Where should I save my money as a 17 year old

Adam_281

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

ForumUser7

Hi Adam,

That Coventry BS FHS would be great to max out each month, as they offer unlimited withdrawals (if you needed these).

Another one to look at is the RBS regular saver at 5.12% AER (you have to open an RBS current account first). I have both the RBS and NatWest RS.

You mention you currently manage to save approx 1k per month - the coventry FHS is a 1k max deposit per month so this is perfect if you don't want to open any more accounts. That said, I personally prioritise the RBS/NatWest over the Coventry BS First Home Saver as it pays slightly higher interest currently, and it is an open ended regular saver that does not end after 3 years. Of course if the rate on the FHS was to overtake the digital regular saver, switch back to that one being prioritised.

If you wanted to shift money from the HSBC MySavings seeing as this rate reduces from the age of 18, you could look at:
- Nationwide Start to Save Issue 2 (with a prize draw)
- Principality BS Christmas 2023 Regular Saver Bond
- Regular/Monthly Savers with Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, and Halifax

Hope this helps

ForumUser7

Richard1212

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

As you have only been working for about a year year since school, you seem to have accumulated a lot of savings in a very short space of time ?

I assume you must also live at home but it seems your parents , who must be providing food, clothing, energy costs, clothes and more, as well as housing, cannot be receiving any amount at all if you save over £1000 out of £1500 pcm. That's a lot for them to bear alone unless you are from a very rich family........

Your current savings' arrangements seem OK and I could only suggest tweaking and my own preferences which are not better enough to bother with here.

 But are you going to be buying a car, as most folk of your age do ( those who can afford it) ? That will throw your figures out a fair bit. When do you envisage buying a house ? Do you have marriage in sight anytime in the mid-term?  Does your apprenticeship look likely to lead to a good salary for life? What are pension arrangements after apprenticeship ? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now ? All things to think of whenever thinking of money at any time of life.
Good luck and happy new year.

Albermarle

If you are thinking you might buy a house at some stage then you should consider a LISA.
Lifetime ISA (LISA): how they work & best buys - Money Saving Expert

Also hopefully you are in your employers pension scheme, as that is some free money.

CooperSF

Richard1212 said:

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

As you have only been working for about a year year since school, you seem to have accumulated a lot of savings in a very short space of time ?

I assume you must also live at home but it seems your parents , who must be providing food, clothing, energy costs, clothes and more, as well as housing, cannot be receiving any amount at all if you save over £1000 out of £1500 pcm. That's a lot for them to bear alone unless you are from a very rich family........

Your current savings' arrangements seem OK and I could only suggest tweaking and my own preferences which are not better enough to bother with here.

 But are you going to be buying a car, as most folk of your age do ( those who can afford it) ? That will throw your figures out a fair bit. When do you envisage buying a house ? Do you have marriage in sight anytime in the mid-term?  Does your apprenticeship look likely to lead to a good salary for life? What are pension arrangements after apprenticeship ? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now ? All things to think of whenever thinking of money at any time of life.
Good luck and happy new year.

Let’s stick to providing savings advice.

Bridlington1

Keep an eye on Bath BS. They do a 16-25 regular saver (pays 5.95%), currently only available to those who live, work or study in bath or have been an existing member for at leas 12 months. If you don't currently live, work or study in Bath, then as soon as you turn 18 I'd grab their homestart regular saver and only pay in the minimum balance. After a year you will be able to open the 16-25 regular saver. This account has been consistently one of the top paying savings accounts for a few years now so worth getting.

Richard1212

CooperSF said:

Richard1212 said:

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

As you have only been working for about a year year since school, you seem to have accumulated a lot of savings in a very short space of time ?

I assume you must also live at home but it seems your parents , who must be providing food, clothing, energy costs, clothes and more, as well as housing, cannot be receiving any amount at all if you save over £1000 out of £1500 pcm. That's a lot for them to bear alone unless you are from a very rich family........

Your current savings' arrangements seem OK and I could only suggest tweaking and my own preferences which are not better enough to bother with here.

 But are you going to be buying a car, as most folk of your age do ( those who can afford it) ? That will throw your figures out a fair bit. When do you envisage buying a house ? Do you have marriage in sight anytime in the mid-term?  Does your apprenticeship look likely to lead to a good salary for life? What are pension arrangements after apprenticeship ? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now ? All things to think of whenever thinking of money at any time of life.
Good luck and happy new year.

Let’s stick to providing savings advice.

Yes, let's do that-----just as I did ( including thinking about his parents' savings !). Let's also provide useful advice about possible future expenditure such as I listed in order to show how his current savings might be decimated. And, once again, I ask about the O/P's current financial holdings given that he left school before 6th Form and A levels and has only been working for a year.........

CooperSF

Richard1212 said:

CooperSF said:

Richard1212 said:

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

As you have only been working for about a year year since school, you seem to have accumulated a lot of savings in a very short space of time ?

I assume you must also live at home but it seems your parents , who must be providing food, clothing, energy costs, clothes and more, as well as housing, cannot be receiving any amount at all if you save over £1000 out of £1500 pcm. That's a lot for them to bear alone unless you are from a very rich family........

Your current savings' arrangements seem OK and I could only suggest tweaking and my own preferences which are not better enough to bother with here.

