Money For Nothing And Your Chips For Free (moneysavingexpert.com)

Member Name: jo1l

Product:	moneysavingexpert.com
Date:	02/04/06 (630 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Saving money

Disadvantages: Site crashes every now and then .

We don't talk about money do we? Take my best friend, I know her most embarrassing moment, I was there the night the dork from hell accosted her, I know the in's and out's of the most embarrassing date on this earth -all I can say is I'm glad it wasn't me! But do I know her overdraft? Her credit card debts? Of course I don't and does she know mine? Darkest secrets yes, that old saying "I have to stay friends with you as you've got too much dirt on me…." springs to mind the state of my bank account -hell no. Look I only got online banking because it was less embarrassing to pour a glass of vino and tentatively log on, then stand at the cash point and cry when the debit balance appeared on the screen! If I was to tell you that there was a site that might just be able to turn around that negative balance or just show you ways to use your money more efficiently then you'd probably wonder what the catch was, that this site doesn't support any advertising, that the vast majority of links do not reap the owner money you'd probably be surprised.


Martin Lewis -of TV's Make Me Rich fame started Moneysavingexpert.com in order to help others. Held by most members of the site in high esteem it's thanks to Martin and the stuff I read on the board that me and my overdraft parted company in 4 months at the start it had 000 at the end of it. That my savings account actually has savings in it and my holiday to Florida is paid for resting nicely in a 0% credit card account with the money to pay for it in my savings account earning me interest. Even if you're not up to your eye balls in debt the site will still be of use. My extremely solvent friend got half price phone/broadband rental for himself, his parents and the In laws all by reading a tip on the message board. Me - I reduced the broadband and phone package to the point when the first bill came NTL owed me money in credits! This has now resolved to a bill that is now half what it used to be. Fired on by the phone call to NTL I found cheaper house insurance and got £65 for the pleasure of transferring it, Changed gas and electric suppliers and got £26 for doing that and finally got better life insurance cover and paid less for it of course! A work colleague described the site as being about making the money in your pocket go further, her husband as that "Bl***y site that made her get rid of my Sky Movies". I would add he did go out and spend the £55 he got sent for buying his car insurance with a grin on his face!


Moneysavingexpert.com (MSE) on first glance is a rather boring looking site. It's got a slightly cosy "I've just learnt HTML" feel to it and one thing that annoyed me at first was the fact you clicked on a link to read an article and it opened up in another window. This can be a pain if you click on several links at a time and end up with what appears to be zillions of windows and can't find the one you wanted to read next! Some of the articles do go out of date pretty quickly and it is recommended that you sign up for the weekly email which gives that weeks top tips -which can be any thing from the latest 0% Credit Card offer to how to get a free sample of shampoo - yes I have got enough shampoo to last me thanks! Should you join the 250,000 people that have signed up for the weekly email you will not get spammed with other stuff from the site or other organisations.


The home page consists of links to a variety of financial stuff, at present you'll see articles for cheap flight finders, free worldwide calls from your computer, the best mini ISA, how to cut the cost of your digital TV package, how to claim back bank charges etc. All the articles are extremely easy to read - you'll not need an accountancy degree to understand the jargon free articles. Most recommended action to take doesn't mean you have to spend days or weeks on something to save a few pence. My phone call to NTL took 10 minutes due to the fact I was on hold the net result meant I'd saved £30 a month for 6 months. Some articles are blindingly obvious being a "rate tart" I knew the in's and out's of not paying interest on my credit card thanks very much. But I did have to question my loyalty to Sainsburys bank and my collecting Nectar points when I realised that a cash back card would give me more hard cash for the amount I did spend and repay each month on it. What you won't find is links recommending this card and sign up now. All links that help the site are shown as such. If a card doesn't cut the muster then it won't be written about on MSE and you won't get a pop up trying to sell it to you either. You'll also find slightly older articles by clicking on the relevant links e.g. Credit Cards, Travel&Transport, Shopping and Savings&Investments. Throw reading an interesting article on how to get a free loan from a credit card my car loan is now residing on a 0% card and will be paid off a month sooner then I thought it would be.


Where MSE comes into it's own is the Forum -the link is on the left hand side of. What you'll be greeted with is your typical Message Board look. In order to post on the board you will have to sign up - it's not enough just to have signed up for the weekly Email. Registering to post means agreeing to the T&C's of the board, creating a user name and giving your email. Benefits of signing up mean you can post on all parts of the board and you can use the Private Messaging System. However if you do not wish to sign up you are still able to read the wide range of posts on the board unlike some message boards that insist you log in to be able to read. Posting on the board is like other message boards a question of filling in the blank box and hitting the post icon. The usual array of smilies can be added should you wish. One nice touch is the Thank You icon where if say someone has answered a query you can acknowledge it.


Navigating the message board is fairly easy if a little bit overwhelming, you have to remember that the board has 70,000 plus members so there are A LOT of posts!! The heavy useage does mean the board crashes every once in a while. If you've got a query be it of a financial nature or you want to know where you can get a decent hair cut cheaply you'll probably find it on the board! The board is set out into 6 sections, each having different subsections and each subsection then has groups of threads so you can follow posts quickly and logically unlike say a Yahoo Board. Pure Money is broken down into 11 Subsections all dealing with different aspects e.g. Credit Cards, Debt Free Wannabe, Savings Accounts, Current Accounts and Loans to name a few. Home Work and Play looks at things like Utilities, Travel, Techie Stuff -yes you can get advise on why your computer doesn't work on a financial web site, Household budgeting And DIY Moneysaving .Who and Where you are looks at advice for students, Over 50's and advice tips pertaining to your locality. Bargain Buys -as it says looking to find something cheaply, a freebie or find out how much someone paid for something there. I suspect Boots with it's buy one get one free loop hole loathes the site! Tesco's online shopping codes were a regular feature until they too were pulled. In this section you'll also find links posted to a variety of cash back sites - one of which has been more then generous in the Florida Spending Money stakes I can tell you. Even if you never go onto the MSE board I would highly recommend you sign up for quidco.com -the cash back site that gave me £25 for opening a savings account with £1 amongst generous payments for changing household insurance, buying my travel insurance - it was the cheapest I'd found prior to joining Quidco and changing my Gas/Electric suppliers. Before you roll your eyes to the ceiling muttering do they only talk about money then no the site also has a chat board called the Moneysavers Arms were a wide variety of topics are discussed. All subsections have links to relevant articles or organisations for instance the Debt Free Wanna Be board has links to the national debt line and other charities that help people in debt. As I said previously you will not get the hard sell by clicking onto any links.


Financial sites are boring, if you don't have a specific query then you'll probably never come across MSE or feel the need to go and take a look. I found the site one night while looking for a 0% credit card -anything to help take the sting out of booking a trip to Florida and then thinking how the hell do I pay for it. My first port of call on the message board was to the Travel Section where I picked up a few tips like opening a Nationwide Account as they don't charge you for taking out money abroad and where to book cheap tickets for Disney. It was perhaps the posts that I read in the Debt Free Wanna Be board that gave me what is referred to on MSE as a "Light bulb" moment. I woke up and smelt the coffee and decided that it was time to sort out my overdraft and actually look at what I did spend my money on. With tips and actually learning how to set a budget and stick to it I finally did something I'd always meant to do. Should you want to find out any thing of a financial nature be it the best savings account for you, where to get the best loan, how to find a reliable builder/plumber, where to take the kids on a cheap day out , which is the best freebie/survey site etc then you might like to take a look at MSE, you've nothing to lose and you might just gain a few quid in the process.

Summary: A very informative site that will help you make the most of your money.