best savin acc?

sukk_uk

hi i want to buy a house soon and i have managed to save nearly £1000.i want to put it somewhere where i can save it as i plan to put away about a few hundred a month. where can i join a bank that will give me good benefits? i earn about £600 a month and plan to direct debit £200 a month from partners bank.
what are the best options? i'v read martins tips but i jus dont understand sum of it and what it means.
please help. as i want to buy a house quickly...cheers.

Robert_Sterling_3

If you don't have an ISA already consider putting your £1000 in a mini cash ISA where the interest is tax free.
Then direct debit into the ISA for the months Oct to March at £200 per month then put another £200 in in march.  This will get you 3000 in your ISA which is the maximum allwable in this years Mini cash ISA. You could then DD another £250 per month for the following 12 months.

cheerfulcat

Britannia building society's Home Saver account pays 6.3%

http://www.britannia.co.uk/c_savings/product/regsav/homesav/prod.html

They will expect you to take out a mortgage with them, but they seem to be offering some good deals.

HTH

Cheerfulcat

sergeant121

You could then DD another £250 per month for the following 12 months.

i.e. a total of £3000 in the 2005/6 tax year.

However, the rules are due to change and only £1000 will be allowed from the 2006/7 tax year onwards (at the moment).

quinlanmd

A quick note on the Britannia account - they only passed on a 0.05% increase in this (admittedly generous) rate after the last rate rise.

sukk_uk

what do you mean intrest tax free?

and once i'v got 3000 in the bank after march am i allowed to put another 3000 in?
do i get any intrest or something. whats the benefits and difference from putting it in my regular current account???

Robert_Sterling_3

It means what it says on the can ...

There is no tax to be deducted from the interest.
That is why an ISA is better than a similar account which is not an ISA and from which tax is deducted.

From the begining of the new tax year which starts about 6 april 05 you can put in a further £3000.

dunstonh

...and then £1000 a year from 2006 (spot the calender year is correct this time ;D )

Reaper

...and then £1000 a year from 2006 (spot the calender year is correct this time  ;D )

Damn - and there I was all ready to pounce.

sukk_uk

am i able to dip into it sumtimes?
incase of emergencies

Robert_Sterling_3

[Move] Yes ... You can dip in sumtimes but there is a limit to how much you put in of £3000 per annum so that if for example you took out £200 then after that you could not ever have more than £2800 in the account during that financial year [/move]