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January 19, 2020   |   Articles

Last minute holidays – the best way to book

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Does a package holiday beat booking yourself? And where to find the best deals. 

As a kid I remember the days of Teletext, watching the late holiday deals pages go around, frantically scribbling down the phone number and prices before the pages disappeared. It was a bit of a pain, and it took ages! Fortunately, it’s all so much easier to nab a last-minute holiday now. Here’s what you need to do to get the lowest prices possible.

Isn’t it better to book early?

Well, if you have set dates you need to travel, a destination you really want to visit or requirements that need to be met, then yes. The later you leave it, the less choice you have.

But if you’re happy to be flexible where you go then you might be able to pick up a cut-price trip by booking anywhere up to one or two months before you want to go away.

You can increase your chances of getting a bargain by travelling out of season, so heading somewhere cooler when everyone is off to get some sun for example. But if you do want sun you can still save during peak beach season. Yes school holidays are expensive, but you can pay less if you go away towards the end of August rather than as soon as schools break up.

You’ll save if something is less convenient too. Getting flights early or late in the day or departing midweek can help make your holiday cheaper, as can departing from less popular airports.

Packages vs DIY

I’m a fan of the DIY holiday. It gives me more choice where I go and what I do. And I’m not one for lounging on the beach for more than one day either! In fact you can often get exactly the same holiday you’d get with a package by booking the components yourself for less.

But when you’re looking at a beach or resort destination, there’s a good chance you’ll get the lowest price via a travel agent or tour operator website. And this is even more likely if you are booking last minute.

When holiday companies produce their package, they commit to the flights and hotel rooms. This gives some decent buying power that means they can offer competitive rates – or make a tidy profit. But if any seats on the planes or rooms in the hotel are empty then they could lose money. So it’s better to sell them at a lower cost or offer extras such as free upgrades. You might even be better off going all-inclusive if the operators are keen to fill spaces, so don’t rule them out.

And of course, there’s added protection when booking a package if something goes wrong thanks to ATOL and ABTA.

How to pick your holiday

The more flexible you are, the more choice you’ll get. That’s not just in terms of dates, but also the airport you fly in and out of.

Yes, price is going to be a big indicator – but there’s no point choosing something you can’t afford. Please don’t be tempted to whack it on a credit card – it’ll cost you even more in the long run! And don’t forget to check how much things cost when you get there. Turkey for example will likely be cheaper than Spain.

But cheap doesn’t necessarily mean good. Always read the reviews. A quick google of the hotel should bring up some results, and there’s always TripAdvisor.

You should check your rights too. With packages sure the holiday provider is ATOL protected. We’ve seen a few holiday companies go bust over the last few years, but if it’s part of ATOL you’ll be flown back, or refunded if you haven’t travelled yet. If you’re booking it yourself use a credit card (as long as it costs more than £100) to give yourself some additional cover – though you should get travel insurance too, however you book.

Where to find a last minute package holiday

You can check prices and offers direct with different operators or agencies such as Tui or Virgin Holidays, or use a comparison site. I’ve read that Ice Lolly is one of the best to use, while there’s also TravelSupermarket.

You can also check out deals sites such as Holiday Pirates and Travel Zoo, while Teletext still exists online.

Compare the package price to a DIY booking

Before you book anything, I do think it’s worth seeing how much you can get the same trip for by booking each part yourself. Use comparison sites Skyscanner and Kayak to compare flights and hotels. It’s worth looking at AirBnB as well to see if you can get a private apartment or villa rather than a resort in the same destination. Just make sure you have the right insurance to protect you if there’s airline failure or similar.

And while you’re at it, look for any destinations you fancy which aren’t offered by the travel operators. You might be able to pick up a fantastic late deal.

In this video I bring down the price of an all-inclusive on Shop Smart Save Money

Not a fan of packages? Check the prices anyway

If, like me, you think a package destination isn’t for you, you probably won’t even look at the likes of Tui and Thompson. But you should.

You can sometimes get packages cheaper than separate flights, something I discovered only after I’d booked my Virgin flights to Cuba some years ago. You don’t have to stay at the package’s hotel, or you can use it as a base for holidays where you’re planning on moving around a lot.

More tips for booking holidays

These articles and videos should help you bring down the price even further.

Getting the best value hotel rooms

How to get the best value hotel rooms

How to find cheap flights

My tricks to save money on flights

All inclusive – is it for you?

