Savings Account or ISA?

colsten

DiNZi wrote: »

I see what your saying, unfortunately both require you to have 2 direct debits each. I only pay 2 direct debits in the house.

You can have as many DDs as you like. For example, just open a couple of Tesco savings accounts and set up a couple of small DDs to feed them. Dozens of people are doing this sort of thing.

polymaff

DiNZi wrote: »

I'll then open an account with another bank, is there any good bank accounts that offer interest if you hold x amount in the account and say transfer £400 into that account every month?

Probably won't get interest on such a small amount in the account but worth asking.

How does 6% sound? Open a First Direct 1st (Bank) Account and use that to channel up to £300 per month into a First Direct Regular Saver. At the same time, open a First Direct savings account and stick a fiver in it. This will zero the account charge for the Bank Account. Switch an account to First Direct and get a hundred or so kick-back.

Read all about it on First Direct's web-site. You'll soon be lighting your cigars with five pound notes.

DiNZi

polymaff wrote: »

How does 6% sound? Open a First Direct 1st (Bank) Account and use that to channel up to £300 per month into a First Direct Regular Saver. At the same time, open a First Direct savings account and stick a fiver in it. This will zero the account charge for the Bank Account. Switch an account to First Direct and get a hundred or so kick-back.

Read all about it on First Direct's web-site. You'll soon be lighting your cigars with five pound notes.

That's not bad. All of the other places I've seen require you to pay in at least £500 or £750 a month. With First Direct you can pay in from £25 to £300 and get a decent 6% interest rate, without any need for direct debits either. You get

Thanks for your response.

This is not bad at all. All of the other places I've seen require you to pay in at least £500/£750 a month. With First Direct you can pay in £25-300 a month and get a decent 6% interest rate on that of up to £3,600, no needs for direct debits either (that right?).

As it's up to £3,600, I can like you said keep adding £300 to it each month and gain the interest.

I'll still go for the Santander 123 along side, as you can hold a lot more in that account up to £20,000 with 3% interest from £3,000+, with my direct debits coming out of this account Virgin Media, EE ect..

Holding the money in these two accounts should generate a decent amount of interest, seems like a good idea, thanks.

polymaff

DiNZi wrote: »

This is not bad at all. All of the other places I've seen require you to pay in at least £500/£750 a month. With First Direct you can pay in £25-300 a month and get a decent 6% interest rate on that of up to £3,600, no needs for direct debits either (that right?).

There is normally a fee for the 1st Bank Account, which one gets around by pumping £1,000 through it each month, or by following my suggestion of a fiver in a 1st Direct savings account. Again, all details on their site - and subject to change!

DiNZi wrote: »

I'll still go for the Santander 123, as you can hold a lot more in that account up to £20,000 with 3% interest from £3,000+.

You'll do better to put the money where it earns most - so feed the First Direct 6% before the Santander 3%

By the way, on MSE, when you want to say "thanks" - click the "thanks" button just below the relevant post.

DiNZi

polymaff wrote: »

You'll do better to put the money where it earns most - so feed the First Direct 6% before the Santander 3%

I've got £15,000 which currently sits in a Halifax Guaranteed Saver account, that picks up no interest or anything.

After reading a bit, I realized I can get a good amount of interest on this, I just need to find the correct place.

People have suggested Santander 123, where they offer 3% interest rate from £3000 to £20000 in the account.

I can move the whole lot to the Santander 123 and pick up a sweet amount of interest every month.

From my monthly salary I always put around £800 aside into the Halifax Saver which will now go to the Santander 123, I was thinking as well as the Santander 123, maybe I can put money into other accounts to get interest, that's when you suggested First Direct, 6% is great, £300 every month is do-able so I will go ahead with both those, and gain interest from both accounts at the same time.

I don't need any direct debits for the First Direct account either, so the DD's will come from the Santander a/c.

polymaff

DiNZi wrote: »

I've got £15,000 which currently sits in a Halifax Guaranteed Saver account, that picks up no interest or anything.

After reading a bit, I realized I can get a good amount of interest on this, I just need to find the correct place.

People have suggested Santander 123, where they offer 3% interest rate from £3000 to £20000 in the account.

I can move the whole lot to the Santander 123 and pick up a sweet amount of interest every month..

No problem with that strategy.

My First Direct suggestion was a response to your search for a home for up to £400 a month. For sure, put the lump sum into the 123 account, but then get the 6% account up and running asap and fund it with the highest priority - even if it means yanking the £300 out of your 123 account. Better to have that £300 at 6% than 3%

BTW First Direct have just altered their Ts&Cs, introducing horrendous unauthorised overdraft fees, so when you set up the First Direct bank account, make sure that the authorised overdraft is at least as much as the monthly Regular Saving payment - just in case you make a mistake.

