Martin Lewis Money Show's cost of living special tonight, the 50-year-old money expert tackled the cost of the living crisis and gave savvy tips on how to make the most of your money during the summer.
Inflation is at a catastrophic high, food and energy bills have increased, and to add more salt to the wound the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) announced a 42% hike to energy prices in October.
Lewis is an financial journalist and broadcaster and founded the website MoneySavingExpert.com, however, he sold the website in 2012 to the Monkeysupermarket.com group for up to £87. Last year, his wealth was estimated at £123 million on the 2021 Sunday Times Rich List.
Read more: Tax changes: Martin Lewis warns millions of workers to check pay slips
Angelica Bell co-presents the show, the 2017 Celebrity Masterchef winner began her presenting career with CBBC on 2000. As well as presenting The Martin Lewis Money Show she occasionally covers The One Show.
The Martin Lewis Money Show couldn't have come at a more perfect time and the show started on a positive note. It kicked off with success stories. Lewis took this opportunity and gave a tip on housing benefit. He said if your household earns less than £30,000 you may be eligible for housing benefit and how much benefit you receive will depend on your income.
The show also took questions from Twitter. One viewer asked about the type of ISA you should get as a first time buyer. For those hoping to get on the property ladder, the presenter recommended a Lifetime ISA. For every £4,000 you save in a year the ISA will add £1,000, he said.
Martin Lewis summer travel savings tips
The broadcaster then moved onto summer holidays and presented the three best cards to take with you that are 'startlingly good' - Chase debit card, Halifax clarity credit card and Barclaycard rewards credit card.
In terms of taking cash on holidays, top Bureau de Change cash rates are usually beaten by top cards like the ones listed above. He suggests don't wait until you're at the airport to get cash and use a travel money comparison to find the best rate near you.
Another important factor the program highlighted is most prepaid travel cards let you lock-in rates in advance. In simple terms, you load your travel card with pounds, you exchange them and it puts the currency in there. The top two are Revolut and Wise. Revolut has no exchange fee on up to £1,000 a month and Wise has a more consistent rate but you will be charged £5 for the delivery of the card.
Another useful warning Lewis gave on the show is when using a foreign ATM, don't let the machine do your currency conversion. Always choose to be charged in the local currency of the country you're in. For example, if you're in Spain and using the ATM or paying at a bar, you will be asked if you want to be charged in GBP, to which you say no.
His last few tips include book car hire early to keep price down and compare sites like Skyscanner and Kayak for the cheapest rentals. The Manchester-born also warned for the insurance hard sell when you pick up the car and be prepared to leave a hefty deposit on a credit card. If you're parking at the airport before you head off on holiday he recommends to book ahead to avoid expensive rates.