In this clip from series three of Shop Smart Save Money I explain some of the pros and cons for all inc hols.

January 13, 2020   |   Articles

Can split tickets really cut the cost of train fares?

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Ticket splitting, where you buy individual tickets for parts of the journey rather than just one return, is hyped as a top way to save on trains. 

For years this has been a slightly hidden trick, requiring guesswork on your part or using a small website to work out where to break a ticket. But now booking giant Trainline has got in on the act, and Virgin Rail will launch a booking service doing the same later this year. This trick could be about to go mainstream. So just how likely are you to actually find a fare this way?

First up, it absolutely can work – you might have seen the stories online of people managing to massively cut their train fares by doing it. My favourite was one a few years ago where a guy saved a ton of cash but had 28 separate tickets for his journey. 

But in my experience, it’s rare that a journey comes up costing less with this method. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever actually cut the cost of my own journeys through splitting, at least not that I can remember.

It could just be because the routes I take aren’t long enough, or perhaps it’s the times I travel. As a method of saving cash it seems only marginally more reliable than a Thameslink or Northern train service.

So if you do manage to nail down a split fare then it can make a big difference. Just don’t expect to do it for every journey. To help you I’ve taken a look when there’s potential to save, and when it’s less likely to happen.

What is split ticketing?

Very simply you buy a series of tickets rather than just one for your journey. So a train from London to Newcastle could be cheaper if you get a ticket from London to Doncaster, change train, and then get another ticket from Doncaster to Newcastle. With some journeys, you can even stay on the same train. Maybe even in the same seat!

When split tickets are more likely

Yep, it’s weird and there’s no obvious logic behind when you can get split fares and when you can’t. However there are factors which could help you find one of these cheaper fares.

When part of your journey is peak and part is off-peak

Peak trains are almost always more expensive, but if you are able to split the journey so you’ve got a different ticket once rush hour finishes it could save cash.

When you’re going a long way

Again, you’ve more opportunities for change if you’re going through more stations, and that could bring up a few splits.

When you’re using different train providers

If you change trains part way and the second train is operated by a different train company then it’s definitely worth seeing if splitting the fare works. Look out too for promotions exclusive to one route. Though not strictly a split fare, I recently got 10p returns to Leeds from Manchester in a flash sale, but I’m paying the normal return price to Leeds from where I live.

When you’re buying last minute

The more expensive the total fare, the better your chance of finding some cheaper options through splitting. Of course, it’s better and cheaper to book in advance, but we’ve all had times we can’t plan ahead.

When you’re looking at single journeys

I’d always check for splits on a single journey rather than a return as it gives you the flexibility to find different splits each way. Of course, compare this to the price of a standard return.

When you’re willing to make a few changes

It won’t necessarily be the quickest route, but if you split up your journey along a less direct route then there could be more opportunities to split.

When split tickets are less likely

This seems to be my experience. Sadly, there are lots of journeys where you won’t find any split savings. Obviously the opposite of the above reduces your chances of savings, and I think it’s incredibly unlikely for short trips, and ones with few stops on the way.

How to find a split ticket

You’ll probably need to get online, though that’s not to say station staff won’t know a few savings – it’s just unlikely.

You can of course work it out yourself by checking the stations on the way and seeing if breaking the journey, whether on the same train or a different one, brings up cheaper tickets.

But the easy way to find the fares is to use a split ticket website. These take your journey and work out the cheapest and quickest split (or splits) possible – if there are any. 

I’ve looked at a few (long) journeys on each of them and had different results, so if you can spare an extra couple of minutes it’s worth doing a couple of searches.

Each of these, including Trainline, charge you extra on top. Some include this in the price you see, others add it on. Trainline, which charges a flat £1.50, works out cheapest if your saving is more than £15. The others all charge 10% of the saving, which could be quite hefty on journeys with large savings.

If you don’t want to pay these extra fees you can buy the tickets through another train booking website. However, if you can afford it you might want to pay to help the smaller services survive, especially if you’ve got a substantial saving.

Risks of split tickets

A problem could occur if you have to make any changes on your journey. With a standard ticket taking you from station A to station C via a change of trains at station B, you’d be able to get on a later service if the first leg is delayed.

But with split tickets covering stations A to B, and then stations B to C, you’d likely have to pay for a new ticket from B to C if you miss the pre-booked train, though you would be able to get a refund on the first train if it’s more than 15 minutes late.

