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00:00Thank you so much. Thank you.
00:12Hello. We're back.
00:15Back to life, back to reality.
00:20Tonight, I want to show you how to reboot your finances in just one hour
00:24to get them in the best shape possible for 2026.
00:27I'll focus on big and easy wins with a cost-cutting crash course
00:32for credit cards, council tax and overdrafts, then energy bills.
00:36They've just gone up again, but should come down in April,
00:39though you can save far more if you act now.
00:43Plus, I have an important update for anyone who is already on a fixed tariff.
00:48Now, those are my bits, but also today, I want to give you as much time as possible
00:53to get in touch and ask me anything within reason inside leg 33 inches.
00:59Then, in my news you can use, are you booking a holiday?
01:03If so, I have a crucial warning for you.
01:05Sky is hiking prices, but there's an urgent window in which you can beat it.
01:10Are you a nationwide customer? You may be able to bag yourself £100.
01:14Will you get a cold weather payment?
01:16600,000 homes are due them.
01:18And I've got cheap deals on train tickets, Eurostar and pizza.
01:22Now, to a woman, perfectly suited to this post-Watershed episode, off-air,
01:28what a pat of potty mouth she is.
01:30It's Jeanette Quachy, everybody.
01:32I've got...
01:34Um, Martin, I'll have you know, I don't have a potty mouth, you can...
01:38Anyway, as Martin says, this is all about your questions,
01:42so get them in quick.
01:43Send them in on X or threads, or you can use the hashtag MartinLewis.
01:47Or you can email the team, martinlewis at ITV.com,
01:50and a huge welcome to our studio audience today.
01:53CHEERING
01:54Wave your wallets! Wave those wallets, everybody!
01:57You dropped yours.
01:58We don't drop money on this programme.
02:00You've got to keep it. We are here to save you money, not to lose it.
02:02OK. Right.
02:04We're going to kick the show off this evening
02:06with a question from our studio audience.
02:07Phil's got a question for you.
02:08Yeah, hi, thank you. Hi.
02:10With regards to balance transfers, are they worth the upfront fee,
02:14and do they impact your credit score?
02:17Well, the whole point of a balance transfer,
02:19which is when you get a new card
02:20that pays off the debt on old cards for you,
02:22so you owe the new card the money at a cheaper rate,
02:25is to cut the interest you're paying.
02:27And the interest that you'll pay if it's not at 0%
02:30is vastly more than the fee.
02:31So, yes, it's worth it.
02:32I mean, are you paying interest on a card at the moment?
02:35No, because I pay my cards off in full.
02:37Well, which is perfect.
02:38But for those who want balance transfers, absolutely.
02:41In fact, instead of answering you, let me get on with this.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Because I'm going straight into that.
02:48Look, most important message, if you can't afford to fully clear
02:51your credit and store cards, then you cannot afford not to try
02:56and see if you can get a balance transfer card at 0%.
02:59A couple of rules before we start.
03:01First of all, to protect your credit worthiness,
03:03you should use an eligibility calculator.
03:06Now, individual sites have them, but you'll be better on a comparison
03:09site.
03:10What happens is you go into it, it does a soft search,
03:12so it doesn't affect your credit worthiness,
03:14and then it will tell you which of the top cards you're most likely
03:17to get, so you can home in on the one you'll be accepted for,
03:21minimising applications protecting your credit score.
03:23Rule number two, they have a one-off fee,
03:26which is what you're talking about.
03:27So if it's 3%, that's £30 per thousand pounds that you pay.
03:31You want to go for the card with the lowest fee,
03:34but in the time you're sure that you can pay it off.
03:37If you're not sure, go long.
03:40So, I've picked five cards at the moment,
03:42which will give you an example.
03:43Now, the real thing to notice here is whether they're up-tos
03:47in blue or definites.
03:48If they're up-to, that means even if you're accepted,
03:52some customers won't get the full headline rate.
03:55They will get a shorter rate and they may have a higher fee.
03:58So, if you're not getting very good chance...
04:01So, let me move on, let me explain
04:03and then I'll come back to that in a minute.
04:04First one back, see?
04:05I almost lost where I was.
04:06So, the top card, the longest card at the moment
04:08is up to 38 months 0% with TSB with a 3.49% fee.
04:12Barclay card is a definite 36 months 0%, 3.45% fee.
04:17So, if you had good chances of getting Barclay card,
04:21you would know you're getting 36 months.
04:23Good chances of getting TSB, you might not get the full 38 months.
04:27Also worth noting, if you're transferring over £2,500,
04:31you get £20 cash back on this one,
04:33which effectively reduces the fee on £2,500 to around 2.6%,
04:37so it's a lower fee.
04:38My next pick card is another definite.
04:40Why did I pick this one?
04:41Because there are some of the longer cards.
04:43Well, it's definite and for a long card,
04:46it's got a lower fee at 2.95%.
04:49Still better off in Barclay card if you're transferring over £2,500,
04:52but under £2,500, this one will win.
04:54Then I'm going to the other end.
04:55Because if you can repay quickly,
04:57you want to go for a no fee card.
05:00So then there's absolutely no cost whatsoever.
05:03Longest no fee is Barclay card up to 14 months 0%,
05:07but some accepted customers only get 7 months 0%.
05:12So if you find that you've got good chances of virgin money,
05:15if you're accepted there,
05:17you will definitely get one year's 0% balance transfer at no fee.
05:22As I say, if you're not sure, longer is safer.
05:26If you know you can definitely pay it off, go shorter.
05:28Now, what some people will say, of course, is,
05:30yeah, that's all very well, but I never get accepted for these things.
05:32Well, always use an eligibility calculator,
05:34because that will show you,
05:35and the good ones will include poorer credit history cards.
05:38Now, these mean some people who've had past defaults
05:40or county court judgments against them,
05:43if your recent history is a bit better, may be accepted.
05:45Capital One, Vanquist has one just to give you ideas,
05:48the 0% shorter than the longest cards and the fees a bit higher,
05:52but they will still save you money.
05:54My biggest warning, though, is the go-to rate.
05:57All of these are 24.9% rep APR.
06:00So when the 0% ends, you're going to be paying 24.9%.
06:03You don't want to get to that.
06:04You want it to be clear by then.
06:05That's what you're paying.
06:06These cards have a higher go-to rate.
06:09So what I would say to you
06:11is check the go-to rate of the balance transfer card
06:15and check your current rate.
06:17If your current rate is lower,
06:19only shift debt you're sure you can repay in the 0% period.
06:22If your current rate is the same or higher,
06:24well, you can shift it all,
06:25because you're not going to be losing anyway.
06:27And just some golden rules.
06:28This is a crash course.
06:29I'm going quick today.
06:30Always follow the balance transfer golden rules.
