Make money at home: Tesco alert, EE hike, energy savers, 12 roses £4, BT fibre+Sport '£21/mth', 1.95% saver, £400 couples' switch, 3 day flight reclaim, 'I cleared £180k debt'

On a day when love is all around, we thought we'd share the key tips where saying let's stay together can net huge savings - whether you're married, living together, have both swiped right or are just friends. So with a cheesy love song theme, harness the power of love and get saving...

Get £400 FREE if you've "lost that lovin' feelin'" for your bank. It takes 10mins to BOTH switch. It's easy - once you've applied it then takes 7 working days to switch, the bank shifts direct debits etc & you can net up to £200 per customer, so if both do it and switch their own account that's £400. If your bank's pants, why wait?

For all perks below you must use the official switching services within a certain time frame, pass a credit check and you usually need to switch 2+ direct debits, register for web or app banking and stay in credit. Full eligibility in Best Bank Accounts.

- Free £200 (£150 upfront, £50 if you stay). Switch to HSBC Advance* within 30 days of opening the account and you can get £150, and £50 more if still with it in a year. You can also open a 5% regular saver. Min pay-in: £1,750/mth.

- Ends Fri. Free £125 + 2% bills cashback. Switchers to NatWest Reward* get £125. There's a £2/mth fee, but it pays 2% on energy, broadband etc paid by direct debit. After the fee, you'd make £66 with average bills. Min pay-in: £1,500/mth. Existing NatWest custs can get £125 if you switch another account into a qualifying NatWest one.

- Free £125 with no min pay-in + £3/mth. Switch to Halifax Reward and get a free £125 if you've not had a switch incentive from it since 2012, with NO min pay-in. There's also £3/mth if you pay in £750/mth and jump through other hurdles.

- Free £125 & top service. Via this First Direct* link, new customers get £125 (£100 direct) to switch. It's won every customer service poll we've done, some get a £250 0% overdraft and you can open a 5% regular saver. Min pay-in: £1k/mth to keep it free, or it's £10/mth.

- Free £125 M&S with no min pay-in + £5/mth for a year. New M&S Bank* switchers get a £125 M&S gift card with £5/mth added to it for the first year if you pay in £1k/mth. Plus there's a 5% regular saver.
If you "put a ring on it" get a FREE £662 tax break. 1.5m married couples and civil partners are missing out on an easy but under-publicised tax break worth £230 this year, and £432 for the past two. Our Marriage Tax Allowance guide explains all, as John discovered: "MSE has saved me... I contacted HMRC about the marriage tax allowance and now have a £400 rebate."
Save £1,000s by asking your partner to "take on me" and shift YOUR debt to THEIR 0% card. A-ha. If you've card debt, shifting it to a 0% balance transfer, where the new card pays off existing card(s), can win as you owe the new one but at 0% (often for a small fee). Repayments then clear the debt rather than just covering the interest, so you're debt-free quicker, possibly saving £1,000s.

Getting accepted can be difficult, but if you're in a trusting relationship there could be a way to get around this. If one of you is struggling to shift debt, the other can apply for one of the few cards that let you shift someone else's debt (assuming they've a good credit history).

First use our Balance Transfer Eligibility Calc to see if you can shift the debt yourself. If you can't, both Barclaycard & Sainsbury's Bank let you transfer someone else's debt to their cards, and both currently have good deals.

- Barclaycard (eligibility calc / apply*) offers up to 37mths 0% - the longest available - with a 1.85% fee of the amount transferred.

- Sainsbury's Bank (eligibility calc / apply*) offers 36mths 0% for a 2.89% fee. If you can repay quicker, another Sainsbury's Bank card (eligibility calc / apply*) is 28mths 0% with NO fee.

Always make the monthly min payment, don't spend on it & clear before the 0% ends, or they jump to 19.9% (B'card) or 18.9% rep APR (Sains). See full info in Best Balance Transfers.
"It takes two" to save on car insurance... sometimes. Adding your partner, mum, dad or aunt Dot can slash costs. If they've a good record it can bring the premium down - especially useful when adding a responsible older driver if you're young. Sarah tweeted: "Adding a 2nd driver saved me £600. Thanks." Full info and more help, incl cheap multi-car policies, in Cheap Car Insurance.
"You to me are everything" in a packaged bank account with £600 of FAMILY travel, phone and breakdown insurance for £156. Paying a monthly account fee can be a waste, yet done right as a cheap way to buy insurance, it can be fruitful.