Don’t forget to add in the other tricks to save on train journeys such as railcards and advance fares. More here:

Cash hack: 10 tricks for cheaper train fares

 

December 26, 2019   |   Articles

The best of 2019

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Catch up on the top articles, podcasts and videos from the last 12 months.

As we say goodbye to 2019 (and the decade) I thought it would be a good time to look back on the most popular content from Be Clever With Your Cash.

Here on the blog I’ve written 149 articles and shared 284 special offers (not including hundreds more over the Black Friday weekend). I’ve produced 53 podcasts and 33 videos, as well as 8 hours of Shop Smart Save Money on Channel 5.

No doubt even the most regular readers among you won’t have managed to take in all that money-saving and making content. So here’s a quick month-by-month list of the highlights that are still well worth a look.

January

Back at the start of the year, I wrote about how you could fix your finances in 2019. This four-part series is a must-read if you want to get on top of your money. 

February

With heavy snow, flu and a Brexit no-deal on the cards (nothing changes!) I looked at stockpiling for an emergency, as well as some tips for getting the most out of your freezer.

March

Most people I speak to are overspending on their mobile phone bills, with having too much data one of the biggest reasons. Here’s my article where I shared how you can work out just how much you need.

Meanwhile, on the podcast I took listeners through each of my 14 current accounts and why I’ve got each one.

April

At last year’s SHOMOs awards, my article on why supermarkets shouldn’t be shouting about cheap chicken picked up second place in the Blogpost of the Year category.

May

One of the most popular articles of the year looked at whether it’s worth selling books, DVDs and CDs online, covering places like Music Magpie, CEX and Ziffit.

June

I covered reusable bottles and coffee cups earlier in the year, and in June I shared how you can get free water top-ups on the high street – cutting the need to buy single-use plastic bottles.

July

Travel content was a hit as summer approached with this article on getting the exchange rate on holiday currency

August

Really popular was my article where I shared why you should have more than one bank account. You can also listen to me talk about the topic on my podcast.

September

In September I revealed why new rules mean you might find your debit card is declined.

Meanwhile over on the vlog I explained how to switch bank accounts (and take advantage of all those switching incentives).

October

One of the new ways to save some money this year is the Tesco Clubcard Plus scheme which launched in October. Here’s how regular Tesco shoppers could save hundreds of pounds by signing up.

November

I’m a huge fan of cashback as a way to get a little extra back each time I shop, so in November I shared how I’ve made £4,000 in the last six years.

The month also marked 100 episodes of my Cash Chats podcast, and to celebrate I shared how you can get hundreds of pounds of free cash!

December

This month has obviously been dominated by Christmas tips, but I also wrote about really important changes to overdrafts which have seen interest rates jump to 40%. If you ever use your overdraft you need to read this.

December 22, 2019   |   Articles

Tricks to afford an annual rail season ticket

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Save hundreds of pounds on your rail commute by spreading the cost of an annual season ticket.

Every January trains fares jump up, and 2020 will be no different. It’s been announced tickets will go up by an average of 2.7% from January 2nd. And even though it’s less than the increases in 2018 and 2019, it’s still a harsh increase for many frustrated train travellers.

The same tricks will apply to cut your fares, such as buying in advance or splitting the ticket, but what about regular commuters?

Well, the best way to pay less is usually to buy a season ticket, with a 12-month ticket offering the biggest savings. BUT these annual passes require you to stump up a lot of cash upfront. And that’s not easy for everyone.

Will a season ticket be better for you?

In most cases, a season ticket will be cheaper than paying day-in, day-out. It’s worth taking five minutes to work out the cost of your commute to see what savings can be made. Remember, you won’t actually be going every day, so account for weekends and holidays.

It won’t be the best option for everyone though – especially anyone part-time For most of my working life I’ve bought an annual season ticket. But when I reduced my time at the day job a couple of years ago doing this no longer made sense.

When to get a season ticket

If you haven’t got one and are thinking about it, get it before January 2nd so you can avoid the fare increase. However, even if you buy it before this date, if it starts from the 2nd onwards you’ll still pay the new higher price.

Timing your season ticket

Of course, if you already have one then you can’t buy it to beat the increase and will have to wait for renewal. It can sometimes be worth timing when you buy your season ticket, and possibly getting a week or month-long passes to keep yourself going. For example, If the dates worked, I always used to time my holiday close to the end of a season ticket, and start the new one when I returned.

