Like student protests today’s strikes boil down to ‘who pays?’
We’re in a historic phase of massive public policy decisions. Yet we can’t focus solely on the impact on the directly affected group of ‘insiders’ (eg, students/public sector workers) and miss the impact on ‘outsiders’ (eg, the general taxpayer) – these things must be about balancing the see-saw … Today’s public sector strikes are over pension provisions...
It’s time to end the ‘always pay off your 0% balance transfer’ before it ends rule?
The cheapest way to shift your debts, is to shove it onto a 0% balance transfer deal and then repay before interest is charged. Yet, some new research we’ve done now shows that in many cases a 0% deal even beats the ‘lock-in for life’ offers that used to win if you took longer to pay off...
Please leave me alone to look at the menu! Overseas restaurant touts counter-productive.
I’m just back from having managed to sneak in a weekend in Rome with Mrs MSE. It’s a beautiful City, the Colosseum is breathtaking, the food sublime, but why do so many eateries feel the need to bludgeon you inside? It’s a completely counter-productive strategy with me. I remember one particularly nice looking (and decent value) trattatoria...
Shop staff quoted nonsense rights at me – isn’t it time they were taught the law?
Free consumer rights wallet guide – to ensure you always know your rights – print this. It pays to know your consumer rights – a member of staff at a high street store tried to tell me a load of baloney this weekend. I politely quoted back the "Sale of Goods Act 1979" and she went quiet....
What does £175 buy you? – The full list!
It’s the average annual gas and electricity price increase for Scottish Power customers (and likely other companies soon) but it buys you no more energy than you get now. So, I asked people on Twitter what that £175 means to them… As the answers flowed in I realised it was almost like poetry and a great insight...
Heading up the new Independent Student Finance Taskforce
I’ve today agreed to take an (unpaid) role, heading up the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information. Its aim is to help ensure everyone understands exactly what they’re getting into – the good bits and the bad. The new taskforce (see Student Taskforce MSE news for info of who’s on it) is comprised of universities, the...
1p Father’s Day cards: is it the thought or the cost that counts?
Interesting reaction on Twitter to the 1p personalised photocards that were in this week’s MoneySaving Email. It seems some dads weren’t happy about the idea their offspring would only spend a penny (so to speak). Now it’s worth noting that when writing the weekly email saving space is crucial, so I just wrote ‘1p Dad’s Day card’ –...
New Money Mantra for 13-year-olds
I loved the feedback from a class of 13-year-olds that they’d come up with a few more money mantras. It’s the first feedback we’ve received, since launching our new Teen Cash Class Activity Sheets for teachers to teach MoneySaving financial education. While the lessons are aimed at Key Stage 4 and 5, one teacher used them in...
Finally my Scrabble score averages 400 (in 694 games) – Now I’ll need to change my Who’s Who!
It’s taken five years, but at last my Scrabble average has finally hit 400. It is no exaggeration to say this is an ambition fulfilled – in fact, it’s even a listed aim in my Who’s Who entry. Two weekend scores of 459 and 442 against Mrs MSE pushed me over the edge. In fact, I’ve been...
MSE to donate £35,000 to the campaign for financial education in schools – a political donation
For transparency, as it’s the site’s first ever ‘political’, as opposed to standard charity donation (see charity fund) I thought this was important to blog about. The site and I have been championing compulsory financial education in schools for a long time and now we’re in a practical position to do something to help – we’re putting...
26 September 2023
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Martin: It's Meter Reading Week
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Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?
11 September 2023![]()
Update September 2017: It’s eight years since I first braved this subject, expecting a snowstorm of protest. Instead, year after year more join in, like Julia who recently tweeted me, “@MartinSLewis, finally took your advice and told my family I can’t afford Christmas presents. What a weight off my mind. Thank you.” One year even the Archbishop of... -
Martin Lewis: Five things all new English university starters should know
4 September 2023![]()
The 2023 academic year is about to start, and it'll see the biggest shake-up to student finance in England for a decade. The changes are both subtle and massive. On the surface they look like a tweak, in practice they will increase the eventual cost of going to university by over 50% for many typical graduates.
