MSE’s Money Tips Cheapest iPhone, car insurance UP 41%, 30% off No7 trick, free National Trust, 243 spring bulbs £15,

Pin Tweet Share Share
From: MSE's Money Tips - Tuesday Sep 19, 2023 08:42 pm
MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email
Plus... free insulation, £25 cashback on £5, FREE £210, £3,200 council tax back
                                                           
MoneySavingExpert

 19 September 2023 | View in browser
MoneySavingExpert
Weekly Money Tips
        
Banking & Savings Household Bills Deals Insurance Cards & Loans Mortgages Income Reclaim
 
 
 
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.
 
 
 

Newest phone, schmooest phone!
The iPhone 15's launched... so you can now get the cheapest iPhone 14 deal we've ever seen. Or better, keep your handset and get a 30GB/mth Sim for under a fiver 


As first adopters around the world dash to splash big cash for the latest handset launch, even if they'll only see small or negligible improvements - MoneySavers hold back, or even see it as an opportunity. When a new handset launches, the last models (the brightest, shiniest tech just days ago) can drop in price. Or better still, if their old phone still does the job, MoneySavers take advantage of huge falls in cheap Sims to pay far less.

While it used to be usually cheapest to buy a new phone outright and get a cheap Sim, now contracts through resellers or small providers (like all the deals below) often smash that, sometimes cheaper than even the handset cost alone, never mind 50GB+ data worth at least £9/mth.


Top deal including data, unlimited minutes & texts Handset-only cost Samsung S23 (128GB) Cheapest ever. This Samsung S23 deal's £26.99/mth on iD Mobile (uses Three's network) with 50GB/mth of data. So that's £648 over the two-year contract. £849 from Samsung iPhone 13 (128GB)
Cheapest ever. This iPhone 13 deal on Three with 100GB/mth of data is £27/mth, which means you'd pay £648 over the two-year contract. £599 from Apple iPhone 14 (128GB)
Cheapest ever. This iPhone 14 deal on O2 with 100GB/mth of data is £79 upfront, then it's £29/mth, which means you'd pay £775 over the two-year contract. £699 from Apple New. iPhone 15 (128 GB) This iPhone 15 deal is £149 upfront, then £29.99/mth on iD Mobile with 100GB/mth data (uses Three's network). But you can get £5 off (use code CASH5 at the basket stage), so it's £864 over the two-year contract. £799 from Apple
CHEAPEST HOT HANDSETS (all deals unlimited minutes and texts)
For more choice, use our Cheap Handset Finder or Best handset on my budget tools
Or smash the cost by buying a REFURB handset outright. Often they're simply unused returns from those who've changed their mind, eg, we found a "pristine" refurb iPhone 12 64GB for £315 vs £499 new. Our handset tool can find 'em for you.


...Happy with your handset? 30GB/mth data '£4.62'

If you're out of contract (check by texting 'INFO' to 85075 for free), keep your handset and switch Sim card for big savings.

Lebara (uses Vodafone's signal)
Customer service poll: 4.1 / 5 12GB for '£3.57/mth': Pay £6.90/mth, and you can claim a £40 Amazon, M&S etc voucher. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £3.57/mth over a year on a one-month rolling contract. TalkMobile (Vodafone)
Service poll: 4 / 5 30GB for '£4.62/mth': Pay £7.95/mth, and you can CLAIM a £40 Amazon voucher. Factor that in and it's equivalent to £4.62/mth over the 12-month contract. Ends Thu. iD Mobile (Three)
Service poll: 3.7 / 5 UNLIMITED data for '£11.09/mth': Pay £8/mth for three months, then £16/mth for nine months, and you can claim a £35 Amazon / Currys voucher. Factor that all in and it's equivalent to £11.09/mth over the 12-month contract. Need to keep same signal?  There are only four UK networks - Vodafone, O2, EE and Three. All others piggyback on their signals. Our Cheap Sims tool lets you filter by network.
Top-pick cheap Sims (all unlimited minutes and texts) For far more choice, use our Cheap Mobile Finder tool

- To keep your number, just text 'PAC' to 65075, then give the code you get to your new provider.
- Unlock your phone for free. If your phone's locked to your network, see How to unlock it.
- Don't want to switch? Haggle. Mobile firms are among the easiest to haggle with.
- Planning overseas trips? See our Cheap mobile roaming guide.
- Can you get cashback on top? Cashback sites may undercut deals elsewhere. Do check it's like for like though.

