Cash Chats #127: What to do with your spare cash (Lockdown Money Live 2)

During lockdown, those that are still working are likely spending a lot less than normal.

There’s no commuting, no holidays, no nights out, no childcare costs. So what do you do with this extra cash you wouldn’t normally have?

In the second of highlights from my recent Lockdown Money Live event, I’m joined by Damian Fahy from Money to the Masses and Sara Williams from Debt Camel to discuss the best options.

Find out whether you should be focusing on savings, debts, investments, mortgages or your pension – or even spending it to boost the economy.

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Don’t forget to join the Cash Chats community on Facebook. Please do leave a review and rating. Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts and iTunes. 

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SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO OTHER EPISODES OF CASH CHATS (it’s free!): 

Related episodes

#120 Save thousands on your mortgage

#106 Clearing credit card debts

Further reading & links

Hacks to boost your savings pot

Debt Camel & articles about debt

https://debtcamel.co.uk/coronavirus-more-help-debts/

https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-consolidation-avoid-these-five-errors/

Money to the Masses

https://moneytothemasses.com/

Elsewhere on Be Clever With Your Cash

The cheapest way to watch the restarted Premier League

Deals on Be Clever With Your Cash

Watch the other Lockdown Money Live sessions on YouTube

Andy’s deals of the week 5th June 2020

This week I’ve got how to get free movie rentals and Kindle books, how to get 2% interest for savings, how to get a cheap Echo Dot speaker and savings at Space NK, Neal’s Yard and Uber Eats.

Watch the latest episode

More details on these deals

Free movie rental & Kindle book

Take out a month-long free trial of the Times newspaper’s digital service and you’ll be able to claim a free Rakuten rental and Kindle book in June and July.

Don’t forget to cancel if you don’t to pay once the trial ends.

2.02% interest on £1k with Virgin Money

Sadly the best rate you can get on your savings right now is just over 2%, and it’s in a new Virgin Money current account. You’ll only get the interest on the first £1,000 you have in the account. Oh, and it’s variable so there’s always a chance the rate could be cut. Here’s more.

Echo Dot for £26

If you have Amazon Prime but haven’t used Amazon Music Unlimited then you could be eligible for this promotion to save £19 on an Echo Dot speaker and get two months of the music streaming service for free. Here’s more on the deal.

£20 off at both Space NK and Neal’s Yard

Spend at least £100 at either of these beauty retailers and there’s a code to give you a £20 discount. It’s unclear when these offers end.

£15 off your first Uber Eats order

If you can get Uber Eats deliveries near you then there’s an offer to get £15 off your first order of at least £20.

Cheap Night In picks

If you’re getting fed up with box set after box set, then my latest rundown of some of the cheap and free films, TV shows, theatre productions and music sets you can watch from home over the next seven days.

This week it includes a selection of films that highlight the #BlackLivesMatter movement, music from Take That and US indie bands, box set and streaming picks, live snooker and more.

 

Cheap Night In: 4th to 11th June 2020

Here’s my pick of some free and cheap events and programmes for you to watch and listen to over the next week.

Don’t forget I’m also always checking for the cheapest streaming deals and offers, and there’s more information on these links.

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Andy’s £1,000 Money Makeover part 10: Your banking & savings

You can make hundreds of pounds by changing your bank, savings and credit card.

We’re nearly at the end of my £1,000 money makeover – sharing the tips I used on Channel 5’s Shop Smart Save Money to help families find at least an extra grand.

This episode looks at your banking, with ways to change your bank and savings accounts to get free cash bonus incentives, rewards, insurance and interest.

I also take you through a few credit cards which can cut your costs and make you some money.

There’s only one more money makeover video to go (next week), but in the meantime you can catch up with the rest in my money makeover series here.

For subtitles, press play and then hit the CC button at the bottom of the video (you might need to tap the video or hover your mouse over it) and you’ll be able to get auto-generated subtitles.

For a transcript, you’ll need to click through to YouTube. Then hit the three dots under the video to access all the subtitles at once. Remember they have been auto-generated by YouTube so there might be the odd word where it thinks I’ve said something else.

If you find this useful, please click to watch this video over on YouTube and then click the “thumbs up” icon as it helps the video appear higher up in YouTube’s search results.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos.

Further reading and links

Why you need to switch your bank account (and how to do it) 

The best bank switching and opening incentives 

Packaged bank accounts compared (Which?) 

The best interest rates for your savings 

The best cashback and reward credit card offers 

Cash Chats #126: Lockdown Money Live part 1 – What’s next for your job and Covid-19

Last week I hosted a free online event called Lockdown Money Live, and here’s the first of the highlights.

