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September 14, 2025   |   Articles

How to save money at Marks and Spencer Food

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Can you save money on your groceries at one of Britain’s pricier food shops?

M&S have a reputation for pricey yet high quality produce in their Simply Food and Foodhall stores – but how do their prices compare to other supermarkets and can you get a reasonably priced grocery shop from there? Here are our top tips to bring down the cost of your trolley.

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.

M&S signage

Sign up to Sparks

Sparks is the M&S loyalty scheme. Though you won’t earn points or get exclusive prices for scanning your card at the till, it’s still worthwhile joining. 

The Sparks offers are loaded onto your app and you have to activate them first. Most last a few weeks so you have plenty of time to use them.

Here’s what you can expect to get, even if you’re just an occasional M&S shopper:

Free gifts

Although the free gifts are not frequent, I’ve received a few bags of Percy Pigs, a couple of loaves of bread and even a large chocolate bar. Keep an eye out on your birthday too, to see if a treat has been added to help you celebrate.

You can also get a freebie by recycling old clothes in-store as part of their Schwopping scheme. You can learn more about clothes recycling in our article.

Personalised coupons

You’ll also see personalised offers covering both groceries and clothes in the app. The best ones tend to be a set percentage off meat or fish, though sometimes it’s specific products. Again you’ll need to activate them before shopping.

Win your shopping

Another reason to use Sparks is the chance to get your shopping for free. Each store gives away one shop to someone who scans their Sparks card every week. 

I’ve not seen anyone who has bagged this, but the staff see it every week, so it definitely does happen and the amount of shopping given away varies as it’s completely random. I will just keep wishing for it every time I scan my Sparks card and maybe one day it might just happen!

Buy value products

M&S offer many everyday products at ‘remarksable’ prices such as half a dozen free range eggs for £1.45 or four pints of milk for £1.65. That’s comparable to most supermarkets, including the budget ones. 

You also find some really good prices on fruit and vegetables such as 70p for a head of broccoli or 55p for a bag of carrots, prices comparable to the cheaper supermarkets.

Look out for shelf edge barkers to identify price-locked products and if you want to find the fruit and veg on offer, it’s usually right at the entrance.

Shop M&S Meal Deals

Meal for two, pizza night, stir fry, family chicken dinner and fresh pasta dine-in offers are just a few examples of the meal deals available at M&S. 

They offer great value for money and my particular favourite, the chicken feast dine-in deal, could get you all you need for a chicken dinner (one main including a whole chicken and three sides), for £10.

These meal deals offer great value and you can stretch them further by picking the pricier options, such as the whole chickens or steaks. And you don’t have to eat it all at once, so make use of the family meal deals even if you cook for just one. You can use up different components for different meals or even freeze some bits and use them at a later date.

You’ll find these great value meal deals on the end of the aisles and there always seems to be one or two available every time I shop at M&S.

Purchase multi-buy offers such as the ‘3 for £12’ meat and fish

You can buy top quality meat and fish at M&S – but you pay for it. So this is a really good ongoing offer to pay less.

To get the most value out of the multi-buy offers, pick the products which are expensive at full-price such as salmon. The discount then brings the price down, sometimes to less than at other supermarkets. You can get this in-store and at Ocado.

Shop in the evening for yellow stickers

Although M&S reduces groceries in the morning, it is usually only by a nominal amount, but the final reductions from an hour before closing, is when you can pick up amazing bargains. 

Don’t forget you can freeze so much and many of their ready meals can be cooked from frozen. Read our guide to freezing food.

Check cashback apps

Cashback apps like Checkout Smart, Shopmium and Green Jin have cashback offers on products for most supermarkets and although M&S is listed on these apps, at the time of writing, only Green Jin had cashback offers available for M&S.

Pay with discounted gift cards

You can purchase M&S gift cards from sites like JamDoughnut, HyperJar and Cheddar and receive cashback. Here’s how to purchase discounted gift cards . At the time of writing you could get 5% cashback with both JamDoughnut and Cheddar and 4.5% cashback with HyperJar. 

Consider the Marks and Spencer credit card

The M&S credit card gives you one point per £1 spent in M&S but it only offers one point per £5 spent elsewhere. Each point is worth a penny so it pays 1% on purchases at M&S but only 0.2% on purchases elsewhere. So in short, it could be decent if you regularly shop at Marks, but not a great return as a credit card on other spending.

If there is a welcome offer, we’ll share it in the the latest credit card deals.

Alternatively you could use a card that pays 1% at all supermarkets or even all retailers, not just M&S. Find out more about the best reward credit cards.

The M&S Club Rewards scheme is a paid add on to their credit card, but it’s best avoided for all but the most ardent M&S shopper. Here’s our guide to how the M&S Club Rewards work.

The best reward credit cards

Check out my list of the best paying cards that earn points rather than cash

Use Too Good to Go

Many M&S outlets at stations, hospitals and petrol station forecourts are on the food waste app TooGoodToGo. You could grab yourself a bag of surplus goodies worth more than £15 for less than £5. 

Next time you’re rushing to catch a train, take a second to see if M&S is on the app and you could bag yourself a lovely M&S sarnie and more for a bargain price. Though you could also end up with some ready meals which you can’t really eat on a train! 

Buy from Ocado

You can get lots of your M&S favourites delivered to your door from Ocado and if you combine your M&S groceries with other cheaper brands available on Ocado, such as their own-label, you could get a full grocery shop for a more reasonable price.

Most of the M&S offers are available on Ocado too like the meal deals and the multi-buys so you don’t have to go in-store to take advantage of these promotions. Find out how to save money at Ocado here.

Shop via a cashback site

You may not be able to shop with M&S directly for groceries using cashback apps, but Ocado shoppers can. Currently on Quidco, you can get 25% off your first shop with Ocado, free delivery and 7.5% cashback, and up to 7% cashback at TopCashback. 

The cashback on both these sites is limited to a number of transactions, but it’s a great way to get M&S groceries and earn yourself some much appreciated cashback in the process. Here’s how to get up to £20 when you sign up to a cashback site.

So is M&S competitively priced compared to the UK’s other supermarkets?

Marks and Spencer made a bold statement back in 2020, that they were reducing many of their prices in their M&S Foodhalls to attract more family shoppers, as well as joining with Ocado to offer online shopping. The idea was to attract mainstream shoppers, rather than just being known for luxury products.

