Best savings account?
- Thread starter Merlin5
- Start date
Soldato
Zopa have increased the rates for their instant savings account:
Interest is paid monthly (from the date the account is opened).
Interest is paid monthly (from the date the account is opened).
Im asking this question again, first direct, i have done a "savings calculator" on the bank of england website,
Borrowing and savings calculator
Use our interest rate calculator to see how interest rates affect borrowing and saving.
www.bankofengland.co.uk
if i stick in there the max (how much do you want to save) IE the max you can put in to a first direct 7% saver is 3600, made up of 12 x £300 payments, for the year, this should get £252 of interest.
However on first directs site it says example for year based on 300 per month is £136, is this because you dont have £3600 in there until the last month of the year? Whats the best account at the moemnt with a similar rate with no max ? so i can maybe dump 1k or 2k in and then make up a few £200-400 monthly payments?
If i were to accumulate the £252 interest with first direct id go for it,
Soldato
@DJMK4 If you want unlimited withdrawals and instant access Zopa appears to be the best interest rate.
Im asking this question again, first direct, i have done a "savings calculator" on the bank of england website,
Borrowing and savings calculator
Use our interest rate calculator to see how interest rates affect borrowing and saving.
if i stick in there the max (how much do you want to save) IE the max you can put in to a first direct 7% saver is 3600, made up of 12 x £300 payments, for the year, this should get £252 of interest.
However on first directs site it says example for year based on 300 per month is £136, is this because you dont have £3600 in there until the last month of the year? Whats the best account at the moemnt with a similar rate with no max ? so i can maybe dump 1k or 2k in and then make up a few £200-400 monthly payments?
If i were to accumulate the £252 interest with first direct id go for it,
Well there's nothing with a similar rate (7%) that allows unrestricted deposits. That's the point of these drip feed accounts with a high headline rate, as you can see the amount you get in a year is a lot lower than the advertised rate - and yes it's because the full £3,600 isn't there from the start . But if all you have is spare money each month and no initial lump to put in, they are as good as anything.
Barclays are doing a Rainy Day Saver account @ 5%, limited to 5k but you can put in lump sum then add monthly amounts. Easy access too. But you do need an eligible current account with D/Ds, so a few hoops to jump through.
Cynergy bank are offering 3.04% easy access, unlimited saver account. There's a few to choose from now at that level.
Underboss
Rainy Day Saver | Barclays
Looking to start and grow your emergency fund? If you’re a Blue Rewards member, you could earn more interest with a Rainy Day Saver account.
5.12%
£250 a year @ 5K
| Deposit amount | Estimated value after a year |
|---|---|
| £1,000 | £1,051.16 |
| £5,000 | £5,250.75 |
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FD is only good if you have to drip feed. It's best to stick lump sum else where then use monthly salary for FD.Im asking this question again, first direct, i have done a "savings calculator" on the bank of england website,
Borrowing and savings calculator
Use our interest rate calculator to see how interest rates affect borrowing and saving.
if i stick in there the max (how much do you want to save) IE the max you can put in to a first direct 7% saver is 3600, made up of 12 x £300 payments, for the year, this should get £252 of interest.
However on first directs site it says example for year based on 300 per month is £136, is this because you dont have £3600 in there until the last month of the year? Whats the best account at the moemnt with a similar rate with no max ? so i can maybe dump 1k or 2k in and then make up a few £200-400 monthly payments?
If i were to accumulate the £252 interest with first direct id go for it,
For these flexy savers just multiply the final balance by half the interest rate.
3600*0.035
Its a good for getting a rough idea
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Underboss
question
one of my accounts matures on the 10th
when that happens it will no longer be viable to keep it open (goes down to 0.5% i think) so going to transfer that back into the other account (same bank)
but i was hoping to put that into the Barclays rainy day saver, but it wont be the £5000 limit, done some calculations this morning and i will be around £1300 short of it
i do have Premium bonds, would it be worth taking that amount out from that ? (bonds would still be over 10K)
one of my accounts matures on the 10th
when that happens it will no longer be viable to keep it open (goes down to 0.5% i think) so going to transfer that back into the other account (same bank)
but i was hoping to put that into the Barclays rainy day saver, but it wont be the £5000 limit, done some calculations this morning and i will be around £1300 short of it
i do have Premium bonds, would it be worth taking that amount out from that ? (bonds would still be over 10K)
As Dirty Harry would say...."Do you feel lucky, punk?"
