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

Angelica123

clairec666 said:

Appreciating all your hard work Bobblehat

No need to add this to the spreadsheet, but would be interesting to know who else manually funds all their accounts each month, and who sets up standing orders and just lets everything run itself.
For a mid-table regular saver like myself, doing everything manually each month isn't too strenuous.

I added a neat little bit of code to my banking spreadsheet which kind of "automates" any future transactions (on the spreadsheet only, of course) so I can fast-forward in time and see what my finances will look like in a few months' time. Useful for knowing how to spread my funding around each month.
I can fast forward all the way to August next year, just before my Monmouthshire accounts mature, and it looks like my total regular saver holdings will have jumped to £37000. Natwest and RBS will have dwindled to £0 around April then will start building back up again.

This little system also makes it easy to count how many individual transactions I'll be doing over the next year... and it's rather made me realise how much time I spend on this, and that switching back to standing orders might be a wise idea.

Mind you, I spent 3 hours this morning coding this, and I don't consider that to be time wasted

As some who loves learning more about what excel/Google sheets is capable of, would love to know what coding you are doing to automate this on the excel. 

allegro120

mhoc said:

Following this thread with interest.

For me the addiction started in 2010 and the 1st year we came out of deb, there was enough to pay bills without going into the overdraft each month and enough to finally start doing some real saving.
The build up was very slow starting with a passbook regular saver from the Yorkshire building society and a Nationwide regular saver that allowed up to a £1000 deposit each month so really those two accounts were all that was needed to save.
When the Nationwide replaced this regular saver with smaller deposits and worse interest rates then I had to start looking for replacements. 
Lots of changes over the years - building societies and banks come, gone and amalgamated, internet online banking and apps, the almost disappearance of cheque usage and passbook accounts, interest paid gross without deduction of tax, interest rates plummeting to the point where it barely seems worth the effort and then massively improving when all hope is lost  ....

The incentives - the day an account matures and magically a nice lump gets added which has taken very little effort - bit of setting up at the start, standing orders organised, some adjustment of a Google chart and reminder dates added to the Google calendar ...
And knowing that whatever life throws at us I can fairly quickly find enough money to pay whatever emergency bill has reared its ugly head. 

OHs - mine is also a disinterested partner who leaves the entire regular saver game to me (each to their own - if he starts droning on about engines, trains, cars, planes, military history etc to me I instantly fall into a coma!) 
Phone calls I need to prep him for with all of the security clearance he might need and exactly what to say so he does not get jumbled up - also the notepad so I can write notes to prompt him 
Some accounts each person has to have their own email and mobile number so verification codes go to his mobile which can be annoying eg Principality log you out very rapidly and some times you need to log in 3 or 4 times each time needing a verification code 

How do people set up there Google charts/excel charts?
I feel that I need to do some reorganisation - maybe alphabetical order would be more logical, an extra column, 1st column with bank/building society, 2nd account title ...  but what other columns do people use??

My columns go like this:
1. Logos - images work best for me
2. Account names
3. Account numbers, sort codes, ref numbers
4. Rate, V or F and any upcoming changes
5. Date of opening/funding
6. Key features - Term, min-max, restrictions etc.

This spreadsheet includes all my 171 bank accounts. I share it on google drive with my wife, she is disinterested (as you put it), but at least all account numbers are there. 

I have a different spreadsheet for for distributions to regular savers. I use it more frequently than the generic one.

I like "Phone call..." part of your story.  I have to do exactly the same . Luckily not too often - she doesn't have many accounts and its rare when something goes wrong and requires phone calls.

clairec666

Angelica123 said:

clairec666 said:

Appreciating all your hard work Bobblehat

No need to add this to the spreadsheet, but would be interesting to know who else manually funds all their accounts each month, and who sets up standing orders and just lets everything run itself.
For a mid-table regular saver like myself, doing everything manually each month isn't too strenuous.

I added a neat little bit of code to my banking spreadsheet which kind of "automates" any future transactions (on the spreadsheet only, of course) so I can fast-forward in time and see what my finances will look like in a few months' time. Useful for knowing how to spread my funding around each month.
I can fast forward all the way to August next year, just before my Monmouthshire accounts mature, and it looks like my total regular saver holdings will have jumped to £37000. Natwest and RBS will have dwindled to £0 around April then will start building back up again.

