Going travelling in Feb 2010 and need ISA now

marshall137

Hi there,

I am going away backpacking for 6 months starting in February 2009.

I have managed to save £6,000 which is currently sat in a Current Account and not doing a lot for me. I am thinking that I should put it in an ISA/Savings Account.

I currently have an Alliance & Leicester Direct ISA Issue 4 which I don't have any savings in.

My question is:

Should put away £3600 in this ISA and leave the remaining £2,400 in my current account and withdraw all of it when i go away.

or

If I should put it all in a Savings Account/ISA now and withdraw it all when I go away.

I am also curious to find out which would be the best ISA/Saving Account to put this money in until I depart as I am aware that 6months isn't long to earn interest on my money.

Thanks in advance for any help.

KingL

marshall137 wrote: »

I am going away backpacking for 6 months starting in February 2009.

You're late !

It depends on your tax status really. Go for the best rate you can find. You'll end up getting around 3% pa, which is around £90 for the period. Check the interest rates and multiply taxed savings accounts by 0.8 to get the net amount (ISA equivalent) if you are a standard tax payer.

Egg savings at 3.25% is most popular savings account at the moment. Check out kazzaa's list for ISAs. If you do decide to go A&L ISA, upgrade to the Issue 5 for a better rate.

Reaper

marshall137 wrote: »

Should put away £3600 in this ISA and leave the remaining £2,400 in my current account and withdraw all of it when i go away.

or

If I should put it all in a Savings Account/ISA now and withdraw it all when I go away.

Why are you taking it all out when you go away?
When I went backpacking I had some money in a savings account which I could move to my current account online whenever I needed (internet cafes are everywhere).

For my current account I switched to Nationwide so I could get a debit card which let me take out money from ATMs fee free at a great conversion rate (they have now introduced some charges but they are still the cheapest).

There are a few regions in the world without ATMs but your guidebook will warn you where they are so you can take a out extra cash before you get there. A few travelers cheques are also a good idea as a backup just in case some machine goes and gobbles up your card.

Have fun.

KingL

And grab this if you are thinking of using internet cafes for banking.