Group Savings Account

MaggieBaking

Hi,

Apologies if this is a commonly asked question, or if it's in the wrong board but I just wanted to get a bit of advice about a Group Saving's Scheme.

Myself and 9 other friends are planning to go away on holiday next year and I thought it might be a good idea if we could all set aside £10 or £20 a month for 12 months into an account in preparation. It could also work out quickest when we want to send a deposit off if all the money is secure in one place?

I have no problem if everyone Direct Debit's it into one person's account but I just thought that could end up mucky and difficult to keep a track of the Holiday Balance.

I did think about a Paypal account but they take fees don't they?

Thanks for any advice

Reaper

While I don't know about group accounts I don't see how that would help you keep track of who had paid what unless it split it into 10 sub-accounts.

If you trust 1 person to do it then that would be easiest. You all then arrange standing orders (not direct debits) to pay money in to their account at the start of each month.

As most accounts do not make use of the "reference" field on a standing order what I do is to ask people to put their own names in. That way on the statement the person's name apears beside the deposit so I know who has paid and who hasn't.

MaggieBaking

Hi Reaper,

Thanks for replying. What I meant was that it's easier to get the money confused with what you should have in your account already and having it in a seperate place keeps it all nicely separated and gives everyone in the group a bit more of a peace of mind.

Again, perhaps what I want doesn't exist but just thought I would ask

needtowinthelottery

Hi MaggieBaking (yummy looking cake pic by the way!).

Have you managed to find any information on this? I found your post when looking for the answer to a similar question (five friends want to set up a joint savings account for a long-term plan over the next nine years).

Any help you could give would be gratefully received.

Jegersmart

MaggieBaking wrote: »

Hi,

Apologies if this is a commonly asked question, or if it's in the wrong board but I just wanted to get a bit of advice about a Group Saving's Scheme.

Myself and 9 other friends are planning to go away on holiday next year and I thought it might be a good idea if we could all set aside £10 or £20 a month for 12 months into an account in preparation. It could also work out quickest when we want to send a deposit off if all the money is secure in one place?

I have no problem if everyone Direct Debit's it into one person's account but I just thought that could end up mucky and difficult to keep a track of the Holiday Balance.

I did think about a Paypal account but they take fees don't they?

Thanks for any advice

Why do this?

With those small amounts you receive no advantage in doing it collectively, and there is no risk to spread......

You would all be better off just using your own personal savings accounts - it will be far simpler and you don't have to deal with the scenario when people have not paid their bit and keeping track of it etc.

A bad and pointless idea imho. No offence intended, just saying it as I see it. Hope that helps.

Ciaran124_2

Hi there Maggie!

Why not just open a single regular saving account with a good interest rate and pay into it every month and then take the money from each of your nine friends. This way you can keep on track of who owes you what, and may gain a bit of interest.

MaggieBaking

Sorry, it has been a long time since I've checked this. Completely understand why some people would be reluctant to do a joint account. However I have known these friends for 10 years, all reliable, trustworthy and in no need to steal cash.

Why do I want to? So all the money is pooled together, easier when you want to pay a deposit on a holiday or you would have to wait a while for everyone to get finances together etc, and as an incentive. If we're all going to save, why not do it together. It's also not for a lot of money - we're talking maybe £40 a month for a year (all together it will be a lot, but it's not too tempting an amount to encourage someone to steal it.) It's also not compulsory, only for the few of us who would like to, and everyone understands that they can withdraw however much they want at any time as long as they've paid it in. They're under no obligation to use it for the holiday if their plans change in a few months time.

As for our solution - I'm hoping to set up an ING Direct account in my name that everyone can pay into and that I can easily send screen shots regularly and it will keep track of who has paid what.

Pachira

Have you thought about an investment club account? Co-op, Barclays and Santander all provide group savings accounts for investment clubs.
They are set up as partnerships and the accounts require at least 2 signatories on the account, which may provide some peace of mind to the others in the group.

There is more information on investment clubs here:
http://www.timetotrade.eu/wiki/index.php/Investment_Club

MaggieBaking

Pachira wrote: »

Have you thought about an investment club account? Co-op, Barclays and Santander all provide group savings accounts for investment clubs.
They are set up as partnerships and the accounts require at least 2 signatories on the account, which may provide some peace of mind to the others in the group.

There is more information on investment clubs here:
http://www.timetotrade.eu/wiki/index.php/Investment_Club

Thank you, that sounds promising!