Help please ! with Saving money and accounts

cheggers08

I am attempting to Save to go travelling next year(and also pay off some existing CC debt before I go). To date I have gathered about £1500, problem is....I have it in an account with Nationwide (with passbook) which allows instant access with no withdrawal penalty.

- In the back of my mind I know it is there and I invariably end up dipping into it towards the end of the month which defeats the whole purpose !!
I know I should have more restraint with my money.

basically ; does anyone know of any accounts (internet based or otherwise)where I can stick this money away for about 5-6 months - keep on adding to it when I get paid and whenever I have some spare cash; but not have easy access. i.e. passbook, cash card etc.

Many Thanks.

collingwood21

Anglo-Irish bank currently offer a 7 day notice account where withdrawals are subject to 7 days notice or a penalty of 7 days interest. So, you could still get at your money fairly easily if there was an emergency, but without it being as tempting to dip into as an easy access account. Current rate of interest is 6.5%, so you will get a decent return on your money too. I have had savings with Anglo-Irish before and found them very efficient to deal with.
http://angloirishbank.co.uk/Personal_Savings/

ray123

Regular saver - most banks do it - I am with halifax, which is currently offering 7% (5.6% NET AFTER TAX). Here is the link...

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/monthlysavings.asp

Alternatively, place it in a cash ISA in Nationwide. I have my ISA in nationwide in a one year fixed rate bond (6.15% TAX FREE). Maybe place £1000 in this, as it always a good idea to have a small proportion of cash available at short notice for emergencies!


For the cc debt, depending on the APR, it might be worth transferring the debt to a new card. See The article on this website -

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards

DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOUR SPENDING!!!