Martin's Blog

Update 20 May 2025: I wrote this blog back in 2013, and uploaded a newer video in May 2022, so while the text is a little dated, and the rates in the video are slightly wrong, the logic is still exactly the same.

If you're one of the millions planning a trip to Spain at some point this summer, stop shopping at Zara right now. The giant Spanish fashion brand sells clothes in its native country far cheaper than here, so wait until you get there if you're planning on buying something. It's also often cheaper, though not as much of a difference, in other countries where you pay in euros too.

You meet someone, fall in love, and hearts pop out of the sky when you look at them. They're the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, but while some do it for the romance, is there any financial point in actually being married to them?

Energy firms are said to be sitting on over £3 BILLION of our cash, building up this huge reservoir from the two-thirds of homes who pay by monthly Direct Debit. Yet we're about to enter the PERFECT TIME to stop the rip-off and get that money back – it's all about understanding the Direct Debit cycle.

The PPI deadline might've passed a while back, but if you're one of the millions of people who reclaimed part of the more than £38,000,000,000 paid out, you need to know about the tax on PPI reclaim amounts. This is automatically deducted, even though most people don't need to pay it. So if you've been paid out within the last four years, you could be due £100s back.

Put on your walking shoes, rub some balm into your calves, and massage your toes (not necessarily in that order) as it's time for my annual steps blog. While a total of 9,041,317 steps is a decent number, it's still slightly frustrating as it means I just missed my 25,000 daily steps target in 2024. I'd even made it in 2023, my Steppus Horribilis (as on 2 August 2023 I missed my 10,000 daily steps target for the first time in seven years due to food poisoning).

There was no news on energy standing charges in today's 1.2% rise January Price Cap announcement, but I do expect to hear the results of the Ofgem consultation before the year's out. Though sadly, I'm cautiously pessimistic. Here's a mix of a briefing and my thoughts...

Be careful who you listen to on Student finance. There’s a lot of nonsense spoken. And even when you’re getting facts, be wary, it has changed so often, the way it works for is different even for some still at Uni now, never mind those who graduated a decade ago. So I want to explain the practical impact on your pocket – which is radically different to the more political spin you will usually hear.