So confused, help?

UKIkarus

Hi folks,

Allow me to explain the current situation, I have had an account which my wages get paid into which I have had since before 18, easy access hole in the wall kind of thing with no online paying or direct debit ability etc.

I also have a flex-account with nationwide which does allow this but is only used when funds are transferred online to allow myself to purchase things via the likes of paypal etc.

Finally I have an ISA which has its interest bonus expired and is now at a pitifully low interest rate but under the now £15k per year allowance.

As such I don't have any direct-debits etc and am earning very little on that which I have managed to save, given the circumstances what would you folks recommend I look into?

I get just over £1k a month from working so can just about meet any requirements for accounts in this area, but since I have no direct debits or standing orders to "Transfer" am I eligible for any of these offers at all?

What kind of accounts should I look into and where would be best to switch my monthly wages to?

Just need a few pointers to get me going please thanks!

enjoyyourshoes

Are you looking for a better current account?
or
Are you looking for higher returns on ISA?
or
Long term savings/Pension to invest in?

Is it just the lack of transferable DD that's restricting you current account options. Could you just not set up some DD for regular costs , council tax, phone, BB etc ? then get one of the current accounts that meet your needs.

UKIkarus

Basically at the moment with costs the way they are, I'm not owning/renting my own place and live with my father... (as much as I'd love to get a place it's becoming increasingly difficult!)

Basically I'm trying to find the best solutions for making what little cash I have work for me and add that little extra (every little counts right?)

The main account my funds get paid into each month is a general cashcard+ I think, this is no good for anything other than basic hole in the wall access since I cannot do direct debits etc from this.

I have a flex-account which I transfer funds to using the online banking to allow myself to purchase things online or in-store using the chip and pin devices (cannot do this on the main card so if I forget to top it up it tells me off!)

I then have a now measly 1% interest ISA which has less funds currently accumulated than the annual £15k allowance and have not been able to add much to it lately due to getting my driving sorted

I'd like to transfer the ISA to a higher interest rate, find a good account to switch to as my main having my wages paid into, (or is this a bad idea? this is why I'm asking after all) and also try to gain whatever interest I can on whatever funds are left after the monthly outgoings etc.

Generally I only ever used to put the cash I could afford to not need that month into an ISA before, so my monthly left-overs would usually sit dormant for easy access if suddenly required in the main account/flex. If I then have X spare by the next monthly pay-in I'd see about transferring a chunk of it into the ISA.


I guess in a nutshell, what I'm after is the best returns on what little savings I do have, and which way to go with this cashcard+ thing? do I scrap that and move my wages into the flex? or another account? what would you recommend? same for ISA? where would you recommend I transfer to?

enjoyyourshoes

Hi
MSE site under savings gives you full details of best accounts and what eligibility criteria you need. I am sure 1 or 2 of those accounts will meet your specific needs.
Consider cancelling your current account in favour of the new one selected.
Some require DD so see suggestion I made earlier.

Just to add a bit more confusion, you may want to look into Stocks and shares ISA for longer term investing which have more Risk attached but more rewards if you make investment decisions.

Also SIPP (self investing personal pension ) and get 20% (basic tax payer) relied from Govt. I have started 2 for my little kids (Junior SIPP start from birth)

Approx £10% net salary invested for your long term future, retirement etc.

Probably don't want to be discussing that !

TSB , Santander & Club Lloyds current accounts have healthy interest. What I do is subdivide the one account into numerous named accounts for longer term savings (annual insurances, MOT, Oil, clothes etc) and when I have enough in each sub account and need to spend, I deduct it from the sub account balance. So it earns compound interest, this is not added to the sub account balance and spend only what you have accumulated in each sub account. (can keep track manually or spread sheet)

UKIkarus

I'd like to sort out something for the future and retirement, absolutely!

I wouldn't know where to start with stocks and shares though... always seem to be all over the place.

xylophone

Are you employed or self employed?

If employed, your employer will have to offer a pension scheme within the next couple of years. https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions.

If you need direct debits, if you set up two savings accounts with Tesco, there is a facility to take money from any other bank account by Direct Debit - this needs only to be £1 a month on each.

