Martin Lewis: These are my five vampires of finance – don’t let them bite you – Norfolk Eastern Daily Press

PUBLISHED: 15:01 02 June 2017 | UPDATED: 16:02 02 June 2017

Financial guru and founder of moneysavingexpert.com, Martin Lewis. PA Photo/Handout.

Email this article to a friend

To send a link to this page you must be logged in.

Theyre everywhere: the jaw-dropping, wallet-wounding vampires of finance, ready to pounce on every penny in your pocket.

Yet remember a vampire can only enter your house if you invite it, so if youre armed and know what to look for, you can stay safe.

Here are five easy ways to avoid hidden costs.

1. Shock 20 calls to 118118

The days of using 118 numbers are long gone for most people. Yet some, whether for speed or lack of online access, still call especially more elderly and vulnerable people.

Prices are now a true horror story for many services, including the most famous, 118118, which now charges a whopping 4.49 to connect and a further 4.49 a minute, on top of the line providers charges.

Worse still, if you say yes to being connected, even if its a call thatd be in your free minutes, you will continue to pay that hideous rate for the ongoing call.

Yet there are some cheaper numbers - 118128 charges 35p flat rate for one call. And, outrageously, the firm behind 118118 has another less publicised number (118811) thats a flat 1 for a call; or even call its free 0800 1183733 as long as youre prepared to listen to ads.

Plus, those who are unable to read or hold a telephone directory due to disability can register to be able to call 195 for free for the same service. You just need to fill out a simple application form call 0800 587 0195 for free.

2. The hidden fine for spending on debit cards

If you spend abroad on your plastic, most credit and debit card providers get a near-perfect exchange rate from Mastercard or Visa, but then add a 3%-ish non-sterling exchange fee to what they charge you.

Yet on top of that, the debit cards from Lloyds, Halifax, Santander, Bank of Scotland, RBS, NatWest, Clydesdale and TSB also effectively add a charge for spending of up to 1.50, meaning a lot of small transactions can cost a fortune.

Instead, the cheapest way to spend abroad is using a specialist overseas credit card which have no exchange rate fee, so you get the same near-perfect rate the banks do.

Just pocket one, only for use abroad, and ensure you repay in full to minimise the interest. To find which of the eight that offer this youre most likely to be accepted for, use my eligibility calculator at mse.me/TravelCardElig

3. You pay treble the cost for identical medicines just for the packaging

Most people know that its the medicines active ingredient that does the business so Nurofen is effectively just ibuprofen and generic does the same job far cheaper. (However, if you have certain allergies check the other ingredients too.)

Yet sometimes youre paying more not just for the same active ingredient, but an identical tablet.

Look on the side of the packet and youll see a product number (PL).

If two packs have the same PL number that means the tablets inside are identical.

4. The 1,000 fine for an out of date photo

If you have a photo driving licence, get it out and check the 4b date on it.

Thats the date your photo expires, and around two million of them are out of date.

If youre stopped by police it can result in a fine of up to 1,000. The DVLA does write to you, but many miss it.

If yours is out of date, renew online via the Gov.uk website for 14, by post for 17, or at the Post Office for 21.50 (including photo).

5. The credit cards that will leave you with grey hair before you repay them

Repaying only the minimum balance on your credit card not only means itll take you much longer to clear the debt, but itll cost a lot more too.

Thats because the minimum payment isnt a fixed amount its usually a percentage of the balance. So the amount you repay each month will fall as your balance reduces, meaning it takes longer to clear.

On 3,000 debt the current minimum is around 70 a month. Instead of just opting to pay the minimum, if you fixed your repayment at 70 a month which you can afford as youre paying it now then youd clear the debt in five years at a total cost of just 1,500 in interest, saving 2,400 in interest.

Theres one caveat though. If you have more than one credit card with debt on it, then always focus on repaying the most expensive card first.

That means you should only make the minimum repayments on all others. That way you get rid of the most expensive debts first, and then focus on the next most expensive.

Martin Lewis is the founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert.com

Read the rest here:
Martin Lewis: These are my five vampires of finance - don't let them bite you - Norfolk Eastern Daily Press