Our top pick's Nationwide's FlexPlus*, as for £13/mth you get worldwide family travel insurance, family smartphone insurance and UK & European breakdown cover for all account holders. A family needing them all could pay £600+/yr separately. Full eligibility info & more options in Packaged Bank Accounts. Ensure you add your partner as a joint account holder so they get the benefits too.
"Join hands, start a love train." Or at least join forces to get 1/3 off train fares for two. The Two Together Railcard gives the two named cardholders 1/3 off most fares if travelling together. It usually costs £30, but via a 10% off code it's £27. Abi tweeted us: "Didn't know about Two Together - saved £40+ on tickets, thanks."

If you've kids and travel with them, the Family & Friends Railcard gets a third off most grown-up fares, 60% off for kids. And via a 20% off code it's £24 rather than the usual £30. See Cheap Train Tickets for more tips.
Say "I WILL always love you" with up to £100 off codes for singles' and couples' wills. It ain't exciting but planning for your loved ones' future when you've gone is vital - and we've codes for wills checked by specialists. Via Which?, you can get a single will for £99 or a couples' will for £159. Co-op offers similar single wills for £99, or couples' for £185. See Cheap Wills.
Never wonder "who's gonna drive you home", with full breakdown cover (incl onward travel) for you and your spouse or civil partner - 15mths for the price of 12. Our top-pick that includes home start and onward travel AutoAid* is usually £43.31 for a year. But we've blagged an extra 3mths free. It covers any car you or your spouse/civil partner drives & can be cheaper than two single AA or RAC policies. See Cheap Breakdown Cover.
"Love is in the air" with 'free' airline companion tickets - two can fly in business class for less than economy. It's about credit cards where you earn frequent flyer miles for spending, and if you hit certain trigger spends, you get a 'free' companion ticket. That means when you pay for one ticket in points, you get the second - in the same class, even First - for 'free', though you pay taxes & charges on both.

The no-fee BA Amex (eligibility calc / apply*) gives 1 Avios point per £1 spent, plus 5,000 more when you spend £1k+ within the first 3mths. Put £20k+ on it a year and you get a 'free' companion ticket to use within 1yr.

Or, for £195/yr, the BA Premium Plus Amex (eligibility calc / apply*) gives a higher 1.5 Avios per £1, plus 25,000 extra if you spend £3k+ within the first 3mths. Most importantly it also offers the 'free' companion ticket at a lower £10k+/yr spending trigger (and you've 2yrs to use it).

Add your partner as a second cardholder to max the gains, and put ALL spending you can on the cards. Also set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL each month to avoid the 22.9% interest on both. Full help and more options in Top Airline Cards.

To show what's possible when you max the points, MSE Guy and his wife flew business class to New York for less than the price of economy over Christmas.
Forget "Saturday night at the movies." Cuddle up with 2for1 cinema tickets for A YEAR on Tues or Weds instead. It's about our 2for1 for £1ish movie trick. Pat did it: "Just bought travel insurance for £1.02 and within 10 minutes had the 2for1 code. Going on Wednesday – result."
"How deep is your love?" If you really trust them, reduce tax by saving together. Basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000/yr interest tax-free under the personal savings allowance (higher rate, £500). If you'll exceed that & your partner won't, consider putting some savings in their name to minimise tax. But you MUST trust each other as you're giving your money to someone else.
"Let's stay together." If you're planning on buying your first home, get a 25% savings boost. This is a no-brainer for anyone who may one day want to buy their first home. With a Lifetime ISA or Help to Buy ISA the state adds £250 per £1,000 saved. If buying together, get one EACH to double the boost (and if one has owned before, the other can still get one).
Get "money for nothing". Playing the system between two can bag 5% cashback for SIX months. Cashback credit cards pay you for spending. The big payer is Amex Everyday (eligibility calc / apply*), which gives 5% cashback (max £100) for the first 3mths & up to 1% after. Yet couples can get six months at 5%. Here's how:

Harry applies & makes Meghan his 2nd cardholder, so both get 5% cashback to use on wedding stuff. Before the 5% ends, Meghan applies, making Harry her 2nd cardholder to bag another 3mths at 5%. (They must spend £3k+/yr per card to get ANY cashback though.)

