The 'Save 12k in 2014' Thread!

badger09

tara747 wrote: »

Well done on your eBay sales!

I have the following:

£40,000 in a 2-year Santander 123 ISA at 3.1% (maturing May 2015)
£21,000 in a Santander First Home Saver at 3% (was 5% originally)
£18,000 in a Santander 123 current account at 3%
£4,000 in 2x TSB Plus current accounts at 5%

Plus a few quid in a couple of other non-interest accounts just to keep them active.

The First Home Saver (FHS) rate is dropping to 1.5% on 14 January I'm still wondering what to do. I might put £15,000 of it in an ISA - but ISA rates are pitiful at the moment. You can get 2% or so - but that means locking money way for 4 years!!!

I'll still be able to fund the FHS each month and get 1.5% on the whole balance - so it might work out just as well as putting £15,000 in an ISA and the rest earning 0% interest.

Decisions, decisions!



I recently opened a M&S current account as they were offering a £125 M&S gift card No interest paid, though, so I'll just take the gift card and not fund the account.

I've also opened a Clydesdale current account to get the £150 switching bonus and it also pays 2% on balances of up to £3,000, so I'll be using that as well. 2% is better than nothing if you've maxed out the higher interest accounts!

Switching bonuses are as good as interest, and don't usually require you to lock money away. Just an initial application, fulfil the terms of the switch offer, and bingo

I've done them all - Halifax, Santander, Co-operative, First Direct, Danske, you name it. I've easily earned over £1,000 from them all, and they're so simple!!!

Hope you don't mind me butting in, I don't usually post on this thread but skim read it

If you're looking for a home for your £21k fairly short term (ie too short to be investing) then forget cash ISAs and look at

Club Lloyds 4% on £5k and linked Monthly Saver 4% £400pm
BoS 3% on £5k x 3
Tesco 3% on £3000 x 2

tara747

badger09 wrote: »

Hope you don't mind me butting in, I don't usually post on this thread but skim read it

If you're looking for a home for your £21k fairly short term (ie too short to be investing) then forget cash ISAs and look at

Club Lloyds 4% on £5k and linked Monthly Saver 4% £400pm
BoS 3% on £5k x 3
Tesco 3% on £3000 x 2

Thanks, badger09

I must check these out. I have rather a lot of accounts to keep track of as it is - having little dribs and drabs everywhere is irritating lol. But needs must if we're to earn any interest at all!!!

tara747

Also, I've never not used my full ISA allowance, so I had been intending to put £15,000 in at the last minute in early April.

I know rates are cr*p right now, but you never know when they'll improve.

BUT if I'm not intending to leave my ISA money untouched for decades, should I just chase the best return now?

badger09

tara747 wrote: »

Thanks, badger09

I must check these out. I have rather a lot of accounts to keep track of as it is - having little dribs and drabs everywhere is irritating lol. But needs must if we're to earn any interest at all!!!

A simple spreadsheet might help, and if you want to, you can automate the monthly funding requirements, so after the initial set up, they run themselves

tara747 wrote: »

Also, I've never not used my full ISA allowance, so I had been intending to put £15,000 in at the last minute in early April.

I know rates are cr*p right now, but you never know when they'll improve.

BUT if I'm not intending to leave my ISA money untouched for decades, should I just chase the best return now?

If you're intending to leave your ISA untouched for decades, then cash ISA is not the most sensible as inflation will cause it serious damage

Skippycat

Hi everyone. I can't believe we are now into the final month of the challenge.... :eek: The year has just flown over. I only managed to put £100 in my ISA for November. However my yearly interest was added on at the end of the month so this has increased my November total to £204.30 :j Good luck for December everyone xxx I have only put in £30 so far for December but it's a start anyway.

hickles69

Not far off of my target. Everyone is doing so well.

tara747

badger09 wrote: »

A simple spreadsheet might help, and if you want to, you can automate the monthly funding requirements, so after the initial set up, they run themselves


If you're intending to leave your ISA untouched for decades, then cash ISA is not the most sensible as inflation will cause it serious damage

True - I do have SOs set up to fund most of the accounts I have... BUT I do like logging in every month as well, just to check that all is as it should be.

As for the ISA, I will probably use my savings as a house deposit in the next few years. So it's not a long term plan.

badger09

tara747 wrote: »

True - I do have SOs set up to fund most of the accounts I have... BUT I do like logging in every month as well, just to check that all is as it should be.

As for the ISA, I will probably use my savings as a house deposit in the next few years. So it's not a long term plan.

Its good practice to log in at least once a month. Not only can you skim the interest from any 'full' accounts but also you can spot any fraudulent transactions :eek:

Hantsman

Well I've reached my target a month early! This is more money than I have ever saved before and it all down to this site and in particular this thread. Thank you everyone for helping keep me on the straight and narrow and I wish the best of luck to everyone in 2015!

seekstris

I have had a good year overall financially although doesn't look like I hit the target in the general sense of the word.

At the start of the year I set out £5k as my target but quickly revised this to £3.5k because I didnt make due to some unexpected costs early on. I have however managed to save a decent amount consistently as well as book a fairly expensive holiday for next year which is already totally paid for.

I also did some rationalization and paid off a loan from my parents early, some student overdrafts and completed financing on a purchase early.

So my status at the moment is

Saved: £1,400
Debts paid off:
£600 parents
£450 student overdraft
£350 remaining financing

So overall it has been a good year for me and find myself in a much healthier and more positive situation.

There is even better news coming as I did a lot of OT in the previous month, so my next pay check should allow me to save ~ £1k putting me close to the target but unfortunately falling a little short.