Ditch fee-paying bank accounts

If you pay a monthly fee for your bank account, it's about to rise. These types of accounts are where you pay to get a whole range of supposed benefits. Most people sign up after a sales call promising ‘great features’, but in reality, these features will rarely be used.

And now prices are rising. Some Lloyds TSB accounts are going up by £2 per month, some RBS accounts by 95p per month and some NatWest accounts by £1.45 per month.

But don’t waste your money. If you’ve got one of these, or other fee paying accounts like Barclays Additions, there are three steps to see if you're getting value for money.

Step 1: Calculate its real annual cost e.g. £12 per month is £144 a year.

Step 2: It’s all about the benefits. Do you ever use them? If you do, is the account fee cheaper than getting them separately? For example, for less than £40 per year you can get annual travel insurance and/or breakdown cover.

Step 3: If it's not cheaper, then ditch, switch and save by moving to a non-fee account with the best rates. Currently you can get either 8.5% in-credit interest with Alliance & Leicester or a year’s 0% overdraft with a number of banks.

For a detailed guide to the top current accounts, whether you're in-credit or need an overdraft, read Martin’s full Best Bank Accounts guide.

Grab a £25 tan and more for just a couple of quid

June’s edition of Glamour magazine comes with a raft of offers including a free £25 spray tanning session at the Tanning Shop and a free iced drink and cake from Coffee Republic. What's more, you get the choice of having the Californian spray tan applied in a private booth in 60 seconds or by a therapist in 15 minutes.

All you pay is £2 for the cost of the magazine. Go to www.thetanningshop.co.uk and www.coffeerepublic.co.uk to find your nearest outlets.

Stay in touch for free

Friends Reunited has dropped its fee for old chums who want to contact each other. It used to charge £7.50 every six months but has scrapped the fee for good. The website says it made the changes due to member feedback, though the cynics will argue it is to counter the growing popularity of Facebook. Either way, it's a great move.

For more great MoneySaving free goodies and tips, check out the Freebies Forum board on MoneySavingExpert.com.