Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

How you doin'? 15 MoneySaving tips for couples - it's nearly Valentine's, after all

Tax breaks, joint accounts, cinema tricks, diamonds and more

It's Valentine's Day this Friday, an over-commercialised and sometimes forced celebration of love. Yet we're happy to use it as an excuse to share some tips to help couples. Here's where love actually can help you to be frugal...

1. News. Marriage tax allowance claims to be cut in April - if you're hitched, grab £1,150 NOW.  A huge 2.4m couples miss out on an easy tax break, worth £250 this tax year. Plus, you can claim back up to four tax years, as long as you were eligible during that time. As this allowance started in 2015/16, if you don't claim it by this April, you'll lose that first year.   
   
   The allowance applies ONLY to those who are married or civil partners, where one is a non-taxpayer and the other a basic-rate taxpayer. For more, incl how to claim, see our Marriage Tax Allowance guide.
   
   Jonathan emailed us: "After reading your email, I applied for the marriage tax allowance and within weeks an £839 cheque landed. Took 5 mins to apply online. Thank you very much."   
   
   
2. New top easy-access JOINT savings - 1.35% AER. Marcus* - part of investment giant Goldman Sachs - has been a top-pick account for 18mths. While up until now it's only been for single applicants, on Monday it started allowing joint applicants. Of course, as with all easy-access savings, it has a variable rate, so can change. There are lots of alternatives in Top Savings incl top fixes. 
   
   This is only for new accounts. So if you already have a Marcus account, you can open a new joint one, and move money across from the single one, though some who opened it earlier may be earn ing a higher rate, which can't be transferred to the joint account.
   
   
3. Pay £1 for 2for1 cinema tickets or 2for1 at 1,000s of restaurants for a year. The 2for1 meerkat trick gets you the discount on grub from Sun-Thu (not Valentine's Day, sadly) and lets you la, la land this deal on the flicks on a Tue or Wed. Geraint did: "Just got a year's 2for1 meals & movies for £1.01. Thanks, MSE." 
   
   
4. Adding your partner to your car insurance can slash costs. If they've a good driving record it can bring the price down - especially useful when adding a responsible older driver if you're young. So better if it's someone as careful as Mary Poppins rather than someone who is fast and furious. Full info and more help, incl cheap multi-car policies, in Cheap Car Insurance.
   
   
5. You can shift your partner's debt to your 0% card - but think carefully whether you should. The key weapon to cut the cost of existing credit or store card debt is a balance transfer. It's where you get a new card that pays off existing card(s) for you, so you owe it but at 0%. It means more of your repayments clear the debt, rather than just covering interest, so you're debt-free quicker, possibly saving £1,000s.
   
   Acceptance is the problem though. So if your partner is struggling and you have a good credit score, one solution is to shift the debt to your card. Yet this needs careful consideration. Here's what to do:
   
   a) The person with the debt should use our Balance Transfer Eligibility Calculator - which shows the 0% cards they're likely to be accepted for, if any.
   
   b) If they've limited eligibility, then some, but not all, cards allow you to shift your partner's debt to them. So again use the eligibility calc to see what YOU may be accepted for, then look for these brands...
   
   Barclaycard has confirmed it allows this. Virgin Money and Santander may do too - but with both, your partner needs to be added as a second cardholder, and may face a limited credit check.
   
   c) Are you sure you want their debt in your name? Understand if you do this, it's YOUR debt, even if you split up. Please never be forced or guilt-tripped into doing this if it doesn't feel right - read Martin's Financial Abuse Risks guide - IF IN DOUBT, DON'T.
   
   See full info in Best Balance Transfers (APR Examples).
   
   
6. Plan to buy a first home together? Get TWO 25% boosts. This is a no-brainer for anyone 18-39 planning to buy their first home. With a Lifetime ISA, the state adds 25% on top of what you save, which can mean £1,000s free. If you're in a couple, you can have one each and double the bonus - even if one of you isn't a first-time buyer, the other can still get the boost.
   
   
7. £60 full service breakdown cover for TWO. Breaking down may be hard to do, but this'll make it that little bit easier. Full cover incl home start and onward travel for you and your cohabiting partner costs £60 for a year with our top pick, AutoAid*. It covers any car you or they drive and can be cheaper than two single AA or RAC policies. See Cheap Breakdown Cover.
   
