New calc: how much will your energy bill rise?, 20% off Amazon, 3.5% savings + £55, FREE Lego toy, £3 cinema tix

Plus... 72 plants for £9, 25mth 0% + £20, slash TV streaming costs, last chance 12GB Sim £3.50/mth

                                                           

31 August 2022 | View in browser

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THE TOP TIPS IN THIS EMAIL Martin's 12 energy must-knows, incl: - New. 'How much will your bill rise?' calc - Will it rise again? - Should you fix? - Help if you're struggling New. 3.5% fixed savings + £55 cashback Slash Netflix, Disney+ and more costs 20% off Amazon's 'hidden' Warehouse Grab FREE Lego this Saturday Ending. 2 years' 0% spending + £20 £3 cinema tickets - Saturday only FREE visits to 3,000+ historic sites Low income pensioner? Free £30 Iceland vouchers for some 72 flowering plug plants £9 Cut supermarket bills by £100s Ends Thu. 12GB data Sim '£3.50/month' Student loan interest rises - DON'T panic £1 Northern Rail ticket sale 'I haggled £1,470 off TV & broadband' Free DIY show tickets Still chasing refund for Covid travel issues? Do our survey Work at MSE - four roles open This week's best buys, including 2.8% loans, £175 bank bribe, MSE's car insurance tool What to do with winning lottery ticket found in charity shop coat? 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

