Best place to save £5k

MrsSave

In the next few weeks I'll have £5k that I want to put away for long term savings. Will also have a little extra that I'll be putting in an easy access savings account for more general (new kitchen, bathroom, etc for example) savings.

I'm just after some advice of where is best to put it!! I know in the grand scheme of things it's isn't a massive amount. I will want to be adding to it as time goes on, but won't be a regular amount initially. It doesn't need to be easy access.

Thank you.

jimjames

If you don't need access and have sufficient cash savings then S&S ISA might be an option.

But based on your sig, are there debts to clear first?

mt99

If you want security and want to avoid the stock market the Atom Bank, Metro Bank, Charter Savings bank and Paragon bank are prob worth considering for eg 1 or 2 year accounts.

However, if you have debts that it would be even better to pay those off (or partly off) using the money.

MrsSave

Thank you both, an ISA is one of the options I thought of. I'll take a look at the other options. After clearing the debts I'll have this money left over.

Alexland

Or maybe for the first year 2.5k in a Nationwide FlexDirect account with 250 per month in the associated regular saver. Worth keeping at least £5k in a rainy day cash fund before considering investing in shares.

KonkyWonky

You're best bet is probably Nationwide Flexdirect @ 5% on up to £2500 and then a Tesco Bank @3% on up to £3000.

If you go to the cinema regularly then Club Lloyds might be worth a look @ 2% on up to £5000 and includes 6 free cinema tickets per annum.

YorkshireBoy

In your diary thread linked you make mention of "we" and "our", so the answer is a very simple one...2 FlexDirect current accounts will take the whole £5K (one each, or one sole in your name plus a joint).


Starting one 5% regular saver at the same time will mean even the interest makes interest!

enthusiasticsaver

If you have an emergency fund and are looking to invest long term I would agree that stocks and shares isas would be something to explore.

IanSt

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

If you have an emergency fund and are looking to invest long term I would agree that stocks and shares isas would be something to explore.

Definitely agree with this - but OP make sure that it really is long term that you are talking about, ie at least 10 years.

A 10 year investing timeframe will give you a very good chance of getting a return that is much better than you would get from normal cash savings accounts, but any less than this will increase the possibility that you may get back less than you put in.

However if you will just have the £5000 then I personally would stick to the higher interest accounts such as Nationwide, TSB, Lloyds etc and keep away from stocks and shares apart from any pension contributions that you are making.

alanq

mt99 wrote: »

the Atom Bank, Metro Bank, Charter Savings bank and Paragon bank are prob worth considering for eg 1 or 2 year accounts.

You had me interested when you mentioned Metrobank as I had recently withdrawn the proceeds of 3 matured 18-month accounts as there was nothing attractive on offer. I saw that MSE showed Metro best for 1-year fix. However, when I went to open an account I discovered that the 1-year rate was back to 1.2%.

In the time it took me to make this discovery the MSE best rates page had been amended.

Alexland

Teaser rates for very limited subscription accounts are cheaper than advertising and they rely on the delay in the best buy tables being updated to lure in customers of which a proportion might take out a worse account.