 
FREE National Trust family day pass (normally £30ish). These free pass offers have proved massively popular with MoneySavers, now there's another one (though it excludes National Trust Scotland sites). Family days out

Stop press. TWO new free-cash bank-switch deals launch - up to £210 FREE. Last week, we worried because all but one new customer switch offers had disappeared. Not now... TSB's new FREE £150 plus £10/mth for 6mths* (you get the £10/mth if you make 20+ monthly debit card payments) joins First Direct's FREE £175, top service, 7% regular saver, cheap spending abroad* and a 0% £250 overdraft for many. Also new is Club Lloyds FREE £175 plus rewards, eg, Disney+, though it has a £3/mth fee unless you've £2,000+/mth going in. Full info & eligibility criteria: Best bank accounts. PS: More may be coming, so full rundown next week.

Urgent trick to get 30% off all Boots No7 beauty. You need to do it by 11.59pm on Wed. See No7 trick.

E.on customer? A way to guarantee you pay less than the Price Cap. E.on's launched a new fixed-term (not fixed-rate) tariff that promises to track £50 below the Price Cap for a typical user, so roughly a 3% discount. See E.on analysis

243 spring bulbs £15 delivered. MSE Blagged. 7,500 available (not in NI or parts of Scotland). Thompson & Morgan

In council tax band A to D (& E in Scot & Wales)? You may now be eligible for free insulation. If your home's energy performance certificate rating is D or below, check if you're due free insulation. In Northern Ireland? See NI energy grants.

BAH HUMBUG! The Martin Lewis Podcast... Make £100s in time for Christmas (& boost state pension). How to prep to ease the pressure, incl grab £300+ of free cash, ban unnecessary presents etc. Plus how to boost your state pension. It's all in The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple Podcasts & more.
 
 
 
 

Twelve deals, discounts, codes and tips to cut your grocery bills
Walkers 9p, 'free' KitKat, £5 off Asda, 1% cashback & more


Food price inflation has been pretty horrid for many over the last year or more. It's left some on low incomes struggling to pay for even the basics. We can't fix that, it's for politicians to do. Yet shopping more efficiently and arming yourself with a few tricks can help cut bills at the checkout, and avoid food waste too. We've 37 supermarket shopping tips in our guide, but here's our current pick of the crop:

10% off code for already-reduced, past 'best befores': 9p Walkers, 23p Diet Coke & more. MSE Blagged. Bag cheap groceries near or past 'best before' dates (NOT past 'use by' dates, which are about health). Minimum spend £22.50. Approved Food.

'Free' £1 KitKat, 'free' £3 vegan chicken, £1.50 off teabags & more via supermarket coupons. Check out our 60+ September coupons round-up to save you a packet, whether shopping in store or online.

The Chase current account gives 1% cashback on most debit card spending. Image links to the Chase current account review in our Best bank accounts guide.Cashback every time you buy groceries (or owt else). The app-based Chase current account* gives 1% cashback on most debit card spending (max £15/mth). You don't need to switch bank to get it, and it only does an ID not a credit check, so is easy to get. It's also a top card for spending overseas. Full info's in our Chase review.

Do a one-off shop where you don't usually go and get £12 off Sainsbury's, 25% off Ocado or £10 off £11 at Getir. Supermarkets offer discounts to those shopping online with them for the first time, and currently there are SEVEN big money-off codes, including Sainsbury's £12 off £60 | Ocado 25% off £60 | Iceland £5 off £45, so if you've not used them before, try it. For small orders, the urban 10 to 15-minute delivery firms have big discounts, such as Getir £10 off £11, Snappy Shopper £10 off £12 or Gopuff 40% off.

Speedily find the cheapest supermarket for your items. Handy comparison tool Trolley lets you compare major supermarkets' prices. You can also get alerts when the cost of your favourite goodies drop.

Asda Rewards app newbies can get £5 off your shop (no min). If you've not used its app, see Asda £5.

Get 5kg fruit and veg for £1.50 with Lidl's food waste boxes. The boxes contain 'edible but not perfect' fruit and veg. See Lidl 'Too Good To Waste' boxes. Sainsbury's offers similar fruit and veg boxes for £2 each.

A can of Heinz Baked Beanz costing £1.40, and a can of Tesco own-brand baked beans costing 50p. Image links to the Downshift Challenge section of our Supermarket shopping tips guide.Try Martin's Downshift Challenge - can you slash 30% off your grocery bill? One of Martin's early MoneySaving tips, as useful today as it was then - if you've not already done it! The Downshift Challenge is where you drop from, eg, branded to supermarket's own. If you can't taste the difference, stick with the cheaper one. Dropping one brand level can cut your trolley cost by up to 30%.

 Up to 80% off herbs, spices, tinned goods & more. Find HIDDEN discounts in supermarkets' world food aisles.

Are you keeping the RIGHT food in the fridge? Check where you should keep bread, fruit, veg and more.

