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DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
The sun's out, and soon millions more children will be out of school too, joining those in Scotland on the long summer holiday. It's often not an easy feat for families, but this year, with the cost of living crisis in full flow, it's going to bite many hard. So we've put together nine tips to help for a range of situations. Are you due £100s to help with summer holiday childcare? If you pay for childcare for under-12s, or under-17s with disabilities, as long as it's a registered childcare provider, which includes many summer holiday clubs, playgroups or childminders (the link shows you how to find them), even if only for the holidays, you may be able to get one of two types of help...- Family income under £40,000? Do check if you can get universal credit (if you're not already getting it or tax credits), which may help to cover some of your childcare costs - though you will need to pay and claim it back. See universal credit for summer childcare. - Tax-free childcare. 100,000s of working parents are missing out on £100s or £1,000s through this childcare help. If you work (both of you must work if a couple) and pay for childcare, you may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare that lets you pay in and get a quarter added on top for free, up to a maximum £2,000 a year for each child. Urgent. Does your child(ren) get free school meals? Apply for holiday support NOW. The Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) in England gives children aged 4+ at least one free meal a day (+ free activities) for at least six weeks per year during the main school holidays. Access to the programme isn't automatic, so apply for the HAF now. It's run by councils, so exact details depend on where you live. There are also schemes available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Not eligible for free school meals? See our How to get food for free/cheap guide, or try the Downshift Challenge. 24 free or very low cost ways to create summer magic for kids. Often it's the little things that make memories, and our Kids' summer magic guide is packed with ideas from fruit-picking to beaming a T-Rex into your living room. Sign your 16 to 17-year-old up for a two-week summer activity break for £50 (free for some). The National Citizen Service (England only) programme includes nights away and activities such as rock climbing and kayaking. Need financial support this summer? There are charities that can help. None of these are givens, but are worth checking if you're really struggling, as 100s of charities have grants for help with things such as household bills, clothing and even holidays - use charity Turn2us's grant search to check. There's also the Family Holiday Charity that helps families spend time away together, but you need a support worker, social worker or teacher to refer you. If you're one of the UK's two million single parents, you may be able to get help from Gingerbread. Visit the website or call the helpline on 0808 802 0925. Save at the cinema, including some free children's screenings. Our Cinema savers guide has tips on how to see kid-friendly movies on the big screen for less, including 1,000 weekly free Odeon Kids' screening tickets. Also, grown-ups & kids pay about £2.50 for selected family films at Cineworld, Odeon and Vue at weekends and in the school hols. Free or cheap summer holiday activities. There's loads more help in Cheap days out, including free tennis coaching and sessions, plus see 14 free ways to learn, including languages, Disney drawing, astronomy and more. Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Legoland, Sea Life 2for1s for £3 via cereal and snacks. If you're heading to a theme park, get the voucher for a free adult ticket with any full-price ticket. See Cheap theme parks. And please... let us know if these help or get in touch if there's something that can help people we've missed by email. |
New. Are you due a share of £150m in council tax refunds? How to check. Some 862,000 homes are owed a refund, so check if you're due one. Other key council tax info: Check 'n' challenge your band. FREE Lego mini toy. At some toy shops this weekend, limited stock. Free Lego. Related: B&M £5 toy sale. Are solar panels now worth it? Energy costs have hit record highs and are set to worsen in October when the price cap will jump again. So solar panels - which let you generate energy to cover some of your usage - have become more viable for many who have savings to spend. See our updated Are solar panels worth it? guide to check if they're right for you. More energy bills help: Martin's 'Should I fix my energy tariff?' guide | Help - I can't afford to pay. £133 of No7 beauty & skincare products for £35. Nine-piece set with 'secret' contents (previous deals have had mascara, eye pencil, cleanser and so on) and you can get early access to ensure you bag one. Triple-threat Chase now has no wait time: 1.5% savings, 1% cashback & near-perfect rates abroad. The Chase app* is a triple threat, a best buy in three categories (they're throwing serious money to build a customer base) plus you NEEDN'T SWITCH BANK to get it. It's been so popular there was a 3 to 5 week waiting time after application - now you can get it at speed. Full info in Best bank accounts. School uniform sales on NOW - get a full set for £5. See our cheap uniform round-up. 'Thanks. I was awarded £1,500 pension credit AND an extra £185 every two weeks. It's changed my life.' Our success of the week comes from Jackie, who followed our claim pension credit campaign. She said: "After hearing Martin talk about pension credit I wondered if I could qualify. I applied and was awarded a £1,500 lump sum and now get an extra £185 every two weeks. This has changed my life. No one tells you this is available and only thanks to your team am I now getting it." Send us your MoneySaving successes. Want to explain the cost of living crisis to your children? BBC Newsround has a video guide (with a couple of nibbles from Martin) - a nice, easy, calm watch. Cost of living explainer for kids New. 2.7% loan - if you NEED to borrow, we've not seen cheaper. Two lenders have increased rates, but Finble, Admiral's new brand, has launched a 2.7% rep APR loan for £7,500 to £15,000, making it joint cheapest. If you need to borrow (only do it for planned, budgeted, one-off reasons) our Loans Eligibility Calculator shows which top loans will likely accept you at any amount (Finble isn't available direct so the link goes via our calculator). Full help: Cheap loans guide (APR examples). |
And don't wait for the deadline, as previously the nearer you get to it, the bigger the delay is. Exact rules of what you need to do depend on whether your letter has a red or black line.