06:33First, never miss the minimum monthly repayment.
06:35Or you could lose your 0%.
06:37You've got to pay it.
06:38Set up a direct debit.
06:39You do not want that.
06:40You know, you get 30 months,
06:41and then suddenly it's gone after two months
06:43because you missed the payment.
06:44Aim to clear the card before the 0% ends,
06:47or the rate will rock it.
06:49If you haven't done that,
06:50you want to do another balance transfer just before it ends
06:52onto another 0% card.
06:54Do not spend or withdraw cash.
06:57They are generally not at the cheap rate.
06:59In fact, this is all about discipline.
07:00You could even get the card,
07:02put it in a bowl of water,
07:03and put it in your freezer
07:05so that you never use it without having to smash it,
07:07which would prevent you,
07:08because that will really mess you up if you do that.
07:10And finally,
07:11you need to do the balance transfer at application.
07:14Or some cards will let you do it within 60 to 90 days,
07:17but check so you don't miss out.
07:19And those are the golden rules, and that's how you do it.
07:21Yeah, we've had lots of people who got in touch actually
07:23with big balance transfers, successes,
07:25but I did want to choose somebody who hasn't got the best credit
07:28to show that this can be done.
07:30It's coming from Mary.
07:31And she says,
07:32I took your advice and I checked 0% eligibility
07:34and was accepted for six months 0% card.
07:37The credit score is poor,
07:38but after six months I can look around again.
07:40And after keeping up with my payments,
07:42my score might improve.
07:43I feel so much better.
07:45Yeah.
07:46I mean, that's very rewarding and it is a message for anyone
07:51not to give up,
07:52and not to think that you've been rejected by one card,
07:54it means others will be.
07:55Use the eligibility calculator.
07:56But it goes back to my original saying,
07:58if you can't afford to fully clear your credit and store cards
08:01and you're paying interest on them,
08:03then you can't afford not to check
08:05if you can get a 0% balance transfer.
08:08OK, I can move on.
08:09OK, I'm going to move on to a different subject now.
08:11Here we go.
08:12It's a couple of council tax cost cutting checks.
08:15Easy for me to say.
08:16Bills are likely to rise again for most people by 5%.
08:20That's capped in England.
08:21It can be higher in Scotland and Wales.
08:23There's no cap there this April.
08:24So sorting it sooner is best.
08:26And in fact,
08:27they're changing the formula of central government funding,
08:30which means some councils will get more,
08:32some will get less.
08:33And they may change the rules
08:34so they allow some councils to go higher than the cap
08:37coming in April.
08:38But that's supposition.
08:39I don't know whether that's happening or not.
08:40But either way, let's go through the key things.
08:43The first thing is,
08:45is your property in the wrong council tax bands?
08:49Specifically, is it in too high a band?
08:51Up to 400,000 homes,
08:53especially in England and Scotland, maybe.
08:56Now, to show you how important this is...
08:58Yeah, just before you get into this,
08:59it's coming from Ian, actually.
09:00And he's saying,
09:01After watching your programme,
09:02I decided to question my council tax banding
09:04and asked to be reassessed.
09:06After living in my current house
09:07and paying band D since 1994,
09:10they finally changed it to band C
09:12and I received just short of £6,000.
09:15Wow!
09:16So...
09:17That's why I'm doing this.
09:20If your council tax band is reduced,
09:23not only do you pay less in future,
09:26but you get a backdated payout from the day that you moved in
09:30or 1993, whichever is later.
09:34£6,000 is middling for the successes I get.
09:37I've seen £10,000, £11,000, £12,000.
09:40This is very important to do.
09:41Now, I've done a full programme on this.
09:43I'm only doing this briefly
09:44just to whet your appetite to go and look it up
09:46and do it a little bit more.
09:47But I've got two checks.
09:48I invented this system back in 2007.
09:50My first check is the Neighbours Check.
09:52Compare your band to neighbours in similar
09:54or preferably identical homes.
09:56Now, you don't have to ask them.
09:57In England and Wales, you go to gov.uk.
09:59In Scotland, you go to saa.gov.uk.
10:01If your house is in a higher band
10:04than people in identical homes,
10:05you may be in too higher band.
10:07Equally, they may be in too lower band,
10:10which is what the second check helps you realise.
10:12That's the valuation check.
10:14Council tax bands are based on property values in 1991,
10:18so you need to find out what your property is worth
10:20or similar properties are worth from sales data
10:22and convert it into 1991.
10:24Sounds complicated,
10:25but there are free online tools that will do this for you.
10:29Then only consider challenging if you pass both of the checks.
10:34Because otherwise, you could ask
10:36and they could put your neighbour's band up
10:38and they won't like you very much if that happens.
10:41Look, I need to be honest.
10:43If you're going to be challenging,
10:45you need to go and read the free information that's online.
10:47You can work out where there are good resources
10:48that will help you through this step-by-step
10:50and take you through what to do.
10:51This is not a short process.
10:53My final challenge tip, though, is in England and Wales,
10:57go onto GOV.UK and check your property attribute details,
11:02your PAD.
11:03Now, that lists what the Valuation Office Agency
11:06thinks it knows about your house.
11:08And if that's wrong, that becomes strong evidence
11:11of why you're in the wrong band.
11:13Also, if you live in a house worth over about 1.75 million quid,
11:18which could be due to that future mansion tax,
11:20the council tax surcharge,
11:22well, I have a suspicion, we don't know yet,
11:24that it's your property attribute details
11:26will be a core part of assessing you.
11:28So you might want to go and check that now anyway,
11:30just to see if you're in the right band.
11:32Now, moving different tack,
11:34do you qualify for hundreds of pounds of council tax discounts?
11:38Now, this is a graphic I did on a previous show.
11:41I'm not going to go through it in detail,
11:43but I just want to give you an idea.
11:44The real key is how many qualifying adults live in your house.
11:50An adult is someone aged 18 plus,
11:53but, so not an under 18,
11:56full-time students do not count, they're disregarded,
11:59and someone with a severe mental impairment,
12:02which is severe lack of functioning,
12:05of intelligence and social functioning,
12:06which appears to be permanent.
12:08They also have to be on some benefits.
12:09It's complicated rules to go through,
12:11it's not talked about often enough,
12:13but they can also be discounted for council tax purposes.
12:17So, how does it work?
12:19Well, if there's only one adult,
12:20someone living by themselves, you get 25% off.
12:22Someone living by themselves with under 18,
12:24you get 25% off.
12:25Someone living by themselves with a full-time student,
12:27you get 25% off.
12:28Someone living by themselves with someone with an SMI,
12:30you get 25% off,
12:31because you're the only qualifying adult.
12:33If there are two adults,
12:34regardless of the house you're living with,
12:36you're always paying 100%.
