The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

allegro120

Bridlington1 said:

allegro120 said:

mhoc said:

I am wondering how much effort is this taking for Principality to manually check each account with maturity instructions, send out account messages and emails, close excess accounts and probably deal with extra phone calls, messages and emails
 - probably someone has written a new programme which lists all of the maturing accounts and highlights ones where there are duplicate accounts but even so the list must run into thousands. 

I am now wondering how long more will it be before surplus Cahoot accounts will also be culled ...

In the meantime time for a new strategy as many of us will have multiple Principalities closing over the next few months - at some point in 2026 we will only have left the Triple Access, Christmas 2026, Regular saver 36 and maybe Regular 37 and a few six month savers - issue 5 and the last of the issue 4s ...

Time to start filling the lesser regular savers - the B grade ones left unfunded or underfunded.
Or to make the effort and get some branch only accounts opened .
For me I will be putting some of the maturing funds into a new easy access ISA for the time being ...

Nobody knows how long this will last; meanwhile, I’m taking advantage of these “initiatives” while they’re available. With the exception of a small amount in my speculative accounts, all my non-ISA money is earning 5%+. 
I’ve secured Zopa’s 4.75% and Ulster’s 4.5%, so I’m prepared for any changes in Cahoot’s attitude.

I've not actually got more than the minimum in EA accounts barring the Edge Saver, my non-ISA savings have ended up in RSs.

Even if Principality decide to cull all of my duplicate accounts in one fell swoop, it shan't make that much of a difference to my RSs overall as I'm set to be short of funds to fill my RSs paying 6%+ each month for the next 3 months so it would just stop me purging one of my other lower rate regular savers.

Yep. Shifting funds across RSs is the best strategy if you are short of funds.

GetRichOrDieSaving

This comment isn’t in relation to any specific RS but I do contribute to around 15-20 regular savers as result of this thread monthly and it is linked directly to this.

I recently had my tax code altered (I’m a 20% tax payer, so £1000 tax free amount) because I exceeded my personal interest tax allowance which is fine, I understand why. For reference, I exceeded it by £600 so owe £150, so not a lot at all. 

Now like most of us I do chase the higest rates and jump through hoops to achieve these, but I don’t calculate my expected interest or even keep track of it. I just take it, leave, or renew onto the next issue etc. Due to my lackadaisical attitude I’ve always just assumed that paying 20% on interest if I did exceed the personal tax allowance would most likely work out better for me financially regardless in the long run. That’s based on having regular savers of 6%+ per year over lesser paying ISAs (currently with T212 at 4.05%). I’m currently contributing £4,200 monthly to RS. 

Now I know many others in this thread have large monthly contributions to RS and I’m ware that most likely run a tighter ship, but do you share the same assumption about paying the tax on interest? 

I also anticipate that as the RS rates naturally descrese overtime in line with BOE rates that I will eventually drop back under £1000 interest. 

I currently do not max out my ISA contributions and instead use this for everyday finances and spare money £1,000- £3,000 at any given time, which is why I have the T212 easy access S&S ISA. My current strategy (which I’m happy with) is saving in RS’s for 12 mornths, then paying off my annual 10% mortgage allowance in December, so don’t carry to much money over per annum. 

This isn’t a request for financial advice, I’m just pondering what other people’s thoughts are on tax on interest over tax free ISA savings and if I have the correct assumption to my current situation.  

flaneurs_lobster

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

This comment isn’t in relation to any specific RS but I do contribute to around 15-20 regular savers as result of this thread monthly and it is linked directly to this.
.
.
.

This isn’t a request for financial advice, I’m just pondering what other people’s thoughts are on tax on interest over tax free ISA savings and if I have the correct assumption to my current situation.  

I'd be interested to further this discussion - just wondering if it's suitable for this thread or worthy of its own?

WillPS

Perhaps a little unusually, in our household I have only a £500 PSA but my wife has the full £1000 and currently isn't working, so would need to earn quite a bit more than we currently get in total from interest from all our regular savers before it became taxable.

