Student Savings Best Way to Save Money

kel4444

Hello,
I am starting my first year of uni this September and I have opened a student account with the Halifax. I will use this account for holding my day to day spending money as well as direct debits for gym membership ect.

However, whilst in uni I will be working for about 15 hours a week. I have decided to save up about £2200 each year that I am in uni for, in order to buy a nice car when I graduate, which will be about £6600 altogether over the three years.

Can anyone suggest the best and safest bank account to save this money in? I have heard of some high interest rate bank accounts, however many of them are not 'brand names' and so I am afraid of using them as I dont want to loose the money. Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to save this money?

To start with I will save about £10 a week for the first few months, but then I will be depositing regular amounts of about £700.

I would be very grateful if someone could help me as I am stuck at the moment due to my lack of knowledge in this area.

Thanks Very Much x

Lavendyr

Although as a student you may not pay tax, a mini ISA may be a good bet anyway. If you have a good starting deposit, you could open an NS&I Direct ISA which is the current market leader at 6.3%. You do need to deposit a minimum £1000 to start with, though, and NS&I is backed by HM Treasury so probably one of the safest places your money could be.

Otherwise, you could look at a high-interest savings account such as
Sainsbury's Internet Saver, which is a well-known high-street name.

As far as "safe" savings go, all UK savings institutions are registered with the FSA which means that even if the institution were to collapse, you would be guaranteed to get back the first £2000 in full and 90% of any further savings up to £33000. As you will be no where near that top value of £35000, your money will be safe in any UK institution. Don't worry!

influence

I use HSBC and Citibank for my saving. Not the HIGHEST but they are offering some competitive rate and the flexibility that I need.

I trust them more than some online banks. I am just abit skeptical about something virtual but it is just me.