16k sitting in a no interest paying account. I'm stuck taking a decision
Ashan
Posts: 44 Forumite
Hi all,
Like others I have seen here, I'm waking up to late and decide I should and actually could earn interest on my money I save.
I am a good saver, always have been, I opened my first account with Barclays and stayed loyal with them for 5 years. During those 5 years I had about 17k moving in the account and earned nothing.
I was thinking I needed to be loyal so that I can get a credit card from them (which I did) and then build a credit score and also was thinking that interest rates are a joke (how wrong I was...:(:mad: )
Woken up in 2016 by the buzz of switching and chose to say bye to Barclays and gone with Halifax for the bonus plus monthly reward. At the time of the switch (exactly one year ago I had 6.5k ).
Now I have 16k and I can save 800 to 1000 every month.
This year in January I was still thinking that I have not done enough service for my savings and inspired by the article on mSE, I started the savings fountain.
I opened a HTB ISA with Barclays and next week I will be on my 3rd month totalling 1600 with 2.27% interest
2 Months have passes since then, end although I know what is the next step I am not sure/not decided/ afraid of the impact it will have on my credit score.
As you might have guessed, I don't own a house and I am willing to get a mortgage. Not a citizen yet and I plan on buying in a year time or 2. I would buy right now if it would be possible but I guess that's just rushed and not smart.
With all these in mind here's what I was thinking:
I thought of swithcing to TSB; would have been great with that past switching deal but still I feel like I should keep this Halifax account so that I can have history with it.
The current deal would offer £10 cashback (7 more than halifax) plus interest on up to 1500. (not a big amount here unfortunately)
I was also thinking at Nationwide with their 5% for a year and regular saver after 3 months. This would release 2.5k plus £500/mth from my savings.
Santander is not an option, I don't pay bills and it's not worth it after paying the account fee.
Bank Of Scotland was the plan before then I found out about the slash. Still a good option at 2% I think.. I would just need to get direct debits.
Tesco - defines my bad luck - no applications exactly when I found out about it.
After these, I was also thinking of opening simple bank accounts (barclays) then switch to hsbc/first direct for the bonus. I so want to this, wanted to do it ever since last year, but I am too afraid of the consequences in the future.
Now, I am not really clueless, but in all honesty, I feel like I am.
I want to put as much as possible of my money into interest paying accounts but because of the amount limitations of these accounts it would mean a lot of credit checks and traces.
So I want to find the best way of doing it, planned and with as less accounts as possible.
Should I keep Halifax and go for TSB, 2xBOS, 1Nationwide + Rsaver = 14k minimum?
or TSB and 3xBOS? = 16.5k?
any other suggestions?
Should I milk the switching bonuses with a donor account as well? or this is too much?
In which order should I apply? How many days distance should I leave between applications?
When you open second or third account with BOS, do they perform a credit check again? or is it only one?
Everyday I am thinking I am going to start where I left but I can't bring myself up to it, due to inexperience and credit score fear, But then I don't feel relieved either, I feel like I am losing money every day, in 5 years about 25K have slept in my account...:(
It's time to do something about it.
Please share your thoughts on my dilemma...I have no one to ask this as everyone I know lives a simple life with spending 110% of their monthly income with nothing left to save. :beer:
Like others I have seen here, I'm waking up to late and decide I should and actually could earn interest on my money I save.
I am a good saver, always have been, I opened my first account with Barclays and stayed loyal with them for 5 years. During those 5 years I had about 17k moving in the account and earned nothing.
I was thinking I needed to be loyal so that I can get a credit card from them (which I did) and then build a credit score and also was thinking that interest rates are a joke (how wrong I was...:(:mad: )
Woken up in 2016 by the buzz of switching and chose to say bye to Barclays and gone with Halifax for the bonus plus monthly reward. At the time of the switch (exactly one year ago I had 6.5k ).
Now I have 16k and I can save 800 to 1000 every month.
This year in January I was still thinking that I have not done enough service for my savings and inspired by the article on mSE, I started the savings fountain.
I opened a HTB ISA with Barclays and next week I will be on my 3rd month totalling 1600 with 2.27% interest
2 Months have passes since then, end although I know what is the next step I am not sure/not decided/ afraid of the impact it will have on my credit score.
As you might have guessed, I don't own a house and I am willing to get a mortgage. Not a citizen yet and I plan on buying in a year time or 2. I would buy right now if it would be possible but I guess that's just rushed and not smart.
With all these in mind here's what I was thinking:
I thought of swithcing to TSB; would have been great with that past switching deal but still I feel like I should keep this Halifax account so that I can have history with it.
The current deal would offer £10 cashback (7 more than halifax) plus interest on up to 1500. (not a big amount here unfortunately)
I was also thinking at Nationwide with their 5% for a year and regular saver after 3 months. This would release 2.5k plus £500/mth from my savings.
Santander is not an option, I don't pay bills and it's not worth it after paying the account fee.
Bank Of Scotland was the plan before then I found out about the slash. Still a good option at 2% I think.. I would just need to get direct debits.
Tesco - defines my bad luck - no applications exactly when I found out about it.
After these, I was also thinking of opening simple bank accounts (barclays) then switch to hsbc/first direct for the bonus. I so want to this, wanted to do it ever since last year, but I am too afraid of the consequences in the future.
Now, I am not really clueless, but in all honesty, I feel like I am.
I want to put as much as possible of my money into interest paying accounts but because of the amount limitations of these accounts it would mean a lot of credit checks and traces.
So I want to find the best way of doing it, planned and with as less accounts as possible.