Set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL each month to avoid the 22.9% rep APR which would wipe the gain. Full help and how to use them in Top Cashback Cards (APR Examples).
Cut the cost of a "white wedding". If you or your partner's popped the question this Valentine's or recently, congrats. See our Cheap Wedding Tips and find out if you need wedding insurance.
But don't forget "love hurts" when you team up with a bad credit scorer. Apply for joint mortgages, loans, bank accounts and sometimes utility bills (not credit cards) and your credit files can be linked - regardless of whether you're kissing, living together, or hitting your diamond wedding anniversary. So don't get joint products if your partner has a history of poor credit. See Boost Your Credit Score.

Top kids' savings, slice life insurance costs & eat 20-year-old food

The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8pm Monday night

Over to Martin: "I hope you enjoyed this week's episode on 'Aargh - 6.1% student loans. Are you owed money back?' (watch again online or the Sun morning ITV repeat). Next Mon: 1) The best deals for your kids' savings. 2) How to save £1,000s on life insurance to protect your family. 3) I'm forced into a taste test of 20-year-old food. Do watch or set your Betamax."

Saved cash? Shout it from the rooftops.

If this email's ever helped you, please forward it to friends and suggest they get it via moneysavingexpert.com/tips

Ends Thu. BT fibre b'band & line PLUS BT Sport '£21.43/mth'

The biggies' standard price can be a huge £40/mth for fibre & line alone, so for sports fans this is a cracker

The secret to getting a top broadband deal is to look for hot, short-lived promos. And this one from BT's a corker if you need fast fibre & line rent and want to watch football, rugby etc on BT Sport - but even without sport the deal's up there with the best. Here's our fast download (fibre's best for heavy downloads, gaming, streaming or multiple users.)...

Ends 11.59pm Thu. BT fibre b'band, line & BT Sport '£21.43/mth'. Via this BT link*, new BT broadband customers can apply for this 'Unlimited Infinity' 18mth deal for up-to-52Mb speed fibre (3x normal speed) with unlimited downloads and BT Sport (via the BT Sport app, online, or Sky TV). Here's what you get...

- It's available to 83% of the UK. Depending on your postcode - you're told if you can get it when applying (use our Broadband Unbundled tool to see deals in your area).
- Opt to pay line rent upfront - if you can afford to. It's £208.80 for 12mths, then/or the standard £18.99/mth. However you pay, you get inclusive weekend landline calls - see BT call costs.
- Fibre is discounted to £11/mth for the 18mths. A big reduction on the standard £23/mth.
- Pay £9.99 upfront to cover router delivery and activation. If you need a new line it's free with this deal.
- 'Free' BT Sport for 18mths. Via its app, online or on Sky TV, it's £7+/mth after. You must opt in when applying, though BT will craftily try to upsell you to a pricier TV deal, so click 'Skip TV' when you see it and then add BT Sport.
- Get £95 on a prepaid Mastercard & £50 cashback but you MUST claim them. Annoyingly BT won't remind you, so diarise to use this Mastercard claim link and this cashback claim link within 3mths of activation (they then take up to 45 days to arrive).

Cost analysis: It's a cracker, especially for sports fans. Pay line rent upfront and you pay £530.73 over the 18mths before calls. Claim and use the cashback & Mastercard (as good as cash where accepted) and it's a net £385.73, equiv to £21.43/mth. Pay line rent monthly and it's equiv to £22.49/mth. See full BT fibre info.

Anything else? Although BT Sport won't work directly on your TV (unless you choose the Sky option), there are ways to stream it. BT could hike prices, but you can then leave penalty-free. You can sometimes get bigger cashback via a top cashback site - but prices and lengths can vary.
Already with BT or don't want BT Sport? Vodafone has up-to-38Mb fibre, which is potentially slower than BT but cheaper at £20/mth. Check our Broadband Unbundled tool to see if it's available in your postcode. The tool also includes cheaper standard speed broadband and line deals from £15.83/mth.

Warning for EVERYONE who's shopped at Tesco Express in last 3 mths. 1,000s of payments have been delayed until now, creating bill shock. See what to do in Late Tesco payments.

Is it REALLY cheaper to leave the heating on low all day during this cold snap? The truth behind this & 16 other common energy-use conundrums - eg, should you paint radiators black? The arguments aren't always clear-cut. See what you should do in Energy Mythbusters.

100+ supermarket coupons worth £100+ incl free £2ish pizza, £5 off fruit. Get February's coupons while they last. 100+ coupons

Get 1.95% savings fixed for 1yr. We often focus on easy access deals but if you're prepared to lock money away, you can earn more, though you won't benefit if interest rates rise as it's, er, fixed. The top 1yr deal is from app-based Atom Bank at 1.95%. See Fixed savings for full info and options incl longer fixes.

