Martin Lewis on pension credit: What over-66s need to know

Nearly a million pensioners are missing out on pension credit, a vital benefit worth £1,000s a year for many, which tops up your income.

Martin Lewis: Too many energy smart meters are broken, they need fixing — letter to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy

Complaints about smart meters are through the roof. Too many people tell me theirs are broken. Others refuse to have them and feel companies are forcing them. I'm generally in favour of the concept of smart meters, though I think the way they've been rolled out since the start has been dire. Things need to change, so today I sent this open letter to the new Labour Government's Energy Secretary of State, Ed Miliband...

Martin Lewis: Five things EVERYONE should know about English student finance 2024/25

There's a lot of nonsense spoken about student finance. Not only because its fundamentally misunderstood by millions, but also as the system has changed so often, even if you talk to someone in their second or third year at uni now, the way it works for them is different to you, never mind those who graduated a decade or two ago.

Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?

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's open letter to the Chancellor to fix unfair systems... on Child Benefit, Carer's Allowance, LISA fines, Tax-Free Childcare and more

We have a new Government, and new Chancellor, in Rachel Reeves. I’ve written to her today to highlight some areas of financial injustice we were working on with the previous government before the election (see my letter to Jeremy Hunt), in the hopes of getting things done. Here is the letter sent today (with some added links for further info)… 

Martin Lewis: The UK's best cheese 'n' onion crisps, a data-Crunch

I've set out to find the nation's best cheese 'n' onion crisps, with a mass taste test of 44 different packs, sampled by 26 tasters. This is my second data-Crunch – it all started last year, with the glorious best salt 'n' vinegar crisps tasting. Yet some people, strangely (or perhaps more accurately), started to say it couldn't end there, and that I needed do the same with cheese 'n' onion.

When will your student loan be written off, cancelled, or paid off?

It’s a question I’m asked all the time. Many know that current students no longer need to repay their loans 30 years after the April following graduation, yet for those who started university before 2012, there are a variety of options. This information has been a long-term part of my Should I repay my student loan? guide (where...

Using plastic overseas? Always PAY IN EUROS (even if it says 0% commission)

Update 16 July 2024: 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.

Martin Lewis: Don't shop at Zara before you go to Spain, Greece, France or Italy

Update 17 July 2017: We tend to think since Brexit that the pound’s weaker than it has been for decades. While somewhat true against the dollar, against the euro it’s only a tad worse now than when I first wrote this in 2014.   The logic of this blog stands just as strongly now. On the Spanish-English website...

Martin Lewis: Get £100s of credit back from your energy firm – it's all about the Direct Debit cycle…

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 right now, May, is the PERFECT TIME to stop the rip-off and get that money back – it's all about understanding the Direct Debit cycle.