If you’ve recently had a Totum discount card you might be able to renew it or get an Alumni card.
It looks like this hack is back, meaning even non-students can buy a cheap online course and get access to dozens of student discounts.
Or, if you previously took advantage of this trick, or graduated in the last three years, then you might be able to get a new Totum (formerly NUS) card without buying a course! Here’s how:
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What is an NUS / Totum card?
If you’ve ever been a student, you’ll know that your ID often doubled up as an NUS (National Union of Students) card and gave you discounts in shops, cinemas and more.
A good few years ago NUS started charging students to get an NUS Extra card, which as the name suggests, gave even more discounts. It’s since been rebranded to Totum.
The cards also now come with a Tastecard and an ISIC (International Student Identity Card), giving student prices overseas and on travel.
It’s a great way to save, even if there is a £14.99 annual cost plus £1.50 delivery. It’s cheaper to get a three-year card (at £29.99), though that only has the ISIC card for one year.
How much money can I save?
Potentially a huge amount.
Of course, it depends on what you buy. There are still thousands of ways to save. Plenty of high street shops will give a 10% discount, including Leon, Boots and Apple. Add on the discounts you can get at cinemas, theatres, galleries and thousands of shops and you should easily make your money back. Anything after that is a massive bonus.
Unfortunately, some student discounts (eg Young Persons Railcard), require a student ID. And some discounts – such as Spotify and Asos – are only available via sites like MyUniDays and StudentBeans which require a full .ac.uk email address.
Totum alumni card for previous cardholders
If you’re a recent graduate, or if you got a Totum card via the old version of the trick, you should be able to pick up an alumni card. This will give you all the same discounts, without you having to still be at university.
There are a few ways to get this. First you can log in to your NUS/Totum account and see if you’ve got the option to just buy a new card. I had a look at my old account and this was there ready for me to get. One thing I noticed was that this didn’t seem to be an alumni card, but it worked in the same way – as long as I didn’t change my place of study (doing this required a new verification).
It might be that your old log-in doesn’t work anymore as I recall having to change my password when NUS changed to Totum. In that case, try the following.
First thing to do is set up a support ticket with Totum. Ideally you’ll need your card number, but hopefully your email will suffice. You’ll then be sent a verification link to order your new alumni Totum card.
Or if you were an actual student who graduated within the last three years then follow the same link and upload proof of graduation.
This is the best option as you’ll only need to pay for the Totum card itself, and not an online course too.
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Get a new student discount card when you aren’t a student
One of the first articles I wrote on the blog, and one of the most popular for years, was a hack to get a student discount if you weren’t a student. The trick was to sign up for an online course at certain providers where you’d be eligible for the NUS / Totum card.
I first signed up back in 2013 for an online Photoshop card, and repeated it a number of times until these online education businesses were all removed by NUS in 2018. Sad times.
However, since March 2023 it now looks like some online providers are offering access to the Totum card again. I’ve not tried it personally, so proceed with caution.
Which online courses make you eligible for a Totum (formerly NUS) card?
There are a few course providers, found via Reed, which promise eligibility for a Totum card. Ones I’ve spotted in mid-February 2024 include:
Global Edulink
1 Training
Study365
Oxford Home Study Centre
Lead Academy
e-courses4you
e-careers
Prices seem to start at £12 for an online course.
The problem is that for most of these the reference to Totum doesn’t actually appear on the individual course descriptions. Instead it appears on the search results. But I’ve cross-referenced each of these providers and they do appear on the Totum application page.
So hopefully you’ll be able to request a code from the training provider once you’ve paid for your course. You’ll need this to verify on the Totum site that you are doing a course.
Of course there’s a risk that you won’t be able to get the verification code. If that happens then you could try to get a refund on the course bought.
Also be very careful that these providers don’t try to sell you their own student discount card. A number of them have these for between £8 and £14 but they are not the NUS / Totum cards. The only people you should be giving money to are whoever sells you the initial course and Totum’s own website.
Cheapest course I can find (14/2/2024):
The cheapest paid course I can find is £12 – not bad as long as you aren’t bothered about the actual course content. These were all via Reed, though it’s worth checking sites like Groupon and Living Social.
Editor’s pick: £100 savings bonus
Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
Once you’ve signed up to your course, you can simply apply for a Totum card on the Totum website. You may need to contact the course provider to get the verification or voucher code.
Step 3: Type in the course provider as your place of study. This should auto-populate the box after three characters. Once it appears hit continue.
Step 4: Enter the verification code
Step 5: Here you pick the length of Totum card you are buying and any add-ons (more on these later)
Step 6: Next upload a photo of yourself (this will be displayed on the card).
Step 7: Enter your personal details. You may be asked for a student number or password. You should be able to find this in the account you’ve set up for your online course.
Step 8: You pay! It’s £14.99 for a one-year membership, £24.99 for two-years and £29.99 for three. There’s a £1.50 charge for delivery.
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You can search the NUS Totum website to see where you can use it, though many businesses won’t be listed there so ask in-store or look for signs.
I’ve shared a list of some of the top places to look here. However, there are a few which I think are particularly special:
Apple student discount
If you’re going to buy an iMac, iPad or Macbook then having an NUS card means you can get the Education Discount worth up to 10% off.
Plus if you buy in August and September you can get a freebie. In 2023 it was an Apple gift card worth up to £120, in previous years it’s been headphones! To use online you click through from the NUS website. More on saving at Apple with a student discount
Boots student discount
Take your Totum card into a Boots store and ask them to link it to your Advantage card. You’ll need to do this each September.
We’ve rated and tested Starling Bank to find out if it’s any good
Starling was the first digital bank to get a banking licence, potentially altering our expectations of bank accounts for good with its budgeting features, handy app and generous spend abroad allowances. Here’s what we think of Starling.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
What is Starling?
Starling is a digital bank meaning it’s all managed within the app – there aren’t any branches. It’s pretty similar to Monzo and Revolut in that respect, though other than that it works the same as traditional bank accounts.
Types of Starling account
Starling has four accounts: a personal, joint, teen and business account.
