Savings - What to do next...

Wilkos

Hello!


For the past 18 months I have been sorting myself out financially, trying my best to get some savings behind me. I would now appreciate a bit of advice as to where to go now. On everyone's recommendation, I have tried to get short term, medium term and long term savings in place.


SHORT TERM - From advice on here, I got myself an emergency fund / SYF Fund (Sod You Fund) sorted. In it I have maxed out three BoS Vantage accounts and two TSB accounts. I also have £1,000 in my normal HSBC account in case of an emergency (trip to the dentist, problem with the car etc.). Should I lose my job, become unwell or dislike my boss that much, I have this money to live off. I believe it is also prudent to have six months expenses in the bank to cover unexpected issues.


MEDIUM TERM - I set up two regular saving accounts with First Direct (6%) and HSBC (4%) as these seem two of the best accounts that I can access. They are due to 'mature' and I will start new ones hopefully next week.


LONG TERM - I finally got round to starting a pension five months ago (I was slow on the uptake I admit, but I have got one now!). I don't have any ISAs or shares...yet.


Other info you might need: I am 37, not married and no children. I don't have a home of my own yet and live with my Dad since my Mum died a little while ago. It helps him with the bills and he has some company with me there. I have no debt and a newish car that is all bought and paid for. I am usually able to save between £1,000 and £1,500 a month, apart from the occasional month when expenses are higher (i.e. April - when car tax, insurance and MOT are all required) .


With my regular savers due to mature next week and some surplus wages from the past two months still in the bank, I will have around £10,000 in a few days. Part of me would like to put this into Premium Bonds, so that I have some comfort of knowing that the money is there should I need it. With this and the BoS/TSB accounts, I would feel really comfortable and happy with this.


I know there is the Santander account where you can put in £20,000 at 3%, trouble is, I don't have any Direct Debits at all. The cashback won't help with me as I don't pay for utility bills. This also applies for the Club Lloyds account, I believe you have to have DD's and I don't. If I am wrong, please correct me!


So instead, I was thinking of sorting out a Cash ISA. I was thinking of putting in half the allowance this year (£7,700 ish) in the best Cash ISA going and then putting the other half in a S&S ISA. I would like to continue doing this every year from now on, trying to build this up.


I get the impression that Government Bonds are a bit dicey at the moment, besides, I know very little about them, so I'll leave those for the moment.


This then leaves the house to buy. I have been very casually looking around for homes/flats, as believe it or not, I am not sure exactly where I want to live! Thought it might be best to figure what I wanted so I know what I need to save up for!


I am not fortunate enough to be able to ask the 'Bank of Mum and Dad' for help (not that I would take their money off them even if they had it, bless 'em). I've got to do it all by myself, which is cool, but a challenge!


Where do I go from here then? Any help is very much appreciated. My long term goal is to be financially independent and to have a home that is all bought and paid for. Oh, and I would like a holiday every year somewhere hot!


Thanks in advance

bsms1147

Direct debits are easy to achieve - there are a couple of Tesco savings accounts that you can set up in a matter of minutes, and create direct debits from them to draw money out of the direct debit-requiring current accounts, eg Lloyds.

Start the regular savers again when these mature (£1,200 a month saved at 4-6%).

Personally I'm getting out of ISAs - low rates and will likely need the money within the next few years for a house - and Premium Bonds rates are very low, so neither are a great place to put money if you want a fair amount of interest.

Wilkos

bsms1147 - thanks for the reply. You are right, the Cash ISA rates are really low and have been for a while, which is why I have opened the BoS and TSB accounts instead of ISAs.


Re: Tesco accounts. Are they the ones that you can put £3,000 in at 3%? You can also have two of them, can't you? I had not thought of opening them and doing what you suggest. If that works, then the Santander 123 account is looking doable now. Thanks for the help!

bsms1147

No, they're actual savings accounts rather than current accounts (Internet Saver/Instant Access Savings).

http://www.tescobank.com/savings/flexible/

noggin1980

Getting a credit card is worth while for the cashback, for the working on your credit worthyness and for the protection a credit card gives you, use that for spending and have a direct debit to pay it off in full each month.