I do a bit of fagpaper maths every so often to ensure I'm tracking under my limit but that's it.

Reminder to include the Nationwide Fairer Share/Big Thank You bonuses if you are working it out.

Bridlington1

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

This comment isn’t in relation to any specific RS but I do contribute to around 15-20 regular savers as result of this thread monthly and it is linked directly to this.

I recently had my tax code altered (I’m a 20% tax payer, so £1000 tax free amount) because I exceeded my personal interest tax allowance which is fine, I understand why.  

Now like most of us I do chase the higest rates and jump through hoops to achieve these, but I don’t calculate my expected interest or even keep track of it. I just take it, leave, or renew onto the next issue etc. Due to my lackadaisical attitude I’ve always just assumed that paying 20% on interest if I did exceed the personal tax allowance would most likely work out better for me financially regardless in the long run. That’s based on having regular savers of 6%+ per year over lesser paying ISAs (currently with T212 at 4.05%). I’m currently contributing £4,200 monthly to RS. 

Now I know many others in this thread have large monthly contributions to RS and I’m ware that most likely run a tighter ship, but do you share the same assumption about paying the tax on interest? 

I also anticipate that as the RS rates naturally descrese overtime in line with BOE rates that I will eventually drop back under £1000 interest. 

I currently do not max out my ISA contributions and instead use this for everyday finances and spare money £1,000- £3,000 at any given time, which is why I have the T212 easy access S&S ISA. My current strategy (which I’m happy with) is saving in RS’s for 12 mornths, then paying off my annual 10% mortgage allowance in December, so don’t carry to much money over per annum. 

I generally take the approach that I'll stick my money wherever it earns the most interest (post tax) at the time, I'd rather fund a 6% RS than a 4% ISA at the moment on the grounds that even getting taxed on the interest on a 6% RS still leaves me (as a 20% taxpayer) with more money overall than a 4% ISA would.

I still keep track of how much interest I earn, but I'm a fair bit over the PSA at the moment so for me it's mainly the interest rates on cash ISAs vs regular savers I look at, especially now that I've got so much RS capacity at higher interest rates to the point it makes sense for me to pull money from ISAs to fund RSs.

Like yourself I'm assuming regular savers will slip back over the coming months, but I'm making the same assumption with variable ISA rates so it anything my collection of fixed rate RSs are probably going to take more of a priority for the next few months.

I've held back on funding some of my more ``borderline" RSs for this month owing to a shortage of available funds with a view to review the savings landscape more towards the end of the month.

GetRichOrDieSaving

flaneurs_lobster said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

This comment isn’t in relation to any specific RS but I do contribute to around 15-20 regular savers as result of this thread monthly and it is linked directly to this.
.
.
.

This isn’t a request for financial advice, I’m just pondering what other people’s thoughts are on tax on interest over tax free ISA savings and if I have the correct assumption to my current situation.  

I'd be interested to further this discussion - just wondering if it's suitable for this thread or worthy of its own?

I’m more than happy for it to be moved by a moderator if more appropriate. 

RG2015

I look at the rates of non ISA interest and subtract 20%. For example 6% becomes 4.8%.

I then compare this with the best ISA rates. If I could get an ISA with a better rate I would choose this ahead of a 6% non ISA. At the moment I would not touch a 5% RS since 4% ISAs are readily available.

The effect of the PSA and non fixed rates are less easy to determine, but a cut off of 5.5% (eg NatWest and RBS RSs) is where I am currently.

Also, a dedicated thread would seem to be a good idea.

GetRichOrDieSaving

Bridlington1 said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

This comment isn’t in relation to any specific RS but I do contribute to around 15-20 regular savers as result of this thread monthly and it is linked directly to this.

I recently had my tax code altered (I’m a 20% tax payer, so £1000 tax free amount) because I exceeded my personal interest tax allowance which is fine, I understand why.  