Unlike some of its competitors, Starling doesn’t have additional tiers of accounts that offer extra features for a cost. This is quite refreshing – you know that what you see is what you get, and there aren’t better savings rates, features or card types hidden behind a paywall.
This does mean that you can’t pay for additional rewards such as insurance, lounge access or investing.
This review is focused on the standard and joint current account, although many of the features are the same on the teen and business versions.
The Starling app
The app is the main reason you’d sign up for a Starling account – this is where you can see how digital banks have an edge against traditional banks and their banking apps.
Design and customisation
From the moment you download the Starling app, you can see that it’s definitely a new take on the way bank accounts typically look. It’s got a modern and sleek design, with a broad overview of your account as soon as you log in.
However you might have to tap a little more than you’d like to find some of the less used features.
You can’t customise Starling as much as with other apps – the best you can do is have all the Spaces that work for you, which we get to later. But you can’t get the homepage to show you specific analysis that you care about.
Desktop banking
One thing you can do with Starling, and something not offered by its closest digital-only competitors, is that you can also access your account online, not just within the app. There aren’t as many features available, but you can see your spending insights, set up payments and manage your card.
Categorisation and notifications
When you spend money or money leaves your account, you’ll get an instant notification. Starling will automatically categorise the money you’ve spent, which allows you to get a better understanding of where your money is going. There are at least 40 categories, including eating out, bills, groceries, pets and shopping.
Within the app, you can see a pie chart of your spending, giving you a good insight into how you spend proportionately.
You can easily change the category for a transaction. This can be handy in circumstances where your spending doesn’t quite match the category it is assumed to be — for example, if you spend a fortune at John Lewis on a new bed for your dog, you can categorise it as “pets” rather than “shopping”.
Budgeting features
Within the app, you can set a budget for each category. Starling keeps track of how you’re doing against your budget as you go, telling you how far over or below your budget for each category that you are. You can adjust this whenever you want, so you can set really strict never-gonna-happen goals on day one and make them a bit more realistic down the line.
In addition, you can set up “Spaces”, which allow you to set aside money from your main account – really handy if you want to ring fence cash for certain expenditure or savings goals.
Best of all though you can use this for your bills, whether a space for all bills or create spaces for individual categories. Starling lets you pay your bills straight from these Spaces. You do this by tapping “Manage Space” and “Pay bills from this Space”. Here, you’ll get to choose the direct debits and standing orders that you want to go from this space. You can also set an automatic top-up from your main balance to make sure the payment doesn’t bounce. Starling will top the Space up with the required amount to pay your bills.
You can also activate a round-up feature to help passively move money to one of your Spaces to boost how much goes to your savings.
And though it’s not actually related to the app itself, Starling can help you with your budgeting even if you don’t open an account – you can access a budgeting calculator on its website. This is simply a calculator – you could easily do it yourself with a piece of paper and the calculator app on your phone – but it does help you think more logically about your money.
Card controls
Once you’ve made an account with Starling and it’s all set up, you can order yourself a physical card in the app, but you can also set it up as a virtual card with Apple Pay and Google Pay. If you want to set it up with your Fitbit, Garmin Watch or on Samsung Pay, you’ll need the physical card.
As seems to be standard with digital banks, you can grab all of your card details from the app when making payments online. You can also view your PIN, freeze (and unfreeze) your card and order a new card.
If you’d like to, you can reduce your contactless limit down to as little as £10. You can have individual contactless limits for all of your cards, too. The magstripe is disabled by default, but you can turn this on in your settings.
Virtual cards
With Starling, you can have up to five virtual cards, each with their own card number, expiry date and CVV. You can set these up with Apple and Google Pay and have them take money from specific “Spaces”, which we mentioned in the budgeting features section above.
For someone who’s dedicated to budgeting, this could be a great tool as it allows you to make payments straight from your dedicated budget. However, you might just find yourself a little confused about which card to use when you’re standing at the checkout.
These virtual cards can be used multiple times, unlike Revolut’s single-use cards, which you might opt for if you’re concerned about your card details being shared.
Sending and receiving money in the Starling app
Starling makes it easy to send and receive money, as well as view how much you owe friends — or they owe you.
If you head out to dinner with friends, you can use Starling’s Settle Up feature to split the bill, even if your friends don’t use Starling. You can drop them a link and they can make a payment to you without your bank details.
You can receive up to £250 per day with this method, so it’s not ideal if you’re splitting a holiday, certainly if your friends all pay you back immediately (though how realistic is that?).
When sending the link, you can request a specific amount, avoiding those awkward back-and-forths of “how much is my part again?”.
If anyone wants to send you money via a bank transfer, then you can share your account details and copy your account details with them and pop them a text with a message about how old fashioned they are – just kidding.
When sending money via a bank transfer, you can set up payees directly from the app, as well as set up and amend standing orders. If you’re texted the details, you can even copy and paste the details straight in.
Integrations
Like most banking apps, the Starling app is secured with biometrics or a passcode.
You’re able to make payments with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay. Plus, if you want to connect external apps, such as Emma, Cheddar or Airtime Rewards then you can do so with Open Banking.
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Starling rewards and extras
Rewards aren’t really something Starling does, though the option to earn interest on in-account balances is better than most other banks.
Saving rates with Starling
Unlike most banks, you can earn interest in the main Starling account at 3.25% AER variable on up to £5,000.
This is actually pretty decent for in-account interest, so at least you’re earning on money that needs to sit in your account for things like bills and daily spending.
Though this rate also applies to money held in separate Spaces, you’d be better off moving that cash to a higher paying account elsewhere.
There’s also a separate fixed-rate savings Space you can open, where you can lock away your money for a year. At the time of writing it offers 4.48% AER fixed. This can be beaten elsewhere, so it’s not necessarily worthwhile.
Editor’s pick: £100 savings bonus
Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
While you can’t get cashback directly from Starling, you can access it using the Tail app, which has regularly changing retailer specific offers. Tail can be connected up to a Starling (or a Monzo) account and will track the spending you do with the card.
