MSE's weekly round-up

MSE's Money Tips email: Save with our top online shopping tips, grab Ben & Jerry's & two pizzas for £5, check your Morrisons points & more

Some highlights from this week's email include... 

• Get what you planned to buy for less with our top online shopping tips. They include how to get 1% cashback on spending, how to save on Amazon purchases and how abandoning your online basket can bag you a big discount. Remember: do keep your spending on track by setting and sticking to a budget.
  
  

• Grab Ben & Jerry's ice cream and two pizzas for £5. Land all this for less than the cost of the ice cream alone (usually £5.75).
  
  

• Use Morrisons' loyalty scheme? Check your points now. Almost £30 million in Morrisons loyalty points are currently unclaimed. So check yours ASAP, as the points expire after 12 months if you don't use them.

READ THE FULL WEEKLY EMAIL 

Key MSE News: The Bank of England cuts the base rate – what this means for you

• The base rate – the UK's official borrowing rate which affects what some mortgage-holders pay and savers earn – is now 3.75%, down from 4%.
  
  

• This means (in theory) that some mortgages will get cheaper (hurrah!) but some savings rates will get worse (boo!).
  
  

• Our news story covers in much more detail what the base rate cut means for your mortgage, savings, cards and loans, plus more.

READ THE FULL BASE RATE NEWS STORY

Hot deal: Par-snip Christmas dinner costs as multiple supermarkets offer massive veg discounts

• The shops' scramble to sell the cheapest Christmas veg has begun, with some available for as little as 5p a packet.
  
  

• Five supermarkets – Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury's – have confirmed veg price cuts at the time of writing.
  
  

• The deals include such Christmas dinner staples as sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes and more (though whether anyone will eat the sprouts is another matter).

SEE FULL CHEAP VEG DEALS

What's new on MSE: Find out how you can access extra funding through the Disabled Students' Allowance with our new guide

• The Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) funds extra study-related costs for students with disabilities.
  
  

• Unlike some forms of student finance, it's not means-tested. However, the amount you can receive does depend on which UK nation you live in.
  
  

• Our newly published guide looks at how much you may get, what DSA can help pay for, and how to apply.
  

READ OUR FULL DISABLED STUDENTS' ALLOWANCE GUIDE

The latest from Martin Lewis: 'The Budget's £150 a year off bills should apply to all fixed tariffs'

It was announced in the Autumn Budget that households in England, Scotland and Wales would see energy bills cut by "£150 a year" on average from April next year. However, while some suppliers have said they will also apply this to fixed deals, others are yet to say.

• MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis is calling for "a straight cut on all bills on 1 April", describing it as "the cleanest and best route".
  
  

• After pressure from Martin, Secretary of State for Energy Ed Miliband promised to try to get all energy firms to pass it on to all of their customers. And since then, the Government has said it expects the savings to be passed on in full to all customers, regardless of their tariff.
  
  

• At the time of writing, multiple firms have committed to this, including British Gas, Octopus Energy and Ovo.
  

SEE WHETHER YOUR ENERGY FIRM IS PASSING ON £150 SAVING

And finally, from our social channels: Grab a 'free' hot drink from these outlets

A number of supermarkets and high street chains are offering 'free' hot drinks, as shared by our social team, who are ever thirsty for a good deal.

Some drinks are free to certain customers, while for others you may have to sign up to an app, but we tell you exactly how you can get yourself – or someone else who may appreciate it – a free warming beverage.

SEE ALL FREE HOT DRINK DEALS