Martin's 12 energy hike must-knows, incl... New. Energy price cap rise calc - it's up an average 80%, but what will you really pay?  Plus... Should you fix? What's the standing charge? Will it rise again? Is direct debit cheapest? And more I've been trying to raise the alarm for months, shouting that action's needed to prevent a potential winter price catastrophe. Well on Friday, that catastrophe crystallised, without any new firm mitigating plans in place. The regulator, Ofgem, announced a vomit-inducing average 80% rise in the 1 Oct cap, taking a typical bill (not that anyone's bills are typical) to a hideous £3,549/yr - with a substantial further rise likely in Jan - simply unpayable for a decent chunk of the country in fuel poverty. I did - small p - political media interviews on Friday, calling for further intervention (see a plea to the incoming PM for urgent action), but here I want to focus on the practicals... 1. The cap will rise an average 80% in Oct. If you're in England, Scotland or Wales and aren't on a fixed energy tariff, you, like 85% of homes, are likely on your provider's default standard variable tariff, which is 'protected' by the price cap. The price cap is somewhat misnamed. In truth, there is NO CAP ON THE MAX YOU PAY FOR ENERGY, it's actually on the underlying rates, so use more and you pay more, plus the cap varies by region... NEW: Energy price cap rise calculator - what's your actual rise? Use our new Energy price cap rise calc to enter how much energy you use, or how much you pay on direct debit, and what region, and it'll tell you an estimate of what you'll pay. This is likely to vary between 50% and 90% depending on circumstances. Please share with anyone wanting to work out what to budget. You can also watch my video explainer and Q&A on the change, or read more technicals on how the price cap works. 2. It is actually a cap on standing charges and unit rates. In practical terms, the price cap limits the standing (daily) charge firms can levy, and the rate you pay for each unit of energy used. While the calc's easiest for most, I know some like to see the actual rates. Here are average direct debit rates for 1 Oct - 31 Dec. Electricity: Standing charge 46.4p/day (currently 45.3p) Unit rate 51.9p/kWh (currently 28.3p) Gas: Standing charge 28.5p/day (currently 27.2p) Unit rate 14.8p/kWh (currently 7.4p) A full list of region-by-region rates for direct debit and prepay is in our Price cap rates guide. 3. You will pay £273/yr even if you use no energy. The daily standing charges that you pay just for having a bill rose hugely in April, and increased a touch more this time. If you have both gas and electricity, the average price cap standing charge is £273/year before you use owt. I have continually pushed back with Ofgem to try and get this changed, but with little success. 4. On 1 Jan, the price cap will likely rise a FURTHER 50% - take any predictions for after that with a pinch of salt. Ofgem sets the price cap based on a published formula, with the main variable being the publicly available year-ahead wholesale energy rates. This is why the predictions (we use Cornwall Insight's) close to announcement dates are very accurate. Sadly, currently wholesale gas rates are an unthinkable 16 times the average they were over the prior 10 years. The October price cap will be the first that only lasts three months. Ofgem shortened it, from changing six-monthly, to help protect retail energy firms - we objected, again with little impact. The current forecast future price caps Cap Change/prediction How accurate is it? 1 Oct 2022 Up average 80% Typical bill rises to £3,549/yr (currently £1,971/yr) 100% confirmed by Ofgem The assessment period was 1 Feb to 18 Aug 2022. 1 Jan 2023 Predicted UP 52% Typical bill to £5,387/yr Likely in right ballpark Reasonably strong prediction, as we are substantially through the 1 Feb to 16 Nov 2022 assessment period. It'll be announced on 24 Nov 2022. 1 Apr 2023 Predicted UP 23% Typical bill to £6,616/yr Crystal ball time The assessment period hasn't started yet, it's 17 Nov 2022 to 17 Feb 2023, so this is based on trends, and is far less firm. 1 July 2023 Predicted DOWN 11% Typical bill £5,897/yr Fuzzy crystal ball time The assessment period hasn't started yet, it's 20 Feb 2023 to 18 May 2023. (1) Prediction source: Cornwall Insight for dual-fuel direct debit tariffs. What is typical use? It's a meaningless figure for individuals, but good for illustrating an average scale of magnitude. It's defined by Ofgem, which lists it as 2,900/kWh of electricity and 12,000/kWh of gas a year. It's in cost per year as that's easy to understand, though of course the next price cap only lasts three months. 5. Direct debit is still the cheapest way to pay. I've seen much confusion about this on social media, so I want to clear it up. The price cap depends on the payment method. Here are the new average price cap rates for someone ON TYPICAL USE. Direct debit: Up 80% from £1,971 to £3,549/yr  Prepayment: Up 79% from £2,017 to £3,608/yr On receipt of bills: Up 79% from £2,100 to £3,764/yr So the prepay cap is 2% more than direct debit, receipt of bills 6% more (it can vary by firm - we're going to do some work on that). Ditching direct debit may help with your cash flow if your direct debit is set too high (try to get them to lower it - see your direct debit rights), but it's important to understand that in the long run you'll pay more, whereas if you overpay while on direct debit you're eventually due that money back. 6. Should you fix? I never thought I'd write this... at the moment the predictions are, on average, over the next year, that the price cap will be roughly 145% more than it is now (ie, two and a half times). So if you can find a fix at less than that, it may be worth it. There is a lot of crystal ball gazing in this, so we can never be, and have never promised to be, right, but see my Should I fix and what are the best fixes? guide for our latest info. PS: The MSE team have updated the numbers for me. I wasn't due back to work this week, but felt writing this bit of the email was so important I needed to do it myself. They've kindly done the guides though. 7. Can you reduce your energy usage? Obviously, cutting use cuts bills - and hopefully there are cuts you can make to improve efficiency that don't impact lifestyle too much. - Start with Energy saving tips. - Add in the Energy mythbusting guide for less clear-cut issues. - Really struggling? See our Heat the human not the home guide (though thankfully the summer warmth helps right now). 8. Suppliers will knock £400 off every energy bill over the next six months. In May, the Government announced a non-repayable grant to come off electricity bills, paid at roughly £66 a month from October to March. It's done via electricity bills, as that is more universal than gas. Some will get the money paid directly into their accounts, others their direct debits reduced, and some on prepayment meters will be issued vouchers. See the full £400 energy grant info. Prepay customer? One concern, as credit is paid towards your electricity use, is what if you're short on gas? You'll see in the list that some firms, but not enough, are making the credit transferable. It's an issue we're pushing on. Will a new PM change this help? Is it enough? The £400 energy bill reduction, and the grants (in point 9) below, were both announced in May by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Clearly, with a new PM starting on 5 Sep, things are in flux - though there's been no suggestion from either candidate that they plan to cancel these. These plans were based on a price cap rise from October to April of 42% - taking a typical bill to £2,800/yr. In reality, it's predicted the now two price caps averaged over the same period will rise more than 120% to over £4,400/yr on typical use. So clearly the earlier help alone won't cover it. 9. Money for those on benefits, with disabilities & pensioners. There is targeted support being paid out at different stages. Click the links for the full info on the payment & timings... - BENEFITS: £650 payment - STATE PENSIONERS: £300 top-up - DISABLED: £150 for certain disability benefits 10. What to do if you're struggling now, or will be in October? If you're struggling, it's always worth talking to your energy firm - be polite and straight with it - and make sure you explain if you're vulnerable. There can also be hardship & debt grants from energy suppliers. Our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide includes energy and debt help charities that may be able to suggest something - though they, like me, are limited in the options they can offer right now to help with the scale of the problems. 11. If you can, start putting money aside now. This will be a pipe dream for many. Yet for those who do have savings or currently spend less than you earn, putting some aside or even, unbelievably, asking for your energy direct debit to rise should ease the winter cash-flow pain. 12. It's tough to save on energy bills, but many can still make large savings elsewhere. Of course those who've already cut to the bone won't be able to do any more, but many others, for whom the scale of the challenge is just dawning, should see this as a clarion call to check all your outgoings. Here are a few examples... - Family income under £40,000/yr? Do a 10-minute benefits eligibility check. I'm not saying you will be eligible, just that it is worth checking. Some discover they're due £1,000s. - Had the same broadband provider for years? You're likely out of contract. Check if you can cut £100s of broadband costs. - Got more or the same rooms in your house than people? If you're in Eng or Wales, check if you can save £100s with a water meter. - Are you paying interest on credit card debt? Use the 0% balance transfer eligibility checker to see if you can shift the debt to interest-free. These are just scratching the surface, do check our full Money makeover guide to go through everything. And clearly, we'll endeavour to provide help to mitigate the rises as much as we can, in this weekly email and on the site/app.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