The retailers available are pretty much the same as you get with most other cashback sites, and in some cases, you can only get cashback on the first tracked purchase.
You have to set this up separately to your Starling account, and you need to let it access your Starling transaction history using Open Banking.
Starling doesn’t have a switch offer or welcome offer, but you can get a free National Trust day pass and a tree planted in your name if you refer a friend, and the friend you refer gets a day pass, too. This is obviously not a benefit to sign up for, but could be a nice-to-have if you want a Starling account anyway.
If you’re looking for banks with good switching, referral or welcome offers available, there are a few available at the moment that you could choose to go with.
Starling is a fully licensed bank and is signed up to the Current Account Switching Service (CASS), which means that you can switch in and out of it and it could be used as a “burner account” for switching from.
However, be careful with this as you’ll have to wait a year before you’re able to reapply for a new account. We’ve heard of people that have been successful in getting in touch to bypass this.
As a current account, Starling is really good. It scores well all round, with all the basics you’d expect from a current account and great for use abroad.
Account basics
If you want to set up or amend standing orders or direct debits, you can do this directly from the app or using online banking.
To pay in cash, you’ll have to head to the Post Office (there’s a branch locator within the app), but that’s better than the other digital-only banks.
If you’re given a cheque, you can pay it in directly from the app as long as it’s under £1,000. Cheques over this amount need to be posted to Starling.
You can withdraw up to £300 in cash per day, which is in line with most traditional bank accounts.
There’s a huge £1m daily transfer limit to UK bank accounts. Most banks allow around £25,000 while Monzo and Nationwide are capped at £10,000, so this is decent if you are likely to send large amounts.
However, really large payments can take a while to be manually approved (they’re looked at from 9 to 5 on weekdays, so avoid doing this after Friday afternoon as nothing will happen until Monday!).
Debit card
This account comes with a Mastercrd debit card that you can order as soon as your account is set up. You don’t have to pay for delivery. It’s teal green and has the important card details on the back rather than the front.
You can use the virtual cards straight away, so it can be added to your Google Pay or Apple Pay from the get-go.
Going abroad with Starling
Starling is one of the best options for going abroad. You can spend as much as you like without incurring any fees — the spending limit and ATM withdrawal limits are exactly the same as when you’re at home, just be careful of ATMs that charge, and make sure you pay in the local currency.
You get the Mastercard exchange rate when you spend abroad. If you want an account that uses the interbank rate, Revolut does, but it’s more restricted for use abroad.
Starling is a free bank account – there aren’t any paid upgrades except for if you have a connected card.
You don’t have to pay for the card to be delivered, though you have to pay £5 for a replacement if you lose your card.
Starling overdraft
Starling offers an overdraft facility for short-term borrowing. You might be offered 15%, 25% or 35% once you’ve had a credit check. Since most other bank’s overdrafts are at 40% these are all lower cost, but it’s still better to avoid using one if you can avoid it and there are better options.
Joint accounts
In addition to its personal account, you can have a joint account to help simplify shared payments, whether you’re sharing the cost for bills, fuel, dog food or meals out. It works the same as above but you can both access it.
To get a Starling joint account, you need to both register for a personal account, then once it’s set up and you’re in the same room, you can do it from the account switcher above your balance and select “open a new account”.
Starling Kite children’s card
Starling account holders can get a free children’s debit card called Starling Kite that’s linked to a Space in your own account. It’s for 6-15 year olds and comes with its own version of the app to help children learn about money and budgeting.
You’ll be able to set limits and goals and keep an eye on things from your own app. They’ll also get the 3.25% interest here – though that £5,000 limit is across all of your different Spaces.
Connected cards
In addition, you can have a “Connected Card”. This is a card that’s connected to a specific Space within your app that you can give to trusted friends and family. They’ll be able to spend with the card but won’t be able to access your account or spend over the amount that’s in the dedicated Space.
This could be good if there’s someone who shops on your behalf, like a nanny or carer. If you subscribed to this on or after 3 September 2020, it costs £2 per month.
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Over at Smart Money People, customers have scored the Starling Current account 4.95 out of 5.
When we look at just the customer service scores, customers gave a rating of 4.93 out of 5.
Positive reviewers feel that the customer service is exceptional, even though it has no branches, although some of the negative reviews mentioned that they felt that the lack of branches was a let down. Customers rave about all of the analysis features available and love that the child debit card is free.
The fact that you can use the account fee-free abroad is a favourite among customers.
Negative reviewers don’t like that Starling blocks the purchase of cryptocurrencies and feel that they should be allowed to spend their money how they wish. They also feel that the savings rates could be better.
Your deposits into Starling are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means that if Starling were to go bust, up to £85,000 is protected and can be reimbursed to you.
Is Starling a bank?
Yes, Starling is a fully licensed UK bank. This means that it’s got a banking licence for every region that it operates in.
Pros and cons of Starling
Pros
Attractive and easy-to-use app
Fee-free spending when using abroad
Great budgeting and money management tools
Virtual cards connected to Spaces
In-account interest is better than most other banks
Free connected children’s debit card
Free cash deposits at Post Office and online cheque uploads
Potential 15% APR overdraft available if you really need one
Cons
No branches
Poor rewards and cashback offering
Pretty naff referral freebie and no bank switch offers
Is Starling any good?
Starling is one of the best banks on the market at the moment. It can be a fantastic tool for helping you manage your money and budget more effectively, especially with the virtual cards linked to the “Spaces” within the app.
Though there’s no branch access, it does offer free cash deposits at the Post Office, and the support is pretty good.
If you’re a frequent holiday goer, it’s a really good choice for use abroad, with no additional spending or withdrawal limits when you go abroad, though we favour Chase Bank here as you’ll also get 1% cashback.
The savings rates can be beaten, but it’s a decent enough rate for money that you haven’t moved elsewhere. We love that the additional children’s card is completely free, too.
The lack of other rewards is disappointing, but you can always open additional accounts with those banks if you want to take advantage of those, and use Starling for your everyday banking.
