General savings advice :)

Tugboat · 6 January 2009 at 1:03AM

Hello, I have been trawling through the site and I am a little overwhelmed by the amount of information, I am hoping someone maybe able to point me the right direction.

I have recently inherited a lump some of money around £8000, I don't currently have any savings accounts and was wondering what would be the best way to maximise all of it in savings, I am also looking to put away on top of the lump sum £800 a month from my wages. I don't need to access this money as I am hoping after a year/18 months to use it on a deposit on a house.

Any help is much appreciated, many thanks

T

JimLad · 6 January 2009 at 1:11AM

Try this for a investment scheme....

£3600 in the highest paying ISA you can find.

£4400 in the highest paying easy access savings account you can find.

Pay £500 per month into the highest paying fixed rate regular saver you can find and £250 into the second highest rate regular saver with a different bank

Tugboat · 6 January 2009 at 1:16AM

JimLad wrote: »

Try this for a investment scheme....

£3600 in the highest paying ISA you can find.

£4400 in the highest paying easy access savings account you can find.

Pay £500 per month into the highest paying fixed rate regular saver you can find and £250 into the second highest rate regular saver with a different bank

Thanks for the advice, can I dump £3600 straight into an ISA?

Sorry I am a complete novice when it comes to savings.

jennifernil · 6 January 2009 at 2:51AM

yes, you can put in £3600 in any tax year at present. You can keep the same account the following year and add to it, or move to a different bank if you find a better interest rate.. The interest can stay in the account.

cottager · 6 January 2009 at 3:07AM

Tugboat wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, can I dump £3600 straight into an ISA? Sorry I am a complete novice when it comes to savings.

Yes you can, as soon as you like or any time up to 5 April, the end of the current 2008/09 tax year -- assuming you haven't put anything into an ISA yet, which it doesn't sound like you have. From 6 April you can subscribe another £3600, either all at once or by smaller amounts as you can manage them. You can take out a 2009/10 with another provider, or continue adding to the one you already have, so long as you pay in no more than the £3600 subscription limit per tax year (unless the limit is changed).

ISAs can also be transferred from one provider to another, but only in the 'right way' to preserve their tax-free status... you should not just close one down, take out the funds and open another in its place, or you'll lose that benefit.

Read in full Martin's ISA Guide at
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/ISA-guide-savings-without-tax
to familiarise yourself, then
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa
for more and the latest offers.

Then also the first post in Kazza's thread which is also kept regularly updated:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=401374

Plenty of other articles available too for a novice saver... take a look at the links directly under the red 'Start Here' button near the top of every forum page, and some of the other links in the panel to the right may also be of interest.

If you have further questions about ISAs in particular, you may be better using the sub-forum to this one, for Isas, Toisas, Peps and Tessas
( http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=18 )
but this one here for any other savings questions and advice.

Good luck

EDIT: ooops, jennifernil's already answered....

General savings advice :)

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