Martin Lewis: A warning to every UK worker aged 22+, you’re likely about to get a pay rise, but it may cost you
On 6 April, most UK workers aged 22 or over are due a hidden pay rise – but your employer doesn’t need to tell you. This is all about the ‘auto-enrolment’ scheme – where your employer has to contribute towards your pension, and now it’s going to have to give you even more. So I wanted to...
Martin Lewis: Spread the word – don’t believe scam Bitcoin Code or Bitcoin trading ads
I don’t do adverts. If you ever see one with my face or name on it, it is without my permission, and usually a scam. Admittedly some are supposedly legit firms bending the rules to imply a link (though do you really trust firms that’d do that anyway?). The latest Facebook ad plague with me in is...
Martin Lewis: To those who sent me messages about the interview on losing my mum when I was 11…
Last Wednesday, for the first time, I spoke publicly about losing my mother when I was a child. I wanted to write a brief note today, primarily to express thanks for the huge volume of support, shared grief, emotional outpourings and condolence messages I’ve had. I’ve been overwhelmed in every way. Doing the Radio 5 Live interview...
Martin Lewis: An urgent warning for parents paying for childcare…
Update Wed 14 Mar – childcare voucher deadline extended. Parliament has just voted to extend the deadline for joining the Childcare Vouchers scheme by around six months (no final end date is confirmed). It’s still worth following the logic of the original info below to decide which scheme is best for you though (but I haven’t updated it...
British Gas customers’ new £225 a year discount
British Gas is the UK’s biggest energy firm, and millions of customers stick with it through thick and thin, even if they know they can get much cheaper deals elsewhere (as I constantly nag about). Yet right now there’s a route that enables existing British Gas direct debit customers, who use dual fuel (ie, gas & electricity)...
Martin Lewis: If 83% are predicted not to repay student loans, who pays it? It doesn’t work like you think…
Student loans are a political hot potato and widely misunderstood. I recently blogged on why, bizarrely, cutting tuition fees risks hurting not helping most graduates and within the logic of that I explained it is predicted that 83% of university leavers under the newest English system won’t repay their loans in full within the 30 years before they wipe....
Martin Lewis: A warning to first time buyers – you’ve less than a week to decide if your Help to Buy ISA should become a Lifetime ISA (LISA) – some could gain £1,000s
For those saving for a first-time residential property, Help to Buy ISAs and Lifetime ISAs are no-brainers, as an unbeatable 25% bonus is added as well as interest. In other words you get an extra £250 per £1,000 saved towards any mortgage. Yet as you can only get the home-buying bonus on one of them, you need to pick which is...
Martin Lewis: Why cutting tuition fees bizarrely risks hurting not helping most students
The news again has been full of talk about cutting English tuition fees from £9,250 to, say, £6,000. While psychologically attractive – as it reduces the perceived ‘debt’ – the practical impact is to take money off universities, risking the quality of education, and handing it to very high-earning graduates. I bashed out this explanation on my...
I averaged 25,420 steps per day (burning 3,880 calories) in 2017 – here’s how…
I’m obsessed with fitness tracking statistics. I’ve just checked and I did 9,278,393 steps in 2017 – a ridiculous amount. So much so that this year one of my resolutions is to do a little fewer, as getting these steps has taken over my life to an extent. So I thought it worth bashing out the stats,...
An important warning to every worker and 9 other need-to-knows from 2017
So what piqued your interest most in 2017? I asked the MSE data team to let me know what my top 10 most read blogs were for the year. Now, of course, these aren’t the most read things on MSE – just the bits of my musings you most picked up on. At a vain attempt to...
Latest MoneySaving Tips
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8 travel-money must-knowsDon't overpay to pay (ole!)
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44 tips to be tight (in a good way)Eg, use bulldog clips to eke out last toothpaste
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Blue Light Card discounts boostedFor NHS and emergency workers
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2for1 theme parks and attractionsAlton Towers, Thorpe Park and more
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Ends Thu. 5GB Sim '£4 a month'Plus roam-like-home in Europe
Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis: The one thing everyone aged over 66 needs to know
17 June 2022![]()
It is a national tragedy that getting on for a million pensioners, many of whom have been paying into the system for years, are missing out on a critical boost to their income. It's called pension credit, and this year it also means you get an extra £650 to help with energy bills. -
Martin Lewis: What I asked the Chancellor to do when I spoke to him on Monday...
26 May 2022![]()
With the announcement of the Government's energy cost of living plans due out at lunchtime. I thought I'd speedily bash out a note down of what (from memory) I'd asked the Chancellor for when we spoke on Monday - and the other general suggestions I've been making. -
Martin Lewis: Got a cash ISA? You should probably ditch it
24 May 2022![]()
Press 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: 'UO is just as important as UX: A tip for anyone developing their website or app'
6 May 2022![]()
I 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.