Ways to spread the cost of an annual season ticket

Find out if your work will give interest-free free loan

This is usually the best option – if your work offers it. It’s better than using savings too, as you can leave that money earning interest elsewhere.

Here’s how it usually works:

  • You fill in an application form with your HR dept. Expect to provide proof of the season ticket cost. You can also usually choose how many repayments you’d like to make.
  • Once it’s been signed off, the full amount is paid to your bank with your salary
  • You’ve then got the cash to buy the season ticket
  • Each month the loan will be taken from your pay before it gets to you.

Use a 0% interest purchase credit card

As with any big purchase you don’t have savings for, a 0% credit card helps you spread the cost. Don’t forget that you are borrowing money, so you need to make sure you pay off the debt to avoid high-interest payments when the promotional 0% period ends. You’ll also have to make at least the minimum repayment every month. Personally I’d pay it off as quickly as possible.

Try a commuter club

These are loans on annual season tickets, with payments spread out over 10 or 11 months. You will pay interest, but it’s still cheaper than buying monthly season tickets. The main one is Commuter Club.

Opt for monthly or weekly season tickets instead

If you can’t do any of these, then most of the time you’ll still save money with a monthly, or even weekly, season ticket.

However, if you are in London and use pay as you go via Oyster or contactless there are daily and weekly caps. These usually work out better than weekly season tickets You can see the different fares and caps on the TFL website.

Extra season ticket benefit in the South

Something I really miss about my annual season ticket is the free Gold Card. This railcard gave me a third off most fares in southern England for you and up to three other adults. You get this with a TFL season ticket too, not just mainline rail.

Once you have it you can also buy a different railcard for £10 for a friend or family member.

My tricks to cut the cost of train tickets

You can read more about these and other tricks I use to make train travel vaguely affordable in my 10 tricks for cheap trains guide.

 

November 11, 2019   |   Articles

London travel: How to claim forgotten and owed cash on Oyster and contactless cards

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From deposits to unfished journeys to delay refunds, you could be owed some money back from TFL on your Oyster and contactless payment cards.

The BBC reported this week that there’s almost £400million of cash sitting on Oyster cards that haven’t been used for a year or more. That’s a huge amount! 

I’m not surprised. A few years ago, before we moved out of London, Becky and I realised we hadn’t used our Oyster cards for years as we’d moved over to contactless. So we cashed our Oysters back in for a total of £5 each. Easy money that was never going to be used.

And this wasn’t the only time TFL owed me cash. From card reading errors through to delayed journeys, I often claimed back money to my payment cards – both Oyster and contactless.

Here’s how you can claim back your money, and a few other ways to make sure you’re not owed any cash or travelling in London.

How to claim back your Oyster deposits

With more than half of payments now made via contactless cards, it’s likely that if you’re a Londoner that you’ve got your old Oyster just sitting about with at least a fiver sitting on it. You might even have more than one!

And if you’ve visited London at all since 2003 when the cards were introduced you might have picked one up too since journeys were much cheaper with one than via a paper ticket.

Half of the £400 million in unused cash is made up of a £5 deposit. You had to pay this when you first got a card. So if you have an Oyster card at home it will have £5 on it.

The rest of the leftover sum is pre-paid balances, which averages £3.46 per Oyster cardholder. Obviously you might not have anything extra if you didn’t top-up the last time the balance was zero, though at the same time there are 784 cards with a maximum balance of £90 sitting on them according to TFL figures. 

To get the money back you have a few options. If you have registered your Oyster card you can do this online via your Oyster account. Your card will be cancelled once you do this. If not, then you can do it at a ticket machine as long as the balance is less than £10 (not including the £5 deposit). Failing that you’ll need to call TFL.

How to claim back for incomplete journeys

Though the tap-in, tap-out system has made journeys so much easier in London, it’s not perfect. I had times where card readers didn’t work or turned off to ease congestion (and gates were left open as a result) which meant I wasn’t able to show a full journey. I also had a few occasions where I mistakenly used different payment methods at each end (usually when I was using Apple Pay on my phone).

When this happens TFL estimates where your journey began or ended, and there’s a good chance it’ll cost you more than your actual journey.

To fix this you must have registered your Oyster or contactless card with your TFL account. Once this is done you can go in and input where you should have tapped in. Refunds to Oyster will be in the form of prepaid credit, while on contactless it’ll be refunded back to your card.

You have eight weeks to correct a journey, but you’ll only be able to claim three times each calendar month.