Stop press. EE price rise for millions. Hitting virtually ALL mobile pay monthly custs in March. EE price rise rights

12 roses £4 & more last-min Valentine's deals. Take advantage of the war of the roses to get cheapest in-store bouquets, plus dine-in and restaurant deals. See all last-minute Valentine's Day offers.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- 425 spring-planting bulbs £10 all-in Ends Sun
- £34 beauty box code (£101ish sep) 4,000 boxes available
- £30 free-range roasting meat hamper 3,000 bundles available
- Karen Millen 20% off code Ends Sun

DID YOU MISS?

- 1m+ owed Power of Attorney refund
- FREE & cheap sanitary products, incl tampons
- 'I won £250 of prizes from my hospital bed'
- Asda to axe 5p plastic bags

Revealed: Why most should NEVER pay over £10/mth for mobile use

We've said it for ages, now our poll confirms 77% use less than 5GB of data - check NOW if you can save £100s

Happy with your phone? Out of contract? Had a Sim for 2yrs+? You'll likely save big by switching Sim (the chip in your phone that lets you make calls etc), because prices have dived. But don't be lured in by the huge 20GB-100GB data plans networks push because as our full mobile data poll shows, most don't need anything near that: 77% use less than 5GB/mth and 35% use less than 1GB/mth. With Sims with decent usage costing under £10/mth, why pay more? Here's what to do...

Step 1: Check your usage to get the right Sim. Buy too low an allowance and you're penalised if you go over. Too high and you pay too much for it. So check bills to find out or try a free tool such as Billmonitor*, which shows your past use (you need to give it your mobile account login). Kim checked and told us: "I pay £20/mth for 20GB but I've not used over 3GB in 10mths, so I'm changing." She can save £144/yr.
Step 2: Top deals to match your use. For more help and options (esp for BT b'band custs), see Cheap Sims.

- Up to 1.5GB, 750 mins for £4.99/mth. Via this MSE Blagged link, TPO* (uses the Three network) comes with 750 minutes, unltd texts and 1.5GB of data on a 1mth contract for £4.99/mth.

- Up to 4GB, 1,500 mins for £8/mth. If you need more data, anyone not in a Virgin Mobile* contract can get this Sim on a 1yr contract via this link. It offers 4GB of data, 1,500 mins & unltd texts for £8/mth.

- Up to 12GB, unltd mins + texts for £14/mth. Via this link, new Three* customers (or those who want a second line) can get 12GB of data, unltd mins & texts for £14/mth on a 1yr contract. Tethering is also allowed, where you can share your phone's high data allowance with other devices on the go such as a laptop.

- Get unltd video/music streaming for £10/mth for 6mths + £10 Amazon vch. Vodafone's targeting youth habits with its Voxi plans for under-26s only. It offers unltd streaming & social media data for £10/mth for 6mths on a pay-as-you-go deal (so no credit checks). You also get a £10 Amazon vch, effectively making the first month free (and you can cancel any time). You only get 2GB of further data, but it does give untld mins and texts. See our Vodafone Voxi analysis.
Top tips for a smooth switch.
- Keeping your number's easy. It normally takes just one working day. See number porting.
- You may need to unlock your phone. Firms have to let you if you're out of contract - unlock your phone for free.
- Don't want to change network? Haggle. Mobile firms are among the easiest to haggle with. Full haggling help.

'How I cleared £180,000 of debt - such a relief, as I couldn't sleep at night.' Read forumite Lozzam's inspirational tale of how she won her 12yr battle to become debt-free with the help of debt charities and the MSE forum.

Today (Wed). Buy a 6-inch Subway sarnie, get one FREE. 11am-7pm. Check if your branch is taking part.