They still sell those higher end food and drink items, and of course you can expect to pay more for them – though for many that quality is worth the extra cost. 

They are also competitively priced with lots of everyday products such as milk which is priced the same as all the other supermarkets and bread which is 75p and comes with the added benefit of being a source of vitamin D, as well as being the same price as Tesco standard sliced bread.  

Other products like biscuits, crackers, eggs and breakfast cereals are all competitively priced and many identically priced to other UK supermarkets and it goes without saying, that the quality of M&S products is top notch.

But not everything is on par pricewise with other UK supermarkets and don’t forget M&S doesn’t have a big value range, so you won’t find staple products like rice and pasta as cheap. 

So when it comes to shopping at M&S, you will have to check the prices before putting things in your basket, as although some prices are competitively matched, there are some areas where prices are still a lot higher than other supermarkets.

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September 8, 2025   |   Deals

Home and garden deals

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Save on your home essentials from furniture to paint

If you fancy spending the weekend putting up shelves or sorting out the garden, here are the best home, garden and DIY sales and offers.

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.

Here’s what’s currently on offer.

Current deals

Ikea: up to £50 off your shop

If you’re a member of Ikea’s loyalty scheme, Ikea Family, you can get 20% off kitchen and dining items, in store and online. If you spend £50, you’ll save £10, spend £100 and get £20 off and if your shop costs £250 you’ll save £50.

You’ll need to enter the code SECRETSAUCE50 at checkout to get the discount.

The deal ends 28 September. 

Sign up for Ikea Family

Argos: £5 off £40 spend

Until 17 June 2026, if you’re not currently receiving Argos marketing emails and you sign up for them, you’ll get an email with a unique code that’ll get you £5 off a £40 spend.

Sign up for Argos emails

Decathalon: return used tent for gift card refund

As part of its ‘No Tent Left Behind’ campaign Decathlon is letting customers buy tents, use them for a few months, and return eligible them for a refund on a gift card.

It says some 250,000 tents are left at festivals each year, which mostly go into landfill. And in a bid to reduce waste it’s promising to accept the return of its M100 range of tents bought between 9 June and 14 September 2025.

It encourages customers to enjoy the tent at their summer festivals but for it to accept a return, the tent mustn’t be damaged, stained, torn, contaminated, altered or in poor condition.

You must bring the tent back to a store, with proof of purchase, by 14 September 2025, to be eligible for the offer.

Get free tent

Ikea: Family Card extra savings

If you sign up for the Ikea Family card you’ll be able to get exclusive discounts at your local store including 10% extra off sale items.

More on the Ikea Family Card

B&Q: £5 off £30 spend

Sign up for the B&Q Club online (it’s free) and you’ll get a voucher to save £5 off a £30 spend.

Sign up to the B&Q Club

Emma Bridgewater: Free mug with £40 spend

If you’ve not used the Emma Bridgewater site before and want to spend at least £40 then follow this referral link to claim a free 1/2 pint mug, worth £19.95.

Get a free mug

Expired deals

Hobbycraft: £5 off £15 spend (expired)

If you have the Hobbycraft loyalty app then you can get £5 off a £15 spend until the end of October. You’ll find the voucher in your app or if you’re shopping online, you can use the code HC515 to get the discount.

It can’t be used to sign up for workshops or subscriptions or to buy gift cards

Download the Hobbycraft app

Ikea: £15 off £50 spend and free breakfast (ended)

Wear your pyjamas to Ikea this Saturday 7 September and you’ll get a £15 off voucher to be used against a £50 spend and a free breakfast. There are also other activities running, but they’re store-dependent.

The breakfast available includes one of: a small cooked breakfast, a small vegetarian breakfast, a children’s breakfast, a breakfast bacon roll, a breakfast sausage roll or a breakfast vegetarian roll. You can’t get the cooked breakfasts at the Hammersmith store.

You can only get the breakfast between 9:30am and 11am on 7 September 2024 and you’ll need one of the vouchers that will be distributed at the store on the day and an Ikea Family Card, which is free to sign up for.

See events at your local Ikea

Etsy: £5 off £30 spend (ended)

You can currently get £5 off a £30 spend at Etsy when you use the code SMALL5 until 30 April 2024.

The £30 excludes tax and shipping and you can only buy from shops that accept Etsy payments.

Shop at Etsy

September 8, 2025   |   Articles

Ways to manage your money and mental health

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Reduce the impact money and your mental health have on one another to keep both under control.

Often, people think of mental health as serious conditions such as bipolar or depression, but it’s something we should all consider – not just for ourselves but for friends and family. Mental health is pretty much how you’re feeling and functioning. It can be good, it can be just ok.

But all of us will have moments where it’s bad – even if it’s not a condition that might require longer-term management or medication. Whenever we’re feeling down, feeling stressed or feeling lonely we’re experiencing poor mental health.

And there’s a good chance any of these can impact our finances. Here are a few tips to help you keep on top of things.

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 mental health impacts your money

On a more severe end of the scale, poor mental health could mean you need to miss work, causing you to lose money. It’s common for people to get anxious when dealing with any kind of admin, but when that’s bills or bank statements it can be a larger issue.

Motivation can be a problem, leading to important money matters being ignored. Or perhaps moments of depression or mania could prompt people to spend more money (or money they don’t have.)

The worst-case scenario is that these scenarios lead to unmanageable debts – but it can work the other way too. The two are linked. Money problems can feed depression and anxiety, and that in turn can impact relationships, work and family. Big life changes can make a difference to both finances and mental health too, such as having a baby or losing a loved one.

So it’s not something we should dismiss or hide from. It’s important to take some action before anything happens.

What you can do

Here are some things you can do to manage your finances if you’re likely to experience poor mental health

Automate as much as possible – this means having standing orders and Direct Debits set up so you don’t miss payments when it gets too much to deal with your finances. You can also automate your savings.

Keep on top – When you’re feeling good, build a budget so you know exactly how much have and spend. Then use apps such as Snoop or Plum to keep track of balance and spending, or use a digital bank like Chase, Revolut or Monzo. Find out if your bank will send text or app notifications when you spend or to let you know about upcoming payments.

Use webchats – If you don’t want to pick up the phone, look for a webchat option when getting customer service from your bank.

