TSB PLUS Current Account : 5% interest on first £2500

This account does not appear to be available until 30 March 2014

There has been a recent trend of free current accounts having the best interest rates available to entice new customers. The catches usually seem to be :

You need to put a certain amount in each month, usually around £1000
The interest might be on a limited amount
You may need to add some direct debits to the account
Some charge a monthly fee (check for free ones)

TSB PLUS Current Account
This current account is of special interest because :
You only need to put in £500 a month. Probably the lowest amount of this type of account
You don't need to add direct debits to the account
The interest is only on the first £2500, but that's £125 a year (before tax)
Online account only

Many people will earn more in this type of account than having large sums in savings accounts

More about TSB PLUS Curent Account on TSB site 

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Related Links
Moneyfacts : List of high-interst current accounts
Moneyfacts : About TSB PLUS current account
Moneysavingexpert : About TSB PLUS current account
The Guardian article

Luma CASHBACK Credit Card : best way to pay for groceries & petrol ?

LUMA Cashback a good deal

Luma CASHBACK Credit Card
(not to be confused with the LUMA 'rewards' credit card or the basic LUMA credit card)
Link : Luma Cashback Card website

January 2014 update  : Cashback card suspended. 
The card was only available for about 4 weeks. It looks like it may not be back.

Updates... If the link says the cashback card is not available but you can choose the rewards card or basic card, my advice would be not to bother as the rewards or basic card are not much use and neither has cashback.

Without the cashback, the LUMA card is perhaps only any use if you cannot get a credit card with a much lower APR%. Luma and Capital One credit cards tend to be at the 'highest' level of APR% along with Aqua cards, so you only want to be with them if no other option exists.

The main basic details (as of 16 Nov 2013)  :
No annual fee
Seems to be part of the Capital One credit group (well-known and trusted)
Those with poor credit rating or low income have a good chance of approval
Typcial credit amount is between £200-£1500
35.9% APR
Online account (possibly can pay other methods too)
Contactless card
Free fraud protection

The Main reason everyone in the UK should take this card : 
At many well-known stores and petrol stations, they give 4% cashback on things like groceries and petrol bought with the card (up to a maximum of £225 month, meaning a potential saving of £9 a month).
There is list of participating shops and petrol stations which seems to include the well-known stores such as  Asda, Tesco etc. Full details here : List of shops for LUMA cashback    

How to use the card sensibly :
There's only one real rule for this : pay off the monthly balance in full each month !!!
Then you pay no credit.
Or you will be hit with a 35.9% APR. Still better than payday loans but it's a lot.
Oops ... another rule. Only use it for purchases. Not for cash withdrawals etc.

The card is intended for people with poor credit ratings or on low income who would normally have very little chance of getting a credit card. It is termed a 'credit building' credit card. But the 4% cashback is so good it must make it one of the best cashback credit cards there is and in my opinion probably a card every UK household should have.

So get yourself a LUMA cashback card and use for your usual shopping then pay the monthly balance in full each month. Even someone on the £200 minimum credit could almost get the full £9 saving each month. The maximum credit seems to be £1500,so it's no use for anything over £1500.

Future reasons to bail out :
If they add an annual fee (but the savings might still make it worth it)
Any other changes which make the card less attractive than the cashback

Note : 
There is also a LUMA Credit Card website, which offers 'rewards'. However these rewards are very poor. I don't know if this card has now been superceded by the 'cashback' card, or both are different options, but whatever you do, for now make sure you are applying for the CASHBACK card.

Link : LUMA cashback credit card site 

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What other sites are saying about the cashback card :
Daily Mail 'This is Money' Nov 2013
Moneysavingexpert forum thread

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Note : If you intend to always pay off the debt monthly before accruing any debt interest (which should be the aim), it may be best to pay by direct debit. But always be sure you have enough in your current account to cover the payment (you don't want an overdraft bill). Or just make sure you always pay off the montly debt before the due date.
The main point of using the card is to pay for groceries etc and get a 4% cashback. So pay the bill before the monthly due date.

Changing elctricity and gas supplier : Went with Npower August 2013 deal

searching cheapest duel-fuel utility supplier

Had a look at the Utility market to see if changing my gas and electricty supplier was worthwhile.

It certainly seems that for duel fuel for me the best by quite a bit (Aside from First Utility who were not too far behind) was :
NPower Billsaver August 2013

If you are on Economy 7 it may be likely that another offer is better but I can't see past this for duel fuel. They say the tariffs should be 7% below their standard tariff until August 2013 and also that after a year I get a £100 discount (which makes up the bulk of the savings). It looks like they understand that people are dodging the price comparison sites and pocketing the affiliate money themselves through sites like Quidco, so they are giving that money later to the customers as a reason to stay, and it seems that the price comparison sites are avoided.

I tried to join via a price comparison site anyway, to see if I get another bonus (around £17). I went through Quidco and from there linked through to the Which comparison site. They are sending my direct debit agreement (filled it in online).

So in summary :
It seems I may save around £137 per year on duel fuel
I went to Quidco
From there I linked through to Which Comparison site
On there, I signed up for NPower Billsaver August 2013

home energy comparison : my favourite comparison site

I am wary of all comparison sites now but at the moment I prejudicely prefer the energyhelpline one.

energyhelpline home enrgy price comparison

Home energy price comparison in the UK

I'm starting the annual cheapest home energy comparison search. At the moment I prefer these comparison sites, since you don't need to give an email or full address etc, and they seem to list all available offers. Look out for the small print of course.

Uswitch.com
UKpower.co.uk
Energyhelpline.com
EnergyLinx