12:38If the whole household is discounted,
12:41full-time students would be the obvious one.
12:43You don't pay any council tax.
12:45And then there's this one here,
12:46which is SMI and care, which is 50% off.
12:49But carers...
12:50Just to say something briefly on this,
12:52I'm going to be doing more about this in the coming weeks.
12:54If you care for someone over 35 hours a week, unpaid,
12:59and that person is not your spouse or an under 18,
13:02could be your brother or sister,
13:03could be an aged parent,
13:04could be an adult child,
13:05then you may be entitled,
13:08depending if they're on certain benefits,
13:11to the carers discount.
13:13Many councils' websites do not provide
13:16the correct qualification information.
13:18So don't read your councils' website.
13:20Go to Carers UK and read their information
13:23if you're a carer,
13:24and that rings about whether you might be eligible or not.
13:27OK. Right.
13:28We're going to move on to a different topic now,
13:29Martin, if that's OK.
13:30Yes.
13:31I've got this question that's come in from Ryan.
13:33Now, Ryan's saying,
13:34I have a 2K overdraft on a debit card,
13:35which is carried over from my student days.
13:37When I was a student, it was interest-free,
13:40but now I'm paying approximately £50 a month
13:43in overdraft fees.
13:44What's my best option,
13:45and would I be able to get a credit balance transfer?
13:47Whoop! Whoop!
13:48Warning!
13:49Warning!
13:50Warning!
13:51Overdrafts are a danger debt.
13:53Of mainstream borrowing,
13:55overdrafts are by far the most expensive.
13:57The typical overdraft rate in this country is 40%.
13:59That is nearly getting on for double a credit card.
14:04This is where I'm going next.
14:05So, absolutely,
14:06we'll talk about a balance transfer in a moment.
14:08Let's get on to my overdraft lift at the moment.
14:10If you even dip in your overdraft,
14:11you do not want to do that.
14:12It's dangerous.
14:13People say,
14:14oh, credit card's good,
14:15debit card's bad,
14:16but debit cards are debt cards, too,
14:18if you're overdrawn,
14:19and they are worse than credit cards.
14:21They are more expensive.
14:22So much said.
14:23Anyone got an overdraft in here and credit cards?
14:25Be honest.
14:26There was someone I saw looking who I thought might do,
14:28but I think they're keeping their hand down.
14:30But we'll move on.
14:31You know who you are.
14:32So, look,
14:33what people do is they pay off their credit card from their overdraft,
14:35but the overdraft's the more expensive debt.
14:37You want to minimise the payments on your credit card
14:39and maximise getting rid of your overdraft.
14:41So, what do you do?
14:43Well, first of all,
14:44if you've got a relatively small overdraft,
14:45first direct new switches,
14:46so this isn't for Ryan, I'm afraid.
14:48Well, you might try it.
14:49You get £375 for switching,
14:51if you can switch across when you're new to it,
14:53check the eligibility conditions,
14:54and most get an ongoing £250 0% overdraft.
14:57So, think about this.
14:58You're £400 overdrawn.
14:59You get £175 free cash,
15:01so you're £225 overdrawn.
15:03The rest is at 0%.
15:04You can see how it could work and make a big change for you.
15:07Now, what?
15:08It won't move your overdraft for you,
15:09so what actually happens is you get the new account,
15:11you have your overdraft at the old bank.
15:12The old bank says,
15:13if you pay it off, we can close it,
15:14or sometimes they'll say you can pay it off over six or seven months.
15:17So, you take the money from the new account,
15:19you pay it off yourself,
15:20and old payments into that account,
15:21you'll have to shift for yourself.
15:22But it can work really well.
15:23I should mention, because it launched today,
15:25Club Lloyds,
15:26which gives switchers more money,
15:28£250,
15:29but the overdraft is just a buffer zone of £100 at 0%.
15:32But still, that might work if you're in a very small overdraft.
15:35This is probably better for Ryan,
15:37because he's got a bigger overdraft,
15:38and that's not good, that £50 a month.
15:41That's eating a lot of his disposable income.
15:43So, if you pass the credit score,
15:46you may be able to shift your overdraft
15:48to a money transfer credit card.
15:50It's a bit like a balance transfer,
15:52but here you get a new card,
15:54pays money into your bank account for you,
15:56so you now owe the credit card the money that's in your bank account,
15:59and you use that to clear the overdraft off.
16:01There are very few of these cards.
16:03Make sure you do your reading before you do them,
16:05because many that look like this aren't.
16:07Tesco is the longest.
16:08It's not that long.
16:0914 months, 0% with a 3.99% fee.
16:11If you're financially disciplined, I have another route.
16:15But this is only for people who can go to a recipe and follow
16:19and won't spend on impulse.
16:210% spending cards, borrowing cards,
16:25can be up to 25 months, 0% with no fee.
16:27And you don't like the fee, do you?
16:29No idea.
16:30So, here's what you could do.
16:32You could get a 0% spending card.
16:34You could use that for all your normal spending, right?
16:37Just paying the minimum repayments.
16:39And because you're spending on the card rather than your bank account,
16:42your income goes into your bank account and pays off your overdraft.
16:45So, now, effectively, you've shifted your overdraft,
16:48once your overdraft's clear, stop doing this,
16:50onto the 0% credit card at absolutely no cost.
16:53Why financially disciplined?
16:55Because if you start going, hey, I've got all this extra credit,
16:57I'm going to go and buy...
16:58It's going to mess you up terribly.
16:59So, if you don't have financial self-control,
17:01that one isn't for you.
17:02But it is a technique.
17:03You know, a young man like Ryan who's come out of university
17:05might be able to do the discipline
17:06rather than having a big wide scale of debts.
17:08It might well work for him.
17:09Final point, and, Brian, really important.
17:11Your overdraft is a debt.
17:13It is a debt.
17:14Treat it like a debt.
17:15Like any debt, you want to repay it.
17:17So, repaying £100 a month on an overdraft means
17:19I end this month with £2,000 overdrawn.
17:22Next month, I do a budget and make sure I'm only £1,900.
17:25The month after, only £1,800.
17:27Final tip, shift your direct debits if you can.
17:31You can't always to a day or two before payday.
17:34That way, you won't be overdrawn as heavily for as long in the month.
17:38Ah, very good.
17:39OK, so... Yeah?
17:40Makes sense?
17:41Yeah.
17:42Those are three of your big topics.
17:43I know you're doing energy a bit later.
17:44Yeah, that's a big one.
17:45We're doing a whole part on that, lady.
17:46Yes.
17:47But it's time for the audience now to set the agenda.
17:49So, let's start again with the audience in the room.
17:51Phil, you've got another question.
17:52You're giving him two questions?
17:53Two questions!
17:54Happy New Year!
17:55Come on!
17:56Bog off, Phil!