Give access to a family member or friend – They can deal with banks and bills when you can’t – but you have to absolutely trust them with your money.

Make it harder to spend – Don’t take cards out with you and don’t let browsers remember card details. Or you can just make sure you don’t have credit cards at all. You can also look into ways to stop impulse spending.

Talk to your bank – Many banks will have a dedicated support team who can work through different options to help you manage your account.

Get help with your finances

Get free debt help – It’s important to deal with money problems before they become a crisis, but it’s never too late to seek help. And importantly, you shouldn’t pay for this. Places like StepChange and NationalDebtline are good options.  MoneyHelper (formerly the Money Advice Service) has a free tool to find free advice near you, whether that’s face-to-face, over the phone or via online chat.

Elsewhere, MoneySavingExpert has created a great guide on mental health and debt , and the Mental Health & Money Advice website has information about benefits and support you can get.

Get help with your mental health

Talk to someone – Samaritans, Rethink, Relate and Mind will all provide you with someone to chat with about what’s going on.

Visit your GP – Your doctor can help you find treatment and direct you to other services available.

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August 27, 2025   |   Articles

16 tricks for cheaper train tickets

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Our top ways to save on rail tickets.

As much as I’d like to use trains over cars and planes (and I do when I can), tickets aren’t cheap. Regulated rail fares increases were capped at a 4.6% in March last year in England and Wales, while Scotland capped price rises at 3.8% in April.

However, official figures from the Office of Rail and Road show train tickets in Great Britain have risen by 5.1% during the financial year to March 2025, with cheaper advance fares for south-east England trains going up by almost 10%.

And come March next year, we could expect further hikes! The size of any annual rise is limited to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation figure – but only on regulated fares. Non-regulated ones, such as advance singles and day off-peak are set by the rail companies so could go up by more.

You’ll pay these highest prices if you buy your ticket at the station moments before your train is due to leave, but it is possible to significantly lower the cost. Here are my top tricks to bring down the price.

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.

flexible train travel

Book in advance

An old tip, but still the best. Train companies generally release tickets 12 weeks in advance, and this is when they’ll be cheapest.

Even if you don’t get the advanced fares as soon as they go on sale, it’s still worth booking as soon as you know when you are going to travel. However, these tickets won’t be changeable or refundable.

Though the best fares often go quick, you can still get reduced fares the day before on many routes, and some even offer an advanced discount up until 15 minutes before departure.

It’s worth noting that some rail companies do sell tickets more than 12 weeks ahead of a journey, but watch out as journeys could be changed once engineering works have been confirmed, and they might also be more expensive.

Useful alerts for finding when tickets go on sale

As much as I hate Trainline (you’ll pay a fee for all tickets other on the day of travel), it does have a useful alert system where you can get email notifications for when advanced tickets are on sale. Simply enter the dates you’ll travel and your route.

Trainline also has a feature where it predicts when prices will change.

Travel off-peak

You’ll want to avoid peak travel. Hours vary by train company but think of peak as the the rush hour in the morning, usually until 9am for local journeys or 9.30am in bigger towns and cities. It’s also sometimes in the early evening too, around 4pm to 7pm, though that might just be leaving those big cities rather other trips.

But departures outside of these hours and at weekends, known as off-peak, and you’ll pay less. So if you can move your departure a little later to fit these times you’ll save money.

You may even be able to hack this on long journeys which start in peak hours but splitting your ticket to cover the peak period, and then another to cover the off peak part of the journey. Check too if Friday evening has been deemed off-peak.

Split your ticket

In the wisdom of the train companies, they’ve decided that it’s sometimes cheaper to get two or more separate tickets and split your journey along the way.

You might even be able to stay on the same train! We’ve written more here about how split tickets work.

There are a few different companies offering this now and I find they often come up with different routes. A few websites to look at:

Check if two singles are cheaper than a return

Defying logic, it can sometimes cost less to NOT buy a return ticket. Hopefully the website will show you those options when booking.

Get a season ticket

Travelling a lot? A season ticket might be cheaper. Most train companies will sell weekly, monthly and annual ones.

It’s worth seeing if your employer will provide an interest-free loan to buy the season ticket. You’ll pay it back over the year straight from your salary, so it’s a bit like getting the discount each month. If not, look at 0% purchase credit cards.

There are also now flexible season tickets for those commuting part of the week. When I analysed these they were a mixed bag with some cheaper and some more expensive than buying daily tickets.

Get a railcard

These have just increased in price from £30 to £35, but they’re well worth exploring – especially on an expensive ticket where the discount could cover the railcard’s cost immediately.

The terms & conditions for who and when you can travel vary for each type of card, but you can broadly save a third on travel, sometimes also the for people travelling with you.

For the 16-25 and 26-30 railcards, you can buy this up until the day before your birthday. So buy one the day before you turn 31, and it’ll last until you are almost 32.

If you live in London or the South East and already have an annual season ticket (including TFL) then you also have a Gold Card, which is pretty much the same as the Network Card.

From time to time there are discounts on railcards which we feature on our train deals page.

Look for sales and offers

Also on our train deals page you’ll find details of flash sales that happen throughout the year from providers such as Northern and Transpennine, or the network wide Great British Rail sale which usually occurs in January.

Travel as a group

Different providers might also offer special fares, for example three or more travelling at the same time could benefit from a GroupSave ticket. For groups larger than 10 people, it’s best checking with the rail company to see if there are other discounts.

Find a Weekender ticket

Some providers might also have special weekend return offers for departures Friday or Saturday and returning by Monday.

Earn cashback or points

Use the right booking app or payment card and you could be looking at 5% to 10% back on your ticket price, perhaps even more at times. And you can stack this with other offers or railcards.

We’ve covered this in detail in our guide to earning cashback on train bookings.

Don’t pay a booking fee

Use popular companies such as the Trainline and you’ll be hit with booking fees and delivery charges. It’s better to direct with the train operator and you’ll likely save yourself cash – even if they don’t operate the route. I tend to use the LNER site, though there are other decent train booking apps and sites.

You’ll need to pick up at the station or have digital tickets to avoid delivery charges with many booking websites.

Go First Class for less

It can sometimes cost less to travel in First Class if you leave it late and the advance fares are all gone, so don’t discount them completely.

