help please! Need to save - which bank account is best?

daisypiglet

Hi all,

I've decided that I want to start saving a little bit each month for holidays, clothes etc - nothing serious like a house deposit. I'm not amazing with money (I usually spend whatever I have in my account) so I want to start taking money as soon as I get my pay check and put it in another account. I was thinking about £300 a month, but want the option of being able to change this if my circumstances change.

I don't have any debts to pay off like a mortgage etc, although I have a credit card which is currently 0% and i'm paying this off monthly (it is manageable, I can afford to pay more than enough off each month and also save up).

I don't want anything with too many limits, like I have to put a certain amount in each month or I have to do direct debits etc. I also want to be able to access it if I need to.

Any ideas? Would just a bog-standard current account be the best option for me, and I can just transfer money as and when I need it? Or should I take up an ISA? (I already have one but haven't used it in years). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, i'm finding it difficult to find what I need online!

Thanks :money:

Zanderman

aphumphries wrote: »

Any ideas? Would just a bog-standard current account be the best option for me, and I can just transfer money as and when I need it? Or should I take up an ISA? (I already have one but haven't used it in years). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, i'm finding it difficult to find what I need online!

Thanks :money:

There's lots of information in this forum - but you do need to look for it, there's no simple answer.

Best interest rates are in certain current accounts, so best to go for those - easy to transfer in and best rates. But you need to pick one that suits you and one where you can meet the criteria.

Forget ISAs, especially one you haven't used 'in years'. Interest rates on ISAs are pitiful.

eskbanker

There are many options (see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account) but you could do worse than opening a Nationwide FlexDirect account for 5% interest on up to £2,500 (for a year) and perhaps also a Flexclusive Regular Saver for 5% on up to £500 per month, if/when you have more than £2,500 to work with....

The FlexDirect interest is conditional on funding a minimum of £1,000 per month but this can just be transferred in and out again, automatically by standing order if you like. If you really don't want to be shunting money around like that, then you're literally into more like 1-2% interest territory so think very carefully about the balance between effort and return!

binaryuniverse

The Nationwide FlexDirect account is best used when you already have £2500 saved, ready to put in it for 12 months. Otherwise it's a bit of a waste of a good deal. But the linked regular saver, also at 5% is certainly a good account to use. Also lets you put in a max of £500 per month, which is pretty much the best out there.

I would suggest look at the Ford regular saver, which doesn't need you to have a current account to open one. This is 4% with a maximum of £250pm deposits. However, they don't seem to be accepting applications at the moment.
https://www.fordmoney.co.uk/savings-products/regular-saver

Other options would be a Marks and Spencer current account, which also has a 5% regular saver linked to it. But this is a maximum of £250 per month.

First Direct has pretty much the same deal as M&S. But they are very hard to get in to for whatever reason.
Same with HSBC.

Who is your current bank account with? Do they offer a regular saver product? Would you be happy to switch? TSB will give you £130 just like that, to switch to them (There are provisos. Check the banking page of this site). That'll more than likely best any interest you might earn in a year. Not only that but they'll give you £5 a month just for having 2 direct debits coming out, and £5 a month if you use your debit card 20 times. Their current account pays 3% on balances up to £1500, and have a regular saver at 2%. Not the best on offer, but the cashback and the 3% interest in the current account, gives you a great starting point.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts#tsbplus