Throwing a financial lifeline (moneysavingexpert.com)

Member Name: Rook252

Product:	moneysavingexpert.com
Date:	06/11/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free, impartial advice, easy to use site, lots and lots of information

Disadvantages: Search facility is a bit rubbish sometimes especially on the forum only search

Moneysavingexpert.com is the brainchild of money guru Martin Lewis, and is now one of the most popular websites in the UK. Nearly 4 million people recieve the weekly newsletter, and each month over 8 million individual people visit the site for advice. My favourite statistic about the site however is that the forum is so busy every day the equivalent of 25-30 books are written between all the posts that get put up in there!

The site started in 2003, to try to help people make better fiancial decisions. It focusses on trying to educate you as a consumer, and make better decisions to get the most out of your money. The site does not take a political standpoint, however they do campaign and have a very influencial voice on important financial issues such as bank charge reclaiming, tax credits, and so on.

The underlying philopophy of the site is:
'A company's job is to make money. A consumer's job is maximise their cash. Companies spend billions on advertising, marketing & teaching their staff to sell; yet we don't get buyers' training'
Moneysavingexpert.com seek to redress that balance, and provide consumers with the tools and knowledge to fight for their rights, and always get the best deal.

The site is an absolute mine of information. It is broken down into tabs across the top of the page dealing with issues such as 'insurance', 'travel and trips', 'banking/saving, and 'reclaim £1000s'. The site is easy to navigate, and there is also a search function to help you find specific information.

One of the features of the site is a money makeover, which proudly boasts the ability to give you a 25% payrise. I have to say when I first did this I realised how much money I was wasting in fees, charges, not getting the best rates on utilities, and it really opened my eyes.

Seperate from these tabs, big and bold across the top is the 'deals' section. This gives lots and lots of vouchers to reduce the cost of trips out, shopping, and to give you freebies.

The site itself is completely free of charge, all the advice is free, and moneysavingexpert.com does not allow advertising, as this would potentially jepordise or call into question their impartiality.

One of the most frequented areas of the site is the forum, its certainly where I spend most of my time! There are lots of rooms within the forum, freebies, competitions, mortages, savings, current accounts, employment, redundancy planning, however personally I think the most useful is the debt-free-wannabe forum. This is a place where those struggling to meet their commitments can go for advice, and start to tackle their debts. Everyones situation is different, however most of the people on this board have been, or are, deeply in debt themselves, and while the advice offered may not be popular or easy to hear, it is honest and for the most part, helpful.

The people on debt free wannabe are happy to help, and are almost without fault very supportive and friendly, so anyone looking for some free advice would be well placed to try this forum as their first port of call. However the one piece of advice to always keep in mind is that getting into debt takes time, getting out of it will too. There is no magic wand, but with hard work and sacrifice you will get there. The important thing is to address the habits and behaviour patterns that got you into debt in the first place, and change them.

Moneysavingexpert.com isn't just about cutting costs and saving every spare penny, it is about learning to live within your means and prioritise your spending. Without Moneysavingexpert.com we would never be planning a £20,000 wedding, paid for in cash, within a year, from a combined before tax salary of £42,0000. However with careful budgetting we know we can afford this, and we're going to splash out on a day to remember for the rest of our lives. All I can say is 'thanks Martin'!

Summary: Everyone should be a regular to make the most of their hard earned cash