MSE News: Torn between easy-access and fixed cash ISAs? More providers now let you...

colsten

Consumerist wrote: »

they don't seem to realise they too are sounding like a worn record.

They are a lot less worn than the now quite outdated annual 'use it or lose it' chanting about ISA allowances.

bowlhead99

colsten wrote: »

They are a lot less worn than the now quite outdated annual 'use it or lose it' chanting about ISA allowances.

If you don't use it, you lose it.

However, if you do lose it, you might not miss it, nor regret losing it.

colsten

bowlhead99 wrote: »

If you don't use it, you lose it.

However, if you do lose it, you might not miss it, nor regret losing it.

Losing something only matters if it hurts.

Losing a £15K ISA allowance doesn't hurt when all you can save is a couple of K a year - which is what the vast majority of people in the UK just about manage to save each year - when next year, your allowance is £15K+.

Losing more than half the interest you could have got does hurts, or at least it should hurt. Mind you, it might not, because you might never know you lost the half interest as you have doggedly followed the "must have a cash ISA" mantra and nobody reminded you that you could have made a lot more money outside an ISA.

I can't see any reason why anyone should have to apologise anywhere for helping people to legally make most of their money, particularly not on the MSE forum.

Consumerist

colsten wrote: »

Losing something only matters if it hurts.

Losing a £15K ISA allowance doesn't hurt when all you can save is a couple of K a year - which is what the vast majority of people in the UK just about manage to save each year - when next year, your allowance is £15K+. . .

I agree to some extent with your logic but it tends to suppose that this "vast majority" you speak of are financial anoraks who have nothing better to do with their spare time than to set up current accounts all over the place, invent and move DDs to qualify for them - only to pick up a few quid before they are likely to need to do it all over again ad-nauseum.

Some don't mind doing all this but this vast majority barely understand finance let alone understand modern terms & conditions for the multiple accounts they are being encouraged to open.

The anoraks have fled the scene by the time these poor unfortunates realise they have misunderstood what they were supposed to do and are left to pick up the pieces.

colsten

Consumerist wrote: »

I agree to some extent with your logic but it tends to suppose that this "vast majority" you speak of are financial anoraks who have nothing better to do with their spare time than to set up current accounts all over the place, invent and move DDs to qualify for them - only to pick up a few quid before they are likely to need to do it all over again ad-nauseum.

Some don't mind doing all this but this vast majority barely understand finance let alone understand modern terms & conditions for the multiple accounts they are being encouraged to open.

The anoraks have fled the scene by the time these poor unfortunates realise they have misunderstood what they were supposed to do and are left to pick up the pieces.

I don't think any of the ones who benefit from the available offers will care what you think but they will just happily collect their interest. None of the ones who are able to do their numbers will have "fled the scene". Not that there is any "scene" in the first instance, and your suggestion of criminal doings is disgusting.

Responsible citizens, and MSE members, will continue to try and help those who you say "barely understand finance" to make the best of their money. Move along if you don't wish to participate.

zerog

Consumerist wrote: »

I agree to some extent with your logic but it tends to suppose that this "vast majority" you speak of are financial anoraks who have nothing better to do with their spare time than to set up current accounts all over the place, invent and move DDs to qualify for them - only to pick up a few quid before they are likely to need to do it all over again ad-nauseum.

If you have less than £2000 in savings then really all you need is a TSB 5% account.

After that, you would be better off spending your time trying to improve yourself to increase your salary / income, as well as trying to spend less.

Switching bonuses are another matter though - even though I spent about 5 hours dealing with Yorkshire Bank to get my account set up, that's £30 / hour which is more than my net salary - then of course it also pays 2% which is better than the 1.2% at Nationwide where I park my excess money after exhausting all the high interest accounts.

bowlhead99

colsten wrote: »

and your suggestion of criminal doings is disgusting.

I don't think anyone suggested that you or anyone else was a criminal. People are just using their deep knowledge of terms and conditions at various banks to push them to their limit and maximise how much money they can get off the banks. If banks do not like it they will change the terms and conditions.

Similarly, you and I and everyone else will use their knowledge of the tax system to push it to its limit and avoid as much tax as they can. Or if we have a monthly broadband data cap of 8GB we might use all 8GB of it. If the banks or tax authorities or other businesses don't like their own rules they will change them. Meanwhile if we break the rules and they notice it will cost us.

colsten

bowlhead99 wrote: »

I don't think anyone suggested that you or anyone else was a criminal.

Forgive me, but when would you use the term "fleeing the scene" other than in the context of a crime?

Consumerist

colsten wrote: »

Forgive me, but when would you use the term "fleeing the scene" other than in the context of a crime?

Flood, fire, explosion . . . or any other disaster, financial or otherwise.

slganapat

We opened a Regular saver ISA with Newcastle BS in october 2014 and has been feeding them monthly. But due to the cash unavailability and due to the £1250 monthly restriction we have not reached the £15000 ISA limit for 2014-15. But we now have cash to reach 15000 but its not allowed in the Regular ISA. So what to do? can we open a new account with Newcastle BS and put the balance or can we open another acount with a differnt provider? We can close the REgular ISA but we will not get our bonus, if we do so? please REPly ASAP.

Thanks