With interest rates so low on ISAs, you might be better off using high interest current accounts - while it is true that they require a certain amount to be credited each month, with internet access and faster payments, this need not be a problem. Even after tax, these might be a better place for your isa money.


A Nationwide Flexdirect account will pay 5% gross on up to £2500 for a year - it requires a credit of £1000 a month from an external source but this can be managed by cycling money round other accounts.

Or you might consider switching your Nationwide account to Halifax reward - this requires two DDs and a credit of £750 a month. You would receive £100 for switching and a reward of £5 a month.


TSB Plus requires no direct debits but £500 a month - 5% gross on up to £2000.

The Santander 123 requires two direct debits and costs £2 a month but pays 3% gross on up to £20,000.

Archi_Bald

UKIkarus wrote: »

I wouldn't know where to start with stocks and shares though... always seem to be all over the place.

You could start in worse places than this: http://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/

The first thing to learn is that as a newbie, you would want to invest in funds rather than individual shares. Many very experienced investors never invest in individual shares and always stick with funds.

UKIkarus

xylophone wrote: »

Are you employed or self employed?

If employed, your employer will have to offer a pension scheme within the next couple of years. https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions.

If you need direct debits, if you set up two savings accounts with Tesco, there is a facility to take money from any other bank account by Direct Debit - this needs only to be £1 a month on each.

With interest rates so low on ISAs, you might be better off using high interest current accounts - while it is true that they require a certain amount to be credited each month, with internet access and faster payments, this need not be a problem. Even after tax, these might be a better place for your isa money.


A Nationwide Flexdirect account will pay 5% gross on up to £2500 for a year - it requires a credit of £1000 a month from an external source but this can be managed by cycling money round other accounts.

Or you might consider switching your Nationwide account to Halifax reward - this requires two DDs and a credit of £750 a month. You would receive £100 for switching and a reward of £5 a month.


TSB Plus requires no direct debits but £500 a month - 5% gross on up to £2000.

The Santander 123 requires two direct debits and costs 32 a month but pays £% gross on up to £20,000.

Employed and in a pension scheme already, as for the ISA how would I go about getting these into said accounts? and since its only on up to a certain amount would I be better off getting the Halifax?

Since it requires 2 DD's do they have to be setup on the old account and transferred or can you simply open it and then have to start at least 2 direct debits? I usually pay off council tax, insurance etc in 1 hit soo I only really have rent to put a DD on? can I setup a DD between accounts to get around this?

The Tesco thing seems like a nice little means of getting around this

I'm still uncertain as to how I use the funds currently in the ISA with this? how would I go about shifting it from A to B?

And when they say a credit of X a month, can you put in say 1k at the beginning of the month then withdraw say £300 to another account if you suddenly needed it and still qualify? or would you then be classed as under the 1k?

xylophone

It is a question of whether you wish to keep the ISA status (if so, while rates are poor, you need to look for the best you can find and ask the new provider to arrange a transfer).

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1583864/Best-savings-rates-Isas-Cash-Isa-accounts-fixed-rate-Isas.html

Otherwise you remove the money from the ISA, and deposit in high interest current accounts, cycling money between them to comply with the account terms.

Re Halifax Reward http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/current-accounts/reward-current-account/

Presumably you could opt to pay your council tax etc by monthly direct debit if you wished?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5114616

Archi_Bald

UKIkarus wrote: »

And when they say a credit of X a month, can you put in say 1k at the beginning of the month then withdraw say £300 to another account if you suddenly needed it and still qualify? or would you then be classed as under the 1k?

It's current accounts, so you don't need to keep the money in there. You can deposit £1K one minute, and withdraw £1K the next. Lots of people with multiple accounts do this. Have a look for TSB, Lloyds, Santander etc threads.

UKIkarus

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It's current accounts, so you don't need to keep the money in there. You can deposit £1K one minute, and withdraw £1K the next. Lots of people with multiple accounts do this. Have a look for TSB, Lloyds, Santander etc threads.

So basically if I put in £1K in say Dec then took out £600 so only had £400 when Jan rolls around it's still fine? so long as I put another £1K in at some point during Jan?

Thanks for the help so far folks, trying to grasp how this all works and what is considered OK.