Where's best to save £18k - Easy access

Dustykitten

Carl - you do know that on the whole you don't personally have to move money don't you? With my Lloyds accounts the money never leaves the institution - money goes from account 1 to account 2 from 2 to 3 and so on until the last one goes back to 1, all on the same day, set up once as a standing order. My A&L goes out into my Nationwide and back again PDQ. It is no effort at all once you have set it up.

Charl__x

Baldur, thanks.. yes, I think that's what I may do. It seems silly having money sat in 0.5% when it could be earning more, even if it is just £650! That's the next thing on my list - find a decent ISA.

DustyKitten, thanks for the advice. I didn't think of that, a standing order. Does the £1000 have to be paid in on a particular day of the month, or do you get to chose? So, if I understand correctly, the same £1000 circulates the three accounts, going from 1 to 2 to 3 and back to 1? Seems easier than I thought, although Im just tempted to bung it into ING and forget about it, but I know that I wont earn as much interest.

Is the Lloyds interest paid monthly or annually? And can you have unlimited withdrawals? (Obviously,I understand if the balance falls below 5K, then the interest does too)

WaxiesDargle

charl

I just started to do this with my 3 halifax reward accounts...I get paid my salary into account 1...I then push £1000 into account 2 and then into account 3 and back to account 1...all done 'manually' in minutes with on line banking...this will earn each account a fiver a month

D1zzy

Charl__x wrote: »

Baldur, thanks.. yes, I think that's what I may do. It seems silly having money sat in 0.5% when it could be earning more, even if it is just £650! That's the next thing on my list - find a decent ISA.

DustyKitten, thanks for the advice. I didn't think of that, a standing order. Does the £1000 have to be paid in on a particular day of the month, or do you get to chose? So, if I understand correctly, the same £1000 circulates the three accounts, going from 1 to 2 to 3 and back to 1? Seems easier than I thought, although Im just tempted to bung it into ING and forget about it, but I know that I wont earn as much interest.

Is the Lloyds interest paid monthly or annually? And can you have unlimited withdrawals? (Obviously,I understand if the balance falls below 5K, then the interest does too)

any time you like
no new money needed
unlimited withdrawals
monthly interest (£20is net on £7000)

Baldur

Charl__x wrote: »

That's the next thing on my list - find a decent ISA.

See the link in my above post (in blue) - for example, the First Direct e-ISA is offering 3% fixed until November 2010 (but the funds are easy access) and accepts ISA transfers.

monkeygirlindebt

Do any of the banks go with cashback sites when opening as a new customer a ISA Account, Im thinking of transferring to the first direct, but thought I would ask the question first? Thanks.

Baldur

monkeygirlindebt wrote: »

Do any of the banks go with cashback sites when opening as a new customer a ISA Account, Im thinking of transferring to the first direct, but thought I would ask the question first? Thanks.

Highly unlikely for Cash ISAs - Stocks & Shares ISAs (where they stand to make a decent profit), yes.

Charl__x

WaxiesDargle wrote: »

charl

I just started to do this with my 3 halifax reward accounts...I get paid my salary into account 1...I then push £1000 into account 2 and then into account 3 and back to account 1...all done 'manually' in minutes with on line banking...this will earn each account a fiver a month

I've just opened one of these accounts - I only have a Visa Electron at present, and I have been in desperate need to upgrade my current account for ages, and this seemed like an easy way to earn a fiver a month! Good idea to open 3 though!

Thanks for the info Baldur, that link's got some very useful info in

D1zzy, thanks. Seems straightforward then. Definitely something to consider. It's definitely a toss up between Lloyds and ING - as well as opening up a new ISA which accepts transfers.

Baldur

Charl__x wrote: »

It's definitely a toss up between Lloyds and ING

One is going to pay you 4% AER (3.2% after basic rate tax), the other is going to pay you 3.2% AER (2.56% after basic rate tax).

I opened both - 3 x LTSB Vantage accounts with £7k in each and an ING @3.2% with £1 in it, as a 'fall back' in the event that the Vantage rate reduces below that level over the next year.

Charl__x

Baldur wrote: »

One is going to pay you 4% AER (3.2% after basic rate tax), the other is going to pay you 3.2% AER (2.56% after basic rate tax).

I opened both - 3 x LTSB Vantage accounts with £7k in each and an ING @3.2% with £1 in it, as a 'fall back' in the event that the Vantage rate reduces below that level over the next year.

That's funny you should say that, I was just speaking about this, and I was saying I'd probably open an ING a s a Plan B if I went down the Lloyds route.

After doing a few calculations, it seems silly not to put my money in 3 x Lloyds Vantage accounts - so that's what Im going to do.

This might be a silly question, but how easy is it to set the 3 accounts up online, can I just do one after another?