
“Martin Lewis turns down travel agents’ invitation” – Is that news?
Over the last month the trade publication the Travel Trades Gazette has been running one of its periodic ‘travel agents think Martin Lewis has satan’s horns’ pieces, because of our guide to haggling down package holiday prices. Yet the latest news story really takes the biscuit… The following appeared in our press cuttings: Martin Lewis turns down...

New knitted MINI-Martin (he saves the pennies not the pounds)
It may be rather swap-shopish, but yes, someone has done a knitted version of me. Like me he’s rather attached to a TV sofa (though in his case his bum’s actually sewn onto it). As for the resemblance, I’ll let you judge that for yourselves from these pics. Though I’m hoping my face is a little more...

The Levels of Well
How ill are you? It’s a common enough question, yet quite difficult to answer. As a classic repeated man flu victim, to let Mrs. MSE know how I’m doing I use different levels of well… ‘bed well’, ‘home well’ and more… As my codification was well received on my Facebook page the other day I thought it...

Telling Civil Servants at the Department for Business about Money Saving
So what lessons are there for civil servants to learn about saving money? Perhaps it’s one of the most important questions in Government at the moment, and I was asked to make a presentation on it to a few hundred civil servants yesterday. The introduction from Martin Wyn Griffith, head of procurement for the department, went something like...

F*** Barclays – brilliantly terrible graffiti
Vandalism and graffiti can’t be condoned, yet it was tough not to smile wryly when I saw what had been done to one of London’s new ‘Boris Bikes’. The massive rent-a-bike scheme is supported by Barclays’ multimillion pound sponsorship. Perhaps you may see it as street art, but the care and artistry in font matching shown in the...

New Smartin Lewis: buying new clothes for Daybreak
Buying a new wardrobe isn’t the most MoneySaving thing. Yet Daybreak wants its on-air team to ‘smarten up their image’. My jeanwear doesn’t really cut it, so this a work-related purchase. So last weekend was shopping time… I must admit at first I wasn’t best pleased about the policy, but they asked politely so I thought I...

Warning! Beware paying off credit cards using your overdraft
The average overdraft rate’s now 19% (see MSE news) yet many still have a block when it comes to considering it a debt. A classic example is using a bank account to pay off credit cards, usually at a higher rate and with the added potential of bank charges… So the first thing for everyone who’s overdrawn...

Doctor Doctor, I just can’t stop spending money! Pizza punchline contest.
A few weeks back on a Radio programme, the sports presenter mentioned his love of pizzas, leaving me praising the merits of a BBQ over a tomato base. And now I’ve 3 x free Dominos vouchers to give away… Why the vouchers? Soon after the programme Domino’s got in touch to offer me a series of...

Ten years since I was first called “Money Saving Expert”
While reminiscing, it just occurred to me I’ve now been the ‘Money Saving Expert’ for ten years. On 2 Jan 2000 I left the BBC to start at Simply Money TV as a reporter, soon being made ‘Business Correspondent’, then given the chance of my own programme, which is where it all began… The Deal of the...

Danger! Money lessons may get you thumped
Be careful what you teach kids about brands, you may just get thumped for telling them Manchester United are a business… I was doing a talk at the LSE, and afterwards a chap called James came up to me to talk about financial education (see financial education campaign part II blog). He was a maths teacher in...
Latest MoneySaving Tips
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12 ways to save only do with appsFree chocs, 1.5% savings and more
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Martin: 'Aged around 45 to 70?''You may be able to turn £800 into £5,500+'
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New. Top way to spend abroadUnbeatable exchange rates and cashback
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10% off discount 'best-before' storeEg, 23p Pepsi , £4,50 for 1kg Lindt
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Cheaper energy deals kiboshedMartin not exactly impressed
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Lloyds' free £125 bank bribeBut others pay more
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Debt cost-cutting masterclassMortgages, cards, overdrafts, loans...
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48 oriental lily bulbs for £87,500 bundles available
Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis: 'UO is just as important as UX: A tip for anyone developing their website or app'
6 May 2022I set up MoneySavingExpert.com nearly 20 years ago – when arguably the modern web was still in its infancy. With an abundance of self-belief (something I had too much of then, as I realise now) I decided not to read any books, or follow prevailing wisdom on how a site should operate – and just do it my way. -
Martin Lewis: Got a cash ISA? You should probably ditch it
3 May 2022Press the rewind button and go way back to April 2015... Possibly on the telly in the corner of your living room, I was on-air at the time urging savers as usual to use their new tax-free cash ISA allowance – because 'money was nicer in an ISA'. But things changed in 2016. -
Martin Lewis: Money and Mental Health charity 2021/22 – Covid & cost of living hell...
26 April 2022It's hard to believe the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) charity is now six years old. As the chair of trustees, each year I write the foreword to its annual report – and today the 2021/22 report is out, so I thought I'd blog my formal chair's foreword here. -
Martin Lewis: What happened to my pledge to give £10m to charity – 2022 update (spoiler: it's now £20m)
11 April 2022Nearly a decade ago, in June 2012, MSE joined the MSM Group and I pledged £10m to go to charity. As that was a public pledge and I feel I've a duty of transparency, every year or two I bash out a blog report to explain where I'm up to, and who's got what money.