Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

spreadsheeterapple

Did some more number crunching, on leaving a regular saver til maturity vs 'refresh'.

Used a 6-month saver to work on, and made assumption that if a 7.85 one matured near xmas, the next one obtainable would be only 5.5% after rate drops, whereas in the refresh scenario 7.85 could be snapped up for the 2nd saver.

I ignored use of a feeder during initial saving period, because earnings for that account would be same in both scenarios.

The later savings period has its feeder account earning interest at a falling rate next year, to give a bit of reality.

Interestingly, I proved that scenarios for 'leave til maturity' gain more interest than 'refresh' up to the point of maturities of the 2nd regular saver. However that doesn't account for the same overall period of time; you can't compare saving til scenario one's 22nd June against scenario two's 13th May ! The 'refresh' scenario has a further 41 days earning power if you can get it into an interest-bearing feeder (or elsewhere) straight away, bringing the grand total interest past the winning post.

So 'refresh' won in a falling interest rate environment
- but only when accounting for what interest you can earn on the capital once both regular savers have actually finished. If you were going to spend the money instead, you'd earn less interest overall though you'd get spending money earlier. (as ever!)

Readers might be interested in what the breakeven point was for regular saver 2's lower interest rate in scenario one on left hand side. That is the point at which 'refresh' became pointless, all other things being equal.
= 6.165%

Not sure my copy spreadsheet will post, new forum registrants can't for some unspecified period. Sorry if I can't show you the pretty numbers.

Middle_of_the_Road

Kudos to you for having the tenacity to work through all that 👍 merely reading it has me loosing the will to save.

Of tens of current and previous regular savers, I've only renewed a Halifax version once, when I had a need for the cash elsewhere.
 
I feel it could end up in a continuous cycle, and me being a type that likes to stick to a defined structure, without complications.

t1redmonkey

@spreadsheeterapple Very interesting to see that.  Personally I'm just going to let mine run until maturity most likely, as the next best thing I could do with the rest of the money if I refreshed now would be sticking it in a 4.85% account.

Also, I'm pretty sure @Bridlington1 has a method of opening Principality accounts after they've been removed from the website, so it might be that it's possible to do the close & reopen once someone notices it's gone.  I don't know if that method still works since they've redesigned their website recently though.

apt

CricketLady said:

Might I ask the same question about Lloyds 6.25%?  Mine's due to mature on 18th December, I've £4800 in it at the moment and was going to make my final payment on 1st December.  I can't imagine it'll still be 6.25% on 18th December though.

Thanks in advance - any advice gratefully received!

You can close and renew, but I think there's a fair chance that Lloyds will hold the rate for now. It's in competition with the Nat West Digital Saver and that rate (6.17%) is remaining the same.

Nick_C

I don't think that Lloyds have ever considered their CLMS to be in competition with NatWest. 

NatWest held their rate at 6% when Lloyds dropped right down to 1%.  

Kim_13

Nick_C said:

I don't think that Lloyds have ever considered their CLMS to be in competition with NatWest. 

NatWest held their rate at 6% when Lloyds dropped right down to 1%.  

Also, Club Lloyds RS is fixed vs the variable rate Digital Regular Saver. 

WillPS

Nick_C said:

I don't think that Lloyds have ever considered their CLMS to be in competition with NatWest. 

NatWest held their rate at 6% when Lloyds dropped right down to 1%.  

This is either untrue or at least a total misrepresentation. The NatWest account launched in 2020 with a 3.x% interest rate (source). The account was modified favourably and uprated a few times in the years subsequently. They've only 'held their rate' this year, and it's still too early to really make much of an assumption that that's something that'll be held. I suspect it'll come down when LBG and/or Nationwide eventually change their rates.

Like every bank, broadly Natwest have dropped their interest rates when interest rates have fallen (or sometime after), and increased them when they've gone up (although maybe not as quickly as people may have preferred). It's still early days as these things go.

jaypers

For those interested in the Zopa Regular Saver and are keen to be invited to open the Zopa Bank Account, which is needed to qualify for the RS, there is a waitlist you can sign up to. Not sure if this makes things any more likely or quicker, but maybe worth a go - https://www.zopa.com/bank-account

t1redmonkey

Chorley BS have announced their interest rate changes after the BOE rate reduction, but no (adult) regular savers affected: https://www.chorleybs.co.uk/savings/interest-rate-change-details

surreysaver

jaypers said:

For those interested in the Zopa Regular Saver and are keen to be invited to open the Zopa Bank Account, which is needed to qualify for the RS, there is a waitlist you can sign up to. Not sure if this makes things any more likely or quicker, but maybe worth a go - https://www.zopa.com/bank-account

Hopefully they're rolling it out in dribs and drabs to prevent an IT meltdown