk, 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. |
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