how do u organise savings ? grocerys etc

waynedance

i use 2 accounts at the minute, i transfer an amount to my halifax account for my misses to use for food etc, would be better if it was with the same bank online.

smarterbytheminute

Hi, I switched my salary to a *high interest online account with A&L earlier in the year (on MSE advice with min £500 pm required) and so all my DDs/SOs go out from this account to pay for bills on the appropriate days so gaining some interest each month before the bulk of the money has gone..... should this amount ever go over the **£2,500 limit I also have an e-saver account set up to take any residue (albeit a lower interest rate but better than a spit in the eye is my motto!)

I also found myself a weekend job last Christmas (as I wanted to have a new bathroom/central heating fitted and I paid this straight into the **A&L account, until required by the plumber, to earn some interest.).. which has turned into a full-time weekend job giving me a regular if smaller second income - this I get paid into my original Natwest account now to spend on stuff like petrol and food etc. I divide this amount by 4 and transfer 3/4 to an e-savings account as Natwest offer same day immediate transfers to Natwest accounts so that each week as I need money quickly I can transfer it within minutes online back to the main account and use my debit card or use a non-chargeable ATM if I want cash, but in the meantime it's earning a little extra interest than if i had just left it in the main account.

Whatever is surplus at the end of each month in my NW account then gets moved to top up anything left in my A&L acct to earn the better interest rate. When I used Natwest as my main account all i ever saw was about 2p pm interest but since I switched to A&L I have seen anything between £2 and £14 per month in interest which is much better and that interest earned each month also earns a little extra interest the next month. I know it's not a huge amount but at least I am doing what I can within my means to get the best of the banking system.

* This is for the first 12 months so I may have to switch again if they don't want to keep my custom (at a lifestyle I'm used to loL!!!) but hey! it's working for this year and at the end of the 12 months I'll have a little surplus which I wouldn't have had if I had left it with my main NW account....

I agree that the e-saver accounts are a useful way if you prefer to keep savings in separately named accounts but I keep mine in the higher earning account at the moment and use an excel spreadsheet to work out my budget for the year. I can then see what my actual savings are above or below target if I want to splash out on something not budgeted for. I also add everything I spend on a daily basis to this spreadsheet to keep on top of expenditure and to see where I can make further savings... . till I heard of this MSE site I never even used to check my statements each month... now I do it almost daily or at least weekly if busy... i just got £339 overpayment refunded from my elec/gas supplier for the last 6 months bill and got my monthly amount reduced too.. ok I may have to pay it back again when the winter bill comes in next April but at least it's in my account earning interest at the moment and not theirs. They were going to hold on to it if I hadn't checked and rang them straight away.

OK, it's peanuts but one peanut added to more peanuts becomes many!!!! and what's that other thing that squirrels like - oh yeh! from one little acorn a mighty oak groweth..... wish I'd been a little savvy when I was 16.... would be a millionaire by now:rotfl:

Bella79

jst opened some mow savings online with hsbc but u carnt rename them so gonna get a bit confusing lol