Or on the day of travel the app Seat Frog will let you bid for a reduced upgrade to First. If you factor in the free food and drink on longer journeys this can be a bargain.

Claim a refund for any train delays

Each company has slightly different rules, but essentially if you are delayed more than 30 minutes once the journey has started there is a good chance you’ll be able to claim something, possibly 50%. If it’s over an hour you might get the whole lot back. A handful have cut the time to a 15-minute delay.

Ask at the ticket office or look on the train operator’s website for more information. If your journey is split between two different companies and a delay on the first one makes you miss the connection, it’s less likely you’ll get something. Here’s how to get a train refund.

Book a surprise fare

If you’re travelling via Avanti, then their Superfare gets you a discounted ticket, you just won’t know what time you’re travelling straight away. You’ll pick morning, afternoon or evening for your trip, and 24 hours before you leave you’ll be told which train you’re on. You can book between seven and 56 days in advance.

Buy a travelcard with your ticket

If you pick a train ticket to London and plan to use the tube or buses during the day, then adding in a railcard at purchase might work out cheaper -e specially if you’re using the overground or other trains within zones one to six. Plus you’ll be able to benefit from the cashback savings detailed above.

Combine with a day out

Technically this final tip won’t reduce the cost of a train ticket, but you can use that ticket to get you reduced entry to attractions like London Bridge and Legoland. Check out the National Rail Days Out guide to see who’s taking part in the promotion.

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August 16, 2025   |   Articles

The Marriage Allowance tax break explained

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You could pay £252 less tax this year – and possibly backdate it for another four years.

The Marriage Allowance is a way to shift some of your tax-free allowance to your husband or wife if they are a low earner.

If you’ve been eligible for the current and past four years, you could claim back tax worth £1,260.

There are various conditions so it won’t be for everyone (including me), but it’s certainly worth taking a look at the criteria to see if you can claim.

Here’s how it works and what you need to know.

Who is eligible for the Marriage Allowance?

You need to be either married or in a civil partnership. 

The higher earner in the couple must earn less than £50,270 but more than £12,570 in the tax year you’re applying for. So right now, that’s 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

In Scotland it’s a little different and income below £43,662 for the higher earner.

The lower earner in the couple must earn less than £12,570 in the same year. This is the basic rate threshold where you start paying income tax, though if you have a lower limit (for example because you underpaid tax a previous year) then that amount will apply.

You’re able to make a claim if you get a pension, as my parents did. But, if you or your partner were born before 6th April 1935 (anyone currently 90 years old and above), then you can choose instead to get the Married Couples Allowance.

How much money can you get?

The scheme allows the lower earner to transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to the higher earner. So for this tax year, with the threshold at £12,570, you can move £1,257 of the allowance over. 

So let’s say the lower earner’s total income for the year is £10,000. By transferring 10% of their personal allowance to their spouse, their personal allowance drops to £11,313. But since they earn less than this, it doesn’t change the fact that they don’t pay any tax that year,

However, the higher earner now has an increased personal allowance of £13,827 before any tax is due. Since the basic rate of tax is 20% this will work out as paying £251.40 less tax in the year (20% of £1,257).

Of course, if one of you earns between £11,313 and £12,570, you won’t get the full benefit. That’s because the lower earner will now have to pay 20% on anything above £11,313.

You won’t be paid back any saved cash. Instead, the tax code of the higher earner will change, and they’ll just pay less tax throughout the year or on their own tax return if they’re self-employed.

Claiming Marriage Allowance for previous years

You can backdate your claim by four years alongside the current year. Usually the amount per year changes, though, since the tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021/22, the amount hasn’t actually changed since then. That means your claim is potentially worth up to £1,260 over the five years.

Any money from previous years will be sent to you via cheque so you’ll see the savings (almost) straight away.

You can also claim for a deceased partner if they’ve they were alive and you were both eligible during one or more of those tax years.

Here’s how to see if you were eligible and how much you could potentially claim for these previous years.

2024/25 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2024/25 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2023/24 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2023/24 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2022/23 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2022/23 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

2021/22 Marriage Tax Allowance totals

The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2021/22 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.

So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.

How to claim the Marriage Tax Allowance

It’s really simple. You head to the HMRC website or phone them on 0300 200 3300.

The lowest earner needs to be the one who applies, as it’s their allowance which will transfer over.

You’ll need both your National Insurance numbers, as well as one of the following ways to prove your identity:

  • the last 4 digits of the account that your child benefit, tax credits or pension is paid into
  • the last 4 digits of an account that pays you interest
  • details from your P60
  • details from any of your 3 most recent payslips
  • your passport number and expiry date

Once you’d made the initial claim, it’ll keep going each new financial year.

What if your situation changes?

If you or your partner’s income changes during the current year you are claiming for and you’re no longer eligible then you need to let HMRC know. You’ll still get the tax break for the rest of the year.

You also need to do this if your relationship ends through a divorce, dissolution or if you become legally separated. The claim could be backdated in this scenario which means you could owe tax.

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August 5, 2025   |   Articles

Check your credit score & report for free

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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.

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.

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.

Here’s more about how credit reports work, and why they’re important.

How to check your credit score & 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

Experian app

Since July 2025 you’ve been able to get digital access to your Experian report via the Experian app.

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. Since Experian is the biggest credit reference agency it’s probably the most important one to keep an eye on.

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.

Rates can change so it’s worth checking both, but at the time of writing the amounts are listed below.

Dont’ forget that if you’ve never used either cashback site you should nab a new member bonus of up to £20.

QuidcoTopCashback
Experian free account£2£9
Experian Boost£5

Read more on credit reports

August 3, 2025   |   Articles

Cheapest ways to watch Premier League, EFL & other football on TV

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Here’s how to watch football on TV without forking out the equivalent of a Premier League player’s daily hourly wage.

If you’re dusting off your football shirt ready for the new season, you may also be considering the cheapest ways to watch your team on TV.

This year, more than 260 Premier League games will be shown on TV, split between Sky TV, and TNT Sports (previously BT Sport).

Championship, League One and League Two fans will get most of their action on Sky Sports, with more games than ever broadcast. Plus there’s European football on TNT and Amazon Prime. And let’s not forget international matches too/

If you want to watch as many games as possible, it doesn’t come cheap. And if you don’t support one of the big teams, they’ll be featured less often, which can make it more expensive per match.

