£800 is the cost of shopping for convenience
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What to read right now…
Student loan interest rates are changing from March, which could affect how much you repay each month.
Apparently everyone wants to move to Yorkshire as it’s where property prices are still going up.
Shopping for convenience might be costing you an extra £800 a year.
Meanwhile, smart meters are causing people unnecessary stress.
One for investors: the latest Bestinvest Spot The Dog report is out now. It basically tells you the funds that have been underperforming and is worth consulting if you’re thinking about adjusting your portfolio.
The deal that’s a steal…
Want to, er, spice up what you’re cooking at home?
Simply Cook* are currently offering a trial of their recipe kit for free – you just have to pay £1 for postage.
Their usual offer is a recipe kit for £3 and then you get free postage – see what I mean here* – so you save £2 on the regular deal.
As part of this free trial, you get four “recipe kits” – basically spice mixes and recipe cards that you can use to rustle up a meal. You’d have to buy the base ingredients, but the flavours are all pre-mixed for you.
It’s kinda like the Spice Tailor kits, which I absolutely love (the rogan josh one* in particular).
And then after the trial, the kits are £9.99, which, depending on how much you enjoyed the tasters, may or may not be a good deal.
I haven’t tried these yet but I’ve just bought one.
And an actual freebie…
If you bank with Nationwide, it might be worth using your debit card for your food shop in the next few months.
Until 30 April 2023, the building society is offering 5% cashback up to £10 a month at a number of supermarkets and grocery stores in the UK.
It applies to purchases in store and online – all you need to do is swipe your card.
The list includes all the usual supermarkets, but also places like Abel & Cole*, Fortnum and Mason* and Ocado*.
All the details and full list here.
If you already use cashback websites, this will be on top of anything you get from that.
And in terms of cashback rate, it’s better than any reward credit cards around at the moment, and is the same as what’s offered by Chase.
If you only do one thing…
So the Bank of England Bank Rate has gone up again and if you haven’t already, check whether your savings are still earning the best rate of interest for you.
Bear in mind that some of the savings accounts you opened last year might now be paying a lower rate of interest than what’s currently available.
My regular saver with Santander for example is only paying 2.5% AER, because the rate is fixed for 12 months, even though as a new customer I’d get the higher 2.75% AER.
I’ve updated the guide to the best savings accounts to reflect the current rates.