Starling is one of the easiest bank accounts to apply for — you don’t even have to get up from your seat. To apply, you just need to download the app and follow the instructions. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes.
Do you need ID for Starling?
Yes, you’ll need to submit photos of your ID and take a video selfie to create a Starling account.
How to add money to Starling
There are a couple of ways to add money to your Starling account. You can do so with a bank transfer using your Starling account number and sort code — these can be found by pressing the + next to your balance in the app.
If you’ve got cold hard cash, you can deposit it into your account at a Post Office branch.
Alternatively, you can pay in a cheque — cheques under £1,000 can be deposited in the app and ones over £1,000 need to be posted to Starling to process.
If you want your income paid straight into Starling then you just give your employer your account details and they’ll be able to do this.
How to get help with Starling
There aren’t any Starling branches, but you can contact its help centre over the phone. It offers 24/7 help, which means you can deal with stressful scenarios at any time. In addition, you can get help over email or using the in-app chat.
In Smart Money People reviews, people rated Starling’s customer service at 4.93/5, with lots of reviews saying that the staff were extremely helpful and professional, though some did miss having a branch.
Since 7 August 2023, almost all Barclays branches open at 9.30am and close at 3pm from Monday to Friday. They now close at 1pm on Saturdays. There are a few exceptions for branches in some shopping centres which stay open later in the week.
What to do if your branch is closing
If you use your branch
If you regularly visit your Barclays branch, this is bad news. You can pay in and withdraw money from your local Post Office, which might be enough, though there may be limitations on amounts per day.
Alternatively, you can open up another account at a bank which has a local branch near you, although they may announce their own closures soon enough.
Depending on the new bank you choose, if you also switch (which will close your existing Barclays account), you might be able to nab a switching bonus from the other bank.
Plus all your Direct Debits, standing orders and payments into your account will be moved over for you, so you won’t need to change anything manually.
However, you don’t need to switch to access another branch – you can just open an account with that bank direct.
If you don’t use your branch
The main reason for the closures is that very few Barclays transactions are done in person. So if you do everything online, you’re probably not going to worry about losing access to a branch’s facilities.
In that case, you don’t have to do anything and can keep your Barclays account. If you do, be sure to join the Barclays Blue Rewards scheme to access the Rainy Day saver account.
The mistakes to avoid, and the tricks to help keep your funds going until the end of the month.
When you’ve had an expensive month or there’s been an unexpected cost, the knock-on effect usually means there’s very little left in the bank to get you to payday.
It’s usually at its worst in January as people often get paid early in December, but it can happen all year round, especially with the cost of living crisis messing with savings and spending.
So what do you do? Well it’s very easy to jump to high-cost loans and hope it’s just a one-off. But this isn’t a good solution.
First, I’ve shared the things you shouldn’t be doing so you know not to make those mistakes. Then I’ve written about a few things you can do to help that cash stretch a little further as well as a few cheaper alternatives for borrowing money.
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
What not to do when you’re out of money
Don’t get a payday or guarantor loan
You know that payday loans are bad for you. Despite many of the big lenders going out of business, it’s still possible to take out payday loans, and they will cost you a fortune in interest charges.
Guarantor loans are also bad for your wallet and your credit rating. Avoid both of these types of loan, even if you’re desperate as there are cheaper alternatives (more on those below).
It’s tempting to put the things you can’t afford on a credit card, or buy things via “easy” credit from retailers like Very.
But this isn’t just delaying dealing with the problem you’re also adding to it with extra interest and charges added on top of the amount you borrow.
Don’t use Buy Now Pay Later
You can now find the likes of Klarna, Clearpay and Laybuy on most retailer websites, so the temptation could be to just put your purchases on there to delay the payment over two or three months.
But if you don’t think you’ll have enough left over next month to cover these purchases and all the other new expenses that’ll come along you’re going to get caught up with constantly owing money month after month. Here’s more on why they’re not risk free.
What you should be doing to reach payday
Find and use existing sources of cash
Do use your savings
If your bank balance hits zero then the first place you should go is your savings. This is better than borrowing money where you’ll be charged interest, as that rate is almost certainly going to be higher than what you’re earning on your savings.
You could also see if friends or family will lend money to you, but make sure you all know upfront the terms of lending the cash – you don’t want it to be the cause of any animosity later on.
Do you have a gift card at the back of a drawer, a build-up of never used Nectar points, rewards to your current account or a refund to an online account (Amazon and John Lewis are among the retailers who sometimes do this)?
These are all forms of money you can spend now instead of cash. And don’t forget those coffee shop loyalty cards – you might have enough for a free cuppa!
Claim forgotten money and credit
I’ve written before about chasing down forgotten money, and this is a perfect time to actually do it! When we pay for most utilities we’re actually paying a month in advance. So when you switch away, you’ve actually paid more than you needed. Sometimes this is automatically refunded, but not always, so check to see if you’re owed any cash.
Energy bills might also have been estimated, and if you’ve been overpaying your current supplier then you’ll likely have credit sitting there. You can ask for this money to be refunded to your account (though bear in mind there are still a few winter months ahead of us).
Don’t forget to check places like cashback accounts and money-making apps where you might have enough for a payout to your current account.
Editor’s pick: £100 savings bonus
Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
Another option is to look into a 0% purchase credit card. For a limited amount of time (it varies depending on the bank and card) you won’t get charged any interest on your purchases. This is the cheapest way to borrow money.
Of course, it’s not that simple. You will have to make at least the minimum repayments each month on the card and clear the balance before the 0% period ends to avoid any interest at all. And if you don’t think you can cope with this, or think you’ll be adding to the balance every month, then they’re best avoided.
If you don’t have savings and can’t get a 0% credit card, then you can still borrow money without resorting the charges you’ll get from payday loans and overdrafts.
See if you have a local Credit Union. The Finding Finance site will help you find responsible lenders. For bigger costs you can’t avoid then check out comparison sites to see what you’d get charged for a loan from a high street bank.
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Think about how you spend
Do work out a spending plan
Yes, this might sound painful, but it’s essential to find out exactly how much money you have and where it’s going. Here’s how to make a budget.