Here’s my guide to the cheapest ways to watch Premier League, EFL and other football.

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.

Cheapest ways to watch football on Sky Sports

Sky Sports is available on as an add on for Sky, EE TV and Virgin Media packages, or as a pay as you go pass via NOW.

If you already pay for Sky or Virgin, then it’s worth haggling to see if you can add on Sky Sports, or reduce your existing spend. However if you just want the sport channels you’ll be tied into an 18 or 24 month contract for all your other services you have with them such as broadband, as well as forced to also pay for entertainment options, really bringing the price up.

Sky Sports is currently £20 a month for 24-months direct from Sky with the standard Sky channels and Netflix adding on another £15 a month, at least.

Sadly it doesn’t look like Sky is still offering a cut price deal just for the football channels or just for the F1 channel – but keep an eye out for either’s return.

You can pay a £25 a month for a monthly rolling contract via Sky Stream as an introductory offer, but you’ll need to pay at least £18 a month on top for Sky Entertainment and Netflix. For most people you’re better off going with NOW.

With Virgin Media it’s also another £20 on top, at least for the sports channels. Again, not bad, but you’re likely over paying for the other channels.

Get day or month Sky Sports passes with NOW TV

NOW TV passes are particularly good if you don’t want to pay for other Sky or Virgin channels or Netflix (which is bundled with Sky), or if you won’t watch all year around.

Plus, combine a NOW TV pass with a cut-price broadband and phone line deal and it’ll often be much much cheaper than getting everything as part of the full Sky or Virgin packages.

If you only plan to watch a few games at home throughout the season you can buy a NOW day pass for £14.99. You get all the Sky Sports channels for 24 hours. This isn’t as good a deal as it used to be, but still a money saver if you just want to watch a single match.

A monthly pass is also available, meaning you can view more sport. But at £34.99 it’s not as cheap as adding to Sky if you pay it every month.

The good news is there are regular deals to reduce the price of a pass. These have dwindled a little over the last few years, and there are very few day pass deals.

But monthly ones do still pop up quite regularly, often dropped to between £21 and £26 a month either when you first sign up or as a retention offer if you go to cancel. Get it this low, if not lower, then it’s more comparable to what you’d pay adding it to Sky without the requirement for other channels.

More recently you might find these offers tie you in for a minimum period, perhaps as long as six months, which isn’t as flexible. But others still let you cancel when ever you want.

You can get more details on NOW TV sports deals in our regularly updated list of the best NOW TV Sky Sports Pass offers.

You can stream the NOW TV app on your TV, console or streaming stick; or on your computer or mobile device. Though you can’t record (it’s all on-demand and catch up), you can now pause and rewind live sport.

If you want HD or to share your pass you’ll need to pay more. It’s £6 a month for Boost (2x streams and 720p) and £9 a month for Boost Ultra (3x streams and 1080p). Again, there are often deals to bring the price down.

Watch Sky Sports without a subscription

All the latest Sky Sports on NOW deals

Now TV and Sky Sports pass deals

The cheapest way to watch football on TNT Sports

TNT Sports is available to add to TV packages from Sky, EE and Virgin, or stream direct from Discovery+. We’ve got a deals page which highlights some of the best TNT Sports deals available, but here are the cheapest options.

Free with some BT broadband packages

If you have been with BT for a while for broadband or mobile packages then it’s worth checking if you’ve got free access to the full Discovery+ package, which includes TNT Sports. If you’re not eligible you can add it for £10 a month with no long contract commitment.

Buy a month’s pass

If you don’t have or want expensive pay TV contracts, you can access TNT Sports with Discovery+ for £30.99 per month. You don’t need to commit to a contract, so you can get a month’s access whenever you need it, making it good for casual fans.

Save money on TNT Sports

All my ways to save on this dedicated TNT Sports deals article

TNT Sports deals

The cheapest way to watch football on Amazon Prime Video

There will be 17 Champions League games shown on Amazon Prime this season, spread across the year. It costs £95 for the full year, and obviously you get access to other Prime benefits. But there are ways to pay less if you’re only after the odd match.

Get a free Amazon Prime trial

If you’ve never had Prime, you can take out a 30-day trial for free. And if you have had a trial before, it’s still worth checking as you can normally get another one after a year, if not sooner.

Pay £5.99 a month

You can also sign up on a monthly basis, at just £5.99 a month. That’s much cheaper than the full monthly Prime price of £8.99 a month, and you’ve got the flexibility to cancel if there are no games on, and resign up when there are.

Save money on Amazon Prime Video

All the latest Amazon Prime Video deals

Save more on pay TV

Switch to a new deal

With Sky Sports and TNT Sports, rather than just add the channels to your existing service as a top-up, it’s often cheaper to switch your service to a new company.

There are always offers for current customers signing new contracts, but the best deals are usually for new customers or those who threaten to leave. You can generally save even more by going via cashback sites.

Haggle with your provider

You can add on the Sky Sports and TNT Sports channels to your existing Sky, Virgin, Talk Talk and BT TV packages, but this can get very expensive.

Look out for special offers at the start of the season, or get on the phone with your provider and haggle for a better deal. 

Cancel it when you don’t need it

These big pay TV companies often let you take Sky Sports month by month, so if there aren’t any matches you want to see, or you know you won’t have time, just call up and cancel.

You can sign up again when you want to restart watching the channels. Check the terms and conditions before subscribing and see if there is a notice or minimum period.

The cheapest way to watch every live TV game

Share it with a friend

Know someone who has TNT Sports, NOW TV or Sky? You can usually watch the channels on up to two devices (smart TV, computer, tablet, phone) simultaneously, so you could split the cost between you. Here’s my guide on sharing your subscriptions.

Watch it in the pub

Of course, you can save all that hassle and head to the pub.

Premier League fans will normally be able to find somewhere showing the games, though Championship and lower may struggle. A few pints would cost the same as a NOW TV day pass.

What matches are on which TV channel?

There’s no point signing up for all the channels showing football this year if the team you support isn’t going to be featured. Here’s a very detailed breakdown of which leagues will be show on each broadcaster this season.

Where to watch the Premier League 2025/2026 on TV?

Only selected games are broadcast on TV, though from this year all matches outside the Saturday 3pm kick off will be shown. These are picked a couple of months ahead and will be split between Sky Sports and TNT Sport. Free to air highlights will once again be on the BBC.

