Martin Lewis shares 'little known' savings tip for people who have sold a house

Martin Lewis, the host of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, returned to our screens with more money-saving tips. During the show, he shared a little-known tip that could benefit anyone who has recently sold a house or received an inheritance.

Sandra from Barnsley, who appeared on the show's virtual wall, explained that she had just sold her house for £490,000 and was looking for a place to keep her money until she found a new property within the next 12 months. She wanted a savings account where she could access her money whenever she wanted.

In response, Martin said: "Now, I talked earlier about savings safety protection." He explained that this scheme protects savings up to £85,000. However, he revealed there is another option for situations like Sandra's.

The Money Saving Expert continued: "There is a little known rule called the lifetime event rule, that applies when you've sold a property or had an inheritance or other similar things," reports the Express. "It actually says you're protected in one financial institution up to £1million for six months after a lifetime event.

"So technically you could put this all in one place and if the worst happened you would be covered."

Martin also shared how to legally avoid paying tax on any interest gained. He advised: "The first thing you need to do is look at putting it into a cash ISA, which is a tax-free savings account." He went on to say: "After that, you're going to want a mix of putting it in places that either invest in short term fixes to get higher rates. There's a no-notice account, I didn't mention earlier because you need a minimum of £20,000, Santander International Savings Platform Prosper that pays 5.2% but you need to give 90 days notice to withdraw your money."

"The other thing I would look at is those savings platforms I mentioned so you can move your money to where it would grow the most.It's big money if you move your money to the right place."