Maturity of reg savings accounts

rkuk

Hi all,

I have been saving my butt off for the previous 12 months (and what a task it has been) though I feel very proud of myself. Bascially what I did:

Open an ISA (max amount)
Open a BB savings account, then fed two regular savers accounts each month from the BB account.

My lloydstsb reg saver has just finished, and I have received the interest (not as much as I thought, but still - better than nothing) I will not be 'feeding' this account now, and plan to pool all my monies back to a lump sum (excluding the ISA) and store it all in one savings account.

Should I withdraw my lloyds reg saver money now and pool it into my BB account? I'm positive I read somewhere that once matured the interest rate drops significantly? My A&L account has not matured just yet, though I am looking to do the same again here. Then I will not feed any more reg savers...well maybe one as the commitment is huge and I want the money to be available (without losing my hard earned interest) when I need to call upon it.

I'm thinking I should withdraw all monies on maturity and stick it into my esaver account. Then once pooled I can open a new high interest savings account and stick it all in there. Phew

Must admit this process has been worthwhile, I'm pretty well disciplined anyway when it comes to money, but I just wanted to start making my money work for me a little bit, whilst adding to it all throughout the year.

Thanks in advance.

rkuk

nobody? :S

RayWolfe

Haven't really got much idea what your asking. Do you know where to look for the best savings rates? Do you know about ISAs? What can we tell you, you seen to be doing just fine.

CLAPTON

you seem to have made up your mind about what you want to do i.e. you dont want to do regular savings but you haven't said what you do want to achieve... how long are you saving for, how much each month, how much in capital at the moment.. are you looking for convenience or best possible interest etc etc.

Mr._H_2

Yes, once they've matured, you definitely want to get the money from the regular savers back into a "normal" high interest savings account.

You should look at opening a new Lloyds regular saver though, as there are no penalties for withdrawals or missed monthly payments. It's just that if you miss a payment, you can't make it up the next month.

DeepSporran

rkuk wrote: »

......

I have been saving my butt off for the previous 12 months

.....
My lloydstsb reg saver has just finished, and I have received the interest (not as much as I thought, but still - better than nothing) I will not be 'feeding' this account now

Just a thought - has your LloydsTSB Regular Saver definitely finished ?

If you've only been saving your butt off for the last 12 months, then it sounds like you started the LloydsTSB saver 12 months ago. I believe that this account was a 2 year account, not a 1 year account (though for new savers from about March this year, Lloyds TSB stopped doing the 2 year account and replaced it with a 1 year version).

If it was indeed a 2 year account, and you only opened it 12 months ago, then although they'll have added the first year's interest, you can still keep saving into it. Assuming the interest rate is 8% (which it was when I opened my account in February), then you really should continue if you can, because you've now got a year's worth of savings, all attracting 8%. You won't get that rate on any "normal" high interest savings account.

Apologies if my assumptions are wrong, and you don't have a 2 year product.

Mr._H_2

Good point, DeepSporran. I should have noticed this myself, what with the way that I have one of these accounts myself.

A Lloyds regular saver opened 12 months ago will indeed be a two year account, and does attract an interest rate of 8%.

rkuk

DeepSporran wrote: »

Just a thought - has your LloydsTSB Regular Saver definitely finished ?

If you've only been saving your butt off for the last 12 months, then it sounds like you started the LloydsTSB saver 12 months ago. I believe that this account was a 2 year account, not a 1 year account (though for new savers from about March this year, Lloyds TSB stopped doing the 2 year account and replaced it with a 1 year version).

If it was indeed a 2 year account, and you only opened it 12 months ago, then although they'll have added the first year's interest, you can still keep saving into it. Assuming the interest rate is 8% (which it was when I opened my account in February), then you really should continue if you can, because you've now got a year's worth of savings, all attracting 8%. You won't get that rate on any "normal" high interest savings account.

Apologies if my assumptions are wrong, and you don't have a 2 year product.

I'm not sure if it's a two year product or not. My accounts are:
NS&I Isa
Barc curren account (main c/a)
Barc e-saver (where I store money on an interim period - in case of emergencies etc)
Brad Bing High interest saver (had a 'lump' sum to feed my reg savers)
Lloydstsb Reg Saver
A&L Reg saver

I have gained interest on the lloydstsb, though if this continues I am in two minds.

The A&L will finish in the next couple of months.

Brad Bing also have a new high interest savers account, I wonder if I can 'switch' to this, or close my current Brad Bing and open a new one.

My aim is to try and pool as much money back into one central resource as I may need to call upon it in the future, or through change of circumstances not be able to save as much money, also I'm not sure I can be so dedicated for another year! lol

Mr._H_2

Your Lloyds TSB saver is definitely (well, let's say I'm 99.99% sure) a two-year one - you should probably phone them to double-check. However, like I said, the account is penalty-free, so you can stop paying into it (or reduce the monthly amount or only pay in sporadically) but what you've got there already will continue to earn 8% interest.