help for small saver

webitha

hi can anyone give me advice
i can only afford to save roughly £100 a month (on benefits and am doing everythingmse and os) and i would like to save to give my kids a holiday in a few years when they are older and able to appriciate it something i never had i also want to be able to pay for anything unexpected that crops up by having savings
anyway enough waffle can anyone give me a decent instant access saving account for my meagre savings
ive been looking around but the a/c with good rates have to be opened with min of £500 - £100 no way i can do that
i would love to be in the position of a lots of people on here with lots to save but on my own with 3 small brats i mean kids thats not going to happen ive already got a isa with halifax at 5.25% that i put in £10 a week not a lot but im determined that i not going to touch it at all
so i need an account that i can transfere money in and out as and when needed
any advice greatfully received
p.s sorry about the waffling

Cannon_Fodder

The Halifax ISA is accessible online or by phone, so would it be impossible to put as much in as you can, and keep track of which amounts you are "allowed" to touch? Trying not to, of course!

If not possible, maybe a Regular Saver, but Halifax's doesn't allow withdrawls...and the banks usually want you to have their current account - I'm assuming you're with Halifax, do you want to switch?

webitha

yes im with halifax with no wish to change as they have been good to me really helpful (believe it or not) ive just been told that sainsburys do online saving that i can tranfere in and out have checked their website didnt know sainsburys di this and they look really good
has anyone had any dealings with them are they ok
oh and i darnet put it in with isa as i will be tempted to dip into it as that is what i want for real emergencies etc not touched it in ages got £150 in it woohoo

Cannon_Fodder

I have no experience dealing with Sainsburys, but their rate is only 0.25% more than Halifax's Web Saver 5% - probably £2 a year on the amounts you are talking about. If you're happy at Halifax, and want to keep things seperate, then that could do the job...

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/phoneweb_websaver.shtml

Make sure you don't take the cash card, to get 5% instead of 4.5%...

Jake'sGran

Smile bank would accept you for an account. If you read their web pages it would seem they like you to put more in but I asked for my husband who just wanted to put one small pension in every month, just £125 and they said fine. It pays interest at just over 3% on any credit balance and you can move money in and out as much as you like, have a cheque book and debit card - all the usual stuff.

You sound like my kind of person, I really admire you for saving, especially with three children. What is "os" at the beginning of your message? I can't imagine you have got a credit card - hope not. You are not a taxpayer are you? Just asked as an ISA is not necessarily the best account for rates for a non taxpayer but, as you say, you like the Halifax and it's good to have a good relationship with the people you are banking with. Good luck to you. come back if you have more questions.

Cannon_Fodder

os = old school...an mse forum

webitha

thanks jackiegran your kind words are much appriciated espesh as everyone else treats me as a non person and think im a scrouger nothing can be furthur from the truth as ive worked every day for the last 17 years since i left school but thats another story

thanks for the info cannon fodder i never thought about the web saver only saving me such a small amount i think i will go with them i mean if it aint broke why fix it

PBA

Abbey's regular saver pays 5.2% if you pay in £20 or more a month and make no withdrawals, and if it's money for your kids you could put it in one of their names (with you as trustee to operate the account) and therefore receive the interest gross.

webitha

thankx pba but i will be needing to dip in and out of this a/c
and kids only young and already got savings a/c that i pay £1 a week each in for doing chores so teaches them to save and that they have to work for anything that they want am also brainwashing i mean trying to teach them to save half of any money that they get so when the toothfairy comes visiting eg they automatically ask me to change it into 2 50p
i hope this is right what age should you teach kids how to save? mine are 7 5 2 yrs