With no Amazon fixtures this year, and fewer on TNT Sports, Sky is going to be where you’ll catch most games.

BroadcasterNumber of games
Sky SportsAt least 215
– 32 on Saturday at 5.30pm
– 32 on Sunday at 2pm
– 32 on Sunday at 4.30pm
– 32 on either Friday at 7.30pm or Monday at 8pm
– All 30 matches on 1st, 2nd and 3rd midweek fixtures (Dec & Jan)
– All 10 matches from last day of the season
– Plus at least 57 rescheduled or additional matches
TNT Sports (previously BT Sport)52
– 32 on Saturday at 12:30pm
– All 20 matches from 4th and 5th midweek fixtures (Feb & Mar)
BBCHighlights on Match of the Day
Until 2029

You can see selections on the Premier League website. Expect these to be announced on these dates (though in my experience they change a lot):

Match datesEstimated announcement date
August/September9 July
October20 August
November17 September
December/January15 October
February17 December
March21 January
April4 March
Match week 3525 March
Match week 361 April
Match week 378 April
Match week 38After match week 37

Where to watch Champions League, Europa League and Europe Conference League on TV in 2025/26

Amazon Prime

17 Champions League games will be shown on Prime for the first time this season. They’ll be on Tuesday nights and Amazon have the first pick for these games.

TNT Sports

All the other games and highlights are on TNT Sports. The finals have historically been free to watch on the BT Sport YouTube channel, and are now on the Discovery+ app. 

BBC

You’ll get free to air highlights for the Champions League on the BBC until 2027.

Where to watch Football League (Championship, League One, League Two, League Cup) on TV in 2025/26

Sky Sports

Sky is the only place to watch EFL games. As with last season there are a huge number of games shown on Sky Sports. 1,059 out of 1,891 matches will be on TV. You can see what’s been picked on the EFL upcoming live games page.

It will be broadcasting the following:

  • 328 EFL Championship games
  • 248 League One games
  • 248 League Two games
  • All play-off semi-finals and finals
  • All 93 EFL Carabao cup games
  • All 127 EFL Trophy games

Each week there will be:

  • Five matches in the Sky Bet Championship
  • Five from Sky Bet League One and League Two

This includes:

  • All opening and closing day fixtures
  • All mid week fixtures
  • All bank holiday fixtures

Shown across these time slots:

  • Saturday at 12.30pm
  • Friday night and Sunday 12.30pm
  • Some Thursday and Monday nights

ITV

You’ll be able to watch 10 live EFL matches and 10 EFL Cup matches (including the final) on ITV, along with EFL highlights.

Where to watch FA Cup on TV matches in 2025/26?

In 2025/26 the FA Cup will be completely free to watch.

BroadcasterGames
BBC18 fixtures including the final
ITV20 games including the final

Where to watch Women’s Super League, Championship & FA Cup on TV in 2025/26?

Matches are split between Sky and the BBC, and some may be on YouTube too. All Women’s Championship are on YouTube.

BroadcasterGames
SkyUp to 44 live league games
BBC21 live league games plus 7 FA Cup games and the League Cup final
YouTubeSome games not shown on the BBC or Sky, all Women’s Championship games

Where to watch international friendlies and qualifiers on TV?

The home nations’ men’s international qualifiers and friendly matches are split across different broadcasters, depending on which team you want to watch.

England’s women’s games are on ITV. BBC Wales has the women’s international games for Wales.

BroadcasterGames shown
ITVAll England mens games, including World Cup qualifiers and Nations League
BBC Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland mens matches
SC4Wales mens matches (in Welsh)

Where to watch other football on TV?

This Wikipedia page will show you who has the broadcast rights for other matches, including the Scottish Premier League, non-league and La Liga.

The average cost to watch each Premier League team

A couple of seasons ago, we looked at the potential savings you could make from mixing and matching providers rather than committing to a year of sports channels. We found that football fans could save themselves up to £850 on watching the Premier League this season.

If you pay for all the services all year you’re going to get better value if you support one of the big teams and very poor value if you support a smaller one. However, if you’re a fan of various different sports or like to watch multiple teams, it might be worthwhile.  

(All this football talk reminds me of this classic Mitchell and Webb sketch…)

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August 1, 2025   |   Articles

Best ways to collect and spend Nectar points

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If you have a Nectar card, are you making the most of your points?

If you shop at Sainsbury’s, you’ve probably got a Nectar card, and may even collect the points every time you visit without thinking much about it. And if you’ve been collecting points, you’ll need to spend them to get the most out of your rewards. But do you know how to use your Nectar points?

Unlike Clubcard and other loyalty schemes, you can rack up points at other retailers, including Argos. When it comes to redeeming points, you can spend them when shopping, exchange them at face value, or even swap them for Avios points.
In this article, we’ve explained how Nectar works and how you can sign up. Plus, we share tips for both collecting and spending Nectar.

Nectar logo

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.

More ways to make the most out of the Nectar loyalty scheme

What is the Nectar loyalty scheme?

Nectar is the loyalty scheme for Sainsbury’s and Argos, where you can earn points on your purchases. It’s actually owned by Sainsbury’s, though points can be collected and redeemed with other brands. As a member of Nectar, you can also access discounts on specific items when shopping, a bit like Tesco Clubcard Prices.

How Nectar points work

One Nectar point is worth 0.5p, meaning if you earn 1 point from a purchase it’s the equivalent of 0.5% cashback. 100 points are therefore 50p, 200 points equal £1 and so on.

The value of different loyalty card points varies quite a bit, with Nectar points equating to half the value of Tesco Clubcard points. However, when redeeming Nectar points at other participating retailers, you could get more value out of them –  so it’s worth keeping an eye out for the latest deals.

Nectar points value conversion

  • 1 Nectar point = 0.5p (or half a penny)
  • 2 Nectar points = 1p
  • 100 Nectar points = 50p
  • 200 Nectar points = £1
  • 500 Nectar points = £2.50
  • 1,000 Nectar points = £5
  • 2,500 Nectar points = £12.50
  • 5,000 Nectar points = £25

How to collect Nectar points

You earn points when you shop at participating retailers and scan your Nectar card. Bonus points can be earned at specific retailers or through special deals and promotions.