Track your spending
Use your banking app or even a specialist money management app to keep an eye on where your money is going and when bills are coming up. Here’s my recent guide to these budgeting apps, taking you through how they work and the best ones.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
You’ll need to budget the money you have left and a simple way to do this is to only pay with cash. Withdraw the money you’ll need (and can afford), say for a week and then split it into different expenses. Then only take with you the cash for that activity.
This prevents you spending more than you intended and stops any impulse spending. You’ll need to leave your cards at home.
Of course, right now there are still a number of retailers operating as cash-only. If you’re faced with a card-only retailer, or don’t want to deal with change, you could look at using the pots or spaces features on digital banks such as Chase or Starling to split the funds out into different spending needs.
Cutback and shop around
Very simply, buy less. If something isn’t essential then you need to be strong and not spend money on it. This could mean you buy less and go out less.
If you do have to spend cash, look for the cheapest options. At the supermarket, trade down to own brand equivalents. When you travel, find the cheapest fare. Cook from scratch rather than ordering a takeaway It’s all obvious stuff, but you have to follow through and actually do it.
Find alternatives to new spending
Use up the food you’ve got
Check the cupboard, fridge and freezer. You will find all sorts of things hidden away that mean you don’t need to buy as much new food as usual. Just use these items up and then you can restock once you’ve been paid again and things are back to normal.
While we’re on the topic of food, you could also try cooking from scratch rather than buying ready-made meals or ordering takeaways. It really can work out much, much cheaper.
Find (new) clothes in your wardrobe
Go through your wardrobe and I’m confident you’ll find a few items of clothing you’ve forgotten about but are perfectly good to wear.
If anything is looking a little shabby then you could see if it’s possible to repair them – if you can’t do it yourself there will be a local shop that’ll do it for a few quid. I got a coat fixed recently for a fiver and it’s as good as new.
Of course, there’s always the chance stuff doesn’t fit you anymore, in which case you could try “Schwopping” with friends or check out a charity shop.
Watch DVDs, read books and listen to CDs
Though I have a lot less than I used to, I’ve still got a decent collection of physical media, with hundreds of books, CDs and DVD that I’ve rarely touched since everything went digital.
Well, to save some cash take a month off from your streaming services and actually watch those DVDs. You can also find loads to watch on iPlayer and All4.
The same goes for other subscriptions – especially music. Cancel Spotify and listen to some CDs or the radio. And rather than buy a new book or magazine, revisit one of your favourites or head to the library.
If you are paying for TV via Sky or Virgin then you’ll only be able to cancel if you’re out of contract – but that’s well worth doing anyway and moving over to something like NOW TV.
Regift unwanted presents
If you’ve got a birthday or something coming up then check if you’ve anything you’ve been given that you’ve never used that could be a suitable gift. There’s more here on the dos and don’ts.
You’re likely paying hundreds of pounds too much on your mobile phone.
For the first 12 years of having a phone, I followed the same pattern. A two year contract with a shiny new handset, which was then renewed with an upgraded phone, and then repeated when each contract ended.
But a decade ago I switched things up. I moved my tariff to a new network, and bought a new handset direct from Apple. Since then I’ve moved between networks on a regular basis and bought and sold new handsets. And saved a ton of cash.
And you can do it too: from going SIM-only through to downsizing your data, there’s no reason you should be paying more than £8 to £10 a month. Here’s how you can save on your mobile phone contract.
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Split your handset and your tariff
Go SIM-only
The best prices are often with SIM-only deals. Here you keep your old handset or buy a new one separately and pay just for your minutes, texts and data. Since you aren’t paying for a new phone, the monthly costs are also considerably less.
You can get contracts that run from 30 days to a year, giving you far more flexibility than the 18, 24 and even 36-month deals you’re tied to with handsets (though longer SIM-only deals are still available).
At the time of writing you should be able to get a more than adequate data allowance from the major networks for under £10, and potentially as low as £5 or £6 for networks offering 5GB. And that’s before you factor in cashback or other offers.
Don’t get your handset via your network
Once you go SIM-only you’re no longer caught in that bi-annual cycle of getting a new phone when you don’t really need to. Ideally you’ll keep your handset for more three or four years. But with poor batteries, broken screens and “depreciated” operating software (when updates are no longer supported on older phones), we all need to upgrade at some point.
However, you should avoid getting one as part of your contract. Most networks will charge you a premium on top of the handset price to get a new phone bundled with your SIM.
It’s very, very rare for these deals to work out cheaper, particularly for the latest handsets. Instead, you’ll save money buying it outright from Apple, Samsung or the likes of John Lewis.
Don’t forget to sell your old handset too. There are a number of sites that’ll give you a fixed amount, or you can hope for a better price via sites like eBay. Here’s more on selling old phones.
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Whether you stick to a combined phone and SIM deal or split them up, you can still bring down the cost.
Don’t pay for more data than you’ll actually use
One of the biggest ways we waste money on our mobiles is via upselling, and now the networks are all about getting us to pay for more data than we need.
A few years ago when I haggled a new SIM-only contract with Three, the salesperson said “It’s only £3 more for 20GB”. Sounds good. Except I didn’t need 20GB. I didn’t really need the 12GB I have (but that was bizarrely cheaper than the 5GB option).
And I see this upselling all the time. There are always a number of promotions offering unlimited data at what looks like fantastic prices. But you really don’t need unlimited data, so however good the price, you’re still overpaying.
Saying that, those who also get broadband with Virgin Media should take a look at O2 as you’ll get double data, worldwide roaming and double internet speeds via an offer called Volt. Just make sure you’re getting a decent price on each service.
Don’t just stick to the big companies
You’ll have spotted that most of the cheap deals are with smaller networks. And I bet you’re warry of switching in case you can’t get reception.
Well, there are actually only four different phone networks – O2, EE, Three and Vodafone. All the others “piggyback” on one of these. So, for example, Giffgaff runs on O2 and Lycamobile uses EE.
