help!!!!! i need some advice with investing money!!

lucylouwoo

hi all,
this is my first post so be gentle with me!!!!
i need a bit of advice,
i have recently come into some money.
i am looking to invest about £30,000 into a high interest saving account.
i've had a look about but most of the ones i've seen seem to want you to invest money every month. i'm looking for something that i can put my money into and that be it!!
also do you think i'd be better spliting it up into different accounts or leaving it in a lump sum??????

let me no!!!!
thanks
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:j

dunstonh

invest or save? You mention invest but then go on to mention savings accounts. Can you clarify so the responses are correct for you?

lucylouwoo

SAVE!!!!!
sorry!!!
i want to put in somewhere then use it for a deposit on morgage at some point in the future, but i don't really want it in a account where i can't get it in a emergency.
hope thats made it abit clearer
xx

ReportInvestor

Hi Lucy and welcome to the site .

Why not choose between

Chelsea BS's Call-Direct 20 Tracker Issue 2 - 5.25% - Rate includes 0.50% bonus for 12 months - 20 Days notice needed to withdraw.

or

Birmingham Midshires' Internet Easy Access Issue 6 - 5.20% - Rate includes 0.65% bonus for 12 months

and

don't forget to put your first £3K into a tax free National Savings Mini-Cash ISA @ 5.3% if you haven't already got a mini-cash ISA for 2006/7.

johnofhertford

Have you used your ISA allowance? You can put up to 3000 in a mini cash ISA and not have to pay tax on your interest, which is a real boon if you're a higher rate taxpayer and pretty good for basic rate payers as well. (Note: if you've already opened a maxi ISA then you can't open a mini ISA in the same tax year.) You can invest 3000 in your cash ISA every tax year.

ISAs aside, the general consensus seems to be that ICICI offers the best rate for a simple savings account without introductory rates etc. Read Martin's article here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1098730527,15721,

You can probably do better if you're willing to take an account with an introductory rate and change accounts every six months or so.

You'll see somewhere in Martin's article that if you have more than 30000 (CORRECTION: 35000) then you may want to consider splitting into different accounts, because of what happens in the event that the bank/building society goes bust, or you may conclude that it's so unlikely that you don't need to bother about that.

If you're a higher rate taxpayer then you might also consider Premium bonds from National Savings. Your capital is secure but you're not guranteed to win anything so you lose out compared to a savings account, but any prizes you do win are tax free, and the nominal interest rate is quite competitive (i.e. the amount you should get back in prizes on average in a year, if you have a large enough holding). If you're a basic rate taxpayer then the return probably isn't worth it. If you're a higher rate taxpayer with a large amount to save, then it's worth thinking about for a certain proportion of your savings, AFTER you've used your ISA allowance.

ReportInvestor

£35K is the point at which your extra savings in any one account aren't covered by the Financial Services Compensation scheme. So Lucy should be fine.

The two top paying accounts I've mentioned both have 12 month bonuses. And in 12 months will ICICI still be offering the top unencumbered rate? You might have to switch accounts from ICICI as well. It's an occupational hazard for any self-respecting MSE rate tart.

johnofhertford

Probably not, but it will almost certainly be paying more than any of the accounts with an introductory rate, so if you can't be bothered to switch all the bleedin time then you should go for the best rate on a straight account without bonuses. Some of use have got lives to lead as well as posting on here!

ReportInvestor

Fair comment.

But switching every 12 months is no big deal for one main account with quite a lot of money in it, considering the total interest could be around £1,200.

lucylouwoo

:rotfl: thank you very much for all your help!!
certainly made things abit clearer for me!!!!!!!
:rotfl:

SMARTY29A_2

birmingham midshire 5.52 % gross fixed for one year. best i could find