The Old Regular Savers Discussion Thread 28/12/24-29/1/26

Bobblehat

Bridlington1 said:

clairec666 said:

I've always been a bit sceptical of the "open at the end of the month" thing, and have generally followed the rule of "open now if you have the money". But now Bobblehat's spreadsheet is making me doubt myself...

It's not worth overthinking these things though - for example when my last Coop RS matured, it took 5 days for my new account to open, so this could tip you over into the next month. Others like Principality are more predictable (if your maturity instructions are accepted, of course...)

Also worth noting that in many cases there's the option of ``Fund now, refresh at the end of the month if it's still available".

The best compromise for both those that like early and those that like late!

allegro120

AndyTh_2 said:

Manchester BS Regular Saver 1

I waited over an hour for the User Id and didn't get it, so I went to their website to do a for "Forgotten your User ID?" on the login page, and got the User Id that way.

Many thanks for this! It worked, saved me a hassle calling them tomorrow.

clairec666

Slight alteration to your fabulous spreadsheet @Bobblehat - assuming you've got £200 ready to fund the account on 23/9, and will have each subsequent £200 available on the 1st of each month. Consider the total interest earned between 23/9/2025 and 29/9/2026. If you open and fund on the 23rd, then you will have a spare 6 days after maturity where your money can earn interest elsewhere (I've used 4% as an example). If you're opening on the 29th then the spare 6 days will be at the beginning, and the 4% will only apply to £200.

If you compare the two methods over 371 days, then the 29th is still the winner, but not by quite such a large margin.



Edit: the 4% from 23/9 to 29/9 should apply to the £2600 plus interest, which would gain an extra 6p overall.

saverkev

Savings Week 
Very disappointing upto now
Here's Progressive's contribution

UK Savings Week 2025 Branch Competition

It’s UK Savings Week! Helping to ease the burden of the dreaded grocery shop bill (leaving you with a little extra in your pocket to save!), we’re offering you the chance to WIN £250 Tesco voucher! Enter by visiting your local Progressive branch for your chance to win. T&Cs apply.

Competition T&Cs

ForumUser7

saverkev said:

Savings Week 
Very disappointing upto now
Here's Progressive's contribution

UK Savings Week 2025 Branch Competition

It’s UK Savings Week! Helping to ease the burden of the dreaded grocery shop bill (leaving you with a little extra in your pocket to save!), we’re offering you the chance to WIN £250 Tesco voucher! Enter by visiting your local Progressive branch for your chance to win. T&Cs apply.

Competition T&Cs

lol, excludes their England based customers

Stargunner

Bobblehat said:

Stargunner said:

Bobblehat said:

friolento said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Bobblehat said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Hattie627 said:

Nationwide BS Flex Regular Saver

My Issue 3 Flex RS has its maturity date today. Interest has been added (£93.46). I have moved the balance plus interest out.  The account is still showing as a Flexible RS which is preventing me opening a new one (now Issue 7). I can't remember what happened last year. Has anyone any recent experience of a Flex RS maturity and can recall when the account changes to an Instant Saver? 

Did you make an extra £200 payment this month, ie total £2600.

I did and only got £93.42.

If it's of interest(!), opened the RS 22/09/2024, funded it 22/09 & 01/10 and then by SO on 01/11 until 01/09/2025, so closing balance was £2693.67.

Yes interest, I'm thinking of waiting until the 29th to open a new one so I can fund on the first as well to max

Interest this year. Then open on the 30th next year to do the same. As you need to wait a day to open.

It might not be available any longer on the 29th.

OTOH, there might be a better offer during Savings Week, only available if you haven’t yet got the 6.5% one.

Choices, choises🤔

I'll risk it! The NW agent I spoke to insisted on looking up the rate of the current offering when I mentioned about opening a new one later in the month (I already knew the rate). His wording was slightly worrying ... "It's still 6.5%, at the moment!". I should have asked if there was an expected drop imminent, but knew I would get a non-committal answer. 