Now like most of us I do chase the higest rates and jump through hoops to achieve these, but I don’t calculate my expected interest or even keep track of it. I just take it, leave, or renew onto the next issue etc. Due to my lackadaisical attitude I’ve always just assumed that paying 20% on interest if I did exceed the personal tax allowance would most likely work out better for me financially regardless in the long run. That’s based on having regular savers of 6%+ per year over lesser paying ISAs (currently with T212 at 4.05%). I’m currently contributing £4,200 monthly to RS. 

Now I know many others in this thread have large monthly contributions to RS and I’m ware that most likely run a tighter ship, but do you share the same assumption about paying the tax on interest? 

I also anticipate that as the RS rates naturally descrese overtime in line with BOE rates that I will eventually drop back under £1000 interest. 

I currently do not max out my ISA contributions and instead use this for everyday finances and spare money £1,000- £3,000 at any given time, which is why I have the T212 easy access S&S ISA. My current strategy (which I’m happy with) is saving in RS’s for 12 mornths, then paying off my annual 10% mortgage allowance in December, so don’t carry to much money over per annum. 

I generally take the approach that I'll stick my money wherever it earns the most interest (post tax) at the time, I'd rather fund a 6% RS than a 4% ISA at the moment on the grounds that even getting taxed on the interest on a 6% RS still leaves me (as a 20% taxpayer) with more money overall than a 4% ISA would.

I still keep track of how much interest I earn, but I'm a fair bit over the PSA at the moment so for me it's mainly the interest rates on cash ISAs vs regular savers I look at, especially now that I've got so much RS capacity at higher interest rates to the point it makes sense for me to pull money from ISAs to fund RSs.

Like yourself I'm assuming regular savers will slip back over the coming months, but I'm making the same assumption with variable ISA rates so it anything my collection of fixed rate RSs are probably going to take more of a priority for the next few months.

I've held back on funding some of my more ``borderline" RSs for this month owing to a shortage of available funds with a view to review the savings landscape more towards the end of the month.

A similar approach and attitude then, thanks for that. 

The high interest rates won’t be around for much longer and we have seen some chunky decreases in the past few months anyway so can only assume that my tax on interest problem will be somewhat short term. However they will rise again one day and I just want to make sure I have the right attitude towards it for my circumstances.

I appreciate the reply. 

clairec666

If like me you're unlikely to max out your ISA each year, and are a basic rate taxpayer, then regular savers will usually give you the best return. 5% regular saver minus tax will be equivalent to 4% in an ISA.

Only downsides are:
Having to check that your tax code has been calculated correctly (I'm thinking of situations like Zopa incorrectly reporting ISA interest as taxable, etc.)
If your situation changes in a few years, or if ISA deposits are slashed, then you might regret not getting more of your cash inside a tax wrapper sooner.

Bridlington1 said:

Like yourself I'm assuming regular savers will slip back over the coming months, but I'm making the same assumption with variable ISA rates so it anything my collection of fixed rate RSs are probably going to take more of a priority for the next few months.

In the last year or so, cash ISA rates have generally fallen in line with the base rate, but regular saver offerings have still been pretty good - there's still a healthy selection of 7% accounts, and plenty of choice above 5.5% (my current cut-off point).

I'm anticipating that regular saver rates will fall over the next year, but I imagine there will still be plenty which outperform ISAs.

GetRichOrDieSaving

RG2015 said:

I look at the rates of non ISA interest and subtract 20%. For example 6% becomes 4.8%.

I then compare this with the best ISA rates. If I could get an ISA with a better rate I would choose this ahead of a 6% non ISA. At the moment I would not touch a 5% RS since 4% ISAs are readily available.

The effect of the PSA and non fixed rates are less easy to determine, but a cut off of 5.5% (eg NatWest and RBS RSs) is where I am currently.

Also, a dedicated thread would seem to be a good idea.

Yes I can see that a baseline of having 6% and 4.8% rates as a good way of indicating the best accounts to use currently and using that 20% reduction going forward. I’m certainly not getting a 4.8% ISA any time soon so my minimum 6% RS funding is bang on the money it seems. I currently don’t fund anything less than 6% due to availability of funds but this is a good way of working out the minimum percentage funding rates, thank you.