New. Top one-year 3.5% fixed savings + £55 cashback, or 1.86% if you need access Following another base rate rise in August, savings rates have continued to climb, and the top accounts pay the highest interest we've seen in more than a decade. However, with inflation above 10%, prices are rising faster than even the best savings grow, so in real terms savings are shrinking. It's therefore vital to maximise every penny of interest to minimise the shrinkage. We've today's top easy-access rates, and the top fixes for those who are able to lock money away for higher returns. Check your savings - if they pay under 1.86%, switch. The top easy-access account pays 1.86% AER variable interest. That's the bog-standard account, so if you're earning less than that, unless your money's locked away (or you've got more than £85,000 and want to spread it for safety), there's no excuse not to consider ditching and switching. Rates can change quickly - so do check the latest top savings and top cash ISAs, but here's a snapshot of the top easy-access and shorter fixes, correct at the time of sending this email... Today's top savings rates All accounts have the full UK £85,000 savings safety guarantee Account term Top savings Top cash ISAs Easy access (withdraw & deposit at will) - Shawbrook Bank 1.86% AER variable (min £1k) - Skipton 1.6% AER variable (min £1) 1-year fix (money locked away) - Ahli United Bank UK 3.5% + £55 newbies' cashback, via 'savings marketplace' Raisin (min £10k). MSE Blagged - Tandem 3.3% AER* (min £1) - UBL UK 2.51% AER (min £2k) (1) 2-year fix (money locked away) - SmartSave 3.47% AER (min £10k) - Virgin Money 2.87% AER (min £1) (1) (1) Withdrawals allowed, but with 90 days' interest penalty. What is Raisin, and how do I get the £55 cashback? Raisin is a 'savings marketplace' - a site that works with banks to offer special rates, and then makes it easy to transfer your money between them when you want a new account. And until Monday (5 Sep), Raisin newbies can apply via MSE to get an automatic £25 cashback. Use code MSE25 when you register, then open your chosen savings account and deposit £10,000+ by Friday 30 September. Plus, make sure you CLAIM Raisin's standard £30 cashback on top. See Raisin £55 bonus for full info on how it works. Yes, it's a bit of a faff. But the top one-year fix is only available through Raisin, as is the cashback - so doing it this way gives a significant boon. Or, if you're after an easy-access account, or a different fix, we've included other savings marketplace offers worth considering in our Top savings guide. Most don't need a cash ISA... but those with larger savings should consider them. The personal savings allowance (PSA) launched in 2016, allowing basic-rate taxpayers to earn £1,000/year of savings interest tax-free, and higher-rate taxpayers £500/year. At today's top easy-access rate, a basic-rate payer would need almost £54,000 of savings to generate that. If you've a lot less, just go for the account that pays the most - and those aren't cash ISAs. Yet if you've decent amounts of savings in cash, especially if you're fixing at a higher rate and you're likely to earn interest over your personal savings allowance, cash ISAs come into their own. Can you boost interest further? Some specialised options in our Savings section pay even more: - 50% bonus for many on universal credit or tax credits. See Help to Save. - 25% bonus for first-time buyers aged 18 to 39. See Top Lifetime ISAs. - Earn up to 5% on smaller amounts if you save monthly. See Regular savings. - Earn 5% on smaller savings. See Current account savings. - Prefer to invest? Higher returns, but more risk. See Stocks & Shares ISAs.

