Mrs Mean sets out to save you money every day. She details the tricks and the ways we are persuaded to spend more than we can afford. With the economic crisis hitting so many people, now is the time to work out ways of saving your money. Let Mrs Mean and broadcaster Glen Thompsett guide you through the maze. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Our finances have never been so sorely tested. Energy bills are increasing so are water bills and tax is also a worry among Mrs Mean listeners. But that does not mean we have to accept the bad news without fighting back. There are lots of tips to save money on energy and water bills. Now is the time to check them out. Those trying to improve their …
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Student finances are even tougher this year for those starting their university courses, as maintenance loans are just 2.5% higher than last year, even though rents and other costs are increasing far faster than the cash help. The average maintenace loan is just £6,116 less than the average rent. And to make matters worse the financial help offered…
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Cash is making a comeback. The cost of living crisis means that millions of people have to watch every penny and cannot afford to get carried away with credit cards or contactless ones. The number of people using cash for day-to-day spending is at a four-year high and cash is used for 12% of all transactions. It gives greater control of our money a…
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Ep - 80 - Take your time to protect yourself
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The world gets faster but it can make us very vulnerable as scammers and the unscrupulous, trick us into making decisions too quickly. The banks are not always helpful if customers are defrauded. It is not only the elderly who are at risk. We all have to make sure we do not click on links, open attachments or accept phone calls from unknown senders…
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Home insurance bills are racing ahead. It means we all have to do our research early and be ready to move fast when renewing our policies if we want to save money. With average increases of 42% we need to check every aspect of our cover. Too many people pay too much for their buildings' insurance because they insure for the sale price of their home…
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Cyber attacks and IT glitches are happening more often, affecting millions of customers, and they can put our money in danger. Not only are hackers after our money, but fraudsters are ready to use news of IT glitches to persuade us to hand over our account details. They pretend to be from our banks, credit card companies or other organisations. The…
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Ep77-Mend your budget before the election
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We can all make extra money, and in most cases we will not have to pay any extra tax into the bargain. Whether it is selling on clothes that no longer fit, hiring out power tools, renting a room or space in your driveway you can start earning in days. With taxes at a 70-year-high and food and energy prices still much higher than they were a couple …
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Ep76-Stop energy companies robbing customers
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Customers are owed £3.7 billion by energy companies. The money has built up from overpayments of direct debits and should be returned. Companies err on the side of overcharging when they set up the amounts we have to pay for direct debits. A small buffer is sensible, but all too often customers are owed hundreds of pounds and more. We need to get o…
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It is the peak holiday booking season as we look forward to summer sunshine. But first of all you need to make sure you get a great deal for your flight, hotel, hire car and holiday money. And as soon as you book you must protect the dream with travel insurance. We tell you how to avoid being ripped off by hire car companies, which are the best day…
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Ep 74 - Beware reduced credit card payments
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Millions of credit card customers face a big increase in the cost of their borrowing, but many will not know. Barclaycard is reducing the minimum payments that customers will be charged from July. Someone owing £2,500 will have a minimum payment of £71. 21 from July down from £89.96 - an apparent saving of £18 a month. But this move alone increases…
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Children are very expensive, especially if you work. The government has increased the financial help it gives towards child care costs so that the parents of two-year-olds can now get a contribution towards the costs. But this is still likely to be a lot less than is needed. The official line is that two-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free chil…
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Loyalty is the latest tool that supermarkets use to lure us into their stores. Big signs and advertisements suggest we can save lots of money but in reality you need to take a calculator, check prices carefully on grocery websites and allow extra time if you are not going to be ripped off. Loyalty cards offer cheaper prices to customers who have th…
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April is the cruellest month when many of our household bills increase. The battle to tame inflation has not yet been won so we have to cut our household bills wherever possible. Even energy bills that are set to be reduced by 12% on April 1 are still more than twice what they were before Ukraine was invaded. So there is no better time to check all…
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It is crunch time for millions of homeowners whose fixed rate mortgages expire this year. They face much bigger monthly payments. After 14 interest rate increases over the last two years, and no sign from the Bank of England that there will be a reduction any time soon, many are fearful they could lose their homes, and may be putting off finding ou…
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Succeeding in your A level exams is vital for the school students wanting to go to university this autumn. But almost as important, as their studies, is working out how they will afford to live whilst they are at university. The government has increased maintenance loans for undergraduates by 2.5% for students going to university this autumn. This …
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Tax returns have been filed so it is now time to find out if there is any money that HMRC owes you, and the quicker you are the more you might get. The current tax year ends on April 5 and if you make a claim before then for an allowance you should have then you may be able to backdate the claim to 2019. And there is lots of money waiting for you t…
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Ep - 67 Do not let your insurance company make extra money from you