Apple / Google Pay warning

A quick aside here if you use your phone to tap in and out. I used to do this on my commute, but occasionally I’d use the same linked card itself. Logic says this shouldn’t make a difference, but it sadly does. That’s because they are treated by TFL as different payment methods. 

This can lead to incomplete journeys, or reduce the chances your total spend will get capped each day and week. So stick to one payment method.

How to claim for delayed journeys

If a journey is delayed by more than 15 minutes you’re entitled to that fare back. In my experience the delays always tended to be about 13 minutes!!

The delay has to have been within TFL’s control, which means it won’t payout if you’ve been delayed due to a strike, security alert, bad weather, planned engineering works or a customer incident (such as someone getting ill on a train).

But you will be able to claim if the delay has been down to things like a signal failure, broken train or non-planned engineering works.

Again, the easiest way to do this is via your online account, so make sure you register your cards if you haven’t already.  claim 

Other places to find lost and forgotten cash

As I’ve written about before, Oyster cards aren’t the only place you could find some long lost cash. From loyalty schemes to cashback sites, it’s worth having a look at what you’ve forgotten.

November 3, 2019   |   Articles

How anyone can get Vodafone’s VeryMe rewards

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You don’t have to be on a Vodafone contract to access the rewards app VeryMe. Here’s how anyone can get it, and how to use it to save money at the cinema and more.

Vodafone has joined Three (Wuntu) and O2 (Priority) to offer customers offers and freebies via a loyalty app. Like the rival apps, I think VeryMe is hit and miss, but there are some decent offers on there.

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.

How to get VeryMe rewards

You access the deals via an app. If you’re already with Vodafone then all you need to do is download the My Vodafone app. This lets you manage your account. There’s also a button on the app’s home page labelled VeryMe Rewards. Click on this to see all the deals.

If you’re not with Vodafone then you obviously need to join the network – but you don’t have to ditch your current provider. First you need to unlock your phone. You might actually find it already is, but you can call your network to ask them to confirm. If it is you’ll need to ask them to unlock it. They might charge you if you’re still in the first six months or year of a contract.

Once it’s unlocked you can request a free Pay-as-you-go SIM from Vodafone. I ordered mine online and it arrived within a few days. Whack this in your phone and you’ll be able to connect to the Network and validate the My Vodafone app. You need to get a 4G signal for this – something I struggled with!

Once this is done you can put your normal SIM back in the phone – but you’ll still have access to the My Vodafone app.

You’re nearly all set – but here’s the catch. Unlike similar tricks with O2 and Three, you need to put £10 on the SIM in order to see the deals. And you can only use them for the next six weeks. After this you’ll need to top-up again by £10, and you’ll get access for another six weeks. And so on.

> Get your free Vodafone Pay-as-you-go SIM card

Are the deals any good?

In the six weeks I used the app (in December 2018 and January 2019) I only actually took advantage of two deals – and they weren’t amazing. However, there were a few freebies which would be welcome if you like Costa Coffee or have a Millies Cookies near you. Here are some of the offers that appeared in my first six weeks:

  • Two Odeon tickets for £7 – this runs every week
  • Free Millie’s cookie – this has run a few times
  • Free Costa Coffee – again, this has been a regular deal
  • Free Tesco lunch meal deal
  • £10 credit to spend on movie rentals at Chili (from a set selection)

Since then I’ve kept an eye on offerings and it’s been pretty similar, with brands like Hotel Chocolate, Greggs and Thorntons also giving away freebies.

There has also been a range of discount codes and free trials, though nothing that stood out to me as better than what you’d find with a quick internet search.

So at first glance, it seems you’d probably break even if you did choose to top-up by £10 every six weeks, if not be a few quid better off. But it’s worth asking yourself whether you’d buy these things anyway, and if it’s worth the hassle just to get the odd freebie.

However, if you regularly go to a Vue to see films then this could be a big saver. Here’s how to make it work.

Is the Vue offer on Vodafone’s VeryMe any good?

*For the first year, this promotion was for Odeon cinemas. but from November 2019 it switched over to Vue cinemas.

The offer is £7 for two Vue tickets any day of the week, at any time of the day. You get one code every week, with new ones issued on a Thursday. And I think that’s pretty good. It’s hard, though not impossible, to beat this £3.50 a ticket offer.

Of course with the £10 top-up, that makes the real cost £17 for two tickets, or £8.50 per ticket. Not so great, especially if you are going on a Tuesday or Wednesday when you can use Meerkat Movies. This offers two-for-one tickets and you can get access for just £1 a year. And if you can go to different chains you can often get the price down on other days.