 

Extra 20% off Amazon's 'hidden' Warehouse. This is the section of Amazon's site that resells returned items or products with minor defects at knockdown prices, and it's slicing a further 20% off in its end-of-summer sale. We've seen £109 GHDs for £65, and a £49 Tassimo coffee machine for £22 - check what you can find. Amazon Warehouse Grab FREE Lego worth £3 to £6. In The Entertainer toy stores this Saturday (3 Sep). Free Lego Ending. Get £20 cashback on top up-to 25-month 0% spending card. Apply by 9 Sep and this Barclaycard* (best to check acceptance odds first) gives accepted newbies £20 cashback if you spend £250+ on it within 90 days. So you can just use it for spending you'd do anyway, pay it off, and you're quids in at no cost. Yet it also offers up to 25 months at 0% on new spending too, so it's a good choice if you NEED to borrow - as done right, it's  totally interest-free. Golden rules: 1) Pay at least the min monthly payment. 2) Clear the debt before the 0% ends or it's 22.9% rep APR. Full info in 0% spending cards. Grab £3 cinema tickets - this Saturday ONLY. It's National Cinema Day, so 100s of cinemas - including the big chains and some independents - are offering cheap tickets for all screenings. £3 cinema tickets FREE visits to 3,000+ historic buildings & heritage sites. Many that are normally closed, or normally charge, are open for free on selected days in Sep, including Shuttleworth and Chartwell. Heritage Open Days Urgent. Over state pension age and on a low income? Check if you can get a free £30 Iceland voucher. The grocery store is giving away 40,000 vouchers to struggling pensioners - though you need to live in certain parts of the UK, and they're likely to go quick. See who qualifies and how to apply. 72 flowering plug plants for £9 delivered. MSE Blagged. 4,800 bundles available, but it doesn't deliver to Northern Ireland or parts of Scotland. Thompson & Morgan

 

 

BLAGGED FOR MSE - 72 flowering plug plants for £9 delivered 4,800 available	DID YOU MISS? - 1m+ water-saving freebies available, such as £20 shower heads - Child 16 to 19 & in full-time education? Act to keep child benefit - Top student bank accounts: Grab a £1,500 0% overdraft & more - 3 months' FREE Spotify Premium (newbies only) - Work and on universal credit? Check if you've been underpaid

 

 

