One year fix about to mature - what next?

SavingsBoo

I have a £20k one year fix account through Raisin maturing today and am wondering what to do with it next.  I'm thinking another one year fix but do I just jump into whichever is the best on offer whenever Raisin decides to release my money, or is it worth waiting for another week to see if anything better comes up?  I realise no-one has a crystal ball but does anyone have any insight from previous recent base rate increases as to how long banks tend to take to respond?  Basically I am trying to maximise what I can earn while interest rates are rising without tying my money up for too long, and I have no appetite for stocks and shares type investment.  My mortgage is paid off and I have no other debt.

I have around £90k of savings in total and have been moving pots around over the last year, aside from this one year fix I currently have the following: 

Flexible cash ISA with YBS paying 3.6% AER - £40k
I have paid in the maximum allowance for this year and last year.  I am thinking to move at least part of that to a fixed ISA, maybe £20k into a three year fix. The YBS ISA is limited to one withdrawal per year plus closure at any time so if I understand correctly I could do transfers to two different ISAs paying better rates.

Coventry BS easy access account currently paying 4% AER - £6k

Zopa 95 day notice pot which will be available end of August - £15k
HTB 95 day notice account which will be available end of September - £10k
Neither of these are market leaders anymore so I will see where interest rates are when they become available and I'm planning to put at least £10k into easy access to give me more of a cushion for anything unexpected.

I also have a First Direct regular saver and a Chase account where the savings interest rate is ok so I have a small stash in there for any indulgence spending. I was reading about drip feeding regular savers from an easy access saving account so will look at setting that up too I think.

From my rough calculations, if interest rates don't suddenly drop over the next year, I will still be best using my full ISA allowance next financial year to minimise tax liability, but I maybe need to do a bit more of a detailed breakdown of which financial year all my little pots of interest will drop into....

A final question which may be daft but I'm going to ask anyway - is there any impact on my credit score from opening all these multiple savings accounts?  I have opened a couple over the last few months where I have ended up not depositing any money as things have been moving so quickly and better accounts have become available!

InvesterJones

You're not applying for credit, so shouldn't be any impact on credit score.

As for what to do: decide when you're likely to need the money, and then stick it in the best return you can for the accessibility you need. We can't predict how the BoE will vote in August, nor whether companies will pass on any increases so either accept what you can now, or hedge and put some in now, some in later, with the highest easy access you can in the meantime..

jaypers

Similar position and I’ve decided to hedge my bets by reinvesting a smaller sum into a new 1 Year fixed that ends up paying the same amount of interest as the matured old one. The remaining money stays in Easy Access for now while I decide what to do next.

SavingsBoo

jaypers said:

Similar position and I’ve decided to hedge my bets by reinvesting a smaller sum into a new 1 Year fixed that ends up paying the same amount of interest as the matured old one. The remaining money stays in Easy Access for now while I decide what to do next.

Yes that sounds like a good way to go. Half in a new 1 year fix and then wait to see if something better comes along for the other half!