This means you get exactly the same reception as someone on the host network but at a far lower price. The only real difference will be in customer service, though you’ll also lose network-specific benefits from the big brands, such as O2 Priority Moments.
It’s also relatively easy to bring your number with you. My moves across different networks all took less than 24 hours though it might take longer if weekends or bank holiday get in the way. Just ask for a PAC number, which you can get just by texting your network.
Finding the best price
Don’t wait for your contract to end
One of the worst tricks networks would use to make extra cash was to let you keep paying for a phone and SIM after a contract had ended. This meant many people would still be paying for a handset even after they’d covered the cost.
However, rules from Ofcom mean most mobile networks will let you know when your contract is due to end and if you can get a better deal with them.
This is a great nudge, but even if you’re offered a cheaper deal, it doesn’t mean you’ll be on the cheapest deal out there – as the following tips will show.
Plus, the rules currently only apply to tariffs purchased directly from the network (i.e. not from an online or high street phone shop), and not all networks have signed up, with Three the main big name missing from the agreement.
Personally, I’d not wait for this to happen as you can usually negotiate with your network up to 30 days before the end of a contract. This gives you the chance to see if you can get a better deal with your current network, and if not start the process of moving to a cheaper one.
Compare prices
Just as you would with your gas or broadband, it’s important to see what other networks are offering. MoneySupermarket or BillMonitor are decent price comparison sites, though they don’t include all the SIM-only networks.
You’ll also often find lower prices for the big networks via these sites, allowing you to access some (though not all) of the freebies available by those companies.
Make sure you also check retailers such as Carphone Warehouse too as they often have their own deals.
Check for cashback
If you’re switching network or upgrading without a new handset there’s less of a chance for cashback, but it’s worth checking anyway. Try both Topcashback and Quidco for SIM only too. And if you’ve never used cashback sites don’t forget the new member bonuses to get even more back!
You can also earn cashback to knock more off your bill using the app Airtime Rewards, but only with the major networks and a handful of others.
Call your network to see if they’ll negotiate
It’s still worth calling your network to see if they can match or beat the total savings you’ll find from the tips above. It helps to do some research first so you know what you can get if you switch.
Then ask to be put through to the ‘terminations’ or ‘disconnection’ team as they’ll usually have more sway. You can even do this over live chat if you prefer.
I did this the most years with Three. I either had my price knocked down or data added for the same price, beating what I’d get elsewhere. None of these deals were available on the Three website, but came from saying I wanted my PAC.
A warning here though. You will be starting a new contract if you do this, which will overwrite pre-existing offers such as free roaming with some networks.
Watch out when you’re buying your stamps – some retailers will be adding a hefty markup.
With most things I buy, I expect prices to vary from shop to shop. Bigger retailers will often try to undercut each other to attract your business. Smaller shops might have to charge more due to bigger overheads.
Now, I don’t have a problem with this. I’ll usually shop around for the cheaper price, but if I have to go to a smaller, convenience store, then I appreciate it’ll cost me more. Except that is for stamps.
Stamps should cost what stamps cost. Right? Well, I’ve found that’s not always the case, and I expect lots of people are unwittingly paying over the odds for postage.
And with recent price hikes from Royal Mail, it’s even more important to make sure you’re not paying too much.
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How much do stamps cost?
Most stamps don’t have a price printed on them, making it hard to know how much they cost! The current price of stamps are as follows:
How much is a First Class stamp?
A 1st Class stamp is £1.65.
Large 1st Class stamps are £2.60
How much is a Second Class stamp?
A 2nd Class stamp is 85p
Large 2nd Class stamps are £1.55
How much is a book of stamps?
There’s no discount for buying a book of stamps, so just multiply the individual price by the number of stamps (usually 6 or 12).
Overcharging for stamps in small shops
A few years ago at Christmas I picked up a book of 2nd Class stamps from a small shop. I’ll call it a corner shop even though it wasn’t on a corner. But that should give you an idea of the kind of shop I mean – an independent off-license/newsagent/random groceries store.
Now we were in a bit of a rush, so just asked for £10ish worth of stamps (we were taking advantage of the Amex Shop Small offer which used to be you spend £10 and get £5 back). At the time (before the multiple price increases since!), a book of 12 was £9, so we asked for two more stamps to take us over the £10 spend we needed.
Since it had been so long since I actually bought any stamps, and without a price printed on them, I just thought they’d gone up in price. A lot.
But, actually they hadn’t. The price, as set by Royal Mail at the time was 56p (remember this was a few years ago). So I should have got 18 stamps for £10.08, rather than 14 for £10.50. It represented a huge 34% markup.
Now, with our £5 credit back on the purchase, we still saved money on those stamps – but most people won’t have.
So was this just a mistake? Or a one-off?
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To get an idea I asked the price of a stamp in three similar “corner shops” around the London Bridge area on the same day.
The first only sold 1st Class stamps and charged 90p. But this stamp – at the time of the research – should have been 65p, so the increase was a massive 38%.
The second charged 70p for 2nd Class, while the third wanted 70p for 1st Class. Though the markups were smaller, the shops still charged more than if you got your stamps at the Post Office.
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Watch out for Amazon too
It turns out the same issue occurs online too. Expecting Amazon to be a useful place for people to buy stamps (and top-up orders for free delivery), I was shocked to see overinflated prices there too.
Of course I shouldn’t have been surprised. A huge amount of items sold on Amazon are not sold by Amazon. Instead smaller retailers use the online giant as a middleman. And it’s these shops which are selling stamps above the set price.
Here’s one from March 2023. The listing says you’ll get a 12% discount on four 1st class stamps. But at £5.69, you paid £1.43 per stamp. That was already well over the odds, even before the price increases we’ve seen since. So be really careful!
Can shops sell stamps at a higher price?
That’s the big question really. If they can, then they aren’t doing anything wrong by doing this. But there’s something about stamps that didn’t ring true. My instinct was this is illegal.
First I checked the Royal Mail website. The terms and conditions for authorised stamp sellers are they cannot sell stamps for more than the set price. So that’s pretty cut and dried.
