Where is the best place to put a lump sum of money

L_A86

I have over £20k which is currently in my bank accounts savings account but the interest is rubbish.
The savings are likely to increase to over £30k in the next few months.
I would like to move the lump sum to get a better interest rate- I need to have access to the money as it could be used in the next 6-9 months for renovation work.
I have looked on here and seen some better interest rates, am I better off going for a higher rate savings account or an ISA.
Please help?

Clive_Woody

There are various high interest savings accounts available, most with a cap on how much can be paid in. You may need to open various current accounts to be able to use these. See the savings link on this website.

El_Torro

In your situation I'd probably stick it in Marcus at 1.5%. You can safely put up to £85k into this account.


Sure, you can open various current accounts and regular savers, but the difference between 1.5% and 3% on £30k for 6 months is £22.50.


EDIT: Woops, it's £225, not £22.50. Maybe it is worth doing after all

webjaved

El_Torro wrote: »

In your situation I'd probably stick it in Marcus at 1.5%. You can safely put up to £85k into this account.

Sure, you can open various current accounts and regular savers, but the difference between 1.5% and 3% on £30k for 6 months is £22.50.

I've registered for an account with Marcus, waiting for it to be processed.

jimjames

L_A86 wrote: »

I have looked on here and seen some better interest rates, am I better off going for a higher rate savings account or an ISA.
Please help?

If you have a specific date that you need the money for then a cash ISA is likely to be pointless as you can get better rates outside.

Just be VERY careful when you search online for best rates. Not every ISA that is listed is a cash ISA. The example below is one that could lose your money as it's an unregulated, high risk investment ISA but it is an ISA. Wasn't sure if you were aware of the difference as you'd not mentioned cash ISA.

L_A86

Thank you, we thinking of fixing it for a year now to get a better interest rate.

Zero_Sum

L_A86 wrote: »

Thank you, we thinking of fixing it for a year now to get a better interest rate.

With masthaven bank you can fix for 6, 7, 8 or 9 etc months & rates are decent

YorkshireBoy

L_A86 wrote: »

Thank you, we thinking of fixing it for a year now to get a better interest rate.

Two of you? £20K? A brace of sole and one joint Nationwide FlexDirect account would see £7.5K of the £20K make £366 over a year. Drip feeding another £6K of the remaining £12.5K from a 1.5% savings account to a pair of Nationwide's regular savers would make another £203.

The remaining £6.5K if left in the 1.5% savings account would make £97.

So that's a total of £666, equivalent to 3.33%. And all of it easily accessible without penalty.

What's the best one year - totally inflexible - fixed rate account paying?

Not convinced? OK, how about a couple of switching incentives thrown in at £200 each by referring each other for the FlexDirect accounts. Now we're up to £1,066...or a 5.3% gross return on your £20K.

L_A86

Thank you that is alot to take in.
I thought the flex direct you have to pay in £1000 a month to get the 5% on up to £2500. How is it £7.5k ?

YorkshireBoy

L_A86 wrote: »

Thank you that is alot to take in.
I thought the flex direct you have to pay in £1000 a month to get the 5% on up to £2500. How is it £7.5k ?

What's £7.5K divided by 3 (2 sole and a joint)?

londoninvestor

Zero_Sum wrote: »

With masthaven bank you can fix for 6, 7, 8 or 9 etc months & rates are decent

Or Charter Savings Bank 95-day notice account: 1.90% AER which slightly beats Masthaven for terms shorter than 11 months.