Savings Newb Looking for Advice

jennybear

I'm a student and having been living away from home for some time but am going to be moving back in with parents for the final year of my degree, which they have insisted be rent free. OH and I are considering starting saving for a deposit on a house (he will be living with his parents) but are really totally clueless about what kind of savings account we should be looking for. Ive got a pretty decent job for a student, bringing home £110 a week, as does OH. We were thinking of trying to save about £200-250 a month each, which is what we would have been paying in rent but obviously there are times when we would have to contribute less, eg when paying tuition fees or book buying, so we dont want any account that would need a required amount to be paid into it. Ive never had the chance to save before so would really appreciate any help. Thanks!

Sillychuckie

Halifax regular saver @ 7% allows you to change the monthly amount saved (between £20 and £250 I believe). However, in order to avoid penalties, you will have to inform them each time you want to change it.
The A&L regular saver amount is definitely fixed (can not be changed once you have declared the amount you will be saving each month) so although a better rate at 10%, is probably not for you (and has other conditions associated with its linked current account you may be unable to fulfil).
You will also need to open a halifax web saver as a holding account for the regular saver but the balance in this can be left at £0.

A better alternative would most probably be to drip feed a cash ISA each month. This may be best if you plan to save for longer than the single year (build your tax-free portfolio) and earn enough to pay tax.