Streaming savers - watch 100s of hours of TV & movies FREE Plus how to cut the cost of Disney+, Netflix, Prime and more A majority of households in the UK have at least one TV streaming service, but consumer analyst firm Kantar says that number's been falling this year as people cancel subscriptions - with many saying they did it to save money. Yet it's the streaming services that tend to have the most talked-about shows, such as House of Dragons and She Hulk. So we've tricks to help you watch what you want as cheaply as possible, whether you're new to streaming, or you've all the channels and want to cut back. Our TV MoneySaving tricks guide has full info, but here are a few tips to help... Streaming newbie? Watch over two months of top shows and movies for FREE. Some streaming services give free trials in the hope you'll be so blown away by their content you'll pay for it (or at least forget to cancel). For example, Amazon Prime Video gives 30 days, Apple TV and Paramount+ seven (though, sadly, nowt for Now, Netflix or Disney+). To max it, hop from free trial to free trial and you can watch up to 79 days' worth of Rings of Power, Ted Lasso, The First Lady and more - but always remember to cancel before you're charged if you don't want to keep it. Don't assume you must pay to watch - 100s of hours of box sets and movies are free on All 4, My5 and others. We've updated our list of 90+ popular box sets/movies you can stream for free - this includes Killing Eve, Luther, Pretty Little Liars, Dunkirk and A Star Is Born. If you do need to pay, do the streaming hokey cokey - you put one service in, take one service out... Subscribe to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Now Entertainment, and it's at least £33 a month. Yet it's easy to pay £5-£10 a month and still watch the top shows: pay for just one service, then when you've seen what you want, cancel it, move on to the next one, and do the same. We've full info on how to jump between 'em. MoneySaver Phil told us this saves him £100s: "I'll usually wait until there's something I want to see, subscribe for a month and binge what I want, then cancel. Saved about £180 in the last year compared to keeping them all." Got your eye on Disney+, Netflix or Prime Video? Save using our tips. They're popular, but you can still cut costs... - Disney+: 3 months for £8 in Clubcard vouchers, £10 cashback off an annual subscription, and more Disney+ deals. - Netflix: Go back to basics to save up to £108/year, plus 17 more Netflix hacks. - Amazon Prime Video: Video-only membership for £5.99/month, less than a full annual Prime membership. More ways to pay less for what you watch. These quick tips could save you even more... - Paying annually can help you save. If you'll want the service for a year, pay less by paying upfront. - Multiple watchers in one household or family? Check if you can (legally) share your streaming. - Only watch streaming services? See whether you still need to pay for a TV licence. PS: Our 2-minute MSE poll this week asks which paid-for services you subscribe to, and if you've cut back recently - please help us by filling it in.

 

Can you cut your supermarket spend by £100s? Including hidden bargains, 25% cashback, and newbie grocery codes for up to £80 off. In case you missed it last week, see our 18 ways to take a bite out of food price hikes. Ends 11.59pm Thu. Last chance to grab 12GB Sim for just '£3.50/month'. Newbies to Lebara (uses Vodafone's network) can get a 12GB/month Sim with unlimited minutes and texts for just 1p/month for the first six months, then £6.90/month - equivalent to £3.46/month over a year. But it's a one-month contract, so you can cancel at any time. Plus, Lebara doesn't charge extra for using allowances in Europe. Need more/less data? Use our Cheap Mobile Finder. Student loan interest rates are rising on Thursday - but DON'T panic. Your new rate will be either 2.75%, 6.3% or 9%, depending on when/where you went to uni. Yet however high your interest is, this WON'T mean a change in your monthly repayments. See our full analysis of the rate rises and what they mean for you. Mega-cheap £1 Northern rail tickets - can you find 'em? Including Manchester to Blackpool. One million one-way advance fares for £1 (or 50p for kids), for travel from 6 Sep to 20 Oct. Northern rail sale 'I'm saving £1,470 on my TV & broadband thanks to MSE.' This week's success of the week comes from Alan, who used our Sky haggling tips and netted a massive saving. He said: "After reading your article on haggling, I thought I'd give it a go with my Sky TV, broadband and phone package. I contacted Sky and said I was leaving. The upshot was that by taking on a new contract for 18 months, I am set to save £1,470 and I changed nothing in my bundle. Happy viewing." Send us your MoneySaving successes on this or 'owt else. Two free Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets (normally £14 each). London, 30 Sep to 2 Oct, plus tickets for Harrogate & Somerset shows later in the year. See Homebuilding & Renovating Show. Still chasing a refund for Covid-related travel disruption? Fill in our new survey. If bookings were cancelled due to lockdowns or other restrictions during the pandemic, let us know if you got your money back in our 5-minute travel survey. Are you an avid deals hunter? Want to help people in an energy crisis? Work for MSE... We're looking for a new Deals Researcher & Writer, Energy & Utilities Editorial Assistant, Senior Developer, and Team Assistant. MSE jobs

