How to maximise one's salary

Prothet_of_Doom

It's all very interesting but perhaps focus on how you can increase your earning potential ? Night School? OU ? etc ?

DLC2013

innovate wrote: »

There is no guarantee that Santander won't be dropping their interest rate, either.

As you do not get any cashback from the 123, your effective interest rate is well below the 2.96% gross. On £20K, you won't be getting £592 per year but only £568. I'll leave it to you to work out the effective interest rate.

With multiple Lloyds etc accounts, you can achieve a full 3% AER since you will be able to compound interest.

You might not care about the £24 but you started out saying you wanted to maximise your salary.

If you really did want to maximise, you would also consider a Nationwide FlexDirect, a Halifax Reward, and one or two regular savings accounts.

I am a big fan of the 123 and have got several myself but it is not the best interest paying account for everybody.

Thank you for your reply, i do already have a Halifax Reward which pays out £5 a month if you pay in £750 and stay in credit i believe. I know there is no monthly charge but £60 a year isn't as good as what others can offer. As for Nationwide Flexdirect, i have looked at that but am still in 2 minds as to whether it is suitable for me.

It seems to me like it is a gamble wherever you save as you are never quite sure when each respective bank might decide to drop their interest rate..

Oh well, food for thought

DLC2013

innovate wrote: »

Fixed term Halifax ISAs only allow deposits in the first 60 days after opening.

I don't understand. Are you saying i can't top up my existing ISA after 5th of April? I have already used this year's full allowance

DLC2013

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

It's all very interesting but perhaps focus on how you can increase your earning potential ? Night School? OU ? etc ?

I appreciate your sentiment. After i have my finances in order then i will perhaps confront that issue

eskbanker

DLC2013 wrote: »

I don't understand. Are you saying i can't top up my existing ISA after 5th of April? I have already used this year's full allowance

Most fixed rate ISAs only allow deposits in a short window after opening, so can't be topped up after that. Halifax specify 60 days for their current product but check the Ts & Cs of your one from when you opened it just in case....

Nothing to stop you opening a new ISA with Halifax or any other provider in the new tax year but don't expect to get 3% on it!

DLC2013

I will do, thank you eskbanker, worst case scenario is then that i am stuck with my 3% cash ISA with £11,500 in for another 2 years, with no chance of injecting another £5000 in to it after 5th of April.

I'm sure i will find an alternative either way!

bsms1147

DLC2013 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, i do already have a Halifax Reward which pays out £5 a month if you pay in £750 and stay in credit i believe. I know there is no monthly charge but £60 a year isn't as good as what others can offer.

But it's £60 for essentially having zero money in the account. £750 in. £750 straight out.

Some would argue that's an interest rate of nearly ∞%.

DLC2013

I know, i probably shouldn't be too dismissive of whatever offer there is out there to grab hold of.

One more question however, i have set up 2 direct debits with Paypal and Barclaycard as is required for the Santander 123 account, yet neither are showing as being registered on my Santander online banking screen. It may be that since i only did this on Saturday they are yet to appear but is this likely to be the case or should they have appeared instantaneously?

Thanks anyone.:o

eskbanker

DLC2013 wrote: »

I know, i probably shouldn't be too dismissive of whatever offer there is out there to grab hold of.

One more question however, i have set up 2 direct debits with Paypal and Barclaycard as is required for the Santander 123 account, yet neither are showing as being registered on my Santander online banking screen. It may be that since i only did this on Saturday they are yet to appear but is this likely to be the case or should they have appeared instantaneously?

Thanks anyone.:o

They won't appear instantaneously but should show within a few days.

DLC2013

Incidentally,

I have heard people discuss opening 2 Santander 123 accounts.

However i understand the £500 minimum pay in required each month for the 123 account cannot be transferred from a existing Santander account. (In this case from my existing 123 account)

So, and i know i might be stating the obvious here, is it a case of setting up a standing order to transfer the initial 500 from the existing account, shortly after paying it in, back to a Halifax current account and then transferring that to 123 account number 2?

Is the same 3 way process how it works for say 2 Lloyds Vantage accounts as well to meet their £1000?

Can you still reap the benefits this way?