17:57Yeah, yeah.
17:58I wasn't saying bog off.
17:59I mean...
18:00Lovely.
18:01Thank you, yeah.
18:02Is now a good time to lock in a fixed rate on savings
18:06with interest rates forecasted to go down this year?
18:09So, you're right.
18:10Currently, the Bank of England base rate is 3.75%.
18:13I was talking to an economist about this the other day
18:16and they were predicting by the end of the year it'll be at 3%.
18:18They don't know.
18:19They're just predicting.
18:20So, we look like there's some rate cuts to come.
18:22Top Easy Access savings at the moment is, for newbies,
18:25is Chase at 4.5%, which is pretty decent.
18:29The top one-year fix is Chetworth at 4.28%, and the other fixes are about the same.
18:36So, Easy Access is slightly more, but if that rate comes down,
18:39unless it's doing it for competitive advantage, it will go below.
18:42Yep.
18:43Now, the rate that the fixes are set at the moment, the top fixes,
18:47does factor in future interest rate predictions,
18:49so that already those cuts will be in a little bit, but not fully.
18:53So, the answer is, if it goes like predicted, then, yes,
18:57this looks a decent time to fix for surety as long as you can lock the money away,
19:01but there's no guarantee it will go as predicted.
19:03But I've seen much worse times to fix, I will phrase it that way.
19:06Of course, if you're putting money away for the long term,
19:08investing could do you even better.
19:10Thanks for your questions, Bill.
19:11There's a lady going like that behind you, so I stopped.
19:13LAUGHTER
19:15You've got a poll for us this evening, haven't you?
19:17I do indeed, yes.
19:19So, how competent do you feel to look after your household finances?
19:24Are you good at budgeting?
19:25Are you good at getting the best products?
19:27Are you good at both?
19:28Are you good at neither?
19:29The vote is live on X right now,
19:31and I'd also really like you to tell me,
19:34what do you think would help you improve?
19:36What are you missing if you're not that good?
19:38Comments with that, use the hashtag Martin Lewis.
19:41We'll have a look at the poll later in the show.
19:42Awesome, thank you very much.
19:44Well, next, it's over to you with your questions.
19:46What else would you like to know?
19:47Now's the time to send them in.
19:49We'll see you in four.
20:04Welcome back to our financial reboot for 2026.
20:07Now, just a couple of notes for you.
20:09I'm hearing that, as always happens
20:10when I do my council tax check and challenge system,
20:13the council tax website is struggling to check your balance.
20:16Which is good, it means people are being active.
20:19Another note, I realise it's actually called Chet Wood Bank,
20:23and I said Chet Worth Bank because I've always got value on my mind, basically.
20:27Wow.
20:28Jeanette.
20:29We have had so many questions coming in.
20:31I do want to try and get through as many as we can.
20:33So, to start us off, let's go to Morticia.
20:36Now, Morticia's asking, we've just received our water bill.
20:39Morticia?
20:40Yeah, Morticia, yes.
20:41Oh, no.
20:42She's probably heard that so many times.
20:44I wish I hadn't done it. I'm sorry.
20:45I don't even know at this point.
20:46Right.
20:47I've just received our water bill and water shock.
20:49£195 more than last year.
20:52We simply can't afford it.
20:53We're paying £595 now.
20:56It's £787.
20:57There are just two of us in a two-bedroom home.
21:00Would it be cheaper to have a water meter?
21:02Well, assuming that you are in England and Wales,
21:05in Scotland and Northern Ireland...
21:06Northern Ireland doesn't have water bills in that way,
21:08but in Scotland it works differently.
21:10My rule of thumb is always,
21:11if there are more or the same number of bedrooms in your house than people,
21:16you should check if a water meter's right for you.
21:18So, you've got two bedrooms, two people, more or the same.
21:21You should check.
21:22How would I check?
21:23The Consumer Council for Water's website has a calculator.
21:26Now, just to put this in perspective,
21:28I have people who move to water meters and they suddenly find,
21:31especially if you're not the type of person
21:33to have a bath every night and he's got everything on,
21:35that they're saving £200, £300, £400 a time.
21:38If it's not right for you, with some water companies,
21:41I don't know who you're with,
21:42you can normally move back within a year to your water bills,
21:45as long as you weren't put on a compulsory meter,
21:47which is a different matter.
21:48It's about voluntarily going.
21:49But you would check that first.
21:51So, the savings could be really quite substantial.
21:54Of course, once you do it,
21:56then you want to go as frugal as you can with your water
21:58in a way that doesn't affect your life.
21:59So, if you're one of those people who brushes their teeth,
22:01shh...
22:03You wanna...
22:06No words, you knew what I meant.
22:09Rachel has been in touch.
22:11Now, Rachel's asking, it's a big question,
22:13if you had to prioritise, which would you sort first?
22:17Would you do your will or power of attorney, et cetera,
22:20or your pensions, tax, inheritance, and why?
22:25That is a tough one.
22:26So, first of all, I'd say, we'll take inheritance for a second.
22:29Only about six to eight percent of the population,
22:31their estates pay inheritance tax.
22:33It's something far more people worry about
22:35than actually affects them.
22:36If you're married and you're leaving your property
22:38to one of your descendants, then they do it right
22:40and you can leave up to a million pounds
22:42with no inheritance tax.
22:43If you're not married, it's 500,000 pounds.
22:44So, that might not even be an issue for you in the first place.
22:47It isn't for many people.
22:48Do some more reading on that.
22:49Otherwise, I mean, of course, I would say
22:51all of them are important.
22:52And what I would say to any of you thinking about
22:54if you haven't got sorted through your bills
22:56or any of these things, take a day off work.
22:57What? Take a day off work. Why?
22:59Well, look, I mean, many people,
23:01when I do a money makeover, save over a grand a year.
23:03Now, a grand a year, we do 250 working days during the year.
23:07So, 250 times a grand is £250,000.
23:09To earn £250,000 after tax,
23:11you'd have to earn £450,000 before tax.
23:14If you earn more than £450,000,
23:16don't take a day off work.
23:17For everyone else, it may be worth
23:20taking a day off work to sort out your finances.
23:23OK, so which one, Martin, please?
23:24Oh, I thought I got away with it.
23:26Honestly, power of attorney.
23:29For a very important reason.
23:31Power of attorney says if I were to lose my faculties,
23:34then I will nominate other people
23:36who can look after my finances
23:37and my health and wellbeing for me.
23:39I've had a power of attorney for 15 years
23:40even though I've got no foreseeability
23:41of losing my faculties.
23:43If you don't have a power of attorney in place
23:45and you were to have an accident tomorrow
23:47so you couldn't look after yourself
23:48when new faculties are gone,
23:49or a severe stroke and you're a young person
23:51because people think it's only for old people,
23:52it's not.
