Martin's got some Mothers' Day deals
Free wills, hot mobile Sim deal, a free Mother’s Day card and more Mother’s Day gift ideas. These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ Deals of the Week.
Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
Over-55? March is Free Wills Month
Solicitor-drafted wills are the gold standard and normally cost £120 or more. Yet if you’re 55 or over this March is Free Wills Month. It’s when solicitors in 26 locations in England and Wales including Blackpool, Cardiff, Liverpool, Sheffield and Greater London will draft a will for you for free. You don’t have to live in one of these areas to qualify – you just have to be able to get there.
This is one of a few big wills events over the year, so if this one doesn’t suit it is worth checking out the others. See a full breakdown in Martins ‘Cheap and Free Wills’ guide.
Solicitors do tend to get busy quickly though, hence the early warning. For this one, just go to the Free Wills Month website and register (it’ll send you a reminder in March) and it’ll then come up with solicitors close to you who are taking part (if there are any), who you then call to make an appointment.
This is a charity-backed scheme, and the charities pay for the solicitors' time (though at a reduced price), so be prepared for your solicitor to ask you to consider making a bequest to a charity in your will (leaving the charity something when you die). It's hoped you will in return for using the scheme, but you're under no obligation. Perhaps a good minimum is leaving enough that would cover the solicitors’ fees normally – though of course more is fine. The charities vary depending on your location, but some taking part include Age UK, British Heart Foundation, NSPCC, Guide Dogs, National Trust and British Legion.
Whatever your age, if you've assets, eg, a house, savings, or a business, or people you'd like to look after, consider making a will or state rules will decide what happens to your things. This is especially important for cohabiting couples, as if one of you were to die without a will, the other has no status in law and may not get the house.
Hot mobile Sim dealat £20/month
If you’re happy with your mobile handset or are buying one upfront, then Sim-only deals tend to let you massively slash your mobile phone costs.
Vodafone’s12-month Sim-only tariff is one of the cheapest heavy user deals on the market (though only for newbies) – giving unlimited UK minutes, unlimited texts and a big whack of data, 20GB (4G) (for the first two months you get unlimited data). All this is £20 a month. And until Thursday 3 March, you’ll also get the option of 12 months' 'free' Netflix, Spotify Premium, Now TV Entertainment or Sky Sports Mobile TV.
On its own a 12-month Netflix subscription costs around £90, while Spotify is £120/year, Now TV £84/year and Sky Sports Mobile TV £60/year. So if you were planning on getting one of these anyway it’s a big discount.
Martin’s Mother’s Day Quickies:Mother’s Day is Sunday 6 March, so there’s only just over a week to go. But usually the big promo deals are gone if you leave it late, so early preparation is what counts.
- Free Cath Kidston Mother’s Day card: You can try to get a free £3 Cath Kidston Mother’s Day card via the O2 Priority Moments app. Just show the code in store – only valid in stand-alonestores, not concessions – before Sunday 6 March (though it could end sooner if the codes run out). There’s only one design to choose from.
If you aren’t on the O2 network it’s worth noting it often does freebies. An easy way to get them in future is just to order a free Pay & Go Sim card from O2 and put it into your unlocked phone and download the free O2 Priority app. Then put your old Sim card back in your phone, and the app should still be there (it’s meant to disappear, but when I’ve tried it, it stays and is usable).
- Two big Boots deals: From tomorrow (Friday) online or in store you can get an eight-piece Sanctuary Spa ‘With Love’ gift set for £19 (it’s £22 normally). In it you’ll get a white Lily and Damask Rose body wash, body lotion, body scrub, foaming bath soak, hand cream, face wash, thermal face mask, and a do-not-disturb door sign – bought individually they’d cost around £46.
It’s also giving a free No7 ‘Step in to Spring’ set worth £22ish when you buy any two No7 items. The two cheapest things you could get are two 10ml No7 nail polishes at £6 each. So you could buy yourself something and give your mum the freebie, or give her both if you want to spoil her. The gift set includes Beautiful Skin dry skin rescue, Lovely Lashes mascara, Strength and Growth nail treatment and Stay Perfect eyeshadow. I‘ve totted up the value based on the full-sized versions and it would cost around £22.