Help with getting a new current account and saving account

lovemilk

I need help! Been reading up all on mse pages on the current accounts and saving accounts.

Currently have a rubbish current account with lloyds with my savings in (5k), a rubbish isa with some more savings (nearly 4k). Looking to get the best out of my money from now on.

I've got some house repairs to be done but want to try and keep some savings going?

What currennt account do you think for my salary to go in and dd to go out of - First Direct, Halifax. Or open two?? Or Santandr to get cashback making three current accounts? Will my good credit rating get affected if open all these current and savings accounts at once?

What savings accounts - I'm reading that it may bes good to spread across two, say TSB? What about the FD saver?

Don't know what to do....

Is it good to open and close these current accounts to just get the incentives?

Do I get a credit card and stooze to generate more money or credit card with cashback or no credit card? How do you all make this work for you?

Thank you.

grumbler

lovemilk wrote: »

What currennt account do you think for my salary to go in and dd to go out of - First Direct, Halifax. Or open two?? Or Santandr to get cashback making three current accounts?

Why not three then? Many people have ten and more accounts.

Will my good credit rating get affected if open all these current and savings accounts at once?

Yes - for current accounts that normally create a credit search recorded. However, it's not a rash, and you can do this gradually rather than 'at once'.

What savings accounts - I'm reading that it may bes good to spread across two, say TSB?

Why two if you have just £5K ATM?

What about the FD saver?

Why not if you want extra ~£18 gross in interest p.a.?

Is it good to open and close these current accounts to just get the incentives?

Define good. Many people do this. Only you know if £100-£150 is good enough for you for switching.

Do I get a credit card and stooze to generate more money or credit card with cashback or no credit card? How do you all make this work for you?

IMO it's almost worthless nowadays because of the BT fees and low interest rates, but 0% on purchases are worth considering. Do your maths.
Stoozing Calculator

YorkshireBoy

grumbler wrote: »

Why two if you have just £5K ATM?

OP also has another £4K in a "rubbish" ISA.

YorkshireBoy

lovemilk wrote: »

Currently have a rubbish current account with lloyds with my savings in (5k)

My Lloyds current account pays me 4% AER on the same £5K.

Your other £4K should be placed in TSB Plus (£2K) and Nationwide FlexDirect (£2K, and room for another £500), both of which pay 5% AER (Nationwide albeit for 12 months only).

What you should do after that will depend on how much you intend to save each month going forward.

lovemilk

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

My Lloyds current account pays me 4% AER on the same £5K.

Your other £4K should be placed in TSB Plus (£2K) and Nationwide FlexDirect (£2K, and room for another £500), both of which pay 5% AER (Nationwide albeit for 12 months only).

What you should do after that will depend on how much you intend to save each month going forward.

Thank you. I'm all new to sorting out my finances. My monthly salary coming in is only £1300 - LLoyds need £1500. Also, I've got some home improvements to do this year - damp proof, roofwork. But I want to put my money in a current account and still draw on it as I need.

Is it ok to open these accounts all at the same together, not affect my credit rating?

What about an account for my salary and dds? Is it worth opening fd and halifax rewards just for points? Or would you open one and then another in a while?

Are cashback credit cards worth it or not? I'm trying to make the most of what I've got.

Thank you.

YorkshireBoy

lovemilk wrote: »

My monthly salary coming in is only £1300 - LLoyds need £1500.

And that's a problem is it?

Go to branch, withdraw £200 from the ATM outside, walk in and pay it back in. Job done! Alternatively, simply transfer £200 out to another account and back again. I'm assuming you bank online?

Is it ok to open these accounts all at the same together, not affect my credit rating?

Impossible for anyone here to say yes or no. But my 'opinion' would be no.

What about an account for my salary and dds?

How long is your money in there before it's spent? If not long, just leave it going into Lloyds.

Is it worth opening fd and halifax rewards just for points?

That's a question only you can answer isn't it? I mean, how welcome would £100 from FD be? And how welcome would £100 plus £60 a year from Halifax be?

Or would you open one and then another in a while?

Personally I'd get them all before they're pulled.