23:53Then it is frankly a nightmare
23:57to go through the process of someone else
23:59trying to take over your finances.
24:00Meanwhile, they may not be able to pay your mortgage for you
24:03or pay for any treatments for you
24:05or pay for anything you need.
24:06If you die, intestate rules mean it will probably go
24:08to those people you love.
24:09Your pension, you'll hopefully work out.
24:11Sorting out tax, it's important,
24:14but your power of attorney is the one that tomorrow,
24:17if you haven't got one, God forbid, you could really need.
24:21So that's the one I'd do first.
24:22OK, hopefully that's helpful, Rachel.
24:24Now, this question's coming from Mandy.
24:26Quite a tough one, Martin.
24:27She's asking, I booked flights on my credit card in August
24:30to fly to Australia at Christmas to see our son.
24:33Unfortunately, my husband had a heart attack.
24:35So sorry.
24:36So we needed to cancel the flights.
24:38The agent said it's non-refundable.
24:40Can I claim it back through the credit card company?
24:44No.
24:45Oh.
24:46So, look, when I talk about Section 75
24:48being very valuable extra protection,
24:50sometimes it breaks if you buy through a travel agent.
24:52It sounds like you didn't.
24:53What Section 75 does is it says, with the credit card company,
24:57you get mirrored rights that you would with the retailer.
25:00You get the same rights.
25:02Look, I'm going to use a horrible analogy,
25:04but to try and explain it to you.
25:06There's nothing faulty about your flights, right?
25:09If I bought a tennis racket and broke my arm the next day,
25:13I couldn't take my tennis racket back saying it's faulty.
25:16It's my arm that's faulty.
25:18The flights were still available.
25:20They're not faulty.
25:21You don't have any consumer rights
25:22to get your money back on non-refundable.
25:24That's what travel insurance is for.
25:27That's who you go to.
25:28Now, you could speak to the credit card company.
25:30There might be some purchase protection that would help you.
25:31There occasionally are, but generally not.
25:33Can I bring that first news you can use graphic now?
25:36Have you got it?
25:37OK.
25:38All right.
25:39Give you a second.
25:40All right.
25:41I was doing this later.
25:42I was coming to this.
25:43My big travel insurance rule, many people are booking holidays,
25:46January's the big booking month, is to get it ASAB,
25:50as soon as you booked.
25:52If you've booked and you don't have it yet, do it now.
25:55And the reason is simple.
25:56If something happens before you go away
25:59that stops you going away, travel insurance,
26:02that's half of what you're buying it for.
26:04So if you don't do it, people book their holiday
26:06and then four months later they get it
26:08and something happens in the meantime.
26:09You're giving away half the value of the travel insurance
26:11and you're not protected.
26:12Mandy, I hope so much you've got travel insurance.
26:14Speak to your travel insurance.
26:16Ask the credit card, but it's very unlikely.
26:18Now, what people always ask me when I do this,
26:20this is all coming in my news, you can use, but I'm doing it early.
26:22Hey, we're nothing if not flexible.
26:24What counts as soon as you book?
26:27I always get asked this.
26:28If it's a single trip policy, it's simple.
26:30You get the insurance now.
26:32For the date, you're going away, 10th to the 17th of August.
26:35And then once you've bought and paid for it now,
26:37you're covered if anything happens to you.
26:39You have the policy in place even though it's for a future date.
26:42For annual policies which cover all your trips in a year,
26:46if you don't have cover, you need to start it today
26:50with today's start date so that will cover you for the next 12 months,
26:53not your holiday date.
26:54If you already have cover in place and that lasts until
26:58the last day of your holiday, till you come home,
27:01not the first, the last day, you're fine.
27:03You don't need another policy.
27:04You're all good.
27:05You've got it in place as soon as you booked or before you booked.
27:07If you've got an annual policy that, let's say, ends in June
27:11and you're going away in August,
27:13well, you are generally covered if something happens to you up to June.
27:17Most firms would then still cover you even if the holiday
27:21was after the cover period.
27:22But do check, not everyone will, but the vast majority will.
27:25But I would still, as soon as you can,
27:27get a policy to start the day your existing policy ends,
27:29to butt up against it.
27:30I'd say as soon as you can, because you can normally only do it
27:32about 90 days in advance.
27:34So as soon as you can, you'd have that.
27:36In case there are any issues, you've then got at least two people
27:39with some sort of, so there's no jurisdictional crossover
27:41between the two.
27:42A final thing I would say on this, ASAB is absolutely the right thing
27:46to do, but I'm not guaranteeing 100% it will work.
27:49It's not foolproof.
27:50Some firms, you won't like what I'm about to say, I don't like it.
27:53If you were to get a serious diagnosis, like a cancer or
27:56leukemia or something, they might say, OK, we're cancelling your policy,
28:00you can have a refund.
28:01And you go, but what about the holiday?
28:02I'm sorry, we're cancelling.
28:03I mean, it's a real problem.
28:04It's something that we're fighting, but that may happen.
28:06ASAB is still right.
28:08And I do hope it was Mandy, was it?
28:10It was Mandy, yeah.
28:11Mandy, I hope you've got travel insurance.
28:12OK.
28:13Patricia wants to clarify something with you, Martin, if possible.
28:17She's asking, we booked a cruise for 2028 and we paid a deposit
28:21of just over £1,300.
28:23I tried to get a cancellation cover insurance for the holiday.
28:26All insurance companies say they only give cover from 2027
28:30and you always say book insurance, ASAB.
28:33How can we?
28:35OK, so there are four...
28:37I'm doing this on my mind, I'm digging into my brain here.
28:39There are four companies that do over a year ahead on single trip.
28:43I believe it is...
28:45Admiral is up to 24 months, Aviva is up to 18 months,
28:49StaySure is up to 18 months and CoverWise is up to 18 months.
28:52Rosie, my researcher, just double checked that.
28:54I'll correct it when we come back after the break if I've got one wrong.
28:56It's the first one.
28:57I think it's Admiral.
28:58It's 24 months.
28:59So, look, nothing is perfect.
29:01If you're going away in the middle of 2028,
29:03you're not going to get a policy that I know of.
29:05But in the middle of this year, exactly two years before,
29:09you could get a policy.
29:10So, in your case, it's ASAP, not ASAB,
29:13because it's impossible to do it ASAB.
29:15But that's the best second one.
29:16OK, thank you very much.
29:17Well, next, energy prices.
29:19They went up last week and we're going to sort it out
29:21and put it in the next part.
29:22Can you save us some money, Martin?
29:24Obviously, lots.
29:25Come back after the part.
29:26Hello, welcome back to our financial reboot for 2026.
29:41I knew, you knew I knew I'd got it wrong, didn't you?
29:43I said, Admiral, it was Aviva.
