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Marcus Rate Down to 0.40%
Comments
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colsten said:I am mightily pleased with myself that I never participated in the mad rush to Marcus, apart from sticking in £100 in case they could become useful to me at some stage. Instead, I stuck with Al Rayan, who were, and still are, paying rather significantly better than Marcus, and now also better than Skipton. Needless to say, their better rate is no longer available to new applicants (and may not last for much longer for existing savers) but they currently offer an instant access ISA with an expected profit rate of 0.60%. This might be a viable alternative for some people.
I have had Al Rayan accounts for years and always received the expected profit rate, even though it is not guaranteed. I stuck with them through the debacle with their new app & online banking (not as bad as TSB!!), and I am now happy that they have resolved their issues as the app is eminently usable.3 -
Malkytheheed said:colsten said:I am mightily pleased with myself that I never participated in the mad rush to Marcus, apart from sticking in £100 in case they could become useful to me at some stage. Instead, I stuck with Al Rayan, who were, and still are, paying rather significantly better than Marcus, and now also better than Skipton. Needless to say, their better rate is no longer available to new applicants (and may not last for much longer for existing savers) but they currently offer an instant access ISA with an expected profit rate of 0.60%. This might be a viable alternative for some people.
I have had Al Rayan accounts for years and always received the expected profit rate, even though it is not guaranteed. I stuck with them through the debacle with their new app & online banking (not as bad as TSB!!), and I am now happy that they have resolved their issues as the app is eminently usable.4 -
Malkytheheed said:I mean 0.4, 0.6. what is the difference?Malkytheheed said:Focus on the big wins and don't sweat the little stuff.2
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Malkytheheed said:colsten said:I am mightily pleased with myself that I never participated in the mad rush to Marcus, apart from sticking in £100 in case they could become useful to me at some stage. Instead, I stuck with Al Rayan, who were, and still are, paying rather significantly better than Marcus, and now also better than Skipton. Needless to say, their better rate is no longer available to new applicants (and may not last for much longer for existing savers) but they currently offer an instant access ISA with an expected profit rate of 0.60%. This might be a viable alternative for some people.
I have had Al Rayan accounts for years and always received the expected profit rate, even though it is not guaranteed. I stuck with them through the debacle with their new app & online banking (not as bad as TSB!!), and I am now happy that they have resolved their issues as the app is eminently usable.
Yes it is ‘free money’ but it’s barely enough to buy a round these days. I found a fiver on the road a couple of days ago (first time I’ve seen a banknote let alone found one in yonks). It’d be mid June before your example made that kind of difference to my cash balance.0 -
colsten said:Ballard said:
Yes it is ‘free money’ but it’s barely enough to buy a round these days.0 -
colsten said:Ballard said:
Yes it is ‘free money’ but it’s barely enough to buy a round these days.
However those people are unlikely to have the large sums sitting in savings to generate that amount of interest in the first place. A difference of £20 interest on a (let's be honest here) big lump of capital, is a pretty first world problem.The real problem here, I would suggest is why people feel the need to keep this much in cash at all. Emergency fund, yes. Couple of years buffer when retired, yes. But more than that indicates a misplaced sense of risk aversion - thinking that 'stocks and shares' are a bad thing, while ignoring the real risk of inflation.
Anyway, that's my piece said - as previously mentioned, I'm shifting significantly into investments from saving, and part of that investment will be on home improvements. Given I'm paying additional rate tax on whatever paltry interest I get on unwrapped cash, it would be nuts to have it sitting there depreciating in value...0 -
ratechaser said:colsten said:Ballard said:
Yes it is ‘free money’ but it’s barely enough to buy a round these days.
However those people are unlikely to have the large sums sitting in savings to generate that amount of interest in the first place. A difference of £20 interest on a (let's be honest here) big lump of capital, is a pretty first world problem.The real problem here, I would suggest is why people feel the need to keep this much in cash at all. Emergency fund, yes. Couple of years buffer when retired, yes. But more than that indicates a misplaced sense of risk aversion - thinking that 'stocks and shares' are a bad thing, while ignoring the real risk of inflation.
Anyway, that's my piece said - as previously mentioned, I'm shifting significantly into investments from saving, and part of that investment will be on home improvements. Given I'm paying additional rate tax on whatever paltry interest I get on unwrapped cash, it would be nuts to have it sitting there depreciating in value...
Yet another example of a thread where people are determined to argue and which tangents onto people (thinking) they know others situations better than themselves.2 -
I won't quote your reply but we're talking £20 a year not a month in the example. I'd swap for £20 a month difference.
The broader point about holding cash is correct. I was until recently holding onto too much cash (around two years salary) but that was largely driven by the expectation of redundancy followed by redundancy and 8 months unemployment. Now that I'm comfortable in a role I've gone down to a six month cash holding, much of which will be used in house renovations in the coming year.0 -
Final comment from me on this thread: For some people, £10K is their lifetime savings, to prop up a miserable state pension which might be the only income they have. It could also be the only savings a youngster has, say from an inheritance or a gift that they want/need to use towards their education. Or it could be all a jobless person who is sofa-surfing through the pandemic has. Or a single mum who just got out of an abusive relationship. Etc etc etc. So don't judge, and don't ridicule people who may not be as fortunate as you are.8
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