It's a variable account anyway, so if it did drop between now and the 29th, I'd have probably only lost pennies. I have the choice to go elsewhere if the drop is drastic or NLA ... unlikely.

Why don't you open the new RS now, so that you can be earning interest on your first deposit of £200.

You previously said that you were leaving £400 in the current account to cover the first 2 payments. How much interest are you earning on the £400?

A good point .... but .....

I could shift it out to Chase Saver and back 7 days later @ 4.65% gaining £0.28p over leaving it where it is (1%)....

or, I could open the NW RS tomorrow and lose £2.56 over opening it on 29/09, (£94.10 maturing 22/09/2026 vs £96.66 maturing 28/09/2026).

So leaving the £400 where it is and not having to shift it around, and opening on 29th I'll have gained £2.56 over opening on 23rd but lost £0.28p for being a tad lazy! Do I loose an MSE point for being a tad lazy?

You haven’t taken in to account that if you open it now,, when it matures on the 22/09/26 you could put the whole proceeds into an easy access account for a week until the 29/09/26, which would earn you around £2 more in interest, so the benefit of delaying is much less than you have suggested.

Stargunner

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

Stargunner said:

Bobblehat said:

friolento said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Bobblehat said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Hattie627 said:

Nationwide BS Flex Regular Saver

My Issue 3 Flex RS has its maturity date today. Interest has been added (£93.46). I have moved the balance plus interest out.  The account is still showing as a Flexible RS which is preventing me opening a new one (now Issue 7). I can't remember what happened last year. Has anyone any recent experience of a Flex RS maturity and can recall when the account changes to an Instant Saver? 

Did you make an extra £200 payment this month, ie total £2600.

I did and only got £93.42.

If it's of interest(!), opened the RS 22/09/2024, funded it 22/09 & 01/10 and then by SO on 01/11 until 01/09/2025, so closing balance was £2693.67.

Yes interest, I'm thinking of waiting until the 29th to open a new one so I can fund on the first as well to max

Interest this year. Then open on the 30th next year to do the same. As you need to wait a day to open.

It might not be available any longer on the 29th.

OTOH, there might be a better offer during Savings Week, only available if you haven’t yet got the 6.5% one.

Choices, choises🤔

I'll risk it! The NW agent I spoke to insisted on looking up the rate of the current offering when I mentioned about opening a new one later in the month (I already knew the rate). His wording was slightly worrying ... "It's still 6.5%, at the moment!". I should have asked if there was an expected drop imminent, but knew I would get a non-committal answer. 

It's a variable account anyway, so if it did drop between now and the 29th, I'd have probably only lost pennies. I have the choice to go elsewhere if the drop is drastic or NLA ... unlikely.

Why don't you open the new RS now, so that you can be earning interest on your first deposit of £200.

You previously said that you were leaving £400 in the current account to cover the first 2 payments. How much interest are you earning on the £400?

A good point .... but .....

I could shift it out to Chase Saver and back 7 days later @ 4.65% gaining £0.28p over leaving it where it is (1%)....

or, I could open the NW RS tomorrow and lose £2.56 over opening it on 29/09, (£94.10 maturing 22/09/2026 vs £96.66 maturing 28/09/2026).

So leaving the £400 where it is and not having to shift it around, and opening on 29th I'll have gained £2.56 over opening on 23rd but lost £0.28p for being a tad lazy! Do I loose an MSE point for being a tad lazy?

I’d be curious to know the maths behind this. How can you earn £2.56 in 7 days on £200 in an account paying 6.5%? 

OK ..... I'm glad I kept the rough working out spreadsheet! It would be 6 days BTW, as although I could have shifted the £400 I kept back today, I can't open the new RS until tomorrow at the earliest. 

Here you go ... usual qualifier, if you spot an error, let me know and I'll look and correct as necessary.



And for those who insist on a more accurate table showing payment dates for SO's on Bank working days ....



I have similar tables to above but showing a rate drop to 6.00% on 01/10/2025!  Did I here a murmur of "Keep 'em to yourself"? 

