The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

s71hj

subjecttocontract said:

 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.

This is essentially where I am. Broadly speaking I want to be a "plate spinner" doing most of the hands on at pint of setting them up then dipping in and out to keep them "spinning."  As rates come down however and my monthly regular saver requirement has escalated to now £10000 I've become conscious of money sitting earning only 2.5% waiting to go across to the regular savers

youngretired

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!

There are banks that allow you to set up future payments and recurring payments from a savings account into your nominated account.

Tesco Internet Savers allows you to set up future/pending payments and so you could set up a few months worth of payments in one go.

Kent Reliance Easy Access allows you to set up future/pending payments to your nominated account, so again you could set up a months worth, though they only send payments on a working day and you must have the funds in the account for all your payments at the time of setting them up, otherwise they won't process any payments and for the advertised rate you must keep a minimum of £1000.

Ford Money Flexible Saver allows future/pending payments to your nominated account and theirs you can actually set up as a recurring payment.

I have all of the above accounts and have used this method for years (Ford only recently) and have never had any issues. Tesco's I set up 4 months at a time. Kent Reliance I set up only a months worth (as I said if you don't have all the funds in the account at the time off setting the payments up, they won't process any even if you've got the money to cover the majority of them).

[Deleted User]

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!

With the exception of the ones that HAVE to be standing orders like RBS/Nat West/First Direct, I do all mine manually and leave all my funds in the highest EA account I have, which at the moment is the Chase 4.8% and the Coventry 4.85% 4 access.

Personally I prefer doing it manually, at least that way I know I've got the money ready for each transfer, I think I have around 23 accounts of which 18 are manual.

I'd no doubt mess things up if they were ALL standing orders and only cause myself unnecessary aggro.

This way I can do 3 or 4 at a time off my list (highest earners first) then do other stuff and by the end of the 1st or 2nd I've usually done the lot.

clairec666

[Deleted User] said:

With the exception of the ones that HAVE to be standing orders like RBS/Nat West/First Direct, I do all mine manually and leave all my funds in the highest EA account I have, which at the moment is the Chase 4.8% and the Coventry 4.85% 4 access.

I've managed to do my RBS and NatWest ones manually and have cancelled the standing order.

[Deleted User]

clairec666 said:

[Deleted User] said:

With the exception of the ones that HAVE to be standing orders like RBS/Nat West/First Direct, I do all mine manually and leave all my funds in the highest EA account I have, which at the moment is the Chase 4.8% and the Coventry 4.85% 4 access.

I've managed to do my RBS and NatWest ones manually and have cancelled the standing order.

Didn't know you could do that. They're on a standalone date for me so I'm happy keeping them how they are but thanks.

Velvet_Monkey

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 have most of my SOs coming out of an EA saver account with Chase earning 4.8%. the rest come out of a Chase saver earning 3%, and I've diarised a single  manual xfer from one to the other for those. 

Bridlington1

[Deleted User] said:

clairec666 said:

[Deleted User] said:

With the exception of the ones that HAVE to be standing orders like RBS/Nat West/First Direct, I do all mine manually and leave all my funds in the highest EA account I have, which at the moment is the Chase 4.8% and the Coventry 4.85% 4 access.

I've managed to do my RBS and NatWest ones manually and have cancelled the standing order.

Didn't know you could do that. They're on a standalone date for me so I'm happy keeping them how they are but thanks.

NatWest/RBS only state you must set up a SO but there's nothing I can see in the terms that state you must keep the SO or make deposits into the account by SO so you are free to cancel the SO if you wish and fund manually.

IIRC I made my first deposits into NatWest/RBS by SO back in 2022 but have made every other deposit manually and I've had no issues.

clairec666

Bridlington1 said:

NatWest/RBS only state you must set up a SO but there's nothing I can see in the terms that state you must keep the SO or make deposits into the account by SO so you are free to cancel the SO if you wish and fund manually.

NatWest explicitly states that you must set up a standing order, specifically from your NatWest account. But you can cancel it and add money from elsewhere.

The regular savers which are a bit finickity when it comes to funding are HSBC, TSB and First Direct, where they force you to have a current account with them and set up a standing order from it. First Direct in particular is a pain because you have to contact them if you want to change your standing order. If it wasn't such a good rate I'd avoid them and stick with ones that are easier to manage!

dcs34

clairec666 said:

Bridlington1 said:

NatWest/RBS only state you must set up a SO but there's nothing I can see in the terms that state you must keep the SO or make deposits into the account by SO so you are free to cancel the SO if you wish and fund manually.

NatWest explicitly states that you must set up a standing order, specifically from your NatWest account. But you can cancel it and add money from elsewhere.

The regular savers which are a bit finickity when it comes to funding are HSBC, TSB and First Direct, where they force you to have a current account with them and set up a standing order from it. First Direct in particular is a pain because you have to contact them if you want to change your standing order. If it wasn't such a good rate I'd avoid them and stick with ones that are easier to manage!

I pay HSBC and TSB manually each month, albeit from the associated current account.

Only First Direct seem to actually enforce their "must pay in by standing order" rule.

Kim_13

clairec666 said:

[Deleted User] said:

With the exception of the ones that HAVE to be standing orders like RBS/Nat West/First Direct, I do all mine manually and leave all my funds in the highest EA account I have, which at the moment is the Chase 4.8% and the Coventry 4.85% 4 access.

I've managed to do my RBS and NatWest ones manually and have cancelled the standing order.

I also do this. Setting up a Standing Order with the account seemed to be obligatory, but there’s no requirement to keep it. I usually fund by FP, but this month I had some cash to pay in so funded it with that. I don’t think there’s an easy way to just skip the occasional payment, you’d have to cancel the SO and then set it up again for the following month. At 6%, it’s also one of those that sometimes gets funded in drips and drabs through the month, rather than the money always being there in advance to fund it.

Even with some of the better paying RSs, I am doing it manually due to needing to have money arrive in a current account on the 1st (or the 1st working day) so as to meet the minimum pay in for that month. Were I to have a SO set up, the SO might be taken before the funds arrived to cover it (I don’t have an overdraft on most of my accounts.)

With that being said, I’m only funding about a dozen so would probably have to move to SOs were I to have many more running at once.