The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

masonic

s71hj said:

Quick question, which I hope will be accepted as being relevant to this thread. It's about feeder accounts for regular savers, and I'm wondering how people manage that side of the whole undertaking. I have about 10000 go out to regular savers at the start of the month, 1st unless a weekend and maybe 4000 spread throughout the rest of a month. This is all by standing order from Santander current account. I'm conscious that the money, therefore, sits in that for a fair proportion of the month awaiting the start of the month earning 2.5%, generally growing to the required amount by maturing savings accounts of various kinds and salary. I'm beginning to wonder if all the advantage I gain from the regular saver boosted rates is lost by the amount of time money sits there waiting for the 1st. However, I don't have the bandwidth in my life for constantly daily monitoring and manual transfers. I think ideally, I need some sort of robo thing to move money from a higher paying saving account to current account as and when I need!!!!. Any ideas or tips about how others coordinate their affairs cost/time effectively on this front much appreciated!

I just pull the required amount from easy access savings and then fire them off working my way down a list each month. The whole process (13 transfers to various RS) takes less than 5 minutes.

jaypers

s71hj said:

Quick question, which I hope will be accepted as being relevant to this thread. It's about feeder accounts for regular savers, and I'm wondering how people manage that side of the whole undertaking. I have about 10000 go out to regular savers at the start of the month, 1st unless a weekend and maybe 4000 spread throughout the rest of a month. This is all by standing order from Santander current account. I'm conscious that the money, therefore, sits in that for a fair proportion of the month awaiting the start of the month earning 2.5%, generally growing to the required amount by maturing savings accounts of various kinds and salary. I'm beginning to wonder if all the advantage I gain from the regular saver boosted rates is lost by the amount of time money sits there waiting for the 1st. However, I don't have the bandwidth in my life for constantly daily monitoring and manual transfers. I think ideally, I need some sort of robo thing to move money from a higher paying saving account to current account as and when I need!!!!. Any ideas or tips about how others coordinate their affairs cost/time effectively on this front much appreciated!

Mostly manual (First Direct being an exception) as I’ve set most of mine up for the 1st of the month. Takes me about 15mins and not really prone to error as I work my way through a spreadsheet list and use saved payees for the transfers. I prefer it this way as it’s easier to navigate around weekends, bank holidays and some unreliable automation such as Zopa. Basically I like to be in control of it. 

friolento

I record all my SOs (and DDs) in my Personal Finance Manager and move the required amount of cash into my current account the day before they are due. The vast majority of my SOs are scheduled for the 1st of a month. Spare cash sits in the best true instant access savings account I can find - currently Chase.

I also have a very large agreed overdraft on my current account so even if there isn’t enough money, the SOs won’t fail. I get notified first thing in the morning if my account goes overdrawn so can then fill up before I get charged.

I should also get notified if any SO (or DD) fails due to lack of money, in which case the bank will attempt the payments again in the afternoon. But I haven’t been in that situation so don’t know whether this would really happen.

The ideal solution would be automatic transfers from the savings account to the current account but I am not aware of any such facility, not even within the same bank. I am quite content though that I can justify my effort of manual monitoring to myself.

Bridlington1

s71hj said:

Quick question, which I hope will be accepted as being relevant to this thread. It's about feeder accounts for regular savers, and I'm wondering how people manage that side of the whole undertaking. I have about 10000 go out to regular savers at the start of the month, 1st unless a weekend and maybe 4000 spread throughout the rest of a month. This is all by standing order from Santander current account. I'm conscious that the money, therefore, sits in that for a fair proportion of the month awaiting the start of the month earning 2.5%, generally growing to the required amount by maturing savings accounts of various kinds and salary. I'm beginning to wonder if all the advantage I gain from the regular saver boosted rates is lost by the amount of time money sits there waiting for the 1st. However, I don't have the bandwidth in my life for constantly daily monitoring and manual transfers. I think ideally, I need some sort of robo thing to move money from a higher paying saving account to current account as and when I need!!!!. Any ideas or tips about how others coordinate their affairs cost/time effectively on this front much appreciated!

I try to get my regular savers to mature at the end of the month so quite often I'll have accounts maturing on the final day of the month with funds being kept briefly in easy access accounts overnight before being sent off to various regular savers.

Most of mine are funded manually, from several different current accounts so I usually never fund more than about 8 or 10 regular savers from any one current account. All are listed on a spreadsheet and are greened off once funded.

If I'm pressed for time on the first working day of the month I'll send enough money to cover the regular savers to each of the current accounts and fund most of them during my dinner break at work, usually I can get the ones that I pay into from NatWest, RBS, TSB, First Direct and HSBC ticked off so I'm only left with the Co-op, Santander and Nationwide ones to do at home.

where_are_we

I keep virtually nothing in my current account and it has a small overdraft facility. Set up alerts on your Santander current account so that when money goes into your CA you move it that day to your easy access savings account, keeking a small balance in your CA. Like you I have numerous SO`s going to RS`s. On the days that SO`s go out I get a warning text that I need to top up my CA. I then top up in the morning from my EASA to cover that days SO`s.

