small sum to start saving, whats best out there?

waynedance

Thanks to this site I have had a tax rebate of £600 and want to start saving as i have none as yet.

What are the best accounts out there?

I want to be able to add money now and again and i am not to bothered about instant access but do not want high risk.

thank you

LucyTheDwarf

From the tone of your post, I am guessing you do not have an ISA. This is the best place to start! I suggest this article: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa which includes the current best buys, and all the information you need.

Happy saving!

waynedance

i do have isa's but they are old ones which i guess have crap rates.

waynedance

my A&L is 4.5% AER and Halifax is less

if you put money in an isa say now and take it out in 2 months do you get no interest? do you only get interest in april?

is http://www.kaupthingedge.co.uk/our-products/high-interest-savings-account.aspx better than an isa? but you pay tax

so many bloody accounts

waynedance

i have put the money in my old A&L isa, if i open up a new better rate ISA can i just move the money there?

Any ideas on the answer to my last post?

cheers.

talana

i have put the money in my old A&L isa, if i open up a new better rate ISA can i just move the money there?

You have to check that they accept transfers in (not all ISAs do), and then yes you can transfer the money by filling out a transfer request with the new ISA provider (NOT by withdrawing the cash from one and paying into the other).

my A&L is 4.5% AER and Halifax is less

4.5% is a crap rate so really you do want to think about transferring them.

if you put money in an isa say now and take it out in 2 months do you get no interest? do you only get interest in april?

In that case you would still be paid interest for the 2 months. When the interest would be added depends really, varies from account to account. Some pay on the anniversary of opening, some 1 Jan, some April etc, and then some credit interest monthly.

is http://www.kaupthingedge.co.uk/our-p...s-account.aspx better than an isa? but you pay tax

KE is a good account but not better than an ISA. As you say, you pay interest on that. 6.55% gross is 5.24% net (after tax). So it's 5.24% that you need to compare with ISAs.

chinbergs

I'm not sure who's at the top of the tables, but from my experience I can recommend Icesave. They will let you transfer all your existing ISAs in, and you will get a high rate of 6.1% (tax-free). They also pay interest monthly, which is quite nice if you like to see your money growing. Nice user friendly website to go with it too.

I think most ISA providers will pay you interest up until the day your money is transferred to the new provider - so you don't have to wait until April when the amount is usually paid in annually - they will calculate your interest to date and pay this out to you. Though check with your provider as a few might take 90 days interest or something like that.

But definitely put your money into a good paying ISA first, and then any extra into other savings accounts second.

waynedance

thanks but the icesave is no good as you need £1000 to start with.

i need to try and get to a Barclays as they seem the best.

McKneff

if you have put your money in your old Isa in this tax you cannot move any of it in this financial year. you are only allowed to open one ISA per tax year. you can open a new one in April next year and transfer all your old isas into that

talana

thanks but the icesave is no good as you need £1000 to start with.

Well don't forget the balance of your old ISAs to add to your £600.

if you have put your money in your old Isa in this tax you cannot move any of it in this financial year. you are only allowed to open one ISA per tax year. you can open a new one in April next year and transfer all your old isas into that

That's not true I'm afraid.
You're allowed to open as many ISAs as you like per tax year.
You're allowed to transfer your ISAs as many times as you like per tax year.
You're simply not allowed to add funds to more than one.
So having put some money in an old ISA this tax year, there's nothing to stop you transferring it elsewhere and then adding to it. It's still considered the same ISA for this tax year.

I did exactly this. I paid about £500 into this year's ISA then decided I wanted to move it.

waynedance

i am now not sure it is an isa, it is the plussaver account that came with my current account.

i do have an old halifax isa that has 6p in it from the last tax year, so i can open a new ISA up.

i have no idea what to go for, not to sure about the Barclays as we have history.
i have been reading up on the icesave ISA but read up on how save your money is in there. If i did go with icesave could i open with £1000 and then a few days later take out £400 (only got £600 to start with at the mo)

cheers.