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Insurance companies are competting to charge us more. The average homes' insurance policy already cost 36% more this year than last, before storms Babet, Ciaran and Debi damaged thousands of homes causing half a billion pounds worth of damage. And then came the even more powerful Henk. While the insurance companies will find reasons to increase our…
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Ep 66 - Time to save starting with a penny
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Banks make billions a year by charging borrowers lots and paying savers little. Now with mortgage rates coming down as banks compete for customers savers have to be nimble if they are not going to lose out. Now is the time to find out whether you can get a better return on any savings you have. Banks are already reducing the interest they pay on de…
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We have been battling inflation all year and now retailers are trying to persuade us to spend whatever we have managed to save. Everywhere we are being offered half price goods and even cheaper. Before you are tempted you have tocheck whether the price cuts are as good as the stores say, and whether you need what is being offered. It has been a tou…
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New Year is an opportunity to get our finances under control. There is the quiet period after Christmas to review all our accounts and to work out if there is money to be saved. More people are using cash to give themselves better control of their money. It is much more difficult to overspend when the cash runs out and we notice every overspend. It…
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Christmas is a tremendous financial strain each year, and it is probably worse this year as interest rates, food prices, energy bills all challenge household budgets. We all need to learn how to do more for less. There are lots of ways of giving presents that cost nothing, and even more ways of raising extra cash in the next few weeks . Banks are g…
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Black Friday is a danger zone for anyone trying to live within their budgets. Retailers want us to splurge on things we didn't know existed or that we wanted them. Fraudsters also put in overtime to part us from our money. But if you do your research before the spending-fest there are bargains to be had as retailers battle to persuade us to buy. Re…
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Mrs Mean has been listening to your questions and says you do not have to wait for the Government to provide a giveaway Autumn Statement or Budget. You can save money on your energy bills straightaway and some two million couples are missing out on tax benefits for being married that could provide more than £1,000 in weeks. Getting savings rates th…
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The incentives to buy an electric vehicle are gradually being removed and the cost of running them has risen. It is not therefore surprising that the number of private buyers of electric cars fell by 14% in the year to September, even before the government rolled back the deadline by five years for the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehic…
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Renters are having it tougher than homebuyers to get a home, with more than 20 people asking to view properties as soon as they are advertised, and rents increasing by inflation-busting amounts. Finding the right property, or one that is good enough, is just the start. It probably takes more work than buying a home because you do not have a solicit…
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Online companies appear to set out to mislead customers about the prices they will charge when we get to the checkout. Everyone knows that the flight price first offered is likely to be doubled by the time we pay. Unfortunately many other companies are using the same trickery. The government is consulting on whether it needs to ban charging more th…
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Credit cards are charging historic rates of interest and they are also trying to find new customers to pay these rates, and possibly spend more than they should. Beware. As people struggle to pay their increased mortgages, rents, food and heating costs the card providers are offering extra credit almost daily. One offer I received told me I would g…
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Motor insurance premiums are rising very fast, and unexpectedly for drivers who have made no claims or changes to their policies. Many loyal customers are getting renewal notices for premiums that have more than doubled. Insurance companies say this is because car repairs are much more costly and those of us who have not incurred any costs are expe…
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The energy price cap will fall again at the beginning of October, but will still be very high. Meanwhile the nights are drawing in and lights are needed earlier. Before it gets cold we need to look at how we can save money on heating, lighting and to cut our monthly direct debits. And maybe it is time to check out whether you would save money by fi…
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Food shopping has got a lot more complicated as supermarkets offer us different discounts and extra points if we use their loyalty cards. It takes time to get ready for a shopping trip, and once in the supermarket it can be hard work to find the advertised deals on the shelves and also to check whether it is really good value. Mrs Mean has been ana…
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Ep - 53 Stop Your Bank Account Being Frozen
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Having your bank account frozen or closed can be very costly in financial terms, and damage your reputation and credit profile into the bargain. While Nigel Farage was able to get full attention when Coutts Bank told him it wanted to close his account, most customers are on their own, and may not even to be able to get through to someone at their b…
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Credit cards offer brilliant insurance for millions of us if we are ripped off when making purchases over £100. The protection is offered by the Consumer Credit Act and it has forced banks and credit cards to pay customers billions of pounds when their flights were cancelled, retailers went into administration without providing what we have paid fo…
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Motor insurance is stoking inflation in the UK if we allow it do so. Data from Consumer Intelligence put the average motor policy increase at 34% in May and the Office of National Statistics said that motor policies were up 50% in the year to June. These increases make it vital that no driver accepts an automatic renewal and that they all start to …