- 1.4 million people are likely to be better off on universal credit. Mainly those who work and pay rent, especially if they live in a city. The gains here for some can be in the £1,000s a year. - 900,000 people are likely to be worse off. Mainly... those who aren't in work | those who don't pay rent | self-employed people earning less than national minimum wage | those with savings of £16,000+ | some with disabilities or caring responsibilities. Warning: Don't just apply, as you'll be moved to the new system and can't then change back, even if you find you're getting less or nothing. So go through our full step-by-step Should I switch to universal credit? guide which takes you through it, including the most important step of one-on-one help if it looks like it's worth it for you. |
Amazon 'Prime Day' starts next week - we get our crystal ball out, for example, 50% off Alexa? Prime Day perversely lasts two days, and while many deals are often meh, there can be hidden corkers. Prime Day predictions Going abroad this summer? 8 travel money must-knows so you don't overpay to pay. If you missed it, check out last week's holiday money masterclass. Fibre broadband & line rental '£13.46/month' - cheapest we've seen since Feb. Newbies applying for this 38Mb Vodafone deal pay £22/month, but can CLAIM (don't forget) a £205 Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury's or M&S voucher. If you'd have spent there anyway, factor that in and it's equivalent to £13.46/month over the two-year contract. For many more options, use our Broadband Unbundled comparison tool. Grüum five-piece holiday set £15 delivered (normally £38). MSE Blagged. Includes sun cream, aftersun, shampoo, and body and facial cleansing bars. 7,500 available. Grüum PS: If you spot the new MSE app in Apple's App Store or Google's Play Store, yes it is genuine. It's early days and we've lots of bells and whistles to add, so we're not shouting about it yet. But feel free to give it a go and feed back. |
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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you carry a wallet or purse? This week's Money Tips email is all about Martin's Wallet Workout - but in this digital age, how many of us actually still carry a wallet or purse? Let us know in this week's poll. Using a specialist travel credit card is the most popular way to spend abroad among MoneySavers. Last week, we asked how you normally pay for things while on holiday - some 5,000 people responded. Just under one-third (32%) said they used specialist travel credit cards, while cash ordered in advance was the next most popular option at 29%. Encouragingly, only 0.1% said they exchanged cash at the airport - by far the most costly way. See full travel money poll results. |
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MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Can I keep using my NHS discount card even though I've left the service? I used to work for the NHS and, when I did, I bought a discount card for NHS staff. The scheme verifies your employment then entitles you to discounts from a lot of companies. I've left the NHS now, but the card's valid for two years and doesn't offer refunds. The T&Cs don't specify what happens in this situation - can I continue to use the card, as I bought it legitimately, or should I stop as I'm technically no longer eligible? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Can I keep using my NHS discount card even though I've left the service? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma |
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MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 6 JUL ONWARDS) Wed 6 Jul - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.55am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC) Thu 7 Jul - BBC Radio Leicester, Mid-morning with Summaya Mughal, from 11.35am |
THE ULTIMATE MONEYSAVING TOOL OR A DEN OF TEMPTATION - HAS THE WEB MADE IT EASIER TO SAVE? That's all for this week, but before we go... MSE Forumites have been debating whether it was easier to save money before or after the advent of home internet. For some, the web has made saving a breeze, with the ability to switch banks, use money management apps and shop around for deals. Others argue it's easier to splurge now, thanks to the temptation of online shopping and the ease with which you can get at your money. Let us know where you stand in our was it easier for you to save money BEFORE or AFTER the internet? MSE Forum discussion. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
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 hsbc.co.uk, firstdirect.com, santander.co.uk, chase.co.uk, sainsburysbank.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.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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