However, it turns out selling above the set price is allowed. This rule only counts if the retailer has purchased the stamps direct from the Royal Mail. If they’ve picked them up elsewhere – a cash and carry for example – the shop can charge what it wants.
When this first happened in 2017, I also asked Royal Mail for confirmation, and here was its response:
“Any retailer who buys their stamps direct from us for resale must, under our T&Cs, sell them at face value or lower. This also applies to retailers who buy from us and sell stamps online.
“However, if a retailer has acquired stamps from somewhere else, we cannot bind them to this condition.
“There isn’t a way of knowing whether someone selling stamps has bought them from us or not, and we don’t provide signage to retailers. However, there are approx. 50k outlets across the UK where customers can buy stamps at the correct price.
“If a customer has any concerns about the price of the stamps they have been sold, they should contact our Customer Services team on 0345 774 0740 who can check if the retailer is a customer of ours and get in touch with them to remind them of our T&Cs”.
Ideally the safest place to get them at the right price is at a Post Office. Shops such as WH Smiths also sell at the correct price, as do all the major supermarkets.
If you are buying from a smaller or independent store, it makes sense to always ask how much a stamp is first. If it’s more than expected, I’d challenge them to see if they’ll charge the lower price. Otherwise, walk away and find somewhere else.
Make sure the stamp has a barcode
Since January 2023, standard stamps have a barcode, as shown in this article’s main image. If you’ve any older ones you can send them off to be exchanged for the new versions.
If you have picture stamps without barcodes, such as Christmas ones, then you can keep using these.
You also don’t need to worry about the stamp having the Queen rather than the King on display. Both will work just fine.
When do stamp prices go up?
If stamps are to go up in price it tends to happen in the last week of March or early April each year, though it can sometimes happen at other times. Fortunately, you can still use a stamp bought in a previous year for the postage marked on the stamp.
Leave certain festive purchases and plans too late and it could prove costly.
There’s always a mad rush in the weeks before Christmas to get everything you need doing done in time. And the later you leave things, the more likely is is you’ll get hit with extra costs,
So to help, here’s a quick checklist of the things I think you need to prioritise:
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Check the last order dates
Whether it’s coming to you or straight to a friend or family member, it won’t be long before there’s no guarantee that anything you order will get to its destination in time.
It’s worth knowing that if the retailer still says you can get something in time for Christmas and specifies a delivery date – but it doesn’t arrive in time you have the right to cancel the order and get a refund. Contact the retailer not the courier for this as they’re who you have a contract with.
Of course you can select speedy or next-day delivery at lots of shops. But you do pay more for this. And if you’re trying to avoid using Amazon you are going to run out of choices the later you leave it.
Even then, there’s still the chance that premium delivery won’t arrive in time. If that does happen you can claim back the extra delivery costs. It’s a slight consolation, but it doesn’t help if you need something before visiting family.
Catch the last post
For cards, letters and parcels that you’re personally sending, the dates are a few days later than last year (there’s no strike disrupting delivery this time). Though you’ve still got time according to Royal Mail, but I’d get them sent ASAP. The last post dates are:
Monday 18 December 2022: 2nd Class
Wednesday 20 December 2022: 1st Class
Thursday 21 December 2021: Special Delivery guaranteed
If you do miss these dates you can look at using courier firms. Shop around for the best price.
For international letters and parcels the deadline is Wednesday 6 December for most non-European destinations, and the rest are approaching fast – and that’s for the more expensive tracking and signature services.
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Christmas gifts bought at the last minute are either going to be a huge disappointment (like those toilet seat covers in Friends), cost you more than you planned, or if you plump for that perennial panic present the gift card it could also be a risky purchase.
All three are bad purchases. The pointless or useless gift is a waste of money. The expensive gift could cause you problems if you can’t afford it.
And the gift card… There’s enough for me to write a whole article on these (and I have), but essentially these can easily become valueless. Whether that’s because they’re forgotten about, they expire before they’re used or because the retailer they’re for goes bust. You’re better off giving cash and suggesting what you’d like it to go towards.
As always you’ll pay more the later you leave it to book, so get on it now. You might also be required to have an advance ticket on some rail routes. In fact, you might find some Christmas Eve trains are already sold out.
As with every Christmas there will be no trains on 25 December, and very limited service on Boxing Day. Plus engineering works running 24 December to 2 January 2024 will cause disruption.
Fortunately there’s no repeat of the Christmas Eve industrial action of last year, but there are strikes running until Saturday 9 December.
The same applies to coach and flight tickets too, which are going to be even more popular on those dates, so book these up sooner rather than later to avoid higher prices or be forced into more expensive alternatives.
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We all know food price inflation has been huge, so I’d recommend planning as much of your festive food now as you can to save money.
Doing this can help you to avoid food waste – which is effectively throwing money in the bin. So don’t get more than you need. Obviously some food you’ll need to get nearer the time, such as fresh fruit and veg. But others you can nab now and put in the freezer, even the turkey.
In fact, the room you clear in the freezer as you defrost these items is perfect for picking up those yellow sticker bargains that will appear on Christmas Eve. And with Asda, M&S and Waitrose supermarkets saying they’ll close on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day it’s a good sign there will be more reduced to clear items than on a normal day.
And of course, if you can still get one, make sure you’ve got any online delivery slots booked. If you missed out it’s worth checking again to see if extra dates and times have been released. Or you might even get lucky and find one that has been cancelled.
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Amazon Prime Video
You don’t need a subscription to Amazon Prime Video to rent or buy some titles. In fact, some movies and TV shows are only available to rent separately.
You have a month to start watching rentals, and then 48 hours once you first press play.
Amazon: £1.99 new releases for Prime members
Amazon often has selected new rentals for £1.99 if you’re with Prime. If you’re not already a Prime member you can get a 30-day free trial once a year.
Rentals last for 28 days before expiring, or 48 hours once you start watching.
Most months, Chili has a code that’ll get you 50% off up to two rentals or purchases, or something similar. I’ll post here when I spot these.