FREE Ideal Home Show London tix, norm £16-£22 (& Martin's there too). We've extended the giveaway for anyone who missed the freebies last week. 7,000+ avail. Free Ideal Home Show tix

425 spring-planting bulbs £10 all-in (norm £30ish). MSE Blagged. Five varieties - gladiolus, brodiaea, oxalis, allium and gladioli. Thompson & Morgan

Sainsbury's Tu 25% off everything. All women's, men's and kids' clothing incl school uniform. Till Mon. Sainsbury's Tu

Karen Millen 20% off full-price & sale items code, eg, £128 wool coat (norm £325). MSE Blagged. Online and in-store, ends Sun. Karen Millen

Tell your friends about us

They can get this email free every week

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Barclaycard* up to 37mths 0%, 1.85% fee (19.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: Halifax up to 29mths 0%, no fee (19.9% rep APR)

Get comparison site quotes in this order:

Then check insurers they miss:
Direct Line*
Aviva*

Cheapest for £5,000-£7,499: Admiral* 3.3% rep APR
Cheapest £7.5k-£15k: M&S Bank* 2.8% rep APR (1-7yrs)

Standard b'band & line rent: Plusnet equiv £13.33/mth
Fibre b'band & line rent: Vodafone £20/mth

£150 to switch + £50 if you stay a year: HSBC
5% interest fixed for a year: Nationwide FlexDirect

Top easy-access: ICICI Bank UK 1.35%, min £750
Top one-year fix: Atom Bank 1.95%, min £50

'I got £700+ flight delay compensation in just 3 days'

If you've been delayed 3hrs+ since 2012, you could claim up to £530/person, and our tool does it for FREE

Flight delays are a fact of modern life, yet if our bulging mailbox is anything to go by, more and more of you have realised you can get £££s in compensation. What's more, claiming for a flight delay is incredibly easy as Jennifer discovered: "I used your tool on the Tuesday, and by the Friday I had £706 in my account. I couldn't believe it. Thanks." Check-in with our Flight Delay guide and free claim tool to see your full rights, but here's a quick pre-flight check:

The key flight delay compensation rules... This is all about EU regulation 261/2004. While there's uncertainty if it'll be in force after we leave the EU, it very much still counts now...

- You can claim for delays dating back to 2012. See full info.
- You must've arrived 3hrs+ late (see how to check past delay lengths).
- Any flights from an EU airport count, or to an EU airport if on an EU airline. See full info.
- Compensation's fixed, based on delay & journey length. What am I owed?
- It must be the airline's fault - eg, airport strikes and WW2 bombs aren't covered. What counts?
- Airlines may offer vouchers, but you're entitled to cash, so go back to 'em.
- Is it fair to airlines? Not always, eg, a delay on a £20 flight can mean £100s in compensation. See Martin's Legal vs moral concerns.
Use our FREE online reclaim tool - don't pay anyone to claim. Our Flight Delay Reclaim Tool (in collaboration with complaints site Resolver) uses our template letters to draft your complaint, send it, keep track of it and help escalate it to the relevant regulator or ombudsman-style scheme if rejected - plus you keep ALL the compensation. Jennifer's £700 success in just three days (above) shows how well it can work. See our Resolver guide for how we work with it.
Not on a flight covered by EU law? Sadly you can't claim under these rules. There are still avenues you can try though - see What if I wasn't on an EU flight?

£34 beauty box code (£101ish separately). MSE Blagged. Incl Murad eye serum, Balance Me face wash, Organic Pharmacy lip balm & more. Powder Box

'£328 POWER OF ATTORNEY REFUND IN 5MINS' - SUCCESS OF THE WEEK
"Wow. Thanks for the info on Power of Attorney refunds. I have just reclaimed £328 - it took me just five minutes. Thank you."
(Send us yours on this or any topic)

£30 free-range roasting meat hamper (£54ish+ at supermarkets). MSE Blagged. All outdoor-reared UK meat. Incl beef, pork, gammon, bacon, lamb mince and sausage meat. Meat hamper

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Students – need help with your cash? This week the National Association of Student Money Advisers is running National Student Money Week. The theme is housing costs, and if you're a student with any money questions you can get in touch with an adviser. Also see our 20+ Student Loans Mythbusters.

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Is it OK to use a 2for1 voucher on a first date? Imagine Robert asks Ashley to dinner on a first date, saying he'll pay. When the bill comes, he pulls out a 2for1 voucher – what advice would you give Ashley? We've asked this over previous years - so let's see if attitudes have changed. Is it OK to use a 2for1 voucher on a first date?

Older folks are more cynical about Valentine's. Last week, we asked how much you'll spend on Valentine's. From over 6,500 votes, if you're in a relationship, you most commonly said you'd spend between £10 - £49.99. Perhaps surprisingly, a decent chunk in long-term relationships refuse to celebrate Valentine's, with 44% of men and 46% of women aged 65+ not bothering. Interestingly, 5% of those not in a relationship still celebrate but don't spend a penny. See full Valentine's spending poll results.