29:45Aviva is a 24-month one.
29:47It was an A word.
29:48It sometimes got in there.
29:49But we'll move on.
29:50Jeanette, where are we going now?
29:51I'm sure you're forgiven.
29:52Let's get into this.
29:53Margaret A wants to know.
29:55It's an energy question.
29:56My energy fixed tariff ends on the 19th of January 2026.
30:00Please tell me if I should fix it now or wait until prices go down.
30:05Short answer, fix it now.
30:07Long answer.
30:12OK, let me explain this in detail.
30:14Now, the first thing to understand is if you're on a fix,
30:17when you come off a fix, if you do nothing,
30:19you go onto the energy price cap, which I call the energy pants cap,
30:22because it is pants.
30:23Equally, two thirds of you are already on the price cap.
30:26Those of you who are on standard variable tariffs,
30:28the do nothing tariff, the I've not switched tariff,
30:30the I came off my fix and didn't act tariff,
30:32you are on the price cap.
30:34So to really answer that in detail,
30:36I need to go through what's happening with the price cap.
30:39So the first thing to say is it went up last week on the 1st of January,
30:44it moves every three months by 0.2%, which looks relatively innocuous,
30:50but let's just have a little bit more look at the detail here.
30:53Standing charges went up two or three percent.
30:55Electricity unit rates, so that's the unit,
30:57each kilowatt hour of energy you use on electricity went up by 5.1%,
31:01gas came down by 5.9%.
31:03So if you lose normal portions of both, it's 0.2%.
31:07If you're a heavy electricity user or you don't have gas,
31:10your rise would have actually been quite a lot more significant
31:13than it's being said because it doesn't average out if you use a lot of gas.
31:16It's the other way around, of course.
31:17But what really matters for answering Margaret's questions is two things.
31:21The first one is what's going to happen at the next price cap.
31:24Let's have a look at what the predictions are.
31:27Here we go.
31:28It's going to drop.
31:30And it's going to drop 6.5% in April.
31:33Those predictions will vary,
31:34but I think it's going to be somewhere in that ballpark.
31:36Now, this is that budget announcement.
31:38You remember in the budget they said energy bills will come down 150 quid.
31:41About...
31:42Now, that 150 quid is on a typical bill.
31:45What's really going to happen is your unit rate on electricity
31:48will come down by about 3.5 pence
31:50and your gas unit rate will come down by about 0.35 pence.
31:53Now, that is made up of shifting some of the cost to renewables
31:57onto general taxation.
31:58That's about 90 quid of the typical 150.
32:01And £60 is getting rid of the eco scheme
32:04and taking that off bills.
32:05And that's what makes up the 150.
32:07Now, 150 would actually put you about here,
32:10but some network costs are going up
32:12and that's taking away a little bit of the game,
32:15but it's still around 6.1% off a typical bill.
32:18And then once that comes off, because it's £150 per year,
32:21we're going to see sort of rates stay relatively low
32:24and they will move with wholesale rates after that
32:26and other policy changes.
32:27So that's a prediction over the next year.
32:29But what really matters, of course,
32:31is how does that compare to the cheapest fixes on the market?
32:36Well, we'll have a look at that now.
32:38The current cheapest fix, and to find yours,
32:41go onto a whole-of-market comparison site
32:44because your cheapest depends on where you live
32:46and how much you use.
32:47It's very easy to do.
32:48The current cheapest fixes are around 15% below the current price cap.
32:52So, you know, £150, £200 for typical use
32:55could be £300, £400, £500 for some people.
32:57And they're still cheaper than when the price cap comes down,
33:01but they don't look that much cheaper.
33:04However, there's a twist.
33:06Because fixes, the whole point of a fix is your rate is fixed,
33:09but we're about to see something virtually unprecedented happen in April.
33:12Because on the back of that budget announcement,
33:14I spoke to Ed Miliband an hour afterwards and said,
33:16what about all those people who are on fixes?
33:18You can't leave them loose because, you know,
33:20otherwise you'll totally mess up the entire marketplace.
33:22And he said, well, we'll talk to firms and say they should pass on the fix.
33:25They shouldn't pass on the fix, they must.
33:26So there's been quite a lot of push, there's been official statements by the government
33:29saying that firms should pass on the same £150 saving to fix rates.
33:35Most firms, I'm going to go through firm by firm in a moment,
33:38will be doing so and they will be doing so on the 1st of April.
33:40So at that point, what we're actually going to see
33:42is something a bit more like this.
33:44Fix rates are going to come down.
33:46Here it will be about £130.
33:48I mean, there are more details to being ironed out
33:50and a little bit of this is crystal ball gazing as well.
33:52So if you fix now, your rate will drop.
33:55In April.
33:56And the differential between the current price cap
33:59and the fixed rate, it's there, sorry,
34:02is actually slightly bigger.
34:04The fixed rate should be slightly cheaper.
34:06You know, 16% maybe cheaper than the price cap
34:10once we go forward from April.
34:12Of course, the further out you go, the more crystal ball gazing this is.
34:15So you asked me, should you fix now, wait till prices come down?
34:17No, you should do it now because you'll be saving now
34:19as long as it's a cheap fix
34:21and your fix will probably get cheaper in April 2
34:24at roughly the same rate or slightly more than the price cap.
34:27Does that make sense?
34:28Yes.
34:29Good.
34:30That was great.
34:31Hopefully that's helpful for you, Margaret.
34:32Brian has been in touch.
34:33He's got a success on this.
34:34Yeah.
34:35I took your advice to switch my tariff from variable to capped.
34:38It told me that I'd have, I'd save over £200 a year.
34:40Your variable to fixed actually, but yeah, go.
34:42OK.
34:43And I'm, I'm a non-tech savvy 64 year old man
34:45and the whole process took me less than a minute to complete
34:48and I recommend switching to everyone.
34:50It is.
34:51Honestly, it's so easy.
34:52These days, comparison sites have your usage data
34:55so you don't even need to put that in.
34:56I'm glad you understand it a moment ago
34:58because now I'm going to complicate it.
34:59Right.
35:00Let me move on to this.
35:01Let's have a bit of a shot when you see this.
35:03Here we go.
35:04Right.
35:05So I'm going to stand here
35:06so people at home can read all the different ones.
35:09Those are a list of all the energy providers
35:11on the market at the moment.
35:12This first lift is what have they said
35:14about reducing the cost of all tariffs,
35:16including fixes in April.
35:18You'll see the vast majority of them are yes.
35:21A couple, Good Energy says it intends to
35:23and Chulo Energy, we're awaiting a response from it.
35:26We've tried to get the details of it.
35:28Then the next question is,
35:29will the reduction apply on the 1st of April?
35:32I want to see that because then that's transparent.
35:34It makes easy comparison,
35:35them all moving on the same day.
