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

Bobblehat

UKX69 said:

fuzzzzy said:

I originally said I had around 10 regular savers. I have finally got around to counting them and find I have 13 in total, fully funded each month to the tune of £4475, minimum interest 5.5%.

I just applied to the Hanley BS today but will probably be letting that one pass as they are asking me to e-mail proof of ID, which I don't want to do. I usually get verified electronically without a problem as I have lived at my current address for a number of years so I am wondering what has prompted a request for ID this time. I did use a newer bank account that I just switched to in July as the nominated account instead of a much older one I usually use. I am wondering if I reapply at the end of the month with my other older account as nominated account I might just pass the electronic verification. Wondered how many people passed the electronic verification with Hanley. Was I just unlucky or are they demons for ID like the Progressive?

In answer to one of topyams original questions on criteria for opening I guess after high interest rate and high funding level my next main criteria is ease of opening.

Can’t speak of Hanley but I’m of the same opinion that if I have to supply extra ID via email on top of electronic verification, I wouldn’t bother with any application. As far as I’m concerned my credentials are top notch! 😏

The strange thing is, as others above have mentioned, your Hanley account is already open and possibly already funded by the time you find out that they want extra ID checks! I know mine is funded, as the Debit Card payment left my CA today! I'll just have to wait and see if they require extra ID checks.

UKX69

Bobblehat said:

UKX69 said:

fuzzzzy said:

I originally said I had around 10 regular savers. I have finally got around to counting them and find I have 13 in total, fully funded each month to the tune of £4475, minimum interest 5.5%.

I just applied to the Hanley BS today but will probably be letting that one pass as they are asking me to e-mail proof of ID, which I don't want to do. I usually get verified electronically without a problem as I have lived at my current address for a number of years so I am wondering what has prompted a request for ID this time. I did use a newer bank account that I just switched to in July as the nominated account instead of a much older one I usually use. I am wondering if I reapply at the end of the month with my other older account as nominated account I might just pass the electronic verification. Wondered how many people passed the electronic verification with Hanley. Was I just unlucky or are they demons for ID like the Progressive?

In answer to one of topyams original questions on criteria for opening I guess after high interest rate and high funding level my next main criteria is ease of opening.

Can’t speak of Hanley but I’m of the same opinion that if I have to supply extra ID via email on top of electronic verification, I wouldn’t bother with any application. As far as I’m concerned my credentials are top notch! 😏

The strange thing is, as others above have mentioned, your Hanley account is already open and possibly already funded by the time you find out that they want extra ID checks! I know mine is funded, as the Debit Card payment left my CA today! I'll just have to wait and see if they require extra ID checks.

IIRC, I don’t think I’ve ever had a request to supply any further ID (Passport, Official letters etc), except bank statements to verify nominated accounts - by snail mail. 

20122013

Newly_retired said:

I wish I had one RS maturing each month but I just open new ones when they appear or when I have maturing funds. Most are fully funded but it is getting harder with 15.  

I am also opening new ones when the offer looks good, would be interested to find out why some people would take the time to plan, so have one mature a month? be easier to manage? 

Bobblehat

If you time it right, the maturing funds are used to fund the rest of your ongoing RS's each month.

luci

Can someone explain the attraction of RS’s? From my understanding, a 6.5% RS actually yields around 3.25% over the year. I’m clearly missing something obvious here, especially when I read that someone was funding theirs from an ISA account.

I practically lived on the MSE forums for years and kept myself well informed. Unfortunately, ill health has kept me away from the forums for the past few years, but I’m trying to get back into it.

Thanks.

s71hj

luci said:

Can someone explain the attraction of RS’s? From my understanding, a 6.5% RS actually yields around 3.25% over the year. I’m clearly missing something obvious here, especially when I read that someone was funding theirs from an ISA account.

I practically lived on the MSE forums for years and kept myself well informed. Unfortunately, ill health has kept me away from the forums for the past few years, but I’m trying to get back into it.

Thanks.

You earn 6.50% for all the money that is with an institution for the whole time it is with them. So you will eg earn one twelfth of 6.5% on £250 if it is only in the account for a month. No institution will pay interest on money that isn't actually with them 

Kim_13

They still pay the highest rates obtainable rates on the cash for the period that it is with them. Sure, a 6.5% Easy Access would return more over the year than a 6.5% Regular Saver, but there are none of the former available. Easy Access rates tend to be cut more quickly than Regular Savers, and require all of the money to be available upfront. £1,800 placed into a 3.25% Easy Access now would return roughly £58.50 in a year, while the 6.5% Regular Saver returns the same with the average balance over the year being only £900. 

Regular Savers with maturities spread over the year are therefore the best way to make sure that an Emergency Fund is available, without losing out to inflation since RS rates are more likely to beat it.

For me, filling an RS every month feels like an achievement, whereas saving into an Easy Access was meh and I didn't save nearly as much.

s71hj

Kim_13 said:

They still pay the highest rates obtainable rates on the cash for the period that it is with them. Sure, a 6.5% Easy Access would return more over the year than a 6.5% Regular Saver, but there are none of the former available. Easy Access rates tend to be cut more quickly than Regular Savers, and require all of the money to be available upfront. £1,800 placed into a 3.25% Easy Access now would return roughly £58.50 in a year, while the 6.5% Regular Saver returns the same with the average balance over the year being only £900. 

Regular Savers with maturities spread over the year are therefore the best way to make sure that an Emergency Fund is available, without losing out to inflation since RS rates are more likely to beat it.

For me, filling an RS every month feels like an achievement, whereas saving into an Easy Access was meh and I didn't save nearly as much.

Regular savers are also used like loss leaders, equivelant of the cheap items at front of supermarket that make you think it's a great value place to buy everything. The key, along with much on MSE.Com is not to be the average customer and fall into their traps. But as long as you don't you get pretty great interest rates. 

Bobblehat

luci said:

Can someone explain the attraction of RS’s? From my understanding, a 6.5% RS actually yields around 3.25% over the year. I’m clearly missing something obvious here, especially when I read that someone was funding theirs from an ISA account.

I practically lived on the MSE forums for years and kept myself well informed. Unfortunately, ill health has kept me away from the forums for the past few years, but I’m trying to get back into it.

Thanks.

One of the best ways to explain it (pinched this from another forum member) is to think of your money sat in a typical 4% easy access account (ISA or non-ISA). In the next month it would earn a month's worth of interest at 4%. Instead, if you were to move some of that money e.g. £300 to a RS paying 6.5%, in the same month it would earn a months worth at 6.5% instead of 4%. Do this the next month and the second £300 would earn interest at 6.5% instead of 4%, and as a bonus, your 1st £300 you paid into the RS the month before is still earning interest at 6.5% too instead of 4%. Repeat for as long as the RS lets you. 

The net effect is that an RS with a higher interest rate will beat an easy access with a lower interest rate. The actual gain is roughly (very!) 1/2 the difference between the two rates. So 0.5 x (6.5% - 4%) = 1.25% ... gain over leaving  your money in the easy access. This works for as many months (or typically 1 year) as the RS lets you add money.

This page is a calculator that you can plug some of your own figures in to see what you would gain with different rates and monthly contributions. Use the drip feed option if needed.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/regular-savings-calculator/

Cisco001

Kim_13 said:

Regular Savers with maturities spread over the year are therefore the best way to make sure that an Emergency Fund is available, without losing out to inflation since RS rates are more likely to beat it.

Not necessary an issue, most RS account allow withdraw or early closure.