[I missed by 6 days in August - result: 57p in interest. Do the same thing since mid-November - penalty payment £30.00] :(:(

Edit: BTW you do understand that at the end of the Regular Saver year, you don't receive 6% of 12 times £300? Some of the money will only have been in there for one month - but you don't get swindled. It really does end up with twice as much as you would have had by regularly adding £300 to the 123 account.

DiNZi

polymaff wrote: »

No problem with that strategy.

My First Direct suggestion was a response to your search for a home for up to £400 a month. For sure, put the lump sum into the 123 account, but then get the 6% account up and running asap and fund it with the highest priority - even if it means yanking the £300 out of your 123 account. Better to have that £300 at 6% than 3%

BTW First Direct have just altered their Ts&Cs, introducing horrendous unauthorised overdraft fees, so when you set up the First Direct bank account, make sure that the authorised overdraft is at least as much as the monthly Regular Saving payment - just in case you make a mistake.

[I missed by 6 days in August - result: 57p in interest. Do the same thing since mid-November - penalty payment £30.00] :(:(

Edit: BTW you do understand that at the end of the Regular Saver year, you don't receive 6% of 12 times £300? Some of the money will only have been in there for one month - but you don't get swindled. It really does end up with twice as much as you would have had by regularly adding £300 to the 123 account.

That's fine, I've understood it, thanks, I will be sure to mention what you've told me to First Direct too.

I will be using these two accounts to channel money into and generate interest, meeting their requirements of paying in £300 or £500 to the Santander account.

Do you think it's a good idea to open up a Lloyds Classic Current acc to have my salary paid into, then from there I can set up payments to both Santander and First Direct? A lot of people at work use Lloyds and say they are good, if I was earning a bit more I'd have gone with the Club Lloyds Current acc, maybe later.

polymaff

DiNZi wrote: »

Do you think it's a good idea to open up a Lloyds Classic Current acc to have my salary paid into, then from there I can set up payments to both Santander and First Direct? A lot of people at work use Lloyds and say they are good, if I was earning a bit more I'd have gone with the Club Lloyds Current acc, maybe later.

I don't think that you'll find much difference in service - but you will in how much interest you can earn yourself. Most folk on this board - me included - are only opening bank accounts left, right and centre to take advantage of the current, crazy, penchant of the bank for paying switching bonuses and relatively high interest rates on deposits.

Incidentally, what is stopping you going for the Club Lloyds? I say this as, as I mentioned above, we look on Bank Accounts as interest-generating mechanisms which can also fulfill the conventional role of a bank account. The only reason why not Club Lloyds is Nationwide FlexDirect and TSB Plus current accounts - and the reason is 5% AER on £2,500 and £2,000 respectively as against 4% on £4,000 to £5,000 at Club Lloyds. My point is that if you look on Bank Accounts this way - as interest earners - your £15,000 could be deployed even more effectively than it will be in the Santander 123 Account. There's a bit of admin required, but you woudn't walk past £35-40 lying in the street for the sake of bending down to pick it up, would you? That is what your £15k could be generating for you each month at present.

jimjames

DiNZi wrote: »

That's fine, I've understood it, thanks, I will be sure to mention what you've told me to First Direct too.

I will be using these two accounts to channel money into and generate interest, meeting their requirements of paying in £300 or £500 to the Santander account.

Do you think it's a good idea to open up a Lloyds Classic Current acc to have my salary paid into, then from there I can set up payments to both Santander and First Direct? A lot of people at work use Lloyds and say they are good, if I was earning a bit more I'd have gone with the Club Lloyds Current acc, maybe later.

Why Lloyds? Why not TSB where you get 5% interest?

DiNZi

polymaff wrote: »

I don't think that you'll find much difference in service - but you will in how much interest you can earn yourself. Most folk on this board - me included - are only opening bank accounts left, right and centre to take advantage of the current, crazy, penchant of the bank for paying switching bonuses and relatively high interest rates on deposits.

Incidentally, what is stopping you going for the Club Lloyds? I say this as, as I mentioned above, we look on Bank Accounts as interest-generating mechanisms which can also fulfill the conventional role of a bank account. The only reason why not Club Lloyds is Nationwide FlexDirect and TSB Plus current accounts - and the reason is 5% AER on £2,500 and £2,000 respectively as against 4% on £4,000 to £5,000 at Club Lloyds. My point is that if you look on Bank Accounts this way - as interest earners - your £15,000 could be deployed even more effectively than it will be in the Santander 123 Account. There's a bit of admin required, but you woudn't walk past £35-40 lying in the street for the sake of bending down to pick it up, would you? That is what your £15k could be generating for you each month at present.

I see what you mean, instead of just Santander 123, I could leave the money £15,000 where it is and open a couple of high interest current accounts and circulate the money around to them every month to get good interest.

Do all accounts discussed require you 'must' deposit every month?