There were four sessions and this week on the podcast you’ll get to hear my interview with money blogger Faith Archer about the schemes available to you if you can’t work.

We discuss what happens next to the furlough scheme and support for the self-employed, as well as share what you should be doing if you’re worried about redundancy.

Don’t forget to join the Cash Chats community on Facebook.

And please do leave a review and rating. Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts and iTunes. 

SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO OTHER EPISODES OF CASH CHATS (it’s free!): 

Further reading & links

The MSE guide to the furlough scheme

ACAS redundancy guidance

Faith’s article on Bounce Back Loans

Watch all the Lockdown Money Live sessions

On the blog this week

Should you extend or take a mortgage holiday?

Chip app review – Can it help you put money into savings?

Pick of the deals

Times Plus trial offers – get free movie

Free Kindle book offers

Earn 2.02% with a Virgin Money account

 

The music used on Cash Chats is Easter Island by Lonely Punk and provided on a creative commons licence 

Andy’s deals of the week 29th May 2020

My weekly round-up of the best offers and deals.

This week I’ve got a fantastic SIM-only deal of 12GB for £5ish a month, 30% off Nike, 10% iTunes bonus, £100 back on John Lewis electronic purchases and cheap night in picks that include Led Zeppelin live and a home escape room.

Watch this week’s episode

This week’s deals

12GB of data for £5ish a month

Three have a flash sale until Sunday and are boosting the £8 tariff from 8GB a month to 12GB a month. In itself this is great, but combine it with cashback and you can get another £35ish off, making it just over a fiver a month. Here’s how to get the deal.

£100 back with selected electronics at John Lewis

If you’re in the market for a new fridge, washing machine, camera or TV then this offer at John Lewis is worth checking out. Buy a selected product and you’ll be able to claim back a £100 John Lewis e-gift card. Here’s more on the deal.

30% off everything at Nike

Nike is running a 30% off everything promotion until Friday.

10% savings on iTunes and Apple app store

Discounts on Apple credit is harder to come by these days, so these two offers are worth checking out if you have an iOS device. Until Friday you can get 10% off at Tesco, or until next week you can get a 10% bonus direct when you top up with Apple.

Remember this isn’t just about buying music or films, it’s also useful for cloud storage and apps.

Cheap Night In picks

If you’re getting fed up with box set after box set, then my latest rundown of some of the cheap and free films, TV shows, theatre productions and music sets you can watch from home over the next seven days.

This week it includes the how to play an escape room game from home, relive Euro 96 in full, tour one of the world’s biggest museums and watch gigs from Led Zeppelin, Pet Shop Boys and more.

Cheap Night In – 28th May to 3rd June 2020

Here’s my pick of seven free and cheap events for you to watch and listen to over the next week.

Don’t forget I’m also always checking for the cheapest streaming deals and offers, and there’s more information on these links.

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Andy’s £1k Money Makeover part 9: Your Shopping

The tricks I use to make sure I don’t spend more than I need to when shopping.

In part nine of my £1,000 Money Makeover I’m looking at your general shopping and spending – probably where a lot of our cash tends to go.

There are plenty of ways you can pay less for the same stuff, and put more money back in your pocket.

Watch the rest in my money makeover series here.

For subtitles, press play and then hit the CC button at the bottom of the video (you might need to tap the video or hover your mouse over it) and you’ll be able to get auto-generated subtitles.

For a transcript, you’ll need to click through to YouTube. Then hit the three dots under the video to access all the subtitles at once. Remember they have been auto-generated by YouTube so there might be the odd word where it thinks I’ve said something else.

If you find this useful, please click to watch this video over on YouTube and then click the “thumbs up” icon as it helps the video appear higher up in YouTube’s search results.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos.

Further reading and links

> How to stop spending money

> How to find the best possible price

> How cashback sites work

> Get a new cashback member bonuses

> My trick to get access to work perk savings

 

Cash Chats #125 – Credit reports


This week I’m looking at a vital part of your finances – the information that banks, lenders and other companies use to work out whether they want to give you a product or money.

Known as a credit report, it holds details of all your accounts, payment history and more. And linked to this is your credit score. They’re different things but both very important.

Here’s how they work, when they’re used and how you can access them for free.

Don’t forget to join the Cash Chats community on Facebook.

Please do leave a review and rating. Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts and iTunes. 

SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN TO OTHER EPISODES OF CASH CHATS (it’s free!): 

Further reading

My guide to credit reports and credit scores

My video explaining how to avoid getting rejected for credit cards

Clearscore

Credit Club

Credit Karma

MSE’s report on some banks using Open Banking to find mortgage holidays

> The Lockdown Money Live event on Facebook