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Mrs Mean is here to help you get money back when you have been ripped off and to help you to work out what to do next. In today's Money Clinic she details how to get compensation from universities for lost access to tutors and not being able to graduate at the end of degree courses. Every week she is asked by the customers of banks, energy companie…
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Household debt is at an all time high with unsecured debt - borrowing other than mortgages - averaging £14,300 a household. There is lots of help from debt charities, who are doing a marvellous job, but you have to be careful as there are vampire advisers, who pop up on your browser and they are out to add to your debt. Or at least to charge you lo…
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Managing finances at college or university is tougher than any exam. The maintenance loans to pay for the cost of living as a student will rise by a miserly 2.8% for English students in September following a rise of 2.36% last year. Rents alone often cost more than the maximum maintenance loans. Parents whose household incomes are more than £25,000…
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The Bank of England has raised interest rates by 0.5% causing panic among mortgage payers. It comes as more than a million homebuyers will have to remortgage before the end of the year as their fixed rate mortgages expire. Many more have variable or tracker mortgages that have already increased a dozen times in the last 18 months and may be getting…
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Every week grocery prices increase and we all need to change the way we shop - avoiding the traps laid for us by supermarkets. Check shelf edges for unit prices to work out what is cheapest. You may have to use your phone calculator as stores are not very good at maths or try to confuse. Look to the lower shelves for better value products and avoid…
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We have been told that new rules are coming in to help anyone who has been defrauded to get refunds from their banks. But there is no date yet as to when this will come to pass so we all have to be extra careful as anyone defrauded through their bank account may still feel alone. And the fraudsters may go into overdrive to make the most of their op…
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The sun is shining and energy bills are on their way down in July. Now is the time to check we are not paying too much each month. Energy companies increased our direct debits by an average of 60% between February and April and have not reduced them to take account of all our energy-saving. They are holding billions of pounds that belongs to us. It…
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Air fares have increased by up to 71% since last summer, which makes us all vulnerable to being lured by a cheap holiday offer. Beware of fares that seem too cheap. The budget airlines are adding lots of extra fees for choosing your seat, boarding early, air passenger duty and taking luggage. It can make them more expensive than flying with the big…
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Tipping has changed in the UK and you could be paying too much. The National minimum wage, changing spending patterns and the growth of food delivery have reduced the reliance on fixed service charges. Restaurants would rather we return and recommend them than be put off by fixed tips. It is also more honest to charge the correct price for dishes. …
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Ep 41 - Time to make sure all your money is safe
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Three American banks have failed and an unprecedented £4.8 billion was withdrawn from British banks in March. During the cost of living crisis we need to know our money is safe. While UK banks are safe it is a good time to make sure that our savings are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and will be there whatever happens. It is …
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Ep- 40 Don't be locked out of your bank account
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Every week hundreds of customers are locked out of their bank accounts with no warning. They cannot withdraw cash, pay bills and often cannot find out why. As fraudsters come up with new scams, and commandeer the accounts of vulnerable customers, banks use complicated logarithms to detect suspicious activity and they often get it wrong. The banks' …
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Ep - 39 Time to act as credit cards are becoming even more expensive
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Credit card debt is swamping many of the holders of the UK's 59 million credit cards. With interest running close to £5 billion a month or £126m a day now is the time to find out how to cut the costs before the interest rates go up again in June. More than 90% of credit card holders are in debt in that they do not pay off the bills in full each mon…
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Ep - 38 You must not reject free money from your employer
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Millions of workers have stopped paying into their pensions during the cost of living crisis. The short-term savings may be costing them thousands of pounds a year and could reduce their pension pot by tens of thousands. Times are very hard with energy bills, mortgage rates, council tax, childcare fees and even broadband charges putting serious pre…
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Online shopping makes it too easy to spend money and to incur extra fees we are not expecting. It was vital during the pandemic and retailers are keen for us to continue buying from the comfort of our homes. We are offered big discounts on our first online grocery shop and season passes to get regular deliveries. But you have to make sure that you …
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Ep - 36 Time to avoid supermarket rip-offs
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Food shopping has never been more difficult. We have to do the prep if we do not want to fall foul of the tricks designed to confuse us. We cannot trust offers as food prices are increasing by 17.5%. Take time to check the price per ml or gram. Mrs Mean found one soap container at eye height on the shelves cost five times more than the bottles on t…
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Both savers and borrowers are getting a rough deal from banks who are making monster profits for their shareholders and their executives. It is time that we all check our bank accounts to see if we are among the millions of customers who are getting little or no interest on their savings while NatWest has reported that it made 14 times more from it…
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The chance to save £450 in a little over an hour should be incentive enough for most of us to check whether we can Spring Clean our spending. Saving money is our second job as food prices, council tax, water bills, stamps, presciptions and much more are set to rise. Meanwhile insurance companies and telecoms providers are increasing their costs by …
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