 But are you going to be buying a car, as most folk of your age do ( those who can afford it) ? That will throw your figures out a fair bit. When do you envisage buying a house ? Do you have marriage in sight anytime in the mid-term?  Does your apprenticeship look likely to lead to a good salary for life? What are pension arrangements after apprenticeship ? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now ? All things to think of whenever thinking of money at any time of life.
Good luck and happy new year.

Let’s stick to providing savings advice.

Yes, let's do that-----just as I did ( including thinking about his parents' savings !). Let's also provide useful advice about possible future expenditure such as I listed in order to show how his current savings might be decimated. And, once again, I ask about the O/P's current financial holdings given that he left school before 6th Form and A levels and has only been working for a year.........

Good evening Richard

Thanks for your response.

It may be worth considering that the OP was specifically looking for advice on their specific issue (optimising their savings strategy).

Again, let’s try and stick to concise and helpful responses.

Have a great Friday.

Albermarle

CooperSF said:

Richard1212 said:

CooperSF said:

Richard1212 said:

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

As you have only been working for about a year year since school, you seem to have accumulated a lot of savings in a very short space of time ?

I assume you must also live at home but it seems your parents , who must be providing food, clothing, energy costs, clothes and more, as well as housing, cannot be receiving any amount at all if you save over £1000 out of £1500 pcm. That's a lot for them to bear alone unless you are from a very rich family........

Your current savings' arrangements seem OK and I could only suggest tweaking and my own preferences which are not better enough to bother with here.

 But are you going to be buying a car, as most folk of your age do ( those who can afford it) ? That will throw your figures out a fair bit. When do you envisage buying a house ? Do you have marriage in sight anytime in the mid-term?  Does your apprenticeship look likely to lead to a good salary for life? What are pension arrangements after apprenticeship ? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now ? All things to think of whenever thinking of money at any time of life.
Good luck and happy new year.

Let’s stick to providing savings advice.

Yes, let's do that-----just as I did ( including thinking about his parents' savings !). Let's also provide useful advice about possible future expenditure such as I listed in order to show how his current savings might be decimated. And, once again, I ask about the O/P's current financial holdings given that he left school before 6th Form and A levels and has only been working for a year.........

Good evening Richard

Thanks for your response.

It may be worth considering that the OP was specifically looking for advice on their specific issue (optimising their savings strategy).

Again, let’s try and stick to concise and helpful responses.

Have a great Friday.

Usually it is useful to new posters to open up other strands of discussion. The original question can lead to other questions/topics that they may have never considered. However I agree the specific comments you highlighted were a bit too much 'off topic' 

Perksy5

Adam_281 said:

Hi all I am 17 and doing apprenticeship taking home around £1500-1600pm and wanted to see if any of you guys had any suggestions for my savings. I currently manage to save a little over 1k a month and my money is currently in the following accounts

5k in NatWest reg saver @ 5% (for some reason I have been able to put in lump sums since I first opened)

8k in virgin money @ 4% 1yr bond (maturing OCT 23)

3k in HSBC mySavings @ 3.75%

1.5k in OneFamily Stockmarket100 CTF (I plan to put this in a Vanguard FTSE global all cap index fund ISA when I'm 18)

I've also got a Coventry first home saver which I managed to open before they closed it, so assuming they increase the rate to 5% in Jan would it be best to max this out every month?

 Any suggestions or tips for me to optimise my finances would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Adam

Amazing income for 17!
If it was me and with the benefit of hindsight, I'd be continuing as you are sinking spare money into the highest paying savings accounts.
On your 18th birthday, I would then open a LISA. Whether or not that's cash or stocks and shares you decide. I would say to help with that decision if you feel able to/want to get on the property ladder and buy your first home and can do so in the next 5 years, I'd go cash route.
In case you're not aware, a LISA gives you 25% gov bonus on top of your savings (4k per year max you save, 1k gov bonus. 5k a year total save) will far outstrip any other source of you saving for your first home. 
There are penalties to withdrawing cash from a LISA if its not used for retirement or first home purchase. You can read more about LISA features on MSE website.
I focused this on property savings as I was desperate to have my own space at 17!
Also, you need to have your LISA opened a minimum of 1 year before it can be used for first home purchase.
Good luck and happy saving! 

Adam_281

ForumUser7 said:

Hi Adam,

That Coventry BS FHS would be great to max out each month, as they offer unlimited withdrawals (if you needed these).

Another one to look at is the RBS regular saver at 5.12% AER (you have to open an RBS current account first). I have both the RBS and NatWest RS.

You mention you currently manage to save approx 1k per month - the coventry FHS is a 1k max deposit per month so this is perfect if you don't want to open any more accounts. That said, I personally prioritise the RBS/NatWest over the Coventry BS First Home Saver as it pays slightly higher interest currently, and it is an open ended regular saver that does not end after 3 years. Of course if the rate on the FHS was to overtake the digital regular saver, switch back to that one being prioritised.

If you wanted to shift money from the HSBC MySavings seeing as this rate reduces from the age of 18, you could look at:
- Nationwide Start to Save Issue 2 (with a prize draw)
- Principality BS Christmas 2023 Regular Saver Bond
- Regular/Monthly Savers with Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, and Halifax

Hope this helps

ForumUser7

Thanks, I will apply for some of those regular savers to move money from my HSBC account