Thanks for that. I understand now, basically you get 6 extra days at the end when you have the account full and that's what makes the difference!

This  table does not take into account that the £2600 plus interest can be earning interest for 6 days from the 23/09/26 in another savings account, so the actual difference for delaying opening the account  is negligible 

friolento

Manchester BS

My faster payment of around 5pm is now showing in the RS. Nice, quick application as a new customer, and fast crediting of deposit. Would be even nicer if they had an app (which I gather is in the pipeline).

Withdrawals not possible until nominated account is verified, which involves them sending you a verification code in the snail mail.

clairec666

Stargunner said:

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

Stargunner said:

Bobblehat said:

friolento said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Bobblehat said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Hattie627 said:

Nationwide BS Flex Regular Saver

My Issue 3 Flex RS has its maturity date today. Interest has been added (£93.46). I have moved the balance plus interest out.  The account is still showing as a Flexible RS which is preventing me opening a new one (now Issue 7). I can't remember what happened last year. Has anyone any recent experience of a Flex RS maturity and can recall when the account changes to an Instant Saver? 

Did you make an extra £200 payment this month, ie total £2600.

I did and only got £93.42.

If it's of interest(!), opened the RS 22/09/2024, funded it 22/09 & 01/10 and then by SO on 01/11 until 01/09/2025, so closing balance was £2693.67.

Yes interest, I'm thinking of waiting until the 29th to open a new one so I can fund on the first as well to max

Interest this year. Then open on the 30th next year to do the same. As you need to wait a day to open.

It might not be available any longer on the 29th.

OTOH, there might be a better offer during Savings Week, only available if you haven’t yet got the 6.5% one.

Choices, choises🤔

I'll risk it! The NW agent I spoke to insisted on looking up the rate of the current offering when I mentioned about opening a new one later in the month (I already knew the rate). His wording was slightly worrying ... "It's still 6.5%, at the moment!". I should have asked if there was an expected drop imminent, but knew I would get a non-committal answer. 

It's a variable account anyway, so if it did drop between now and the 29th, I'd have probably only lost pennies. I have the choice to go elsewhere if the drop is drastic or NLA ... unlikely.

Why don't you open the new RS now, so that you can be earning interest on your first deposit of £200.

You previously said that you were leaving £400 in the current account to cover the first 2 payments. How much interest are you earning on the £400?

A good point .... but .....

I could shift it out to Chase Saver and back 7 days later @ 4.65% gaining £0.28p over leaving it where it is (1%)....

or, I could open the NW RS tomorrow and lose £2.56 over opening it on 29/09, (£94.10 maturing 22/09/2026 vs £96.66 maturing 28/09/2026).

So leaving the £400 where it is and not having to shift it around, and opening on 29th I'll have gained £2.56 over opening on 23rd but lost £0.28p for being a tad lazy! Do I loose an MSE point for being a tad lazy?

I’d be curious to know the maths behind this. How can you earn £2.56 in 7 days on £200 in an account paying 6.5%? 

OK ..... I'm glad I kept the rough working out spreadsheet! It would be 6 days BTW, as although I could have shifted the £400 I kept back today, I can't open the new RS until tomorrow at the earliest. 

Here you go ... usual qualifier, if you spot an error, let me know and I'll look and correct as necessary.



And for those who insist on a more accurate table showing payment dates for SO's on Bank working days ....



I have similar tables to above but showing a rate drop to 6.00% on 01/10/2025!  Did I here a murmur of "Keep 'em to yourself"? 

Thanks for that. I understand now, basically you get 6 extra days at the end when you have the account full and that's what makes the difference!

This  table does not take into account that the £2600 plus interest can be earning interest for 6 days from the 23/09/26 in another savings account, so the actual difference for opening the account is negligible 

Well, not negligible - about 90p if my calculations are correct, if you're putting the matured funds in an easy-access account at 4%. However if the account is still available to renew at 6.5% on maturity, then any gains in funding on the 29th are wiped out. EDIT: mis-calculation, as you can only put £200 into the new account and the remainder will earn 4%. Still a gain of 84p for funding on the 29th. As you were.

