MSE's weekly round-up
Cut Christmas costs with less than 100 days to go, FREE wills, 50% off M&S & more
Welcome to the hottest MoneySavingExpert.com content from the past week! See our latest top tips, hot deals and news-you-can-use, plus Martin's musings, all in a quickfire bite-sized format. Here's what you need to know from this week.
The week in brief...
We've the full round-up below, but first, here's a quick look at this week's top content:
Less than 100 days till Christmas, are solar panels worth it? & FREE wills – from this week's Money Tips email
Martin says student loan pledge 'does little to help the millions already struggling'
More top competitions, subscription-free security & a Christmas-planning poll – this week in the MSE Forum
MSE's Money Tips email: Less than 100 days till Christmas, are solar panels worth it?, sort your will for FREE & more
Some highlights from this week's email include...
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Cut Christmas costs & stress with less than 100 days to go. From toy sales to bank-switch bonuses to boost your Christmas coffers, we've 15 MoneySaving tips.
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Check whether solar panels are worth it for you. We've crunched the numbers to see how the maths stacks up, with energy prices rising.
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Make or update your will for FREE. It's free wills season – an ideal time to ensure you and your loved ones have the right plans in place.
Hot deal: Bag big M&S bargains in its 'up to 50% off' sale
Look out for discounted men's, women's and children's clothing in M&S's 'up to 50% off' sale, covering own brands AND big brands such as Nike, Monsoon and White Stuff.
The sale's on in stores and online, and also includes homeware items.
Key MSE News: Government confirms position on State Pension promise around tax payments
The full new State Pension is expected to rise by 3.9% next April, taking it to just over £13,000 a year. That would be above the £12,570 Personal Allowance, raising the prospect of some pensioners having to pay tax on their State Pension.
However, the Government has now confirmed that pensioners who "only just exceed the Personal Allowance will not have the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax in this Parliament". How this will work in practice will be set out in October's Budget...
In other news: The Bank of England has held the base rate at 3.75%... again. See how this could affect your mortgage and savings.
What's new on MSE: See how to invest for your child tax-free
Over the long term, investing should outperform saving. So if you're putting something away for your child or children and plan to do so over a number of years, a junior stocks & shares ISA is worth considering. Our new guide explains how these tax-free savings accounts work, and gives key investing tips.
We also help you choose where to put your cash, comparing DIY investment platforms from the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown and IG with managed options from Moneyfarm, Wealthify and more.
The latest from Martin Lewis: Government student loans pledge 'does little to help the millions already struggling'
MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has described the Government's response to the Treasury Committee's student loans report as "very disappointing".
Ministers have pledged clearer information for future borrowers, but Martin says this does little to help students now. Plus, the Government has NOT reversed its decision to freeze the Plan 2 repayment threshold from next April, a planned move Martin has labelled "immoral, because it is a negative, retrospective change of terms... [which] no commercial firm would ever be allowed to do".
From our social channels: See our top charity shop buying tips
Our latest social post highlights how to get the most out of charity shop visits, whether that's becoming a regular browser to bag bargains, checking labels to be sure of items' quality or being aware of when fresh stock is put out to get ahead of other shoppers.
We've much more in our blog full of charity shopping tips and lessons for buying pre-loved, based on 30 years of experience.
And finally, from the MSE Forum: More top competitions, subscription-free security & a Christmas-planning poll
Some highlights from the MSE Forum this week include...
More free competitions. Among the top prizes this week are a family Disney On Ice ticket costing £200+, a 16-day New Zealand trip and £250 in cash.
Can you recommend a subscription-free security camera? On the lookout for a more MoneySaving security method.
Poll: Have you started planning for Christmas? Vote in our poll and see how prepared (or unprepared) our forumites are.
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