Help - wanting to save £500 per month - best method?

Rayvon

After a foolish period over the last 18 months of blowing all my money on some stupid things have decided that every month I am going to take £500 from my salary and put it into a different account.

Was just wondering what people thought would be the best way to do this - a savings account (if so what one?), or some other kind of investment?

I greatly appreciate any guidance offered - many thanks

mk-donald

Well if you've been with Derbyshire Building Society for long enough you can get 8% on £250/m regular savings there, and Ipswich Building Society are offering 7.15% on £250/m regular savings there. Those were the best I could find without involving some parallel banking arrangement. Do as search for "regular savings" on several of the financial comparison sites - see Banking/Saving section on MSE.

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

You can still get the 7.1% at Yorkshire BS on £10-£500 a month AND you get the flexibility to put between £10-£500 each month BUT BE SURE you put something in at least 11 of the 12 periods or you'll be wasting your time.

A_Nice_Englishman

We'd really need to know about your circumstances and objectives to give a full answer.

If you have any debts (including a mortgage) you may wish to pay some or all of these off first.

When do you think you will need the money? If you will want to spend it fairly quickly cash might be best. If you won't need it for a long time stocks and shares may give a better return.

Probably a combination of all three will be best.

In any case, putting it into an ISA or pension 'wrapper ' will save you paying unnecessary tax.

Aegis

If you're not already subscribed to your ISA allowance(s) this year, then go for a cash ISA. The tax-free status will far outweigh any other benefits in the long run, and of course you get a fixed amount you are allowed to stash away only every year, so utilising the full amount is an excellent idea if you're trying to save in the fairly long-term.

After that, regular savings accounts are generally considered to be very good for this purpose.