Being nosey... How many Regular Saver accounts do you have?

Bobblehat

clairec666 said:

Bobblehat said:

clairec666 said:

Bobblehat said:

clairec666 said:

I don't know how we'd measure it, but I wonder from our little league table who is the most successful at spreading their regular savers throughout the year. Even though I'm languishing in mid-table, I reckon I've done a good job of spreading my 18 accounts evenly throughout the year. Over next year I've got either one or two maturing each month. Which means the money can be pumped straight back into the system and won't be languishing in easy access accounts.

Haven't really thought through the maths behind it, but taking the "Value" column divided by the "PM" column should give a good indication of spread.

Except for those contributors who have recently got the bug and opened several or even double-figures quite rapidly 

Ah, good point. I guess a low number would indicate that you've got several recently opened accounts, and a high number suggests you've got several that are close to fully funded and about to mature. So a "good spread" would be somewhere in the middle!

I'm no expert mathematician but I think with the data we have, it probably would be a flawed exercise. My best guess is that the league leaders would statistically show the most even spread, but it is just a guess!

Originally, I was trying to build up to 1 RS per month maturing, but with several offers that were too good to miss over the last few months that went out the window. Now having some months with 2 or even 3 maturing in future months, I realised that there really was no need to restrict myself to 12 on the go when there are still some funds available (or soon to be) sat in EA! I'll be putting more and more into RS's in the future for as long as the rate (minus tax) exceeds ISA rates. It's discussions here and in the main RS thread that have swayed me to be a bit more adventurous! 

I think I got a bit too obsessed with trying to get a mathematically perfect spread over the year, and risked missing out on some good new accounts because they didn't fit neatly into my system. I probably wouldn't have heard of Monmouthshire, Darlington or Progressive if it wasn't for this forum.

I've not really got the funds for any more accounts at the moment (except for renewing Principality/Nationwide which are maturing in the next couple of months), so the wise course of action would be to stop looking at this forum, then check back in when I've got room for a new account. Probably won't happen though

An interesting strategy was mentioned recently that has been churning over in the back of my mind since I read it. One where RS savers have been drawing down or closing lower rate paying RS's to fund higher rate paying new RS's. It might be old-hat to forumites who have played the RS game for a long time, but it is a new concept to me. I'm lucky (some might say daft!) at the moment to not need to do that as there are funds available at 4.75% in EA that could be working harder for me ... and I will do something about that going forward. 

n15h

Bobblehat said:

Some more additions ...

I am truly impressed by the number of accounts that many of the posters have! I never understood the benefit of regular savings until more recently, and now I'm wishing I started earlier - looks like I've caught the bug. I only have 2 so far (N/wide and Virgin) and will be applying for a 3rd one this week (the Progressive RS launched this week). I'll be paying more attention to the RS threads for new RS products and one day i'll hopefully be a part of the double digit club. As the saying goes, the best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is today (ok i may have paraphrased!)

Bobblehat

topyam said:

Just started a few months here.
Been picking the high rates just atm. Anything 7% or over is getting snapped up. And the odd ones that are 6% and over with a large monthly deposit limit (eg First Trust). 
I suspect I will have a lot maturing around the same time next year. 

I guess it takes a while before you get to that ideal scenario of having ones maturing each month.

For those who have been at it a while, are particular months better than others for RS being offered?
Also - do many offer Christmas ones?

In the last couple of years there has been a bit of "good news" RS activity around or just prior to "Savings Week", so August and September. This year, and well covered by recent discussion, the offerings seem to be somewhat fewer than previous years. I'm sure RS enthusiasts will be keeping a sharp eye open next year hoping that this year was just a blip.

topyam

Bobblehat said:

topyam said:

Just started a few months here.
Been picking the high rates just atm. Anything 7% or over is getting snapped up. And the odd ones that are 6% and over with a large monthly deposit limit (eg First Trust). 
I suspect I will have a lot maturing around the same time next year. 

I guess it takes a while before you get to that ideal scenario of having ones maturing each month.

For those who have been at it a while, are particular months better than others for RS being offered?
Also - do many offer Christmas ones?

In the last couple of years there has been a bit of "good news" RS activity around or just prior to "Savings Week", so August and September. This year, and well covered by recent discussion, the offerings seem to be somewhat fewer than previous years. I'm sure RS enthusiasts will be keeping a sharp eye open next year hoping that this year was just a blip.

