Santander 123 options

6022tivo

kev2009 said:

Sounds like a plan @6022tivo - what sort of treats you got planned? Holiday or gadgets or something else?
Kev

I have all the gadgets I want that I use. 
Don't like buying unless I see a decent use. So I can't think of anything new that way. 

One thing I do miss and will do is support more local business, drink more coffee in local coffee shops, and support the small restaurants locally. Will probably commit to eating and enjoying company much more in them when/if they reopen. 
Travel, always wanted to travel to Cambodia/Vietnam and surrounding areas. 

Watching folk die and the numbers makes me think more about why I need to take cash to my grave and why I do.. 
Plan to spend this and some cash ISA money if possible. 

I do have a very large sum of cash in various NS&I CPI/RPI bond things (Forgotten the name). I think it is wise to keep a hold on things in case we end up with hyper inflation or something like that? 
Not an expert. 

Alexland

6022tivo said:

One thing I do miss and will do is support more local business, drink more coffee in local coffee shops, and support the small restaurants locally.

By downgrading to 123 Lite that £4 saving might pay for a coffee out each month?

6022tivo

Alexland said:

6022tivo said:

One thing I do miss and will do is support more local business, drink more coffee in local coffee shops, and support the small restaurants locally.

By downgrading to 123 Lite that £4 saving might pay for a coffee out each month?

Did you miss the bit about spending and enjoying the £20k rather than squirrelling it away to keep me warm in my coffin? 

colsten

6022tivo said:

Alexland said:

6022tivo said:

One thing I do miss and will do is support more local business, drink more coffee in local coffee shops, and support the small restaurants locally.

By downgrading to 123 Lite that £4 saving might pay for a coffee out each month?

Did you miss the bit about spending and enjoying the £20k rather than squirrelling it away to keep me warm in my coffin? 

You didn't say that you would spend your money on Santander....................

kev2009

Sounds like a nice idea @6022tivo.  I'm of a different age so still working on pension and mortgage etc... just hoping I've got enough years left for my pension to go back up(got approx 26 until official retirement age of 68 but i'm hoping to go at 65 or a bit before tbh) after current climate etc.  I'm working on the basis when i started work, pension age was 65 so that's what i was aiming before, as they've now moved the goal post, i can't say i'm thrilled at the idea of working extra years so i'm still hoping for 65 or a bit earlier if for example was made redundant etc for example.
But plenty of time left to go, anything could happen..
Kev

colsten

kev2009 said:

...... official retirement age of 68......

I think it's important to understand that there is no such thing as an official retirement age in the UK. I think you might be referring to your state pension age? You don't have to work up to that age, and you also don't have to stop working when you reach it. In reality, the average age people stop working in the UK is below their state pension age. I can't find the ONS document right now that I saw just a few days ago - IIRC, average retirement age for men is 64.5 and for women 63.7 - both below the current state pension age. The name of the game is to squirrel away enough in a works pension so you can afford to give up work before you reach your state pension age. Planning to be reliant on state pension seems quite risky as it's not really enough to live from. But I digress.......

kev2009

yes, sorry @colsten that's what I meant, retire before state pension age.  I've been paying into works pension (more than the amount company says), however a little deflated at the moment seeing how much has been wiped of my pension, which is in the default company scheme as i'm certainly not knowledgeable enough to know where and what to invest in etc so I've left it for them to manage).  I know everyone is in the same boat, just when your working hard to put what you can aside for it to suddenly have a chunk disappear, bit deflating.. still i'm hoping it regains it soon and more   My pension was only predicting bout 10k a year at 65 with state pension on top when I get to that age.  At present, I can't pay more in but i'm hoping to get mortgage lower to then either pay more into pension and then pay mortgage for the remainder of the time or to possibly look to paying mortgage off and then pay some extra into pension to give it a boost and also have a bit more money in my hand to enjoy life with also.

At the moment though, my 5 year fixed mortgage is up this year so will be looking to OP to get a better rate when I choose next 5 year fix.
Kev

colsten

Keep the faith. I know investments look ugly right now but once we have a vaccine and medication for CV-19, things will look much brighter again. The world will hopefully also have a solid defence plan should something similar attack us again.

Steve_L

I've already opened an Easy Access Savings Account with Cynergy Bank. As it was in joint names (so my widow can still access the account when I die) they had to ask for certified copies of her passport or driving licence, which was a bit of a faff & expense.

Setting up the online banking was complicated by the need to also set up a passcode generating app' on our mobiles at the same time. Thanks to my ISP's e-mail system being overloaded and losing the password change confirmation e-mails, the system (quite rightly) classified my repeated attempts as suspicious activity locked me out. But the helpdesk people were excellent, an example for a lot of other firms.

In use, the extra level of security with the mobile app' works very well and isn't intrusive. It's like having to use a memorable information/word or a One Time Passcode, but more fun. The minimum £1.00 has been transferred. Overall, I'm impressed.

On May 5, after the direct debit due on 4 May for the pet insurance has been taken. I can now transfer most of my Santander 123 balance overl. Then I'll convert the 123 account to a 123 Lite one.

kev2009

@Steve_L  - looks like i'll have to check Cynergy bank out, never used them etc.
Kev