However there are quite a few Vue cinemas where this is still a good saving, even on child prices. This is especially the case in London and at weekends when prices can be £12.50 or more.

But to really max your savings you need to time your top-up so you go at least twice in a six week period. Do this and the price drops down to £6 a ticket. If you manage three visits, you’re paying just over a fiver. And when the six week period ends you don’t need to add money on straight away. You can wait until your next visit before topping up, starting the cycle again.

> More cinema deals

Is it worth switching to Vodafone for VeryMe?

If you’re already on Vodafone then it’s good to nab these extras, but I wouldn’t move your contract over just for this. You can usually get a far cheaper deal by going SIM only at a challenger network, and you’ll probably save more money every month than you can claim in freebies.

And for most of you I don’t think the Pay-as-you-go trick detailed above will be worth the effort or occasional £10 top up. However, if you do go to an Vue regularly at the weekend – at least twice every six weeks – then it’s a good way to pay less for your tickets.

Check out my top SIM-only deals

Plus ways to get the latest handsets at 0% interest

Phone and SIM deals

How does it compare to Three’s Wuntu and O2 Priority?

I’m with Three and regularly check the Wuntu app, while Becky is with O2. I think both used to be a touch better than VeryMe, but they are nowhere near as good as they once were and VeryMe just has the edge now. However the freebies and offers with all three can be very dependent on where you live. 

All three are nice to have features, but I wouldn’t choose these networks just for the extras. Price and signal should be your main motivators. 

> Get O2 Priority Moments if you’re not on O2

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October 2, 2019   |   Articles

How to get the cheapest advance train tickets

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Know when and how to pick up low-cost advance rail tickets.

We all know that the priciest train tickets are the ones you buy on the day you travel, and that the earlier you buy one the cheaper it’ll be.

But how do you get these advance tickets? Here are the simple things I do to make sure I don’t pay more than I need to.

Understand when advance fares are available

You’d think anytime before your journey date would count as advance, but in fact, most train tickets aren’t put on sale until 10 to 12 weeks in advance of travel.

Some train companies will put fares on sale much earlier, those these tend to be weekday tickets as weekend ones are those likely to be affected by engineering works, and subsequently announced later.

Check advance fares are actually on sale

Ok, so 12 weeks before travel and you’ll get the cheaper fares right? Well, not always. Lots of train booking websites will sell you tickets even though advance fares aren’t actually available.

I had this recently where Trainline said a weekend return from London to Leeds in ten weeks would cost a huge £113.50 – compared to the £36 I’d expect that far in advance.

Confused, I checked on the LNER website. I discovered these advance fares won’t actually be on sale until four weeks before travel. So the very expensive Trainline ticket was just a generic price.

If you have bought one of these non-advance fares before advance fares go on sale, see if you can get a refund from the rail company.

Set an alert for your travel dates

To make sure I know as soon as advance tickets are released, I’ll generally put a note in my phone’s calendar to look for the tickets around that 12-week point (if I know that far in advance).

But I’ll also use alert services. These send you an email for your exact journey.

The best one is probably from the Trainline as it covers all the different networks. However don’t book with The Trainline as you’ll be hit with extra fees.

Some train providers also offer their own alert service (such as LNER). Other’s have usually have a page sharing what tickets are currently available.

Advance tickets are available right until you travel

There’s actually more than one price for an advance ticket. Once the cheapest have sold out, the next level becomes available and so on. In fact, it’s possible to get an advance fair on the morning of travel with some rail companies.

Yes you might miss out on the very cheapest fares if you aren’t booking 12-weeks ahead, but it’s always worth checking as soon as you know you are going somewhere by train.

Monitor price increases

Another handy tool from Trainline is on its app. Here you can see a prediction for when fares are likely to increase. It’s based on booking data so it’s not going to be 100% accurate, but it helps give you a sense of when a change could happen.

Not all routes have advance fares

Frustratingly not all routes have advance fares, meaning the price you pay is the same whenever you buy your ticket. If you’re not sure whether they’ve just sold out or simply not available, you can do a quick search for different dates to check.

> More on how to save money on train tickets

September 18, 2019   |   Articles

Contactless payment declined? You might just need to enter your PIN

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New rules affecting all the banks are being introduced that should make our banking more secure. But the extra steps you’ll need to take could be a bit of a pain.