Are cashback credit cards worth it or not?

That's another question for yourself, as only you know your monthly spend on said credit cards.

lovemilk

Thanks, sorry more questions!

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

And that's a problem is it?

Go to branch, withdraw £200 from the ATM outside, walk in and pay it back in. Job done! Alternatively, simply transfer £200 out to another account and back again. I'm assuming you bank online?

If I take it out from another account won't that lose interest?

Impossible for anyone here to say yes or no. But my 'opinion' would be no.How long is your money in there before it's spent? If not long, just leave it going into Lloyds.

How does that work if I'm up to the limit on the 5K?

If I want to spend some of my savings throughout the year - would it be better to go for the nationwide account and tsb account rather than LLoyds as they will give more interest.

That's a question only you can answer isn't it? I mean, how welcome would £100 from FD be? And how welcome would £100 plus £60 a year from Halifax be?Personally I'd get them all before they're pulled.
I'd welcome the £100 and the £60. I've not switched bank account for 22 years - so I guess my credit rating is good. How do you do the monthly amount tho - keep a standing order rotating? I did read the mse article. But does that mean you need at lease £1000 not going into any saving account so it can be rotated everywhere?

But generally, if you want to keep opening more bank accounts in the future - how far do you space them apart?

That's another question for yourself, as only you know your monthly spend on said credit cards.

I've never had a credit card - just seeing you get cashback on spending and wondering if it's worth utilising one.

Thank you

Archi_Bald

lovemilk wrote: »

I've never had a credit card - just seeing you get cashback on spending and wondering if it's worth utilising one.

It totally depends on how much you spend and on what, and how much cashback you feel is worth it for you. Only you know that.

YorkshireBoy

Let me see if I can give you some ideas.

You have £9K, yes?

That cash should be in Club Lloyds (£5K), TSB (£2K), and Nationwide (£2K, with room for another £500) to maximise your return.

Leave your salary going into the new Club Lloyds account. For a short while each month you'll have a good bit more than £5K. Not a problem...just that you won't earn interest on the excess. If this amount is substantial for most of the month you could consider opening another account, such as BoS Vantage, which would give you 3% AER on your cash until you spend it.

Once a month you cycle (for ease) £1.5K from Lloyds>TSB>Nationwide>Lloyds by manual FP using online banking.

If you want the FD £100, you'll need a donor account to switch. Once you've got the FD £100 you can switch that account to Halifax for £100 and, by incorporating this account into your manual transfers, enjoy an ongoing £5 per month.

Various T&Cs to comply with. See their respective websites for details.

lovemilk

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Let me see if I can give you some ideas.
Yes, thanks, I need this

You have £9K, yes?
Roughly[/COLOR

That cash should be in Club Lloyds (£5K), TSB (£2K), and Nationwide (£2K, with room for another £500) to maximise your return.
If I spend some of the money during the year on home improvement - which acount would you draw it from?

Leave your salary going into the new Club Lloyds account. For a short while each month you'll have a good bit more than £5K. Not a problem...just that you won't earn interest on the excess. If this amount is substantial for most of the month you could consider opening another account, such as BoS Vantage, which would give you 3% AER on your cash until you spend it.
Ok

Once a month you cycle (for ease) £1.5K from Lloyds>TSB>Nationwide>Lloyds by manual FP using online banking.
What's manual FP? Manually online?

If you want the FD £100, you'll need a donor account to switch. Once you've got the FD £100 you can switch that account to Halifax for £100 and, by incorporating this account into your manual transfers, enjoy an ongoing £5 per month.
Bit confused here - what I not need to keep te FD account open for a while? And rotate both into manual transfers?

Various T&Cs to comply with. See their respective websites for details.

Thank you.

YorkshireBoy

In order...

The one with the lowest interest rate (bearing in mind you lose the 4% rate [and fall to 2% AER] on Lloyds if you fall below £4K).

Yes. FP = Faster Payment.

You'd only need to keep FD open for two reasons:

1. You wanted to use their 6% regular saver, or
2. You wanted the £100 leaving present (between months 7-12).