Chance vs guaranteed return, non-taxable vs taxable, can't really give an exact answer on that, but I probably would. Then again I've not been very lucky with my few k of PB's.
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The more you have in the premium bonds the closer you get the the expected interest rate, if you are around the £10k mark I'd switch it over to the guaranteed rate, for most people it will work out better if you arent over the tax free limits.
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One thing to bear in mind, with this latest rate increase Zopa have also changed the rules when it comes to the notice pots, unfortunately. Previously you could add money to pots that you'd already given notice on, but you can no longer do that. Only if the pot has not been served notice can you add additional funds to it. Bit of a bummer, but thems the rules.Zopa have increased the rates for their instant savings account:
Interest is paid monthly (from the date the account is opened).
My banks are:
COOP: 3.50% instant access on upto 2M, paid annually.
Chase: 3%, not sure on max value, 500 or 1M, 1% cashback and 5% on roundup.
Nationwide: 5% upto £1500 and then 2.25%
For me COOP is best as instant access so I can move money as and when I like.
COOP: 3.50% instant access on upto 2M, paid annually.
Chase: 3%, not sure on max value, 500 or 1M, 1% cashback and 5% on roundup.
Nationwide: 5% upto £1500 and then 2.25%
For me COOP is best as instant access so I can move money as and when I like.
Underboss
As stocks go I agree. I have a wedge of AV rather than Lgen. But still high risk especially with the current volatility.
I wouldn't advise any shares right now unless you really want the risk. Especially if youve never had stocks before.
Soldato
I recently signed up with NSandI as I'm in the process of transferring my children's cash ISAs over to them. Wow, what an awful experience with their website - no exaggeration when I say every single link takes around 20 seconds to process to the requested page.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 May 2006
- Posts
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so i may be stating the obvious here but i was chatting last night with friends. i currently, along with my wife and my inlaws put £100 a month into my lads saving account and have done since he was born. so that is £3600 a year (+interest). on top of that my parents filled his isa allowance for the year he was born. All of this pays out at 18 and i am a little worried that that is a lot of money to give to an 18 year old kid!! (i hope we bring him up well and he spends it wisely but i had a few mates go off the rails once they left school).
a mate of mine suggested opening a pension for him instead...... he will still get a tidy lump sum at 18 (i mean he is 7 now so already a chunk of change in his account). and the more i think about it the better an idea this seems. just wondering if i am missing any downside to doing this.....
a mate of mine suggested opening a pension for him instead...... he will still get a tidy lump sum at 18 (i mean he is 7 now so already a chunk of change in his account). and the more i think about it the better an idea this seems. just wondering if i am missing any downside to doing this.....
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I considered this very thing when opening a savings account for my son. I considered opening an account in his name that would mature when he turned 18 or 21, but had the same thought as you, in that i thought about myself when I was 18-21 along with all my mates, and every one of us would have wasted the lot on a few lads holidays etc. For that reason we have just opened a savings account in my name and when we feel he is sensible enough, we will transfer the money over to him.
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Soldato
If it's a Junior ISA then it's his, no option for you to move it anywhere.
Soldato
Child SIPPs are a thing which can include the 20% tax relief.
I guess it depends on what you believe will be of more benefit, a lump sum that can potentially be used for a deposit on a home (or blown on a lads holiday), or a pension - with several decades of compounding interest.
I guess it depends on what you believe will be of more benefit, a lump sum that can potentially be used for a deposit on a home (or blown on a lads holiday), or a pension - with several decades of compounding interest.
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On paper, and obviously gets trickier with age - but the account is in full control of the parent at the end of the day.