The offerings after Savings Week seem to have been better than the actual week!

Bobblehat

n15h said:

Bobblehat said:

Some more additions ...

I am truly impressed by the number of accounts that many of the posters have! I never understood the benefit of regular savings until more recently, and now I'm wishing I started earlier - looks like I've caught the bug. I only have 2 so far (N/wide and Virgin) and will be applying for a 3rd one this week (the Progressive RS launched this week). I'll be paying more attention to the RS threads for new RS products and one day i'll hopefully be a part of the double digit club. As the saying goes, the best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is today (ok i may have paraphrased!)

Excellent! 

friolento

clairec666 said:

I don't know how we'd measure it, but I wonder from our little league table who is the most successful at spreading their regular savers throughout the year. 

A lot would depend on an individual's opinion of "successful". Is it who is squeezing out the most profit from RSs in a given period?  Would it be pre- or post tax profit? Is it who has the most money in RSs in a given period? What would the period be? Is it who has the best balance between RS cash savings and investments/pensions? Would there be an age handicap, or a handicap based on mortgage and/or other financial commtments? Would the amount in RSs be relative to a person's income? etc etc etc.

As you say, how would we measure it? And more importantly, why would we measure, and publish, it? 

Kim_13

topyam said:

Just started a few months here.
Been picking the high rates just atm. Anything 7% or over is getting snapped up. And the odd ones that are 6% and over with a large monthly deposit limit (eg First Trust). 
I suspect I will have a lot maturing around the same time next year. 

I guess it takes a while before you get to that ideal scenario of having ones maturing each month.

For those who have been at it a while, are particular months better than others for RS being offered?
Also - do many offer Christmas ones?

Principality and YBS are the usual Christmas providers, with the latter not being that competitive. Monmouthshire offered a good one in 2022 but haven’t for the last two years. We might see something from Principality this month as last year’s accounts start maturing, but YBS have form for launching in January with a shorter term.

clairec666

friolento said:

clairec666 said:

I don't know how we'd measure it, but I wonder from our little league table who is the most successful at spreading their regular savers throughout the year. 

A lot would depend on an individual's opinion of "successful". Is it who is squeezing out the most profit from RSs in a given period?  Would it be pre- or post tax profit? Is it who has the most money in RSs in a given period? What would the period be? Is it who has the best balance between RS cash savings and investments/pensions? Would there be an age handicap, or a handicap based on mortgage and/or other financial commtments? Would the amount in RSs be relative to a person's income? etc etc etc.

As you say, how would we measure it? And more importantly, why would we measure, and publish, it? 

True, we all have our own aims with our regular saver collections, and my idea of success could be different from others. I guess the original idea of banks offering these accounts is for someone who wants to put a bit of money aside for something special, a holiday or whatever, they could save a couple of hundred each month and when it matures they'll have a nice chunk of interest on top of what they put in.

For me, it's more about making my long-term savings work in the best way possible, so spreading the maturities means that my money's earning the best possible rates for the longest possible proportion of the time. Ideally.
Or it could just be an excuse to make a spreadsheet and mess around with numbers

No need to add any new columns to Bobblehat's spreadsheet, it's fine as it is without bring tax complications into the mix!

exel1966

topyam said:

Just started a few months here.
Been picking the high rates just atm. Anything 7% or over is getting snapped up. And the odd ones that are 6% and over with a large monthly deposit limit (eg First Trust). 
I suspect I will have a lot maturing around the same time next year. 

I guess it takes a while before you get to that ideal scenario of having ones maturing each month.

For those who have been at it a while, are particular months better than others for RS being offered?
Also - do many offer Christmas ones?

In my experience over the past 15 years or so at the RS game the second half of the year seems to be more prevalent, particularly the months of Sept to Dec as it is again for me this year with 23 maturities in that period. Quietest months seem to be Jan and Feb.

A handful of BS such as YBS/Principality/Monmouth/Furness offer what they call 'XMAS' RS, however the name Xmas is a nothing more than a marketing tool in reality trying to catch those who will need extra funds at that time of year. They tend to be available to open from Oct to Jan

daz378

Sorry newbie question  here...once my first direct finishes...can you start a new regular saver straight away