Martin Lewis, 46, appeared on This Morning today to reveal his top money saving deals of the week.
One issue facing millions this year is the TV licence fee rising in April.
But the money saving expert questioned if everyone really needs one, and urged viewers to review their situation.
Discussing the price rise, he said: “Currently a standard colour TV licence costs £150.50 (free for over 75s). But from 1 April it’s going up by £4 to £154.50.
“Unfortunately, if your licence expires after 1 April, there’s nothing you can do to avoid this rise as you’ll need wait till then to renew, but if your TV licence expires in March, do ensure you renew before 1 April, so you don’t pay the increased cost.
“If you pay by direct debit, it works out at the same price for monthly direct debit, but quarterly direct debit is £5 a year more expensive.”
Ruminating on whether viewers may even need a licence, Martin said: “As for who needs a licence; you only need it if you watch or record TV as it’s being broadcast or use BBC iPlayer on any device (e.g. mobile or tablet).
“If you only watch content after it’s been shown on television or watch any other catch-up site, like ITV Hub (not live), YouTube or Netflix, you don’t need one.”
Martin then explained that “thousands” of people are paying who don’t need to be.
He said: “You can buy or renew your TV licence online at the TV Licensing website. Yet if you’re 75 or older, or there’s someone 75+ in your house, you don’t need to pay.
“Thousands of older people are paying unnecessarily, and if so, you can actually back-claim those overpayments from the date you turned 75 via the TV licencing company.”
Martin also shared a free £150 bank account deal which ends today.
He said: “If you have a joint account, whether for all finances or just for bills – there’s a way to earn some cash from it.
“Full help and lots of choice is in Martin’s top best bank account guide, yet one key deal ends tonight, midnight.
“Switch to the NatWest Reward account and until midnight tonight (Friday) new switchers get a free £150 – there’s a £2/mth fee but if you use the account to pay your bills by direct debit (energy, mobile, council tax etc) you get two percent of that as cashback.
“So for single people as a main account, or couples with a joint bills account, this is a strong deal – someone with big bills can earn a further £100 a year from it.”
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