It`s up to you to decide whether it`s worth a few minutes of your time some mornings each month and it`s easier now that you can use the app on your mobile whilst downing your porridge!

chris_the_bee

where_are_we said:

I keep virtually nothing in my current account and it has a small overdraft facility. Set up alerts on your Santander current account so that when money goes into your CA you move it that day to your easy access savings account, keeking a small balance in your CA. Like you I have numerous SO`s going to RS`s. On the days that SO`s go out I get a warning text that I need to top up my CA. I then top up in the morning from my EASA to cover that days SO`s.

It`s up to you to decide whether it`s worth a few minutes of your time some mornings each month and it`s easier now that you can use the app on your mobile whilst downing your porridge!

Santander
Santander will be stopping account alerts shortly.
In a new update, the bank, used by 14 million people in the UK, said: “If you've registered for some alerts on a personal current account or savings account, from May 12, 2025 we'll stop sending them.

Newly_retired

chris_the_bee said:

where_are_we said:

I keep virtually nothing in my current account and it has a small overdraft facility. Set up alerts on your Santander current account so that when money goes into your CA you move it that day to your easy access savings account, keeking a small balance in your CA. Like you I have numerous SO`s going to RS`s. On the days that SO`s go out I get a warning text that I need to top up my CA. I then top up in the morning from my EASA to cover that days SO`s.

It`s up to you to decide whether it`s worth a few minutes of your time some mornings each month and it`s easier now that you can use the app on your mobile whilst downing your porridge!

Santander
I think Santander will be stopping account alerts shortly.

That is going to be really detrimental. I rely on those alerts for this very reason

s71hj

Newly_retired said:

chris_the_bee said:

where_are_we said:

I keep virtually nothing in my current account and it has a small overdraft facility. Set up alerts on your Santander current account so that when money goes into your CA you move it that day to your easy access savings account, keeking a small balance in your CA. Like you I have numerous SO`s going to RS`s. On the days that SO`s go out I get a warning text that I need to top up my CA. I then top up in the morning from my EASA to cover that days SO`s.

It`s up to you to decide whether it`s worth a few minutes of your time some mornings each month and it`s easier now that you can use the app on your mobile whilst downing your porridge!

Santander
I think Santander will be stopping account alerts shortly.

That is going to be really detrimental. I rely on those alerts for this very reason

Same here. I've often found myself scrambling to have enough as the monthly amount on the 1st gradually escalated up to£10000 and the alerts basically rescued me! Incidentally when that happened I found the dawn of flexible isas invaluable as I can top up Santander at 4.35% from Trading 212 isa and the money can be replenished through the tax year as regular savers mature .

Bridlington1

chris_the_bee said:

where_are_we said:

I keep virtually nothing in my current account and it has a small overdraft facility. Set up alerts on your Santander current account so that when money goes into your CA you move it that day to your easy access savings account, keeking a small balance in your CA. Like you I have numerous SO`s going to RS`s. On the days that SO`s go out I get a warning text that I need to top up my CA. I then top up in the morning from my EASA to cover that days SO`s.

It`s up to you to decide whether it`s worth a few minutes of your time some mornings each month and it`s easier now that you can use the app on your mobile whilst downing your porridge!

Santander
I think Santander will be stopping account alerts shortly.

Indeed. I got this email from them in February:

Dear Bridlington1

 

We’ll stop sending you some account alerts soon

 

We’ve noticed that you have at least 1 alert set-up on a current account or savings account you have with us.

 

We’ll stop sending some of these account alerts on 12 May 2025. This is because you can get a more detailed view of your account activity with Mobile or Online Banking. For more information search ‘Account alerts’ on our website.

 

You don't need to do anything, below are some ways you can keep up to date with your accounts. Keep an eye out for new ways we’re helping you keep track of your account activity, like push notifications.

 

Alerts we’ll stop sending

 

• When your account balance falls below a limit you’ve set
• When your account balance goes above a limit you’ve set
• When you pay more into your account than a limit you’ve set
• When you take more money out of your account than a limit you’ve set
• Weekly account balances and transactions.

 

If you’ve registered to receive them, we’ll still send you other alerts, for example, your account balance is close to your overdraft limit, or we’ve refused a payment due to a lack of funds.

 

Managing your accounts

 

You’ll receive alerts until 12 May 2025.

 

After this, you can continue to manage your accounts using our other services. There are 3 ways you can do this:

 

• By using Mobile or Online Banking
• By calling us on 0330 9 123 123. Lines are open every day from 8am-6pm
• In your local branch. To find your local branch and their opening times use our branch locator tool on the Santander website.

 

If you’ve also got a Santander Business Banking account

 

We’ll stop sending you these alerts if you have at least 1 alert set-up on a Business Banking current account or savings account. For more information search ‘Account alerts’ on our Business Banking website.

 

You’ll receive these alerts until 12 May 2025.

 

Need help with anything?

 

Simply visit the support section on our website or contact us

 

Thank you

 

The Santander Team

subjecttocontract

 I don't want to spend any more time than necessary dealing with existing savings accounts, including regular savers. I just deposit the total monthly amount required in the current account and the account pays them automatically by standing order. I don't get involved at all until the account matures.