You might have had a letter or text from your bank about some new anti-fraud measures. It probably says there will be changes to how you log on (here’s my letter from First Direct). You might have glanced at it, but you probably didn’t think much of it. I’ll get on to what this could mean for you in a bit.

And it’s just one change coming your way. As part of the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) measures you could also barriers to spending in shops and online – the biggest concerns contactless payments.

Contactless payment change

If you’re out shopping you could now find that your debit and credit cards are declined. And that’s not because you’re out of money.

One of the new rules limits how many times a card an be used without some kind of authorisation. Already we have to use our PIN for transactions over £30, but you could also now find that you are asked for a PIN when using contactless.

After five contactless payments have been made, or £135 (though some banks might lower this amount), you’ll need to insert your card and enter your PIN. Which is fine if you remember this. But if you don’t, you won’t get a nudge. Instead, you’ll simply see your purchase declined.

So if you don’t recall whether it’s use number five or six, then this could cause confusion and embarrassment. Of course once we get used to this, it’ll be like those GDPR pop-ups on websites and just be normal. But for now I can imagine it’ll cause all sorts of problems. So spread the word!

Not everything will be rejected though. For example, you’ll still be able to tap and pay on public transport, such as the London Underground and buses, and things like parking meters.

And there is a weird workaround for this. The limit doesn’t apply when using the digital wallet on your phone, and that’s because you’ll be using fingerprint or face approval.

Other changes

The SCA changes were all meant to come into play from the 14th September 2019 – but as so many banks weren’t ready the deadline has been moved until March 2021. Even so, some banks are implementing the extra security measures now.

In essence, every transaction needs to have two forms of authorisation from three choices. The first is your PIN or password. The second is a device, such as a card reader, and the third is using something like fingerprint or voice recognition.

In most cases it means you really should download and set up your banking app if you haven’t done this yet. Without it you might struggle to get into your accounts or make payments.

The exceptions include subscriptions, direct debits and standing orders, which only need authorisation once, and the first five contactless payments.

Here are some of the things to expect between now and March 2021.

Online transactions

You’ll no longer be able to just enter your card details and click pay online. An extra step will now be added by all banks. In most cases it’ll be in the form of a one-time passcode (OTP) that is texted to you when you try to use your card.

Some banks have been doing this for a while, and in my experience, it’s proven pretty quick and easy to complete a transaction. Of course, you do need some mobile phone signal, but if you’re online to shop, then you can connect your phone too.

Logging onto banking sites

There’s a good chance you’ll also need to use a code generated by a card reader, your mobile banking app or input a code you are texted in order to log into your bank account online.

If you already do this, then there’s no change. But other banks will start to ask you to do this. 

Since I’ve got so many different bank accounts, I’m used to different log in processes, and using the card reader has always frustrated me, but for the sake of security, it’s no doubt worth the hassle.

It’s not clear how this affects banking apps as not everyone will have a device that allows for fingerprint and face recognition. I assume a one-time password will be texted to your handset to get you in.

August 27, 2019   |   Articles

Be a star baker on a budget

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I wanted to have a post about baking on a budget, and the best person to write it is my wife Becky – a brilliant baker. So over to Mrs Webb!

The Great British Bake Off is back! To celebrate GBBO’s return I thought I’d show you just how much cheaper, and tastier, it can be to make your own creations

Andy and I are big fans of GBBO and we thought last year’s series was a return to form. If you’re also a fan and you feel like mixing some muffins or perfecting your profiteroles, we’ve some tips and tricks to get more for your dough, whatever your level.

Get the right equipment to ensure no soggy bottoms!

This doesn’t need to be as expensive as it sounds. We discovered the TK Maxx baking section on a trip to the Charing Cross Road store and have been converted – not hard when you can get really excellent quality essentials at hefty discounts.

For example, they have brands such as Le Creuset, Joseph Joseph, Jamie Oliver and Tala and everything is brand new and in perfectly good condition. Stock changes regularly but recently we’ve seen Salter weighing scales (the most accurate scales) for 50% off, classic GBBO bakeware with a significant reduction and if you like to practice your icing techniques a decorating turntable at nearly 60% off. Paul and Mary, sorry Paul and Prue, would be proud.

Baking goods aren’t just in TK Maxx stores, you can also see what bargains are available online.

Baking books are great, but can you make do with online?

