Martin Lewis, the indisputable king of UK financial tips, has launched an app version of his MoneySavingExpert website. That’s right: all of his tricks and tools readily accessible, right there in your pocket.
But just how much more convenient is it compared to the original platform? And more importantly, how much money could the new streamlined version of MSE save one renter?
This London tenant decided to find out by downloading the new app, locating its new ‘Tools’ section – which features many of the calculators Martin’s website is already loved for, but in newly tweaked forms – and heading down to the ‘Household Bills’ section. Time to save some money.
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(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
Energy
Like much of the UK, I am terrified by the prospect of energy bills increasing by an expected 65% come autumn and keen to (hopefully) limit the blow with some forward planning. The ‘Cheap Energy Club’ tab promised to help.
Clicking this revealed three options. ‘Just compare tariffs for me’ (see what your available choices are), ‘Help me pick a tariff’ (the same but with ‘top’ suggestions tailored to you) and ‘Help me pick a tariff AND one-click switch yearly’ (as before but with suggestions and emails telling you when to switch again).
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
Regardless of which you choose, each takes you through the same initial process. ‘Address’, ‘Do you rent your home?’ and ‘What type of energy do you have?’ were easily answered. At ‘Are you on a dual fuel tariff?’ I scratched my head and tapped the blue ‘i’, grateful for a translation (‘Do you have currently have the same supplier for both gas and electricity?’).
These information icons proliferated as I scrolled further down to answer specifics about energy supplier, payment method and time-of-use tariffs (this ‘i’ got a click too) under the watchful eye of the MSE app. So far, the app version of this tool was impressing me: no informational demands that required me to leave my perch on the sofa, easy-to-use interface and well-equipped to deal with my poor energy literacy – thank you, Martin.
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
I filled in the particulars of my electricity and gas usage, some preferences as to price, customer service and more (I went with Martin’s suggested ones) and then, since I wanted MSE to monitor the market and nudge me when I should switch as well as suggest ‘top tariffs’ for now, some additional contact info. Now to see the deals!
Except… I was met with an error message. Hm. I tried refreshing it as directed, then again; then again choosing a different starting point; then again but on the website. ‘Oops!’ flashed up the pop-up again and again. Alas, no money saving on energy for me today, app or otherwise.
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
Possible money saved: Unknown
Broadband
Luckily, the next tab down, ‘Compare Broadband Deals’, held more success. Simply inputting my postcode returned a list of viable candidates, organised from lowest to highest.
Top of the list was G Network at £12 per month (24 months), then Shell Energy Fast Broadband offering an 18-month contract at an ‘effective monthly cost’ of £12.71 or actual monthly cost of £17.99. Even without the £100 worth of Amazon vouchers that lowered the total, this was a decidedly better deal than the £28 per month (18 months) Sky package I was on.
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
Eyes opened to the fact there were way more Wifi providers than I’d realised, I continued scrolling to see if somewhere could offer me similar speeds (59Mbps average) but for cheaper. Several could: Shell Energy Superfast Fibre Plus for £15.94, Community Fibre for £16.16, G. Network for £16.50.
Well, that will be changing ASAP, I mused, screenshotting the facts and figures to share with my flatmate later. The tool’s for-phone formatting allowed this to be achieved with ease.
Possible money saved: £16 per month
Phone
Rounding off the trio of tools filed under ‘Household Bills’ was the ‘Cheap Mobile Finder’. Opening it, I was met with three brightly illustrated options I recognised from the website: ‘I need a new Sim’, ‘I need a new phone’, ‘I need a new phone but need help choosing’.
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
I selected the first option, which is suggested for when you’re happy with your phone but want to save money by swapping the Sim. As with the broadband tool, a scrollable list appeared, each option formatted to fit within the screen one at a time.
My mouth gaped open as I scrolled the options with the knowledge of my current Vodafone contract price in mind (£34 pm, 24 months). Though also operating over Vodafone’s network, LEBARA’s monthly cost was equivalent to £2.46 (or actually, 1p for the first six then £4.90).
(Image: MoneySavingExpert)
Still slightly suspicious, I filtered to unlimited data and roaming, in case I wanted to roll those perks over. Smarty, iD Mobile, each could do both for only £16. Or, if I was willing to sacrifice the roaming (I decided I could), it was only £12.67 a month if I switched to Three.
Possible money saved: £31.54 per month
The verdict
Overall, I definitely found the new MSE app preferable to the website. Less cluttered, more readily navigable, formulated so as to be easy to browse and screenshot – user experience was clearly at the forefront of the choices made when designing this app and I’m grateful for that. Plus, right there, already downloaded on your phone, there’s no excuses now for not taking advantage of MSE’s tools.
As for on the savings side, I’m equal parts delighted and disappointed. Delighted at having discovered I can save up to £16 per month on broadband and £31.54pm on phone bills – nearly £50 overall. Disappointed partially at the energy tool not working at the moment (though this is not specific to the app, with the website showing the same error message).
But disappointed mainly at myself for not having used these tools sooner. To be fair, though, they were hidden away in various parts of the website, not grouped together in one convenient category…
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