newbie saver

debonair

Please redirect me if I'm in the wrong place. I've not been able to save until now so have been reading through this site. Net wage about £1100 per month. Mortgage and bills £300 per month. Would like to save at least £300 per month.
Have a lloyds account so if I switch to Halifax, get £100 for switching and pay in salary and pay out two DDs and get £5 per month. Open Nationwide flex direct and deposit £2500 (saved £2000 so far will prob have another£500 by the time I sort this.) for 5% interest for 12 months
DD£1000 salary from Halifax to Nationwide each month to meet T&Cs
Open First Direct regular saver account DD£300 from Nationwide for 6% for 12 months.
Am I on the right track? It never ocurred to me to have more than one bank account! Can I really do this? Is there anything else I could do? Grateful for any advice, I'm a bit scared........

Eco_Miser

You're on the right track. Lots of us have many current accounts, earning between 3 & 5% on up to £50,000. Open two TSB Plus @5%.

Stick with Lloyds, upgrade to Club for 4% on £4-5k, plus £25-400 per month regular saver. Or maybe not until you have £4000 to put in it.

debonair

Thanks As I say I'm new to saving, it used to be that you had a current account and a savings account and that was it. I can't upgrade to Lloyds club as I don't earn enough to pay in the min amount. I get about £1700 a year extra with some temp work but it's as and when not a regular amount. Won't I have to close Lloyds account when I switch to Halifax? With the TSB Plus do I just say 'I'd like to open 2 accounts please'?

Eco_Miser

Sorry I missed your reply earlier.

I don't earn enough for the minimum amount required by Lloyds Club either, fortunately, they're not really bothered about earnings. So long as you can pay £1500 in each month they're happy. That £1500, could be in three lots of £500, or ten lots of £150, or whatever combination suits you. It doesn't have to stay in the account either. Mine stays about as long as it takes to log out of the sending bank, and log in to Lloyds.

Yes, if you want the £100 for switching you will have to close the account you switch from.

With TSB Plus, I opened an account online, then opened another a few days later. Weirdly, you don't open the second while logged in, but they do link the two accounts with a single log-in. I suppose you could walk into a branch and ask for two accounts.

Jogle

debonair wrote: »

Open First Direct regular saver account DD£300 from Nationwide for 6% for 12 months.

This isn't possible. On the Regular Saver page in the "Summary box and Key Product Information" box it says:

First_Direct wrote:

You must already hold a first direct 1st Account to apply for a Savings Account.

Eco_Miser

Which surely means you must open a first direct 1st Account before opening the First Direct regular saver account, not that only those holding a 1st account at some unspecified date in the past can open a Savings Account.

Jogle

Eco_Miser wrote: »

Which surely means you must open a first direct 1st Account before opening the First Direct regular saver account, not that only those holding a 1st account at some unspecified date in the past can open a Savings Account.

Sorry, I didn't put the second quote in. The point that I was trying to make is that the payment has to come from the 1st Account (yes, I failed to make that point).

The T&Cs state at 5.5 "Once a month you must make a standing order from your 1st Account into your Regular Saver Account". You can also only make one payment into the Regular Saver per month so the whole of the monthly deposit must come from the 1st Account.

Therefore the OP must hold a 1st Account and have the money come out of that account. Of course they may have been aware of that and the £300 was to go from the Nationwide account into the 1st Account and then into the Regular Saver, but as the post didn't mention opening the 1st Account, it should be raised.

debonair

Thank you both for your help. I had thought it's not as easy as it first seems. So I need to juggle carefully, with the right accounts and in the right order. Elsewhere on MSE I see that opening many accounts effects your credit rating, any thoughts? A case of it's worth it for the extra cash the accounts bring in? I need to look at the Lloyds club account then. I had a joint account with ex for years and when I opened a new account for myself a few months ago the lady in the bank said I could have a vantage account but not the club account as I don't earn enough. Maybe bypass the bank staff and open online........although as I don't have 4k it may not be worth it. I shall ponder some more, I would be grateful for any further suggestions. I don't have much money, I just would like to get the most from it while I can!

Archi_Bald

debonair wrote: »

.although as I don't have 4k it may not be worth it

In which case, starting with 2 TSB Plus accounts might be a better plan.

robatwork

debonair wrote: »

Thank you both for your help. I had thought it's not as easy as it first seems. So I need to juggle carefully, with the right accounts and in the right order. Elsewhere on MSE I see that opening many accounts effects your credit rating,

It's a good question, and I haven't seen a bank or credit agency rep on here categorically state that it doesn't adversely affect your rating.

However, there are lots of people on here with a staggering number of current accounts. I only have a few to take advantage of the interest and opening bonuses. I haven't heard any comments from these people with 20+ accounts having any issues opening more or applying for credit.

On the other hand, these people are probably very shrewd with money, never default on a credit card payment, and never take a personal loan.

To keep your credit history healthy make sure you never miss any payments, don't go overdrawn, and use your credit card regularly and pay it all off every month.

Archi_Bald

I am one of those people with a 'staggering number' of current accounts, and can't say I have had any problem with my credit worthiness. I have often applied for more than one within the same week, and a total of 6 so far this year alone.

However, I have not applied for any mortgage or loan in the last decade, and I normally don't ask for an overdraft facility. I have no debts other than credit card bills which I pay off in full each month. I also have no late payment markers for utilities, phones etc.. The credit card providers keep offering me much higher limits than I need and even new cards.

I would probably not apply for more than one or two current accounts if I wanted to apply for a mortgage, loan or CC in the next 6-12 months. Generally, I would think it is a lot more important to ensure you don't get any late payment markers than worry about number of current account applications.