How do you track your bank interest rates to make sure you're getting the best deal?

ol1v33r

How do you track your bank interest rates to make sure you're getting the best deal?

Mine are always changing up and down every month and i've got a couple of different accounts and ISAs and it makes it a pain in the !!!!!! to keep track of and then I never know whether it's worth changing or not so I get lazy in bothering to check or change and i'm probably leaving money on the table.

eskbanker

I'm not aware of any shortcuts to getting the best deals sustainably, other than regular research - there are people on here who'll devote significant amounts of time and energy chasing every penny, and many others (elsewhere) who aren't interested, and of course there's a huge spectrum in between, according to personal views on the trade-off between effort and reward.

It's not difficult to check leading easy access savings rates every week, say?  The weekly MSE emails will usually highlight significant changes, for example....

masonic

There are dedicated threads for various account types that are diligently maintained and updated.

For accounts you hold, it is worth tracking in a spreadsheet. Generally if you have £100 in an account, you'll be personally notified of changes with the exception of accounts tracking base rate (where you'll know from the MPC decision).

I have between 20-30 accounts at any time and it doesn't take much effort to keep abreast of changes and new options.

wmb194

ol1v33r said:

How do you track your bank interest rates to make sure you're getting the best deal?

Mine are always changing up and down every month and i've got a couple of different accounts and ISAs and it makes it a pain in the !!!!!! to keep track of and then I never know whether it's worth changing or not so I get lazy in bothering to check or change and i'm probably leaving money on the table.

You can regularly check e.g., the MoneyFacts website which is probably the best and it also has a weekly email summary that you can sign up to, Savers' Friend.

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savers-friend/

Stubod

Excel / Libre Office Spreadsheet, review and update at the end of each month.....

sausage_time

I have a spreadsheet with current and forthcoming rates on all my accounts.

surreysaver

I just keep checking this these forums, plus my own research 

clairec666

I keep a spreadsheet of my existing accounts, and have bookmarked the "best cash ISA" and "best regular saver" threads on this forum. I've had a flurry of emails recently about interest rates dropping on my accounts, so I'll have a look around to see if there's anything better. Trying to find the right balance - sometimes I can spend too much time switching accounts for the sake of a tiny bit of extra interest!

Albermarle

There gets a point where for most people ( even on MSE), where the effort involved becomes too much for the small amount gained.

For example if you have £10K in a current account, then opening an easy access savings account paying 4% means you get £400 for a modest effort.
If you then move it to one paying 4.5% , you only gain £50 .
If you then head for the latest fintech type table topper offering 4.75% which includes a bonus valid for 3 months and then you have to look to move it again, you only gain £8.
In which case maybe Life is too short to be bothered.
Plus although opening new accounts is normally easy, sometimes there are issues with ID etc .
Also if they are not ISAs you have to keep on top of all interest earned to check your tax.

subjecttocontract

I use fixed rate accounts for most of my savings so I only need to check rates when an account is about to mature.

surreysaver

Albermarle said:

There gets a point where for most people ( even on MSE), where the effort involved becomes too much for the small amount gained.

For example if you have £10K in a current account, then opening an easy access savings account paying 4% means you get £400 for a modest effort.
If you then move it to one paying 4.5% , you only gain £50 .
If you then head for the latest fintech type table topper offering 4.75% which includes a bonus valid for 3 months and then you have to look to move it again, you only gain £8.
In which case maybe Life is too short to be bothered.
Plus although opening new accounts is normally easy, sometimes there are issues with ID etc .
Also if they are not ISAs you have to keep on top of all interest earned to check your tax.

If it's easy to open and same day withdrawal I'll open it for fractions of a percent