To collect Nectar points when shopping in stores, you’ll need a Nectar card. Your card can be either a physical plastic one or a digital one stored on the Nectar app. When shopping online, you’ll need to either connect your Nectar card to the relevant account or shop via the Nectar website.

You can also earn when spending via Nectar credit cards, or by converting Avios points into Nectar points.

How to spend Nectar points

Your options for using Nectar points are more limited than other reward schemes. You can use them in-store and online, such as at Sainsbury’s, to donate to charity, or spend them with a handful of partners.

To redeem your points, you’ll need to swipe your card or scan the app in-store, while you can select to use them online. With some partners, you’ll need to convert your points into vouchers first. You can also swap them for Avios points.

How to sign up to the Nectar scheme

The Nectar loyalty scheme is free to join. You can get a Nectar card online, via the app, or by picking up a form in a Sainsbury’s store.

Once you’ve got set up, a physical card will be posted out, though you’ll have a digital card to use via the app straight away.

8 places to collect Nectar points

1. Sainsbury’s

Earn points as you spend

You’ll get one point for every £1 spent at Sainsbury’s. 500 points are worth £2.50, so this works out at 0.5% cashback.

Scan your Nectar card at the till to get your points, and keep an eye on the app or digital account for special offers which boost the number of points you’ll get.

You might also get vouchers for extra points at the till, sometimes doubling or tripling points on your next transaction, it’s just a matter of remembering to bring them to your next shop. If you wanted to, you could even buy a single, cheap item at the start of your shop to use any vouchers printed out on the rest of your shopping.

Get bonus points via weekly offers

As well as generic offers, you’ll also get ones tailored to your shopping habits. These change every Friday.

You have to save the offers to your account, though there’s a handy “save all offers” button. And of course you still have to scan your card at the till.

Nectar Prices

Nectar Prices are discounts for Nectar holders, similar to Tesco Clubcard prices. To get these, you just shop as normal, looking out for the Nectar price on the shelves. At checkout, you need to make sure you remember to scan your Nectar card, and the discount will be applied.

Your Nectar Prices

This sounds like it could be the same as Nectar Prices above, but Your Nectar Prices are specific to you. These come through weekly and will be based on your shopping history, potentially saving you money on things you’ll actually buy. There are only a few offers each week, but it’s worth having a peek when you get the notification.

2. Argos

You can also earn points at Argos. It’s one point per £1 spent, though it’s occasionally doubled. You’ll need to link your Nectar and Argos accounts before you can earn points.

3. ESSO

Esso replaced BP on Nectar back in 2019. You can earn 1 point per litre of fuel, or swipe in-store to get two points per £1 spent on other things, so roughly 1% back in points. When you get to 300 points it gets you 5p off every litre of fuel.

4. Avios

You can convert 400 Avios points to 400 Nectar points, which is handy if you’ve got a surplus of Avios points that you won’t use. You can also swap them back the other way (you’ll only get 250 points though). This is also a way to boost the value of Amex Reward points. Find out everything you need to know in our step-by-step guide to convert Avios to Nectar points and vice versa.

5. Via Nectar credit cards

If you shop at stores that are part of the Nectar scheme often, it might be worth getting a Nectar credit card.

The American Express Nectar credit card is your best bet and will earn you up to two points for every £1 spent, worth 1%. There’s also a bonus worth £100 when you first sign up and spend £2,000.
If you’re thinking of getting a Nectar credit card, check out our best cashback and reward credit card promotions to see if there are better options for you.

6. Via Amex membership rewards

You can convert American Express Rewards points to Nectar points at a value of one to one, meaning one Amex point would be worth 0.5p. This could be a good use for large Amex welcome bonuses, which can be worth between £100 and £500, depending on the card.

7. Via utilities & insurance

You can earn bonus points for signing up for other Sainsbury’s Bank products such as home insurance, as well as Sainsbury’s Energy. Though they could be worth it, these offers shouldn’t be a reason to choose Sainsbury’s over other providers as they could work out more expensive than options you find via a full comparison.

8. At other retailers

You’ll see many other brands listed on the Nectar website, such as Expedia and Very. To earn points via these retailers you have to click through via the Nectar portal. Most of the time you’ll get two points per £1 spend, so the equivalent of 1% cashback, but they can be more or less. There are often points boosting offers to look out for.

Participating Nectar retailers include:

  • ASOS
  • Just Eat
  • Expedia
  • Groupon
  • Europcar
  • Very
  • Dominos
  • Wayfair

These extra places to earn points might sound appealing, but I would avoid using them since you can usually beat these rates by clicking through a cashback site instead for a better bonus.

Where to spend Nectar points

Sainsbury’s shops

To use your points in Sainsbury’s stores you must have used your Nectar card in that specific store in the last year. You can also use them online on the Sainsbury’s website.

They can also be used on petrol but you have to pay in the kiosk, not at the pump.

Argos

You can use multiples of 500 points at Argos, each worth £2.50. To spend them in an Argos store, simply scan your card. To spend online, you must have connected your card to your Argos account.

Converting to Avios points

We think that most people are better off using cashback credit cards and air mile reward credit cards. You’ve got the flexibility to use your earnings how you want, and not be restricted to certain flights.

However, if you are an Avios fan, then you can boost your points by converting 400 Nectar points to 250 Avios.

Donate to charity

Nectar Donate allows you to give your points to charities using Crowdfunder. The points are worth the same as usual, so 1,000 points will be a £5 donation. There’s a minimum of 200 points, and it must be in multiples of 200.

Other ways to redeem Nectar points

Nectar offers just a fraction of the partners you get with Tesco Clubcard, and fewer opportunities to boost the value. Some retailers let you swipe your card or link your card to use points. Others require you to exchange the points for a voucher or code via the Nectar website.

Spending your points isn’t particularly flexible or as straightforward as you might think. To recap, 500 points are usually worth £2.50. You also have to spend Nectar points in chunks (usually 500 points or 1,000 points) rather than choose how many you’d like to use. 

For example, you can exchange 2,000 points for £10 off purchases at Eurostar. Other poor options include swapping for movie rentals at Sky Store since you can get far cheaper rentals elsewhere. There are much cheaper ways to rent movies out there, so don’t rely on Nectar to save you lots of cash.

