Best way to save

FriendlyJ

Good morning
I have a question regarding the best place to put some money aside. Will have about £20,000, I don't want to invest in shares I would like it to very safe & snuggly & warm & happy:p Does anyone have any advice this an unexpected opportunity are isa's the best bet or a high interest account?
Many thanks
J

The_One_Who

You can put £3,600 into a cash ISA, then the rest could be put into a high-interest account. You would need to have a look around to find the best account though.

opinions4u

A mix of ISAs (one per adult - £7,200 limit per couple!), instant access account (should be able to get 6.5%+ online) and fixed rate term account (should be able to get 7%+).

Use sites like moneyfacts and moneysupermarket.com to find current best rates.

Potentially do a 6 month bond and then review your ISA position in April.

You could find that a couple can have all their savings in tax free ISAs by April 2010.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I'd suggest the following:

1. Generally ISA's are a good place to start:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sav...gs-without-tax
and http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=401374

2. Regular savings accounts are good too:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sav...vings-accounts
and http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=608697

Regular savings accounts are generally a good place for new money e.g. monthly pay cheques, however if for example you have £3k in a 6% high-interest bank account drip-feeding into a 10% regular savings account then you're essentially getting 8% interest on average for your £3k which beats most fixed rate products - albeit with a bit more work.

3. If you want something with a little less work then fixed rate savings accounts are a good option:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sav...interest#fixed
and http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-...&in_page_id=50

4. One other thing you might like to consider is getting a decent instant access savings account:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sav...st#topaccounts
and http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-...&in_page_id=50

5. Finally if you're a higher rate tax payer then NS&I's 3 and 5 year Index Linked Savings (http://www.nsandi.com/products/ilsc/index.jsp) look good, paying 1% above the RPI inflation rate. Currently this is 4.8% so that’s a rate of 5.8% overall.

The attractiveness of these is that the savings are tax-free meaning it's better for higher-rate taxpayers. Basic rate taxpayers would need to earn 7.25% in a normal savings account to match this, while higher rate taxpayers would need 9.66%.

One thing to note is if inflation drops then so does the rate for these savings. It'll always be higher than inflation and tax free though. The cash must be left there for at least three years thought and at least £100 must be deposited (maximum is £15,000), so it's not for those who want a short term place to save.

FriendlyJ

Thanks very much for the advice - Just one more question I have a 15 yr old if I wanted to put a bit aside for her when she's a bit older can she have an isa?
thanks

Lokolo

You can only have ISAs from 16.