   
8. Make a cashback credit card your friend with benefits - net 5% cashback between you for SIX months. Cashback credit cards pay you for spending. The big payer is the Amex Platinum Everyday (eligibility calc / apply*), which gives 5% cashback for the first 3mths (max £100) and up to 1% after. Yet couples can get 6mths at 5%. Here's how:
   
   Kim applies and makes Kanye her second cardholder, so both get 5% cashback to earn when buying clothes. Before the 5% ends, Kanye applies, making Kim his second cardholder to bag another 3mths at 5%. (They must spend £3k+/yr per card to get ANY cashback though.) 
   
   Only do this for normal, affordable spending and ensure you set up a direct debit to repay IN FULL each month to avoid the 22.9% rep APR interest, which would wipe the gain. Full help, other options and how to use them in Credit Card Rewards (APR Examples).
   
   
9. A Power of Attorney is possibly more important than a will. Being blunt, if you die your assets are passed on eventually. Yet if you lose your faculties, without a Power of Attorney your finances can be locked away, unusable to pay for a mortgage, much-needed care etc. It takes a difficult and costly court order to sort it.
   
   A Power of Attorney is an easier option as if you can no longer make decisions, be it after an accident, stroke or dementia, someone you love can take over (don't worry - you can do it so it ONLY happens in such an eventuality). Full help, plus pros and cons, in Power of Attorney.
   
   
10. Cut the cost of a big, fat Greek wedding (or a small, slimline British one). If you or your partner have popped the question recently (or maybe you'll do so on Valentine's Day...), congratulations. Now see our Cheap Wedding Tips, incl how to save big on the dress, set up a free wedding website and find a reception that costs £1,000. Also, find out if you need wedding insurance.
    
    
11. If you're going to put a ring on it, nab your diamond ring... with Clubcard points. You can swap Tesco points for a voucher at jewellers Goldsmiths worth three times the value, eg, bag a £600 sparkler for £200 of points. Our Forumites have long used this trick to snap up wedding rings, earrings and even a diamond eternity ring. Full help in Boost Tesco Vouchers.
    
    
12. Love 'em, live with 'em, but aren't married to 'em? Then get a cohabitation agreement. There is no such thing as common law partners under UK law. If you're married or in a civil partnership you have rights. If you just live together, even if you've been together 20 years and have kids, you have very few rights. 
    
    So if one of you owns the home and the other pays, or you do it jointly, splitting up becomes a nightmare. So formalise it, and it's more romantic to sort out what'd happen when you love each other, than to fight over it if you later no longer do. See cohabitation agreements.
    
    
13. You can both get up to £400 of travel, phone and breakdown insurance for £114 with a packaged bank account. Paying a monthly account fee can be a waste, yet done right - as a cheap way to buy insurance - it can be fruitful.
    
    Our top-pick packaged account for couples is Co-op Bank's Everyday Extra, as for £15/mth (£180/yr) you get worldwide travel insurance (up to age 79) plus smartphone insurance and UK and European breakdown cover - just add your partner as a joint account holder so they get the benefits too. A couple needing it all could pay up to £400/yr separately.
    
    There's also a trick to get it for £9.50/mth (£114/yr) as its free Everyday Rewards scheme gives you £5.50 back if you go paperless, then each month: stay in credit or within your overdraft limit, pay in £800, log in to mobile or online banking, pay out 4+ direct debits and use your debit card 30+ times.
    
    Full eligibility info and more options, including better cover from Nationwide for families, in Packaged Bank Accounts.
    
    
14. Pair up and get a 1/3 off fares on your love train(s). A Two Together Railcard gives the two named cardholders a 1/3 off most fares if travelling together. It's £30 as standard but there are a couple of tricks to cut the cost. See Cheap Train Tickets for more tips, incl for other railcards. Abi tweeted us: "Didn't know about Two Together - saved £40+ on tickets, thanks." 
    
    
15. And finally... beware getting closer (financially) with a bad credit scorer. Apply for joint mortgages, loans, bank accounts and sometimes utility bills (not credit cards) and your credit files can be linked - regardless of whether you're kissing, living together or hitting your diamond wedding anniversary. So be careful getting joint products if your partner has a poor credit history. See Boost Your Credit Score.

Over to Martin: "Next week I start with mortgages - it's a superb time to slash costs, as there's real competition out there. Plus, how long should goods last after you buy them? And do you know what your tax code means? (Spoiler: if the answer's no, it could cost you thousands.)

"Last week 3.5m watched, our highest rating of the year. If you missed it, you can watch the car insurance & pension credit show, or read our Car Insurance, Young Person's Car Ins and Pension Credit MSE guides."