MONEYSAVING NEWS

- Top story: TSB launches £75 'refer a friend' current account offer
- NatWest customers locked out of their account... for using an apostrophe
- Huge spike in student loan reclaims - check if you can get £100s back
- New rail ombudsman to handle passenger complaints
- Energy price cap must be introduced by next winter, say MPs

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I share my discount? I recently used an app to buy theatre tickets for me and my friend. I later realised the app had given me a £10 discount for buying a second ticket, but my friend's already paid me full price for her ticket. Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I share my discount? | Suggest an MMD Past topics: View all

THE QUICKIES

- Debt-Free Wannabe chat of the week: Fantastic Feb NSD challenge
- Competitions thread of the week: Samsung Galaxy Note 8
- Old-Style board thread of the week: Spring cleaning the freezers
- Family, marriage, relationships chat: Free baby stuff
- Discussion of the week: What do you do when there is not enough money?

Odeon - 40% off your second trip
Costco - 15% off gift vouchers incl Nando's
Life Box Foods - £27 health & superfoods box (£65ish indiv)
Creme Eggs - £2 for 10 at Tesco (norm £3.30)
Bic - £5 32-piece Bic writing set (norm £18)

Bella Italia - kids eat free when you buy a main
La Tasca - kids eat free when you buy a main
Toby Carvery - kids eat for £1 when you buy a main
Harvester - kids eat for £1 when you buy a main
Frankie & Benny's - kids eat for £1 when you buy a main

Pets at Home - free kids pet care workshops
National Gallery - free kids art workshops & drawing sessions
Eden Project - £25 for 1 year's unlimited access pass
Allergy & Free From Show - free tickets to Glasgow event
View from the Shard - 'free' £20 gift bag with £60 family ticket

Lidl weekend deals, incl 89p chorizo. Lidl bit of an animal
Free hot drink & cake at John Lewis. Stop at muffin
£1.50 Super Mario Easter egg & mug. Eggcellent

MSE TEAM BLOG

- How to withdraw your money from Coinbase

DEALS HUNTER BLOG

- Trick: Get 15% off gift cards for Pizza Express, Spotify, Monsoon and Spafinder Wellness 365, then stack with other offers

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 14 FEB ONWARD)

Mon 19 Feb – This Morning, ITV, from 10.30am
Mon 19 Feb – BBC Radio 5 Live, Lunch Money Martin, 12.30pm. Listen again
Mon 19 Feb – The Martin Lewis Money Show, ITV, 8pm. See previous

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (MOST SUBJECTS TBC)

Wed 14 Feb - BBC Cumbria, Money Talks with Ben Maeder, from 6pm
Fri 16 Feb - BBC South West stations, Good Morning with Joe Lemer, from 5am
Mon 19 Feb - TalkRadio, Breakfast with Julia Hartley-Brewer, 9.45am
Tue 20 Feb - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire with Jeremy Sallis, 2.20pm

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: I'm waiting for an operation date and have provisionally booked a holiday. We are told to take out insurance as soon as we've booked so we're covered for cancellation, but if I buy it how does that cover me given the operation? Carla, via email.

MSE Tony's A: Insurance protects against cancellation as a result of something serious - eg, illness, injury - from the moment you take it out, hence the need to buy ASAB (As Soon As you've Booked). But it only covers stuff you DON'T know about when you buy it.

In your case, as you know about this operation (and you must declare it when buying cover), it's highly unlikely any policy will pay out if you cancelled for this reason.

That said, once you've booked the holiday, it's still worth buying cover ASAB in case something else happens, though if you've a pre-existing condition not all insurers will take you on. See our Pre-existing Conditions Travel Insurance guide for help on how to find a suitable insurer.

Please suggest a question of the week (we can't reply to individual emails).

'RUSTED BISCUIT TINS & A LOO ROLL TUBE HOARD'. WHAT'S LURKING IN YOUR CUPBOARDS?

That's all for this week, but before we go... even though technically it's not quite time for a spring clean, de-cluttering is one of the big talking points on our forum this week. Finds MoneySavers have reported hidden among their cupboard cobwebs include a selection of rusted, battered biscuit tins and a hoard of loo roll tubes. So why not share your discoveries and take the challenge by heading over to our 2018 de-clutter forum thread?

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team

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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).

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More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with more than 12 million people getting this email and about 13 million using the site every month. 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 set up and is chairman of MSE. He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time show The Martin Lewis Money Show and weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, among others. He's a columnist for publications including the Telegraph, Sunday Mirror and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

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