The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

jaypers

kaMelo said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

BooJewels said:

I'd got panicky at the idea of locking too much away, but being realistic, I can't imagine any emergency that would necessitate needing to get at it all.   I've enough in easy access accounts, to cover most eventualities.

I realise I am speaking to the 'converted' !   My concern is locking away money for a fixed term, and then finding interest rates go up and I am stuck in a relatively low paying account.

Any suggestions?

I already have Instant Access accounts and stocks and shares ISAs.

It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach, put smaller amounts into a fixed account each month. You may not have the top rate on some accounts but they will all be earning more interest than you are getting by leaving it in an easy access account whilst you wait.
Don't think "if only I'd waited I'd be getting this much" rather "by fixing I've been getting x% more each month than my easy access saver".

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

I-LOV-MONEY

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

kaMelo

Absolutely, put your emergency stash in the highest available easy access account first, this is for something you might need today or tomorrow.

Anything after that then a pick and mix approach works well. If you've enough spare cash to fill a dozen one year fixes then eventually you'll always have an account maturing every month to back up your emergency stash. It doesn't have to be tens of thousands in each account, one or two thousand in each if you can afford it is enough. 
None of those fixes may be earning the "best" rate but they'll usually all be earning more than any easy access account.

chris_the_bee

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

BooJewels

chris_the_bee said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

I don't think it works like that. The Regular Savers have a higher headline rate, but that's not the net amount you get, as the interest is paid on an increasing principle, as you regularly pay in.  So the end result will still be a slightly lower return than a flat amount sat in a fix.

Band7

BooJewels said:

chris_the_bee said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

I don't think it works like that. The Regular Savers have a higher headline rate, but that's not the net amount you get, as the interest is paid on an increasing principle, as you regularly pay in.  So the end result will still be a slightly lower return than a flat amount sat in a fix.

It does work exactly like @chris_the_bee said. Drip feeding a Regular Saver from an instant access account that pays a lower rate will see you end up with more interest than if you kept your money in the instant access account.

Can I suggest you read up about Regular Savers, and have a play with the Regular Saver calculator which illustrates the benefits of the higher rate Regular Savers. Almost all the top Regular Savers offer instant access or early closure without penalty.

Sensory

BooJewels said:

chris_the_bee said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

I don't think it works like that. The Regular Savers have a higher headline rate, but that's not the net amount you get, as the interest is paid on an increasing principle, as you regularly pay in.  So the end result will still be a slightly lower return than a flat amount sat in a fix.

For money not in fixed accounts, i.e. having a decent amount easily accessible in case of emergencies, regular savers are excellent as they usually have flexible withdrawal requirements (unlike fixes) yet have rates much higher than standard accounts, and even some fixes. Having emergency cash in the top easy-access account whilst drip-feeding into various regular savers every month helps to maximise interest. 

The headline rate is indeed the rate you get; interest is simply calculated daily on the account balance, regardless of account type.

kaMelo

Sensory said:

BooJewels said:

chris_the_bee said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

I don't think it works like that. The Regular Savers have a higher headline rate, but that's not the net amount you get, as the interest is paid on an increasing principle, as you regularly pay in.  So the end result will still be a slightly lower return than a flat amount sat in a fix.

For money not in fixed accounts, i.e. having a decent amount easily accessible in case of emergencies, regular savers are excellent as they usually have flexible withdrawal requirements (unlike fixes) yet have rates much higher than standard accounts, and even some fixes. Having emergency cash in the top easy-access account whilst drip-feeding into various regular savers every month helps to maximise interest. 

The headline rate is indeed the rate you get; interest is simply calculated daily on the account balance, regardless of account type.

To be pedantic, some do, some don't and some only allow access by closing the account.
The terms of each account will tell you which one applies.

BooJewels

I did use the calculator you linked to check my thinking before posting.  Apologies if I'm misunderstanding.

Working on the fact that many regular savers limit how much you can pay in each month, I worked on £200 per month, resulting in £2400 saved in a year, giving rise to interest of £65 @ 5%.  Drip feeding it from an EA account gave £66 interest and putting £2400 into a 1 year fix @ 4.3% gave £103.20 interest.

Sensory

kaMelo said:

Sensory said:

BooJewels said:

chris_the_bee said:

I-LOV-MONEY said:

jaypers said:

Exactly what I’ve done, but everyone has unique circumstances. It’s difficult to predict what you might need access to in anger so it’s best to have a decent amount in Easy Access. 

Yes.  I always think "what if the house fell down?".   The insurance company then refer me to a clause that I missed "..in the event of your house falling down ... tough luck, we don't pay out !! "

Don't forget Regular Savers. A number pay more than fixes and easy access, plus most allow instant access.

I don't think it works like that. The Regular Savers have a higher headline rate, but that's not the net amount you get, as the interest is paid on an increasing principle, as you regularly pay in.  So the end result will still be a slightly lower return than a flat amount sat in a fix.

For money not in fixed accounts, i.e. having a decent amount easily accessible in case of emergencies, regular savers are excellent as they usually have flexible withdrawal requirements (unlike fixes) yet have rates much higher than standard accounts, and even some fixes. Having emergency cash in the top easy-access account whilst drip-feeding into various regular savers every month helps to maximise interest. 

The headline rate is indeed the rate you get; interest is simply calculated daily on the account balance, regardless of account type.

To be pedantic, some do, some don't and some only allow access by closing the account.
The terms of each account will tell you which one applies.

Yes, hence the 'usually'.