35:36Most of them are saying yes.
35:38Some of them aren't so sure.
35:40I will be putting pressure on them
35:41that they all move on the same day.
35:42But you can see the vast majority of fixes
35:44will be incorporating that discount.
35:46You with me?
35:47Yes.
35:48Now, you see the grey ones and the stars.
35:52You know I told you that there were two elements
35:56to the reduction, renewables and eco.
35:59Well, some smaller firms didn't have to pay the eco bill,
36:03so didn't add it to your bill.
36:05Those are all of the starred ones.
36:06So on their fixed rates,
36:08I suspect on that typical £150,
36:11it will only go down £90
36:13because they weren't paying the extra £60 anyway.
36:15But on their price capped rates,
36:17even on the smaller firms,
36:18because there's a price cap
36:19and they have to obey the price cap,
36:21you will get the full savings.
36:22So just on a few smaller firms,
36:23it may not be as much.
36:25But you have to give me some wriggle room
36:26because none of this is officially confirmed.
36:28These are my data talking to the firms,
36:30but not the actual discounts.
36:31But I go back to the original question.
36:33Should I fix now?
36:34If prices are coming down in April, yes.
36:36OK.
36:37Yes.
36:38And there are lots of other variants of tariffs,
36:39you know, special tariffs,
36:40time of use tariffs, EV tariffs,
36:41all those type of things as well.
36:42But simple terms,
36:43if you're looking for a fix,
36:44don't delay.
36:45Fabulous.
36:46Right.
36:47Gail has been in touch.
36:48She's got this question for you.
36:49It's on energy.
36:50I'll take my time so you can have some water.
36:52I fixed my energy in August
36:54and I've just had an email to say
36:55that my monthly direct debit
36:57is increasing by £30.
36:59I thought once the price was fixed,
37:00it couldn't change.
37:02Gail, it's the rate of energy,
37:04the cost of the standing charge,
37:06the daily charge,
37:07and the unit rate that you fix.
37:09But of course, you still,
37:10the more you use,
37:11the more you pay.
37:12So what that means,
37:13in a perfect world,
37:14it means you're actually using
37:15more than they thought you were
37:16and maybe you're in energy debt
37:18and therefore you're putting
37:19your direct debit up
37:20so you're paying smoothed across the year.
37:21Not your rate going up,
37:22your rate is fixed.
37:23You'll stay with the same amount
37:24within the fixed.
37:25In an imperfect world,
37:26that's the one we live in.
37:28They could have their calculations wrong.
37:29If you're in energy credit
37:30and your direct debit,
37:31use a direct debit calculator online
37:32to see is about right,
37:33they're just pushing it up
37:34and you need to get in touch with them
37:35and say,
37:36I think it's too high.
37:37But if you're in energy debt
37:38at this time of year,
37:39or even if you're only
37:40just sort of roughly
37:41at the right amount,
37:42you should be in a bit of credit
37:43at this time of year,
37:44then they're probably putting it up
37:45for you to catch up
37:46and therefore it's about the right thing.
37:47You fix the rate,
37:48you know they're on no.
37:50There was one once,
37:51about eight, nine years ago,
37:52where you could just say,
37:53I'm going to pay a set amount.
37:54It didn't last very long
37:55because everyone did it
37:56and put their usage up.
37:57You fix the rate,
37:58you don't fix it based on usage.
37:59OK, perfect.
38:00Right, another Margaret,
38:01this time Margaret B,
38:03has got a question for you.
38:04Did you have one Margaret A?
38:05It was Margaret A it was, yes.
38:06This is Margaret B.
38:07I prefer to pay for the energy I use
38:09rather than fixed monthly payments.
38:11How many of the best rates allow this?
38:14Very, very few of them.
38:15There are two ways
38:16to do what you're saying.
38:17What most people do
38:18is they do what's called
38:19payment in receipt of bills.
38:20So you get a bill and you pay it.
38:21The most expensive way
38:22to pay for your energy bills.
38:23Seven or eight percent more expenses
38:25than direct debit.
38:26If you want to do that,
38:28shift to variable direct debit.
38:30That's where you pay
38:31for what you've used each month
38:33but instead of you sending them the money,
38:34it's automatically taken by direct debit.
38:36That is the same rate
38:37as monthly direct debit
38:38and that is far cheaper.
38:39If you're going to do that though,
38:41there are very, very few fixed plans,
38:44fixed tariffs available.
38:45You have to accept
38:46you're not going to be
38:47in the competitive market
38:48and you're probably going to pay more
38:49for doing so.
38:50It's your choice.
38:51OK, Martin, thank you very much.
38:52Well, coming up,
38:53in news you can use
38:55over 50% off of rail travel.
38:57Bag yourself £100 from Nationwide
38:59and will you get a cold weather payment?
39:01We find out after the break.
39:02APPLAUSE
39:03Welcome back.
39:04Lots to get through.
39:05Do you know what's happening?
39:06Well, lots are coming in, of course,
39:07but there is this question
39:08that's coming from Georgia.
39:09I want you to have a look at this, Martin.
39:23Now, I have roughly £13,000
39:25of credit card debts
39:26and roughly £37,000
39:28in loans from my wedding this year.
39:30Since I got the loan from my wedding,
39:32I'm struggling to get a 0% balance transfer
39:34with any lender.
39:35Is this due to my loan,
39:36which I took out six months ago?
39:38Well, yes,
39:39but it's mainly due to £50,000
39:41of total debt,
39:42which is a very significant amount of debt.
39:44Georgia,
39:45I hope you forgive me
39:46being avuncular here.
39:47Er...
39:50My view is,
39:52your wedding is one day,
39:54your marriage is for life.
39:55£37,000 worth of debt for one day
39:58doesn't start your marriage off particularly well.
40:00And I would prefer people out there
40:02to protect their marriages
40:04and their married life
40:05rather than have that one day
40:06that puts them in debt.
40:07I don't like debt for a wedding.
40:09That's a very substantial amount of debt.
40:11Now, I don't know how much you earn,
40:13but I have my three questions
40:15that dictate whether someone's in debt crisis.
40:17The first one is,
40:18do you have more than a year's
40:21salary in debt,
40:23not counting mortgage and student loans?
40:25Now, if you earn £140,000 a year,
40:27that's doable.
40:28If you earn £50,000 or £40,000 a year,
40:30that's a very difficult amount of debt.
40:32Now, look,
40:33you can try and stay within the system.
40:35You should, you know,
40:36order all your debts
40:38and go on onto an eligibility checker
40:40and check what you can order.
40:41Order all your debts
40:42in order of highest interest rate
40:43and lowest interest rate.
40:44Focus all your repayments
40:45on clearing the highest interest rate debt
40:47because that's the one growing more quickly
40:48and the minimums on all the others.
