looking for a bit of advice

elantan

hi everyone ..i'm usually seen on the d.f.w board ..and that is my main aim to get outa debt ...but ...to give a bit of info here ...my hubby used to work for a company that had a sharesave deal ..he paid £200 a month into this plan in £50 increments i.e 4 plans with £50 in each everymonth..we got used to paying the £200 so didn't miss it ..now his company has changed they no longer have the share save plan..so we are effectively £200 better off a month ..however no savings etc..i want to get a balance between debt clearing (which we are doing never fell behind etc..) and saving ..however we are useless at saving ..is there an account that we can say put between £50 and £100 a month into that doesn't allow us to touch it for say 3 or 5 years ..so that we have some sort of savings? ...sorry if this is long winded and doesn't make any sense ..thanks for any advice

elantan

can anybody help me ? or do these kindve accounts not exist ..i'm really new to the saving game so any help is appreciated ..what do you suggest i do i have between £50 and £100 a month to try and get some savings with

xnetco

I would personally pay off all your debts first and then work on savings.

elantan

i spose i really should ..thanks ..just gonna have to figure a way to pay extra to the debts then ....

Mr_Mumble

Have you read Martin's excellent savings articles? If you haven't start with Starting Saving. Notice it tells you to pay-off debt before saving.

You can find the rest of the savings articles here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings

elantan

see the thing with the debt is ..the main debts i have are for loans that last till 09 at fixed interest i can't overpay them every month ..i have to clear them (with the exception of a few wee ones which i am paying more to) but trying to save that bit of money every month is just burning a great big hole in my pocket ..so i was thinking of tying the money up so i didn't have the oppertunity to spend it on rubbish ..think though i will have to just pay off the debts the way i am ..thanks for the advice though

jonesMUFCforever

The loans that you have - can you not overpay with lump sums from time to time? (without having to pay whole balance off) to reduce total amount of interest charged and reduce number of months left on loan!

elantan

nope unfortunaltey not i have to pay it all off or just stick with monthly payments ..i was trying to save money in an account to pay them off in one fell swoop but kept dipping in to it ..that's why i was looking for another type account that i can't touch ...but in saying that i was gonna keep that for 3 or 5 years so by then the loans would be paid and i wouldve had some savings ...i'm just thinking though that maybe i could put the money into my mortgage that way it earns some and then when saved enough i can draw down the money ....i'm allowed to do this once a year only ...but it may help me pay those dammed debts off whilst earning me interest ...anyone think that might be a good idea?

masonic

elantan wrote:

...anyone think that might be a good idea?

It would depend on your mortgage rate, but you might be able to find a regular saver account with a higher net rate (this would tie up your money for 12 months). It might be worth having a look at the accounts on offer here (some of these accounts have catches, like requiring you to open a current account and pay your salary into it).

Offsetting money against your mortgage is probably the next best option if you can't find an account to beat its rate. Realistically, there is probably little difference between the two.

elantan

thanks masonic i'll have a look at those accounts and talk to hubby and see what is gonna be the best for us ..really appreciate your help ..

jamesd

elantan, what are the interest rates for each loan?

Include your mortgage if you haveone. What's the property value and mortgage outstanding? Does the mortgage allow enough overpayment that you could overpay the total of the mortgage and all the loan repayment amounts if you added them to the mortgage? The mortgage interest rate is probably lower than most loans, so as long as you keep paying the loan payments, just into the mortage instead, you could end up better off.

If you can't use the mortgage or don't want to, the regular saver accounts are your next best choice to accumulate enough money to pay the loans off in a lump sum.