Although admittedly it is lovely to have shelves adorned with baking and cookery books by the latest culinary experts, this can be a pricey hobby. Check out The Book People for real bargains if you like the weight and feel of a real cookbook. Titles include the new book from GBBO faves such as last year’s finalist Kim Joy (her Baking With Kim-Joy is currently £6.99) and previous winner Nadia Hussain (you can get Time to Eat, also brand new for £7.99)

However, if you need expertise but without the squeeze on your finances then I always find online baking sites really handy. Most of the top pastry chefs or TV cooks have their own websites nowadays and they are mostly bang up to date with that must-try recipe they made on their latest episode. The BBC Food and Good Food websites are a goldmine of brilliant information about all things baking – you can even search by ingredient(s). Or search by chef if you have a bit of a chef-y crush (like me on Marcus Wareing). Jamie Oliver’s website is great as is Nigella Lawson’s.

It’s always worth keeping an eye out for independent food bloggers like Joy the Baker or Bakerella. There are some fab vegan blogs too – This Rawsome Vegan Life or the more widely-known Deliciously Ella are my top picks. The picture of the raw date and hazelnut brownies will make you drool and they are more or less sin-free!

You don’t need expensive ingredients or equipment

Odds and ends from the fridge and basic ingredients all make treats as tasty as if you’d used premium products. And it doesn’t have to be harder to use some elbow grease. There are some easy recipes that take very little effort, like these for soda bread and cookies.

I often make these brownies that involve just five ingredients, a bowl to mix it all together, a spoon, and a tray to bake them in (oh, and an oven!):

Becky’s brownies

Ingredients:

  • 300g chocolate (whatever brand you like but must be dark or milk, not white)
  • 300g unsalted butter
  • 450g sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 200g plain flour

Method:

  • Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl in the microwave, in one-minute bursts on half power
  • In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar
  • Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the sugar and eggs and mix well
  • Sift in the flour and mix well until all flour has disappeared
  • Pour into a square/rectangular tin lined with greaseproof paper
  • Bake in the oven heated to 180 degrees C for 45mins to 1 hour
  • Once cooled, cut into 12 to 16 squares (depending on how big you like your brownies)

But if do you want a fancy mixer…

I sometimes make and sell celebration cakes so I’ve two Kenwood KMix stand mixers. These are great for everyday baking too, and they are far more affordable than the Kitchenaid ones you see on Bake Off which retail for between £400 and £600. In fact, it’s now quite common during sales to be able to pick one up for under £200 (Andy has spotted them for as low as £160 – keep an eye on his homes deals page for the next bargains he finds). 

We can’t promise they’ll turn you into the next Nadiya but they’ll certainly make your life easier (and your kitchen look good).

Go on a course to improve your skills

If you’d like to become a better baker, going on a course would be a good idea. Lots of colleges around the country offer baking courses – from one day cake decorating tutorials to year-long diplomas, there is something for everyone at all levels. Courses can be expensive but Groupon and other voucher sites often have great offers available.

If you are on JSA or a student you can often get an amazing discount or sometimes even get a place on a course for free. I was looking for work and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance a few years ago and completed an NVQ Level Three course at Westminster Kingsway College for just £225 when the full-price course would have cost £1300.

Or you could treat yourself to a day at GBBO series three winner, John Whaite’s cookery school and learn how to bake and decorate perfect cakes, pastries and bread.

Or just watch the professionals on YouTube

If you don’t want to be taught in person then you should check out YouTube. There are loads of great ‘how to’ videos on there from big name chefs to ordinary people like you and me just baking at home. Here is the video from Paul Hollywood that taught me how to make a quick puff pastry.

Make some cash with a stall or bake sale

Bake stall
Andy and me back in 2011 with our cake stall

If you have a bit of a talent, some time on your hands, and people skills then why not have a go at holding a bake sale or getting a pitch at a local market to sell your wares? This way you can make a bit of cash to fund your baking habit.

We did this a couple of years ago (OK, more than a couple of years…) at a small local market and sold out on our first attempt. That’s where the pic above was taken. It is a fair bit of work to make enough to have a stall, but if you get a couple of friends to help you then you’ll easily have enough sweet treats to sell.

You can find out more about starting your own cake stall from former GBBO runner-up Kimberley Wilson here. Or just head down to your nearest regular market and ask the stall owners how they first started.

Oh, and quick plug for Andy’s sister’s delicious baking company Wren Cakes. If you live in Streatham or South London you should go buy one of her cakes!