40:50That would be the right technique.
40:51Do a money makeover.
40:52Do a budget.
40:53Go through them in detail.
40:54Find out where you can save money
40:56and try and get rid of those debts.
40:58But it's going to be quite tough.
41:00Alternatively,
41:02if you're thinking,
41:03I don't know how I'm going to do it
41:04if I can't get a 0% balance transfer,
41:06then you may want to go
41:07to a non-profit debt counselling agency.
41:09Step change, national debt line,
41:12citizen's advice,
41:14all of those will be able to help you,
41:16but it will take you out of the system.
41:18It's very tough for me to answer
41:20without knowing your income
41:21and your other finances.
41:22But the answer to your question is,
41:24yes, absolutely.
41:25£50,000 of debt,
41:26you become a risk
41:27and the lender's going,
41:28well, if we lend her any more,
41:29are we going to get it any back?
41:30You would be credit scoring.
41:31But I'm more worried
41:33about the bigger picture.
41:34That's a very large amount of debt
41:36to be in, £50,000,
41:37unless you have a very substantial income
41:39and you might want to go
41:40and get some debt counselling help
41:41to help you through it.
41:42I wish you the best with it
41:43and I wish you...
41:44I hope this goes through
41:45in a couple of years
41:46and you have a wonderful,
41:47happy, delightful married life.
41:49But debt is something that sticks,
41:50I'm afraid,
41:51so you just have to deal with it now.
41:52OK.
41:53I hope that helps
41:54for that question, Georgia.
41:55But Martin,
41:56should we get some news you can use?
41:57Yeah, sure.
42:00OK, so I've got six news
42:02you can use for you.
42:03First of all, ending Monday,
42:04the Great British Rail Sale,
42:05up to 50% off tickets
42:06from the 13th of Jan
42:07to the 25th of March.
42:08The government says
42:09it's over 50%.
42:10My view, having looked at them all,
42:11I'm seeing up to 50%.
42:12Look, it's trial and error,
42:14this, for advance or off-peak fares,
42:17all the different operators,
42:18mainly online.
42:19If you're going to be travelling
42:20on the train during that period,
42:21you may as well go and check
42:22before Monday
42:23whether you can get a cheaper ticket.
42:24Wait, just before you go,
42:26look at this from Lottie.
42:27Thanks to the Great British Rail Sale,
42:29I've spent £44.50 on three trips
42:31to Manchester,
42:32but I would have spent £150 usually
42:34at Martin Lewis.
42:35Are you proud of me?
42:37So, I saw that this morning,
42:40couldn't resist sending it to you.
42:41Lottie, I am so proud of you.
42:43I feel like I've won the Lottie-ree.
42:45Thank you so much.
42:46Terrible pun,
42:47but let's move on.
42:48Ending also on Monday,
42:5075 returns on that,
42:51what do you call it?
42:52I am, thank you very much.
42:55Right, on Eurostar.com
42:57unless it sells out first.
42:58Now, I've heard rumours
42:59there's 100,000 tickets,
43:00they won't officially confirm that
43:01for travel between, again,
43:0219th of Jan, 25th of March.
43:04Again, it's trial and error,
43:05but there's loads of these tickets available.
43:07Effectively, it's actually £35 each way
43:09to Paris, Lille,
43:10Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
43:11I mean, most people are going,
43:12coming back as well,
43:13so it'd be £70 return is the point.
43:15Next, are you a nationwide customer?
43:17If so, you'll know about
43:18its Farishare scheme
43:19where it gives existing customers £100
43:21sometime normally in June-ish
43:24and it announces it in March,
43:26in April, May time.
43:28Now, it's done it for the last three years,
43:30I don't know if it's doing it again,
43:31but this is the period
43:33where you have to qualify for it,
43:34so this is what you need to do
43:36only based on previous years.
43:37Ensure you're using your current account
43:40between now and the 31st of March.
43:42Use definitions vary,
43:43but if you're spending on it
43:44and using it normally,
43:45you will generally be fine.
43:46Then you need either £100 or more in savings
43:48or you need to owe £100 on your mortgage
43:50in March this year.
43:52If you don't think you'll do that now,
43:54well, get £100 in its flex 6.5% regular saver
43:57or maybe put £150 in to be safe
43:59and hopefully, then,
44:00that will trigger you getting the £100 payment
44:01later in the year
44:02as long as you've got a current account.
44:03I've got a few more to do.
44:05Sky is going to hike
44:06most of its mobile phone prices
44:08on the 14th of February.
44:10Happy Valentine's!
44:12By normally around £1.50 a month.
44:15Now, here's the key.
44:16If it's a mid-contract price hike,
44:19you have within 30 days of notification
44:22which you can leave your contract,
44:24you don't have to finish your contract penalty-free,
44:26of notification,
44:28which will be happening at the moment,
44:29not when the price goes up.
44:30Many people only notice when the price goes up
44:32so they miss this opportunity.
44:33So, if you're a Sky Mobile customer,
44:35get yourself on a comparison site now
44:37and see if you can cut your bill
44:39and get a better deal elsewhere
44:40or go to Sky and say,
44:41hey, I can leave if I want.
44:42I'm haggling down a cheaper price.
44:43I've seen it much cheaper elsewhere.
44:44I want to stick with you.
44:45I haven't got much time left.
44:46£25 cold-weather payments.
44:48£600,000 homes in £400 postcodes are eligible.
44:51It's also paid for those on certain benefits
44:53in England, Wales, Northern Ireland
44:54if the average temperature for a week
44:56has been less than zero degrees.
44:57Use the cold-weather payments checker
44:59on gov.uk to see if your postcode is one of them.
45:01You're going to get the payment.
45:02And finally, easy-peasy pizza-y discounts.
45:05Oh, I thought that would be a pizza...
45:07Whatever to do.
45:08Lots of restaurants have deals this time of year.
45:10So, Pizza Express,
45:11dining two for one for a pound.
45:12If you're a member of its club,
45:13do it via its app and it should be easy.
45:15If not, go onto its website and fill in a form
45:17and you'll get an online code for it.
45:18And finally,
45:19remember,
45:21the self-assessment tax return deadline
45:23is the 31st of January.
45:24If you have been sent one,
45:25you need to do it.
45:26Otherwise, you could be fined £100
45:28and have interest of 7.75%.
45:30That's it.
45:31We're back in two weeks
45:32in our new time at 7.15pm.
45:36Bye-bye.
45:37Some valuable advice there.
45:38And if you missed any of that,
45:39you can watch it again on STV Player.
45:40Next up, it's the news at 10.
45:41CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
45:42CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
45:43Some valuable advice there.
45:44And if you missed any of that,
45:45you can watch it again on STV Player.
45:47Next up, it's the news at 10.
45:49CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
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