If you have children, Christmas can be an expensive time. Cut down the costs of one part of it by ignoring firms that offer to send you letters from Father Christmas for a fee. Instead, you can get a free letter, or even a free video, from the big man himself. For a free letter from Father Christmas, get your child to write a letter to Santa, Santa’s Grotto, Reindeerland, SAN TA1. All you have to pay for is the stamp. Make sure you post it before next Friday (11 December) and Royal Mail will send a personally addressed reply before Christmas Eve.
For a more high-tech Christmas message, visit https://portablenorthpole.tv/home. There you can create a personalised video message from Santa by entering a few simple pieces of information.
• Stock up on alcohol at M&S, says MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis. Until 6 December, M&S is offering 25% off wine and champagne when you buy six bottles. Sainsbury’s also has a 25% discount until 8 December when you buy six bottles of wine and champagne.
• The government has announced that it wants to have 47 million ‘smart’ meters fitted in homes by 2020, at a cost of £7bn. They haven’t clarified who’ll foot the bill yet, but there’s a good chance it’ll be us – either through an upfront charge (£340 per household), or via even higher energy bills. Smart meters are a good idea in that they allow you to see exactly how much energy you are using at a given time. But the meters shave just £28 a year off the average household’s typical bill, meaning it would take around 12 years to recoup the initial installation costs, says The Daily Telegraph.
• First Direct has launched a new offset lifetime tracker mortgage. At 2.08% above the Bank of England base rate, the overall rate comes in below 3%, meaning this tracker mortgage should appeal to those who can afford the 35% deposit. The mortgage, which is available to both new and existing borrowers, comes with a £999 arrangement fee.