Best current account with no regular income?

YorkshireBoy

elwy wrote: »

I mean these games I have to play, moving money around to pretend I have regular income, setting up fake DDs to pretend I am paying bills. And introductory offers often catch me out too when they expire. That's why I'm thinking I'd be better just sticking this money in a 5 year fixed ISA.

A suggestion...


Swap your 3 x Lloyds Vantage for 3 x BoS Vantage. These have the same conditions as your Lloyds Vantage accounts had prior to last July.


Set up some cross-firing £1K standing orders from 1>2>3>1.


Cream off £30 a month interest (and forget about the £180 interest you've lost by not doing this last Summer ).

elwy

Thanks for the advice!

I haven't used my ISA allowance yet for 14/15 so I need to think about whether I should get it ISA'd soon anyway to make sure I use my allowance. Although since I'm a non-taxpayer for the foreseeable future and won't generate any more savings beyond what I've already got I'm not sure it's that urgent.

Niv

Assuming you decide to close at least one of the vantage accounts, I would consider 'switching' it to Halifax so that you get the £100 switching bonus. If you pay in £750 (I think ) per month you also get £5 - not sure if you need 2 x dd's for it though, but if nothing else it is a free £100.

YorkshireBoy

Niv wrote: »

Assuming you decide to close at least one of the vantage accounts, I would consider 'switching' it to Halifax so that you get the £100 switching bonus. If you pay in £750 (I think ) per month you also get £5 - not sure if you need 2 x dd's for it though, but if nothing else it is a free £100.

You don't need DDs for the £100, but you do need DDs (and they need to pay out) for the ongoing £5 Reward.

I don't think the OP is suited to this kind of 'work' though, so I'm going to throw another option into the mix...

The Santander 1-2-3 account would take the whole £15K, and other than bouncing £500 in and out each month, and setting up a couple of DDs, there's nothing else to do.

This will return around £28 a month after the £2 fee...so that's around £336 for the year. And only one account to manage. However, if they switch the 3 Lloyds accounts to other banks offering switching incentives, they could more than double this return (eg £150 YB, £125 FD, and £100 Halifax).

OP, in my opinion, based on your situation, an ISA should be the last thing you should take out.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

elwy

Thank you.


What about a Stocks & Shares ISA instead of cash?

Archi_Bald

elwy wrote: »

What about a Stocks & Shares ISA instead of cash?

This may sound harsh but if you can't handle multiple current accounts, and changes to T&Cs, I don't think investments - which S&S ISAs are - would be suitable for you.


But if you want to prove me wrong, start by reading up about investments. There's a thread with recommended reading: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5043692

elwy

No offense taken. I do like to keep things simple!


I already have some money in a S&S ISA which I am not managing very well. I've ignored my finances for far too long and it's all a mess, as you see. So I must sort out my S&S regardless and I have every intention of giving it a thorough overhaul and making it work for me!


So assuming I can get my backside in gear and sort the mess out, could my S&S ISA be a competitive option compared to the 3% offered by juggling Bank of Scotland current accounts?

Archi_Bald

Sure, investments can yield more than 3%. Or less.

mgdavid

elwy wrote: »

Thank you.


What about a Stocks & Shares ISA instead of cash?

OK if you are in it for the long haul - 10 years or so; less than that you have to ask yourself 'do I feel lucky? Gambling is rarely as good as an assured profit!

elwy

mgdavid wrote: »

OK if you are in it for the long haul - 10 years or so; less than that you have to ask yourself 'do I feel lucky? Gambling is rarely as good as an assured profit!

When I originally started the S&S ISA it was intended to be a long-term thing, saving up for my kids when they fly the nest. So yes, another 10-15 years or so at least.


I don't have the knowledge to gamble with shares so I only invest in funds and I try to spread my funds across different geographic regions and business categories to lessen the risk. I used to have a pretty good handle on it, I think, but it's just been left alone for too long and not all of it got invested.