Money tips

KIDS usually mark World Book Day in style by dressing up as their favourite characters. But with only some schools open it will be very different this year. Still, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have a fun day. Here’s some ways to celebrate without spending too much. HAPPY DEAL: If you’re having a McDonald’s soon, the Happy Meals come with a £1 World Book Day voucher until the end of March. This means you can pick up a free kids’ book from most major supermarkets, from a selection of 12. This year’s include There’s A Wolf In Your Book, by Tom Fletcher, and The River Whale, by Sita Brahmachari. You can also use the £1 voucher to get a pound off any full-price kids’ title priced over £2.99. MEMBERS ONLY: TopCashback are celebrating World Book Day by offering new members 100-per-cent cashback when they spend £10, or £10 cashback if they spend over a tenner, at Waterstones until March 14. That’s tempting. Head to the Topcashback.co.uk site and search … [Read more...] about Celebrate World Book Day on the cheap with our top money-saving tips

Millions of people will see their wages rise on April 1, when new minimum wage rates come into force in England. Basic rate workers will get a 2.2% increase, Rishi Sunak said, with the National Living Wage rising to £8.91 an hour. For the first time, the government's highest rate will also include those aged 23 and over - workers who previously fell under the lower wage bracket. This means 23 and 24-year-olds who are currently on £8.20 an hour will see their pay jump by 71p to £8.91 next month. However, the increase is a U-turn on the 49p an hour promised last March. It equates to a pay rise of just 19p an hour for basic-rate workers - the majority of whom have already taken a 20% hit over the past year due to mandatory furlough. It comes as the current Universal Credit total sits at 6million. Unions accused the Chancellor of "letting down" thousands of vulnerable people who are trapped in financial hardship. "Workers on the national minimum wage - not least the two … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Minimum wage to rise for workers in April – see how your pay is changing

INTER MILAN will reportedly have to stump up £43m for Romelu Lukaku or sell Man Utd a player as collateral after missing a payment for the Belgian. And the Red Devils are reportedly ready to demand either Lautaro Martinez or Milan Skriniar should the Italians not be able to come up with the money. We've also got all the latest from the Premier League, including news from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. BETTING OFFER: GET A RISK-FREE £20 BET WITH PADDY POWER Follow our LIVE blog below to get the latest from around the clubs… Joe Brophy 3rd Mar 2021, 22:52 JURGEN'S A TUCH FUNNIER Thomas Tuchel faces Jurgen Klopp tomorrow admitting he will play the straight man. He said: “What you see in front of the camera with Jurgen, this is him. “And the guy is a genius with his personality and he is super funny. “He can turn any question around with big laughter and he is like this in public and private. “You cannot compete at being funny … [Read more...] about Man Utd ‘will demand Lautaro Martinez as Lukaku compensation’ – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham transfer news

A COUPLE with no DIY skills painstakingly renovated their dated pad by watching YouTube tutorials - and it’s now worth £95k more than when they bought it. Lisa and Ed McDermott, from Dorset, bought their three-bed house in Bath in March 2019, for £355,000. The couple, who both work in marketing, snapped up the 1930s house, which hadn’t been updated since the 1960s. Lisa, 31, said it was the only way they were able to get on the property ladder in their dream location. “We couldn’t afford to live in Bath unless we purchased a doer-upper and renovated it ourselves,” she said. The pair were determined to keep costs down by doing most of the work themselves, and over the next 21 months they painstakingly modernised and updated the entire property - including the garden. They were able to devote more time to the project after they were both furloughed last April, but their hard work paid off in the end after the couple had the house valued after the renovation - and … [Read more...] about Couple with no DIY experience transform shabby 60s property into modern pad by watching YouTube & it’s worth 95k MORE