Over 60? Get 10% off at Iceland. Use it every Tuesday when you show valid ID and your Iceland Bonus card.

Money off nutritious food through the Healthy Start scheme. If you're on certain benefits, Healthy Start cards give up to £8.50/wk (or Best Start in Scotland up to £9.90/wk) to help buy healthy food, milk & vitamins. PS: Struggling to afford food? Don't go hungry. Check if you live near a social supermarket or community shop for those on low incomes. Foodbanks can also help - find a foodbank near you. Related: If you can afford to donate, see MSE Laura's donating to foodbanks tips.
 
Paying interest on credit card debt? Check NOW if you can shift it to 0%. A reminder, we're concerned more top deals will be pulled. Many have already gone, please read our urgent balance transfer warning from last week.

Ends Thu. Get £25 cashback when you spend £5+. MSE Blagged. A no-brainer if you're new to cashback site Quidco - spend £5+ via its site, and you get £25 back (on top of any normal cashback). Full info in Quidco £25.

Holland & Barrett 20% off code. MSE Blagged. Online only. Ends Mon. Holland & Barrett

'We got £3,200 council tax back after being in the wrong band - we didn't accept being rejected.' Our success of the week comes from Helen, who used our council tax check 'n' challenge system: "I always thought the council tax was a bit high, so went to your site. I claimed, it was rejected, I emailed with further evidence. Then I discovered (following MSE's instructions) that the much larger house next door was in the same band. Eventually they agreed to reassess. I'd say to anyone trying, don't accept the first rejection. We're now £3,177 better off - hurrah!! Thanks Martin and team." If we've helped you save or earn (on this, or owt else), please send us your successes.

FREE Grand Designs Live Birmingham tickets. For 4 to 8 October, normally £13 to £16 each. Grand Designs
 
 
Tell your friends about us They can get this email free every week
 
 

AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
 

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Pet owners, have you used a vet in the last three years? The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is reviewing how well vet services are working in the UK, following concerns that pet owners are not always getting a good deal. It wants to hear about your experiences of choosing a vet surgery, paying for treatments, prescriptions and medications, and using emergency services. If you'd like to share your experiences, fill out the CMA's 10-minute survey.
 

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Do you have a will? If not, why? If you want to dictate where your assets go when you die, you need a will - a legal document telling everyone what should happen to your money, possessions and property. Wills can be made cheaply, and sometimes for free - see our Cheap wills guide. Do you have have a will, and if not, why? Vote in this week's poll.

Less than a quarter of MoneySavers like to pay for parking using apps. Of the 11,000+ people who voted in last week's poll, 62% said they'd used a parking app before, but it was only the preferred payment method for 24% of respondents. The majority prefer to pay by credit or debit card (40%) or with cash (36%). See the full poll results.
 
 
 
 

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

My son's friend borrowed his bike and it got stolen - should his parents replace it? My son cycled to a friend's house and left his bike there - his friend agreed to store it so my son could collect it a few days later. In the meantime, his friend borrowed it to pop into town, left it unlocked outside a shop for five minutes and it was stolen. The bike cost £350 and wasn't covered by my contents insurance. Should I ask the parents of my son's friend to replace it, as he borrowed it without permission and didn't lock it up, or do I replace it as his friend obviously didn't intend for it to be stolen? Enter the Money Moral Maze: My son's friend borrowed his bike and it got stolen - should his parents pay? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma
 
 
 
 
 

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 20 SEPT ONWARDS)

Wed 20 Sept - Ask Martin Lewis, BBC Radio 5 Live, 1pm
Tue 26 Sept - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.20am

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC)

Thu 21 Sept - BBC Radio London, Mid-morning with Jumoke Fashola, from 11.10am
 

FREE PENS AND SECOND-HAND COURSE BOOKS - WHAT'S YOUR STUDENT MONEYSAVING ADVICE?

That's all for this week, but before we go... freshers' weeks are kicking off across the country and many new students will be in charge of their finances for the first time, so we asked our social followers what MoneySaving advice they would proffer to them. Savvy former students recommended grabbing discount cards, while others advised meeting students in the year above of your course to see if they were selling second-hand course books. One MoneySaver said make the most of freshers' week, not by drinking and making friends, but by nabbing as many free pens as you can. And to cut back on water and energy bills, another offered the rather unhygienic tip of wearing your underwear back to front and inside out to get four uses out of the them! Let us know your student advice in our Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Threads conversations.

We hope you save some money,
The MSE team
 
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com works We 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 Lewis What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. 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 Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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

moneysupermarket.com, comparethemarket.com, confused.com, directline.com, myurbanjungle.com, admiral.com, lv.com aviva.co.uk, chase.com, tsb.co.uk, firstdirect.com, 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.