Nectar points special offers

Occasionally, there are offers that increase your points at Sainsbury’s and other Nectar partners, both to earn extra points and sometimes (though more rarely) to use them.

You can usually find any points offers in the Nectar app and website, so it pays to check every now and again, before your weekly shop, or when you’re looking to save a little extra.

When we spot any really good Nectar points deals, we’ll share them on our loyalty scheme offers page.

How to check your Nectar points balance

Not sure how many Nectar points you have? The Nectar app and website both contain your current points total, as well as a record of where and when you earned your points.

How to lock your Nectar points

One downside of Nectar in the past was that anyone who found or stole your card could use your points. This was particularly bad news for those who had earned tens of thousands of points using credit card welcome offers. Earlier this year, Nectar introduced a feature that lets you lock your points to ensure they can’t be used without your authorisation.

To lock your Nectar points, you’ll need the latest version of the app.

  • Log in and you’ll see your points total near the top of the app screen, and below that a line telling you whether the points are locked or unlocked
  • Tap this to bring up a locked/unlocked switch
  • Toggle between these for when you want to use your points
  • It should unlock immediately, but it’s worth doing it a little before you want to spend the points to be safe, rather than wait until you’re at the checkout

This feature will only work for the main account holder, not additional cardholders.

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July 29, 2025   |   Articles

Free and cheap magazines: tricks to save money

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Don’t pay full price when you can get free or discounted magazine copies and subscriptions.

For about 20 years I subscribed to the film magazine Empire, but I’ve not paid at all in the last decade – thanks to different deals and hacks to get it, and other titles, for free. And if they don’t work, there are ways to pay less too.

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.

Free magazines tricks

Free digital magazines and newspapers from your library

Libraries don’t just lend books and DVDs – you can also borrow digitally. As well as (non-Kindle) e-books, magazines and newspapers are available. The service will vary depending on your library, but for me I’ve got access to the Press Reader app.

You just need to join your local library, and many will let you do this from their website – even if you don’t have proof of residency. Others will require you to visit the library itself.

Once signed up you can access different magazines that can be downloaded to your tablet, phone or viewed on a computer. It doesn’t take much getting used to reading them on a tablet; an extra bonus is you can zoom in on any bits that are a little too small to read.

I’n the past I’ve regularly download Empire, Radio Times and Wallpaper for free, and my wife has chosen Vogue, Good Housekeeping and Newsweek – and there are dozens and dozens of other options.

Free magazine subscription via a Club Lloyds bank account

Every year with this bank account you have the choice of a free annual magazine subscription, six free cinema tickets or a year of Disney+ with Ads.

Though you’re limited to just one personal account, you can get another as a joint account. That means a couple could have three Club Lloyds accounts, and three freebies. So even if you prefer Disney+ as your first choice, you could easily add a magazine via one of your other accounts.

You do need to pay in £2,000 a month into the current account to avoid a £5 monthly fee, but you don’t have to keep the money in the account, nor does it need to be in one go. We’ve more details in our Club Lloyds review.

There’s also sometimes a switching bonus for Lloyds if you close an account at another bank and move everything over so it’s worth keeping an eye out for that.

Free magazines with the Club Lloyds bank account

The magazines available include (updated 29/7/25):

  • Best
  • Bike
  • Bird Watching
  • Car
  • Classic Cars
  • Cosmopolitan
  • Country Living
  • Country Walking
  • ELLE Decoration
  • ELLE
  • Empire
  • Esquire
  • Garden Answers
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Harper’s Bazaar
  • House Beautiful
  • Improve Your Coarse Fishing
  • Inside Soap
  • Landscape
  • Men’s Health
  • Modern Games
  • Mojo
  • Practical Classics
  • Prima
  • Red
  • Runner’s World
  • Spirit & Destiny
  • Steam Railway
  • Today’s Golfer
  • Trail
  • Women’s Health

Free online magazines with Amazon Prime

A less well-known feature that Amazon introduced for Prime members called Prime Reading. Here you get free access to a number of books and magazines.

The selection rotates each month so you won’t see the same titles featured every month, but there’s a decent mix to choose from. At the time of writing you can pick up 59 different magazines including Top Gear, Elle and Today’s Golfer.

You don’t need a Kindle to read them, in fact they work better if you use the Kindle app on your tablet.

Prime costs £8.99 a month or £95 a year, though you can get a free 30-day trial each year.

Cheap magazine subscription tricks

Try a multi-magazine digital subscription 

If you don’t have the RGB service at your library, you can try a couple of different Netlflix style services where you pay a monthly fee for unlimited access.

The two main ones are Readly and Magzter, and both have free or cheap trials to give them a go. Right now, Readly offers a two-month free trial, while it’s 7-days free at Magzter. Both have thousands of titles, many of them designed specifically for tablets making them a far more interactive read.

Once the trials end it’s a bit pricey at £12.99 and £14.99 a month respectively. However, it’s not bad value if you’d normally buy two or three magazines a month – and even better if you can split the subscription with friends or family. There are often more ways to save, so hunt for deals.

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Buy a cut-price subscription online

If print is more your thing, please don’t pay full price for a subscription. You’ll almost always be able to find a cheaper deal online.

If you have Tesco Clubcard vouchers, you can exchange 50p in points for £1 to spend on a variety of titles.

Sites such as Great Magazines and iSubscribe offer money off full price, though you’re unlikely to get more than 40% off. Occasionally you can also get a free voucher (eg Amazon or Ticketmaster) with a reduced subscription.

Check cashback sites too, as they may have bonuses for orders. And if you’re not already a TopCashback or Quidco member, make sure you sign up via our links for up to £20 extra back on top.

Check for deals

From time to time there are other special offers to help you save, and we’ll share significant ones in our magazines and newspaper deals page. Recent examples have included a huge stack of deals on Which? and £1 a month deals for The Athletic.

Haggle for trials and discounts

Finally, if you’re already paying for a magazine, don’t just auto-renew. As with many other bills, call up to cancel to see what they’ll offer. Turn down their initial deal, and see if they can get prices down even more.

And if you don’t have a current subscription, you can still haggle. In the past I was constantly called by the Empire sales team as a former subscriber. At one point I got 12 issues for less than £10!

Or you can contact the magazine publisher direct. Go to their website to find the number and see what you can get.

Just make sure you cancel before the full Direct Debit starts.

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