 

 

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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 22 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) Broadband top picks Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£12.71/month' Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£15.58/month' Superfast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£15.94/month' On universal credit or similar? Check discounted social tariffs Top savings accounts Top easy-access: Shawbrook Bank 1.86%, min £1,000 Top one-year fix: Tandem 3.3%, min £1 Car insurance Try our new MSE Car Insurance Compare+ tool Cheap loans Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: M&S Bank* 3.7% rep APR interest Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Finble (1-8 years, only available via our eligibility calculator) or M&S Bank* (1-8 years) 2.8% rep APR interest Best bank accounts £175 to switch + TOP service: First Direct £175 to switch + 1-3% bills cashback (£2/month fee): Santander Cheap Sims Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.46/month' for 3GB, unlimited mins & texts 4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£2.96/month' for 5GB, unlimited mins & texts 10GB+ data: Lebara, '£3.46/month' for 12GB, unlimited mins & texts

 

THIS WEEK'S POLL How many paid-for streaming services do you subscribe to – and have you cut back? Recent research suggests more of us are cancelling subscriptions to video streaming services to save money. We've tips to cut costs above, but this week, we also want to know what paid-for services you subscribe to, and if you've cut back recently. The majority of MoneySavers spend between £41 to £100 on weekly groceries. Last week, we asked how much you spend on average each week on groceries. More than 11,000 people responded, with over half spending between £41 to £100. As you'd expect, those living with a partner and children are the most likely to spend more than £150 each week (12%), while less than 1% of those living by themselves also spend this much. See the full poll results.

 

 

MSE NEWS - Top story: Millions of families on tax credits to get first cost of living payment from Friday 2 September - Chase Bank extends 1% cashback offer for early adopters - Shell Energy to refund thousands of overcharged prepayment meter customers - Tesco Clubcard points no longer worth triple the value when spent on Delivery Saver plans - Thousands to be refunded after ground rent 'unfairly' doubled

 

 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA What should I do with the lottery ticket I found in a charity shop coat? I bought a coat in a charity shop and, when I got it home, found a lottery ticket in one of the pockets. I checked the numbers and it's for a £5,000 win. But I'm not sure what to do now - should I return to the charity shop and ask if they know who donated the coat, give half the amount to the shop and keep half for myself as a way of sharing my good fortune, or keep it all as the coat and what it contains is now mine? Enter the Money Moral Maze: What should I do with the lottery ticket I found in a charity shop coat? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

 

 

MSE TEAM BLOG - Badges, blogging & bullion – last week's MSE Forum highlights

 

 

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Thu 1 Sep - BBC Radio Leicester, Mid-morning with Aminata Kamara, from 11.35am Tue 6 Sep - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

 

POST-ITS, DISCOUNT CARDS & COPIOUS CUPS OF COFFEE... WHAT SHOULD NEW STUDENTS BRING TO UNI? That's all for this week, but before we go... with new students gearing up for the start of term, we unearthed a forum thread from a mature student asking what they needed to help them study. Popular recommendations included Post-its, earphones for private study time and memory sticks to back up work. A student discount card was also deemed vital, especially with the rising cost of living. And, of course, many suggested it'd be impossible to start any course of study without copious supplies of coffee... and wine. Discover more start-of-term tips in the What to bring to uni MSE Forum discussion. We hope you save some money, stay safe, The MSE team

 

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