Hopefully none of us are keeping our funds in a current account at 0% while we're waiting for the end of the month

Stargunner

clairec666 said:

Stargunner said:

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

rallycurve said:

Bobblehat said:

Stargunner said:

Bobblehat said:

friolento said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Bobblehat said:

Bigwheels1111 said:

Hattie627 said:

Nationwide BS Flex Regular Saver

My Issue 3 Flex RS has its maturity date today. Interest has been added (£93.46). I have moved the balance plus interest out.  The account is still showing as a Flexible RS which is preventing me opening a new one (now Issue 7). I can't remember what happened last year. Has anyone any recent experience of a Flex RS maturity and can recall when the account changes to an Instant Saver? 

Did you make an extra £200 payment this month, ie total £2600.

I did and only got £93.42.

If it's of interest(!), opened the RS 22/09/2024, funded it 22/09 & 01/10 and then by SO on 01/11 until 01/09/2025, so closing balance was £2693.67.

Yes interest, I'm thinking of waiting until the 29th to open a new one so I can fund on the first as well to max

Interest this year. Then open on the 30th next year to do the same. As you need to wait a day to open.

It might not be available any longer on the 29th.

OTOH, there might be a better offer during Savings Week, only available if you haven’t yet got the 6.5% one.

Choices, choises🤔

I'll risk it! The NW agent I spoke to insisted on looking up the rate of the current offering when I mentioned about opening a new one later in the month (I already knew the rate). His wording was slightly worrying ... "It's still 6.5%, at the moment!". I should have asked if there was an expected drop imminent, but knew I would get a non-committal answer. 

It's a variable account anyway, so if it did drop between now and the 29th, I'd have probably only lost pennies. I have the choice to go elsewhere if the drop is drastic or NLA ... unlikely.

Why don't you open the new RS now, so that you can be earning interest on your first deposit of £200.

You previously said that you were leaving £400 in the current account to cover the first 2 payments. How much interest are you earning on the £400?

A good point .... but .....

I could shift it out to Chase Saver and back 7 days later @ 4.65% gaining £0.28p over leaving it where it is (1%)....

or, I could open the NW RS tomorrow and lose £2.56 over opening it on 29/09, (£94.10 maturing 22/09/2026 vs £96.66 maturing 28/09/2026).

So leaving the £400 where it is and not having to shift it around, and opening on 29th I'll have gained £2.56 over opening on 23rd but lost £0.28p for being a tad lazy! Do I loose an MSE point for being a tad lazy?

I’d be curious to know the maths behind this. How can you earn £2.56 in 7 days on £200 in an account paying 6.5%? 

OK ..... I'm glad I kept the rough working out spreadsheet! It would be 6 days BTW, as although I could have shifted the £400 I kept back today, I can't open the new RS until tomorrow at the earliest. 

Here you go ... usual qualifier, if you spot an error, let me know and I'll look and correct as necessary.



And for those who insist on a more accurate table showing payment dates for SO's on Bank working days ....



I have similar tables to above but showing a rate drop to 6.00% on 01/10/2025!  Did I here a murmur of "Keep 'em to yourself"? 

Thanks for that. I understand now, basically you get 6 extra days at the end when you have the account full and that's what makes the difference!

This  table does not take into account that the £2600 plus interest can be earning interest for 6 days from the 23/09/26 in another savings account, so the actual difference for opening the account is negligible 

Well, not negligible - about 90p if my calculations are correct, if you're putting the matured funds in an easy-access account at 4%. However if the account is still available to renew at 6.5% on maturity, then any gains in funding on the 29th are wiped out.

Hopefully none of us are keeping our funds in a current account at 0% while we're waiting for the end of the month

I mistakenly missed out the word delaying (edited now), as i meant the difference in delaying opening the account is negligible to opening it now.