Looking for an account that allows me to save 'pots' of money - what would you recommend?

IvanOpinion

I agree with Colsten - use a spreadsheet (I have been doing it this way for over 20 years).  In the early days if I needed additional money then I borrowed from one column and then made sure it got paid back.  I see people with these fancy Apps and they seem to spend hours moving money between pots and checking their growing number of pots and creating fancy graphs.  I have better things to do with my time, and have my spreadsheet update down to a few minutes each week (and I can even do fancier graphs and charts if needed ... which it isn't, life is too short to waste on pie charts).

As my spreadsheet has matured I realised that the minutia that I used to think I needed to know is now irrelevant and over the years it has simplified (yet contains more relevant detail).

Disney_Princess85

I've got a Starling account which I have various pots attached to. I really like Starling and have used it here and abroad with no issues.  I'd definitely recommend.

MovingForwards

I use a spreadsheet but also have different pots for various future expenses.

The virgin current account with linked savings is unlimited pots. You transfer the money to the linked account and then distribute it to whatever pot(s) you want to top up, the interest is quarterly and it's down to you to allocate it to a pot.

It appears the minimum amount which can be moved to a pot from the linked savings is £1. You can also set goals for each pot and adjust them as required, closing them if you want to.

Moneyminded

Walker1 said:

I’m with Monzo personally and rate them highly. Never had another account that allows pots so can’t actually compare it to any one else.

Are you earning any interest in the emergency fund? Might be worth sticking in in premium bonds?

Thanks Walker1, great to hear an opinion on Monzo even if you can't compare to anything else. 
I am earning some interest (rate keeps dropping) on my emergency fund so wasn't planning to shift this. I've never considered premium bonds before so just had a quick look at the MSE guidance https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds/ and based on the fact that I won't have thousands to invest it looks like the prize rate (interest rate equivalent) would most likely be 0% anyway. 

Moneyminded

Elmer_BeFuddled said:

If you bank with NatWest their savings builder is still hanging on to 0.75% (not bad these days!)  https://personal.natwest.com/personal/savings/savings-builder.html

Thanks Elmer_BeFuddled I was with Natwest until a couple of months ago before switching to another account for the switch bonus. 

Moneyminded

IvanOpinion said:

I agree with Colsten - use a spreadsheet (I have been doing it this way for over 20 years).  In the early days if I needed additional money then I borrowed from one column and then made sure it got paid back.  I see people with these fancy Apps and they seem to spend hours moving money between pots and checking their growing number of pots and creating fancy graphs.  I have better things to do with my time, and have my spreadsheet update down to a few minutes each week (and I can even do fancier graphs and charts if needed ... which it isn't, life is too short to waste on pie charts).

As my spreadsheet has matured I realised that the minutia that I used to think I needed to know is now irrelevant and over the years it has simplified (yet contains more relevant detail).

Thanks IvanOpinion, I do a very basic spreadsheet for longer term things like my mortgage. I'm personally not a fan of having all my money for a number of different things sitting in 1 account and having to keep track of what it is all for, personal preference. I'm glad spreadsheets work for you but I think separate accounts or pots is the way to go for me. 

Moneyminded

Disney_Princess85 said:

I've got a Starling account which I have various pots attached to. I really like Starling and have used it here and abroad with no issues.  I'd definitely recommend.

Fab, thanks for the recommendation Disney_Princess85

Moneyminded

MovingForwards said:

I use a spreadsheet but also have different pots for various future expenses.

The virgin current account with linked savings is unlimited pots. You transfer the money to the linked account and then distribute it to whatever pot(s) you want to top up, the interest is quarterly and it's down to you to allocate it to a pot.

It appears the minimum amount which can be moved to a pot from the linked savings is £1. You can also set goals for each pot and adjust them as required, closing them if you want to.

Thanks MovingForwards, you are the second person to mention the Virgin current account to me. Had a quick look earlier and saw that I needed 2 direct debits for that account, would have to have a think this as I have all bills coming from 1 account at the moment. Good to know that you can have unlimited pots, that's definitely a bonus! Will do a bit more digging

MDMD

Moneyminded said:

MovingForwards said:

I use a spreadsheet but also have different pots for various future expenses.

The virgin current account with linked savings is unlimited pots. You transfer the money to the linked account and then distribute it to whatever pot(s) you want to top up, the interest is quarterly and it's down to you to allocate it to a pot.

It appears the minimum amount which can be moved to a pot from the linked savings is £1. You can also set goals for each pot and adjust them as required, closing them if you want to.

Thanks MovingForwards, you are the second person to mention the Virgin current account to me. Had a quick look earlier and saw that I needed 2 direct debits for that account, would have to have a think this as I have all bills coming from 1 account at the moment. Good to know that you can have unlimited pots, that's definitely a bonus! Will do a bit more digging

You don’t need the direct debits unless you want the wine switch offer.

Moneyminded

MDMD said:

Moneyminded said:

MovingForwards said:

I use a spreadsheet but also have different pots for various future expenses.

The virgin current account with linked savings is unlimited pots. You transfer the money to the linked account and then distribute it to whatever pot(s) you want to top up, the interest is quarterly and it's down to you to allocate it to a pot.

It appears the minimum amount which can be moved to a pot from the linked savings is £1. You can also set goals for each pot and adjust them as required, closing them if you want to.

Thanks MovingForwards, you are the second person to mention the Virgin current account to me. Had a quick look earlier and saw that I needed 2 direct debits for that account, would have to have a think this as I have all bills coming from 1 account at the moment. Good to know that you can have unlimited pots, that's definitely a bonus! Will do a bit more digging

You don’t need the direct debits unless you want the wine switch offer.

Oooooohhh good to know, hate wine! so really not bothered about that. Looking more like a winner! Thanks