Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

wishingthemortgaheaway

The 'I feel poor, but I know all my expenses are covered' feeling is known as 'ynab broke' I am always ynab broke. But it's the best broke to be.

Wish

enthusiasticsaver

GeorgianaCavendish wrote: »

I've looked at the Santander 123 account in the past but I couldn't quite get my head round it. Maybe I should do some more research. I've been with HSBC for years and the idea of changing bank used to make me feel panicky because basically everything about personal finance was this impenetrable scary fog that I was convinced I'd be unable to navigate on my own. I feel a lot more confident that I understand my finances now so I should try again and see if there are benefits to switching.

I have a Santander 123 account but would never recommend it for anyone without at least £10-£15k of savings. Like seaside girl I also keep my emergency fund and all my pots in there for the 1.5% interest but presumably you don't have a high savings balance so there are better savings accounts there without paying the £5 monthly fee. The Santander 123 lite may be more appropriate with savings going into Marcus or post office or Tesco internet saver for emergency savings, annual pots etc.

Homegrown0

Enthusiastic, that's exactly why I have the lite account (with a few of £1pm rather than the full 123). Hopefully in the future I have a need to upgrade with a big wodge of savings

GeorgianaCavendish

Homegrown0 wrote: »

I also have a 123 Lite bank account and i get around £9 cashback per month just for paying certain DDs from there. I chose the Lite account because it's £1 per month fee (as opposed to £3) and I don't keep enough money in the account long enough to benefit from the decent interest rate on balances above £X. The lite one does me just fine!

Worth taking a look at. Also, most banks now will do the donkey work with moving all your DDs over to get you to switch so stress from your end should be minimal.

On a side note, must be a lovely feeling to not be worrying about money for the first January ever! :beer:

It is a lovely feeling! Even more amazingly, DH and my mum both have birthday's before my next payday (v inconsiderate of them) and I've got presents and cards sorted already. We're doing much smaller gifts this year and I feel so relieved that the financial burden has been lightened, and am enjoying getting creative with finding and making presents.

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

The 'I feel poor, but I know all my expenses are covered' feeling is known as 'ynab broke' I am always ynab broke. But it's the best broke to be.

Wish

Haha, I love "YNAB broke" Wish!

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I have a Santander 123 account but would never recommend it for anyone without at least £10-£15k of savings. Like seaside girl I also keep my emergency fund and all my pots in there for the 1.5% interest but presumably you don't have a high savings balance so there are better savings accounts there without paying the £5 monthly fee. The Santander 123 lite may be more appropriate with savings going into Marcus or post office or Tesco internet saver for emergency savings, annual pots etc.

Thank you for the explanation Enthusiastic, it sounds like the full-fat version is definitely not for me but I'll research the lite!

EssexHebridean

Tesco internet saver account is one we have - we've not long since opened our second one in fact as the boosted rate finished on the first one - and we find it very god and extremely easy to manage via the app, too. 1.42% interest for a year from memory, after which you can either ditch & switch or open a new one!

Silver_Queen

Nationwide have a current account that pays you 5% interest on up to £2,500 for your first year. If you switch using a referral you get £100 too

The referrers board always have people wanting to refer or if you have friends and family IRL who have a nationwide account, it's an easy £100! I'll spare us both the embarrassment of plugging my own referral :rotfl:

enthusiasticsaver

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Tesco internet saver account is one we have - we've not long since opened our second one in fact as the boosted rate finished on the first one - and we find it very god and extremely easy to manage via the app, too. 1.42% interest for a year from memory, after which you can either ditch & switch or open a new one!

We find the same. I love the Tesco app and I also have 2 old Tesco current accounts where they pay 3% without the need to fund or set up DDs. As the bonus on the internet saver ends I open a new one online and transfer the balance over. As you say I think currently is about 1.4% so not a fortune but better than nothing and it can be transferred instantly into my current account if needed. Same the other way round if I have money left in the current account over the interest earning limit I just move it over to Tesco.

EssexHebridean

I'll 100% second Nationwide too - been with them years, no intention of changing, brilliant service, excellent online banking, and plenty of account options.

GeorgianaCavendish

Thank you all for the advice on the current and savings accounts! It has been so useful and really opened my eyes to a part of my finances that I didn't bother with because I was always in overdraft and having a positive balance on my current account felt as likely as flying to the moon! I haven't really adjusted my thinking even though it's been 4 years since I had an overdraft.

I remember reading something years ago that people are more likely to get divorced than switch banks, I scoffed at the time but here I am with the same bank account that I've had since I was 18

I'm going to think about this some more over the next week, it would be great to earn interest on our fledgling emergency fund.

PositiveBalance

I need to change my bank account, too, Milady. I tried before Christmas to get a new one with money for changing but they told ne I was already a customer even though I'm not due to an old CC I had with them years ago. Grr.

I may call them one day, but I really an need interest-bearing savings accounts so thanks for the tips, ladies!