Chili: 20% off your first rental
The first time you sign up you should be able to get money off your first rental. The discount code is usually automatically applied at checkout, but check first. It used to be 50% but has now dropped to 20% off.
Also you might find a limited choice – many of the big titles aren’t available there.
You can buy a £3.50 Chili voucher for £2.50 from the Lidl Plus loyalty app. Terms say the credit expires on 26 October 2023 but it’s still available to buy.
The credit also can’t be used with other promotions or codes, and you can only use it to rent movies, not purchase them.
If you have Vodafone’s VeryMe loyalty app there is often a credit or offer for a rental or sometimes £10 to spend on a selection of movies. Here’s more about VeryMe and how anyone can get it.
Personally I think you should avoid Sky Store as it’s the most expensive of all the rental sites, with even SD versions of new releases costing a huge £5.49. However it’s possible to get freebies from time to time which are worth nabbing.
Sky Store: 10% off gift cards via Lidl (expired)
This offer is nowhere near as good as the discounts offered for Chili on the same Lidl Plus app.
Buy two medium pizzas and a drink meal deal from Asda stores and you can claim a free Sky Store voucher or Vue cinema ticket.
The pizza must come from the pizza counter in-store, and will be labelled as a “Movie Nights In Meal Deal”. It’ll cost £6 in total.
To claim your voucher, worth £5.49, you need to visit MovieNightsIn.co.uk within seven days of buying the food and upload a photo of your receipt.
You’ll then get sent a code to add to your Sky Store account within a week, but you’ll have a year to actually use the credit. It’s due to end 6 April 2023 but is often extended.
Thanks to the SkintDad blog for bringing this offer to my attention!
You can also get complete access to your credit report at the same time.
Credit reports and scores are essential tools you need to be aware of – and continue to monitor. A few years ago you’d have needed to pay to access your full report on a regular basis, and even see your score.
But now there are third party websites and apps you can use which won’t charge you a penny.
Here’s why they are important, and how to sign up.
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The three credit scores and reports
You’d think there’s just one credit score but actually three core ones (let’s ignore for now the fact that lenders might have their own scores too!). Each one is different, and they are based on the date in the credit reports managed by the UK’s three credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Frustratingly they all have different methods of compiling and presenting their scores. There are totally different ranges, so it’s impossible to compare them.
Now you might think, that doesn’t really matter as you’ll only focus on one report. Well sadly no. You need to check all three reports.
That’s because they potentially hold different details about your financial history. Not every company reports to all three. So you might find your bank or credit card appears on one or two, but not all three.
And that matters because when a lender checks a report to consider your application, they’ll probably just go to one.
And if that one is one with missing accounts or errors it could end up with a rejection.
Credit report vs credit score
A credit report is a collection of information about your finances. From all the bank accounts, loans and other credit you have, through to a record of missed payments, financial connections and address history.
It’s frequently used to confirm your identity, but more commonly it’s a way for lenders to work out if they will give you that mortgage or credit card.
So it’s really, really important – though it isn’t the only thing that’ll be taken into account when you apply.
The score is far less important. It’s simply a representation of the health of your credit report. In itself it won’t make any difference to any applications.
Still, it’s handy for us as punters to get a quick idea of things. And it’s easier to track a score than regularly go through the report.
If there’s a sudden drop in the figure it’s a good idea to try to find out if it’s anything significant that you need to deal with.
But if it carries on relatively steady then you know you’ll only need to take action if you want to bring it up – a sign you’re getting rid of errors and adding depth to your underlying credit report.
You can sign up to each credit agency’s own service to access your score for free. Some banks even bundle this in with your current account. So that’s pretty easy.
But if you want to see your full report (which is the important thing to check), then with both Equifax and Experian you’ll have to pay a monthly fee of around £11 to £15.
Though you can also request a Statutory Credit Report to view online, it’s generally not as detailed, and won’t have your score. So you’re better off using a third party service that’ll give you full online access in a few clicks for free.
They don’t all update in real time (often it’s a monthly refresh), and might not go back more than a year, but you’ll get everything you need right now to check for errors and find areas you might be able to improve. You can also use these sites for additional services, such card and loan eligibility and tracking.
These services will all also email you monthly or when things change. It’s worth clicking through to check when you receive them. This can be an early warning sign of any fraud or applications not in your name. If you ignore these (it’s easy to do when your inbox is full) at least check them before any you make any applications.
Free Experian credit score and report
MSE’s credit club
Money Saving Expert has its Credit Club. Here you get full access to your Experian report and score and report.
There are some added extras such as a quick health check list with smiley faces indicating things are good, and red sad faces signalling you need to take action.
There’s also an eligibility checker. This is vital when you are looking to apply for a new credit card or loan. Here’s more on how they work.
You get an update to your report once a month which should be fine for most people, and the only email you’ll get is the one to say there’s a new report available.
You can use the service online or via the MSE app. Since Experian is the biggest credit reference agency it’s probably the most important one to keep an eye on.
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Free Equifax report and score
ClearScore
ClearScore is a free way to monitor your Equifax score for life. It’s simple to find your way around it and it explains what you’re seeing.
You can access on desktop or via an app. I like the timeline feature which lets you see how your score, as well as things like mortgage debt change month by month.
Again it updates monthly, but for most that’ll be fine.
A warning – ClearsScore will email you regularly trying to get you to open a new credit card or loan. Just ignore the products they try to sell you!
Free TransUnion report and score
Credit Karma
It’s completely free to check your full report direct with TransUnion. You can do this via their own Credit Karma website. Your score is updated weekly.
Check all three credit reports
If you’ve been a victim of fraud and you’re worried about applications going out in your name then you can also sign up to CheckMyFile.
This is free for 30-days, but it will give you full access to all three reports including those instant notifications of changes. If you don’t want to keep the service you’ll need to cancel to you don’t pay the full £14.99 a month.
Earn cashback to check your score
Cashback sites TopCashback and Quidco will pay you to sign up to Experian’s free site, and there’s also a free alternative to Credit Karma from Money Supermarket offering cashback.
Rates can change so it’s worth checking both, but at the time of writing the amounts are listed below.
