MoneySavingExpert has shared an “easy trick” to make around £400 for free. The website, founded by finance guru Martin Lewis, explained the first step is to claim £175 by switching to the Santander 123 Lite current account.
The account costs £2 a month, but the fee is cancelled out because you can earn up to £15 a month cashback. There are three different ways to get cashback, each of which is capped at £5 a month.
The first tier is council tax, mobile and home phone bills, broadband and paid-for TV packages and Santander mortgage payments, the Mirror reports. The second tier is 2% back on gas and electricity bills, and Santander life and home insurance, then the third tier is 3% cashback on water bills.
Read more: Martin Lewis explains what Liz Truss' plans to tackle energy bills mean for you
MSE states: “To get it, you need to have/switch two direct debits, log in to online/mobile banking, have a one-off £1,000 going in, then fund £500/mth (for example, by paying your salary in). The bonus will be paid within 30 days of meeting the criteria.”
First Direct is also offering a £175 switch offer, but it doesn’t have the incentive of cashback on bills. MSE said the final step to getting £400 free, is to apply for the app-only Chase current account where you get 1% cashback on all daily spending.
“For a family who'd spend £1,000 a month on the card, that's £120 cashback over the year,” said MSE. "So use Santander for your bill payments, and then fund this for normal spending.”
To boost your finances, see if you can get cashback when opening a new account through Topcashback or Quidco. You'll get money back for a qualifying shop as you complete the transaction via their website.
The cash will come in handy as households continue to struggling against the cost of living crisis. Energy bills were due to rise to £3,549 in October - but they will now be capped at £2,500 instead for two years. However, this is only marginally above the £1,971 level the current Ofgem price cap is set at.
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