Should I keep Halifax and go for TSB, 2xBOS, 1Nationwide + Rsaver = 14k minimum?
or TSB and 3xBOS? = 16.5k?
any other suggestions?
Should I milk the switching bonuses with a donor account as well? or this is too much?
In which order should I apply? How many days distance should I leave between applications?
When you open second or third account with BOS, do they perform a credit check again? or is it only one?
Everyday I am thinking I am going to start where I left but I can't bring myself up to it, due to inexperience and credit score fear, But then I don't feel relieved either, I feel like I am losing money every day, in 5 years about 25K have slept in my account...:(
It's time to do something about it.
Please share your thoughts on my dilemma...I have no one to ask this as everyone I know lives a simple life with spending 110% of their monthly income with nothing left to save. :beer:
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Comments
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Ashan
I think your dilemma is similar to most investors at the moment and no one can give the answer.
Myself,I have 180k sitting in cash in my S&S ISA account after selling in January,I made a mistake but that was my gut feeling and now I am unable to currently get back in the markets at 7350 because I still think there will be a correction,who knows.0 -
Well at least stick it in an easy access savings account while you make your mind up.0
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Ashan, you don't need to switch to TSB for the new offer so you can keep your Halifax open and have both rewards.
Open a Nationwide FlexDirect, if you can switch in an account with 2x DD go to the referals board and you can gain a switching bonus which will be £100 for you and whatever you can negotiate with the referer from their £100, so probably circa £175 total. You can then send from Nationwide £750 to Halifax and back once a month and £500 to TSB and back once a month fulfilling pay in requirements of all 3 accounts. Once eligible open the Nationwide reg saver at £500 per month.It may sometimes seem like I can't spell, I can, I just can't type0 -
That's exactly the problem trying to time things. Markets could rise further all this year, maybe growing 20% before correcting by 15%. That's then still above the point you got out so deciding when to get back is very tricky.Myself,I have 180k sitting in cash in my S&S ISA account after selling in January,I made a mistake but that was my gut feeling and now I am unable to currently get back in the markets at 7350 because I still think there will be a correction,who knows.
OP - there are regular savers that will be ideal for your situation and pay up to 5% as explained with Nationwide. If you're looking to buy a house then S&S ISA isn't the right option anyway.Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.0 -
MyOnlyPost wrote: »Ashan, you don't need to switch to TSB for the new offer so you can keep your Halifax open and have both rewards.
Open a Nationwide FlexDirect, if you can switch in an account with 2x DD go to the referals board and you can gain a switching bonus which will be £100 for you and whatever you can negotiate with the referer from their £100, so probably circa £175 total. You can then send from Nationwide £750 to Halifax and back once a month and £500 to TSB and back once a month fulfilling pay in requirements of all 3 accounts. Once eligible open the Nationwide reg saver at £500 per month.
Thank you all! This would only account for about £4000 though (2500 + 1500), what am I to do with the rest of 12k?
I don't have other bank accounts, so the referal part for nationwide doesn't work for me.
Should I add BOS or Santander to this? If I open a BOS vantage and then another one, will this reflect in 2 credit checks or just one?
I would need new direct debits for TSB and BOS and also to keep my DD's from Halifax. so at least 4 new direct debits, this would be an extra monthly cost.
@PeacefulWaters: wouldn't opening an easy access account also require a credit check?0 -
Read This (bit daunting) http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5374614&highlight=savings+loophole
And this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5126573&highlight=direct+debitsIt may sometimes seem like I can't spell, I can, I just can't type0 -
I have red the article about the loophole but not the forum.
I can see now that the DD's are not a problem. I have 3 with halifax, so that's an extra 1 right there, maybe play some lottery once a month end so on.
Now I am really tempted to open a basic account like Barclays and then transfer to Nationwide to get extra bonus. Good or bad idea?0 -
Not if its a savings account, no.@PeacefulWaters: wouldn't opening an easy access account also require a credit check?
And would take a matter of seconds with many providers that you already bank with.
0.25% is better than 0.00% while you decide.0 -
PeacefulWaters wrote: »Not if its a savings account, no.
And would take a matter of seconds with many providers that you already bank with.
0.25% is better than 0.00% while you decide.
Thank you again. Now, I had a look at the top savings accounts and I have to choose between:
Westbrom BS (1.05%)
Skipton (1.02)
Post office (1.01)
Tesco (0.96)
Now to decide between these, Westbrom and Skipton pay interest annually and the other 2 monthly.
The last 2 can be used for multiple DD requirements.
So I am leaning towards the last 2 from Post office and Tesco even though they have a lower introductory offer.
Is my judgement right?
Next, I will open a Barclays account and switch that to Nationwide
And will follow with TSB and BOS.
Hopefully I'll be done in 2 weeks.0 -
Thank you again. Now, I had a look at the top savings accounts and I have to choose between:
Westbrom BS (1.05%)
Skipton (1.02)
Post office (1.01)
Tesco (0.96)
Now to decide between these, Westbrom and Skipton pay interest annually and the other 2 monthly.
The last 2 can be used for multiple DD requirements.
So I am leaning towards the last 2 from Post office and Tesco even though they have a lower introductory offer.
Is my judgement right?
Next, I will open a Barclays account and switch that to Nationwide
And will follow with TSB and BOS.
Hopefully I'll be done in 2 weeks.
Unless you desperately 2 different accounts, I would go with Tesco.
The rate differential between the top & bottom is insignificant - even on say £10k it is £9 a year:cool:
There are several threads detailing problems operating the Post Office account, especially withdrawing from it. Tesco is very easy to operate, and allows multiple DDs should you need them;)
Also, if/when Tesco start accepting applications for their current account again, you will already be a customer, which might help speed up the process.0
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