Small savings - are they in the right accounts?

tomprice

Hi,
Hoping i can get some feedback on my current situation.

Age: 22
Wage: 19k.
No Pension.
No Debt.
Outgoings - very little (live with parents).


Savings Accounts:
Britanna ISA - 6k (and full for this year) - (5.4%)
Britanna Direct Saver internet only - 7k - (5.76gross - 4.6% net)


I've been saving quite a bit of money recently. Usually at least 500 a month. This can contine for a while as i have hardly any outgoings although some may go on a car.


I'm just wondering a few questions. Although Britannia is not the best paying accounts, do them figures look ok?

Does brand loyalty ever count? When it comes to looking for a mortgage, does it look better if you have been with the same company for years and years and a regular saver or is that just wishful thinking?

My ultimate aim is to be saving for a decent sized deposit - so my questions are...

Are my current accounts ok - what woulkd the alternative methods be and how much more would i look to be saving? I.e. If i moved them all around and saved £20, that's hardly worth the effort. I don't really have a need to remove any of the money from any accounts for at least 2 years. If i want a car, i'll just save each month rather than withdraw.

Is it wise that i have not started a pension yet? I'm under some impression i should be looking to get a house first within the next 5 years. (Company don't pay in to it). Although i would not be against starting one now if there was any point.



Any help or feedback greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Tom.

isofa

Sadly there is little brand loyalty when searching or the best mortgage deal, although always worth trying to play one off against the other!

You could get slightly better rates on the ISA if you switch, but you'd have to ensure you switch to one which accepts transfers in, some of the good rate ones don't. Also if you opened a direct internet access account to replace the Britanna Direct Saver, such as Icesave you'll get 6.2% gross, or slightly higher with ICICI.

But you could still leave a little bit of money in the Britanna account just in case brand loyalty comes into it at any stage too!

Pensions aren't my bag, personally, best to take advice from a good independent IFA.

Personally I'd rather have a set of investments from savings to funds, and perhaps property later rather than a personal pension, but each to their own!

If things at your company changed, i.e. they offered or paid into a pension scheme, then definitely take it, but other than that you need to weigh up the pros and cons.

As your outgoings are very low, stuff as much cash away as possible for a deposit, it adds up quickly!

Hope that helps!

emma396

if u can save £500 a month, have a look at the yorkshire building society regular saver. it's about 7% interest. you can do better than the direct saver with brittannia.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-regular-savings-accounts
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest