Using plastic overseas? Always PAY IN EUROS (even if it says 0% commission)
Update 30 July 2019: Martin wrote this blog back in 2013 but while the rates have changed, all the logic is still correct.
I couldn’t believe my ears. While filming in southern Spain for the new series of my show, the producer told me he’d found a cash machine offering 0% commission if you chose to withdraw in pounds. In theory, that’d mean PERFECT exchange rates.
Do I need to show my boarding pass at airport shops? (video & guide)
It’s one of those niggling frustrations. You want to buy something at the airport and you’re badgered for your boarding pass in order to purchase. Many people ask me if they need to bother, so here’s my quick video answer…
Martin Lewis: How to URGENTLY reclaim PPI for a deceased relative
It's enough to make even the Great Train Robbers blush. A staggering £30 BILLION of payment protection insurance (PPI) has had to be repaid, typically £3,000 each, due to systemic mis-selling. Yet still no one has been prosecuted for fraud.
Martin Lewis: Financial abuse, joint accounts and managing money within relationships
Financial abuse is the hidden financial cousin of domestic abuse – it's all about dangerous, unfair control using finances. It can be subtle or brutal. So be aware of it both for your own relationship, and for others – but this blog's about more than that too...
Martin Lewis: Are you an overdraft prisoner? How to escape it
The old adage – that banks will lend you an umbrella when the sun shines, and ask for it back when it rains – feels like a modern reality for many with overdrafts.
Martin Lewis: A warning for all wannabe first-time buyers or even those years away from buying
Never owned a home? Open a Help to Buy ISA – even if you've no savings, just put £1 in. This special ISA – that gives first-time buyers up to £3,000 free towards their first mortgage – closes to new applicants on 30 November 2019, so there's now less than six months left. Yet open one before then and you bag the facility in case you ever need it later.
Why the energy price cap is broken – it doesn't reflect the price people pay today (video)…
On 1 January 2019, a cap was introduced on the prices that energy firms could charge on their standard (ie, default) tariffs.
Martin Lewis: Eight urgent post-Brexit travel need-to-knows
We're heading towards the summer, millions turn their hopes to future sunny days both here and abroad. Yet, especially with Brexit round the corner, if you've booked a trip to Europe, there are some crucial checks you need to do.
Martin Lewis: How to reclaim £100s of credit from your energy firm
Is your electricity and gas provider unfairly sitting on £100s of your money? Over 70% of us pay energy bills by direct debit – a good thing, as it gets you the cheapest rates. However, it can give firms the chance to build up a reservoir of customers' money. It's time to get that money back!
Martin Lewis: A warning to every UK worker aged 22 or over – you’re likely about to get a pay rise, but it may cost you
On 6 April 2019, most UK workers aged 22 or over are due a hidden pay rise – but your employer needn't tell you. This is all about 'auto-enrolment', where your employer must contribute towards your pension. Now it'll have to give you even more, though then again, you'll have to shell out much more too. So I'm bashing out this blog to take you through it.
Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis: Payment holidays coming to an end – but should you take one? Mortgages, credit cards, loans, payday loans, car finance and more
20 October 2020
Within the last week, we've seen the extension of coronavirus credit card, personal loan and overdraft help to 31 October 2020, with mortgage payment holidays already extended. The regulator's other help schemes are also likely to be extended too, including car finance and payday loans, yet should you do it? -
Is it time to ban Christmas presents?
14 September 2020
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: I confess, I did a 'decoy effect' experiment on my Twitter and Facebook followers… and it may be why they're buying more Jaffa Cakes
7 September 2020
Behavioural economics is a powerful science. Some retailers are undoubtedly using it to make us pay more to get less. One element is the 'decoy effect' – where a higher-priced item is sold, to make items next to it look like bargains. So I wanted to do a little experiment to test it
