Chasing the best interest rate

ColdIron

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

They are savings accounts not current accounts so you can't switch them. Neither have dependencies on a current account

friolento

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

The £37 are better in my pocket than in theirs, regardless of whether I pay tax on it or not.

Banks love people who don't switch for better rates.

malcolmw_3

ColdIron said:

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

They are savings accounts not current accounts so you can't switch them. Neither have dependencies on a current account

friolento said:

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

The £37 are better in my pocket than in theirs, regardless of whether I pay tax on it or not.

Banks love people who don't switch for better rates.

The word switch was not meant in the switching current account sense but moving savings to another provider. As for the £37 being better off in our pockets I agree but for me its 50p a week so the time spent closing an account and opening one in the climate of impending rate cuts ( at least in the next 4-6months) where on that philosophy(of always  chasing) I would probably need to move the money again.  I’ll not bother for what might amount to £10 extra on my homespun arithmetic. 

friolento

malcolmw_3 said:

ColdIron said:

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

They are savings accounts not current accounts so you can't switch them. Neither have dependencies on a current account

friolento said:

malcolmw_3 said:

Sorry if not clear but I wouldn’t personally switch accounts for a couple of pounds a month especially as I’m taxed on interest as well so £37 shrinks even more. However I completely understand if someone can be motivated to switch for £20 something increases in income (per10000 that is).  

The £37 are better in my pocket than in theirs, regardless of whether I pay tax on it or not.

Banks love people who don't switch for better rates.

The word switch was not meant in the switching current account sense but moving savings to another provider. As for the £37 being better off in our pockets I agree but for me its 50p a week so the time spent closing an account and opening one in the climate of impending rate cuts ( at least in the next 4-6months) where on that philosophy(of always  chasing) I would probably need to move the money again.  I’ll not bother for what might amount to £10 extra on my homespun arithmetic. 

It's ok, you don't have to chase £37 if this is not enough to incentivise you. It's equally ok to chase  £37 if you'd rather have the £37 in your pocket than in the bank's. Chances are that regulars on this money saving expert forum would opt for pocketing the £37, along with similar moderate gains. Little acorns, big oak trees.

malcolmw_3

Ok one final attempt to clarify, it’s not the £37 (minus tax). In today’s email it’s made clear that the best interest rate gains 10p per £1000, my example is £3.70 per year. So where do you draw the line? From your position would you move for 10p? 

Bridlington1

malcolmw_3 said:

Ok one final attempt to clarify, it’s not the £37 (minus tax). In today’s email it’s made clear that the best interest rate gains 10p per £1000, my example is £3.70 per year. So where do you draw the line? From your position would you move for 10p? 

I have accounts with over 60 different banks/building societies, as a result in many cases it only takes a few minutes at most to open a new savings account and not much longer to get the money to it, I can do his whilst I'm waiting for the kettle to boil.

I have more transactions on my accounts each month than I care to remember, one or two more won't hurt and I quite enjoy being a rate tart to be honest. So yes, I'd move my savings for another 10p and have done so in the past, all those 10ps soon add up but I appreciate it's not everyone's cup of tea.

ColdIron

malcolmw_3 said:

Ok one final attempt to clarify, it’s not the £37 (minus tax).

Most people wouldn't pay tax on that £37 if it was the only interest they received

So where do you draw the line? From your position would you move for 10p? 

I did however open a Metro Bank Limited Edition at 5.22% to compliment my Santander Limited Edition at 5.20%, so 20p per £1,000

Of course I moved more than £1,000 into it and my motivation was more than just two one hundredths of one percent extra interest. Rates are reducing and having two decent rates gives me more options available when one or the other inevitably drops

boingy

Everyone has to find their own level of effort vs reward, which depends on how obsessive you want to be and how much time you can spend to keep on top of it. For me it's typically got to be a gain of about 0.25% before I will move, although I have moved for less once or twice.

Like many things you can get 80% of the rewards with 20% of the effort.

kaMelo

malcolmw_3 said:

Ok one final attempt to clarify, it’s not the £37 (minus tax). In today’s email it’s made clear that the best interest rate gains 10p per £1000, my example is £3.70 per year. So where do you draw the line? From your position would you move for 10p? 

That would depend upon the account provider and effort required. Like @Bridlington1 I have already have accounts with dozens of providers, if the account with a slightly higher rate is  offered by one of them and available to open online then yes I would.as it usually takes less than five minutes to open and fund.

Not that there is anything wrong with Marcus though, in fact there is a lot to like in how the account operates, I just wish they were a little more competitive

silvercue

I have never bothered chasing better interest rates until recently when interest rates went up significantly and it really has been worthwhile.

I snagged a 5.2% Santander account while available.  Also have some 7% savings accounts.   Makes a big difference.  

If I am happy with the overall service, web interface, apps etc would not bother moving unless it made a difference of at least £50 TBH.