Advice: help a young man starting out!

Cultura82

Hello there!

It's weeks I'm reading articles here on moneysavingexpert and while I'm now more sure about what to do on some topics, I've got quite confused on others!

Infos about me: I've been hired by one NHS hospital, band 5, I'll earn around 1500£/month in the first year, probably a bit more as overtime, night-shifts and such and such; I'm an EU citizen but not a British one.

First of all I'll get my NINo, then I'll open a bank account. Since I'm starting with just few thousands euros, it makes no sense to open a Santander 123 account, right?
Skipping the Club Lloyds one as I'm not sure I can pay in 1500£/month (have to pay for the pension scheme and few healthcare societies), my options are either TSB or Nationwide. Any suggestions here?

After covering the current account, where should I put monthly savings? Help to buy ISA (yes I'm moving permanently into UK so I'm going to buy a house/flat before or later)? What if I can't open it right-away (am not sure when I'll be considered a "UK resident"), just a saving account? Which one would you suggest in my situation?

I'm not sure how much I can save with my salary, maybe you can have a better idea than me, I'll be over there alone (haven't got a family/kids... yet), I live in the East Midlands (so out of the super expensive London area).

Thank you for reading and please consider I'm still learning the language!

xylophone

It might be easier to start by opening a basic account with eg Barclays http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/ComingtoworkintheUK/P1242601780771

Once you have been in residence for around six months, and have UK address, utility bills, pay slips etc, then it might be time to look at a Nationwide Flex account which would give you access to the Flex regular saver?

Flobberchops

You're right, a Help to Buy ISA requires you to be a UK resident, but if you qualify then it's not a bad way to save the first £200 of excess cash every month, especially if it's in a Halifax 4% account.

As for current accounts, are you restricted to just TSB and Nationwide, or are others an option? Of the two I'd personally choose TSB for the higher interest rate and up to £5 a month cashback for using contactless. But what about accounts paying a fixed monthly cashback amount? For example a Barclays account paired with the opt-in Blue Rewards scheme (paying a net £4 a month, minimum monthly pay-in £800) or Halifax who pay you £5 a month (minimum £750) *and* who are currently offering £100 cash if you switch to them. (So, open a basic account somewhere and a week later walk into Halifax and announce you want them to perform a switch for you).

You have to weigh up whether an interest-paying account would provide you the same earnings as a reward account - £48 a year for Barclays and £60 a year for Halifax respectively. And of course there's nothing stopping you getting the monthly cash reward from either of those two banks and also paying some or all of that qualifying cash into an ISA or savings account to get interest there too. If you're talking about a moderate but regular income (I take it you meant £15k yearly, not £1500!) and small savings, a reward account may be more profitable.

Food for thought

colsten

when you start out saving in your circumstances, please do not

• do it with a Santander 123. There are many better accounts available although you may have to be a resident for a few months before you can get them all.
  
  
• put any money into a normal ISA, for the same reasons (HTB ISA is a good one, though, at Halifax). Please do ignore anyone who recommends a normal ISA to you
  
  
• put any money into a normal savings account, again for the same reasons

For best rates: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5374614

Aside from the Halifax ISA, TSB and Nationwide look the best ones for you IMO. As you are new to the UK, it might be best to apply in Branch. Take your NHS badge with you, alongside your passport and any proof of address you may have. Are NHS not helping you with getting your first current account?

Cultura82

I meant £1500/month (net) plus something I can't quantify yet.

I'm not limited to those accounts, I've just read the guide "best current accounts" and those seemed the best ones in my case.

To be honest I'm not sure about what I'm limited to, yet, or if NHS is going to help me, I'll be there in few days: at the moment I'm gaining as much infos as possible.

Thank you for your answers gentleladies & gentlemen!

Eco_Miser

There is not a lot to choose between Nationwide and TSB - Nationwide let you save more, but the good rate only last a year. As has been said, you may not be able to open such an account until your residency is definite.

And just a note , we put the currency symbol before the numbers, so £1500/month.

MarkBargain

I'd start with Nationwide, a good building society especially if you want a mortgage one day. If you can, why not open their FlexDirect which pays 5% interest on £2,500 for a year and their Flexclusive Regular Saver which pays 5% on up to £500 a month for a year. After the first year review your options, either moving to other Nationwide products to switching to another bank (earning the juicy switching bonuses they often pay).

colsten

Cultura82 wrote: »

Thank you for your answers gentlemen!

OI. Women know a thing or two about money as well

bobobski

MarkBargain wrote: »

I'd start with Nationwide, a good building society especially if you want a mortgage one day. If you can, why not open their FlexDirect which pays 5% interest on £2,500 for a year and their Flexclusive Regular Saver which pays 5% on up to £1,000 a month for a year. After the first year review your options, either moving to other Nationwide products to switching to another bank (earning the juicy switching bonuses they often pay).

I think your numbers have got a bit mixed up:

• FlexDirect: Current account which pays 5% on up to £2,500 p/a provided you pay in £1,000 per month: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexdirect/rates-fees-overdrafts#tab:Ratesfeesandampoverdrafts.
• Flexclusive Regular Saver: Pays 5% p/a on up to £500 per month: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/flexclusive-regular-saver/features-and-benefits.

MarkBargain

bobobski wrote: »

I think your numbers have got a bit mixed up:

• FlexDirect: Current account which pays 5% on up to £2,500 p/a provided you pay in £1,000 per month: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexdirect/rates-fees-overdrafts#tab:Ratesfeesandampoverdrafts.
• Flexclusive Regular Saver: Pays 5% p/a on up to £500 per month: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/flexclusive-regular-saver/features-and-benefits.

Sorry, yes, regular saver is £500 a month - post amended.

OP should be okay with paying in £1000 a month to Flexdirect.