This little system also makes it easy to count how many individual transactions I'll be doing over the next year... and it's rather made me realise how much time I spend on this, and that switching back to standing orders might be a wise idea.

Mind you, I spent 3 hours this morning coding this, and I don't consider that to be time wasted

As some who loves learning more about what excel/Google sheets is capable of, would love to know what coding you are doing to automate this on the excel. 

If you want a sneak peak, here's a simplified version with some made up numbers in:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W7LFHaDYz_3NGEfPXLpCoA7bxItrZiok5NOpSjBoK7o/edit?usp=sharing
(Can't be sure if the macros will run properly on a shared file, or if you can even view the code...)

There are 5 macros, the first 3 are fairly straightforward to use:
1 (income) and 2 (spend): select a cell from B2 to E5 (i.e. the bank balances), run the macro, and input the amount to either add (1) or subtract (2) from the total.
3 (transfer): select two cells, run the macro, and input the amount to transfer between the two cells.

The area beneath the main table is where you can schedule upcoming transfers. Columns A and B are for reference only. Column D is where you input your instructions, which I'll explain in a minute, and column G automatically interprets your instructions into a form that the macro can understand.
Highlight the cells in column G that you want to run, then run macro 4 (process).
To undo everything in one go, highlight the relevant cells in column G again, run macro 5 (reverse).

Column G should not be edited, any instructions are entered in column D - 3 parts separated by commas.
For income or spend, the first part should be "IN" or "OUT" as applicable.
For transfers, the account to be transferred from should be entered first.
Enter the bank name with the relevant table column in brackets afterwards (i.e. column D for regular savers).
The amount can be an integer or a decimal.
If your instructions can't be interpreted, e.g. if the bank name has not been found in the table, it will be highlighted in red.
You can sort or filter the table and the code should still run properly (fingers crossed...)

DRS1

As someone who recently had to ask Google how to subtract cell B from cell A in a spreadsheet can I say "hats off" to @clairec666.

In answer to a question in one of her other posts I fund all my RSs by standing order.  Which makes it easy to forget that I have some.  I just had to look at my Nationwide accounts for a maturing bond and found I had a Flexclusive Saver (paying 1.35% - so my 2.45% RS isn't my worst!).  I took the opportunity to open another Nationwide RS paying a somewhat higher rate. but I did not close the old one just reduced the monthly input.

So I now have 5 RSs monthly contribution £1700.  Lowest interest rate down from 2.45% to 1.35%  Maybe I should move that to a 95 day notice account? 

AndyTh_2

clairec666 said:

Appreciating all your hard work Bobblehat

No need to add this to the spreadsheet, but would be interesting to know who else manually funds all their accounts each month, and who sets up standing orders and just lets everything run itself.
For a mid-table regular saver like myself, doing everything manually each month isn't too strenuous.

I added a neat little bit of code to my banking spreadsheet which kind of "automates" any future transactions (on the spreadsheet only, of course) so I can fast-forward in time and see what my finances will look like in a few months' time. Useful for knowing how to spread my funding around each month.
I can fast forward all the way to August next year, just before my Monmouthshire accounts mature, and it looks like my total regular saver holdings will have jumped to £37000. Natwest and RBS will have dwindled to £0 around April then will start building back up again.

This little system also makes it easy to count how many individual transactions I'll be doing over the next year... and it's rather made me realise how much time I spend on this, and that switching back to standing orders might be a wise idea.

Mind you, I spent 3 hours this morning coding this, and I don't consider that to be time wasted

I've started funding of the bigger limit ones manually, and those like Zopa that don't support standing orders direct to the regular saver (nor open banking's repeat auto-save).

For my spreadsheets I generally put future transactions to the regular saver in when I've opened the account, and also have data points for interest payout days that aggregate interest calculations. Been thinking about properly automating it though as well with a list of regular income/outgoing/transfer. Just it's a bit messy VBA. I wish they brought in a newer language in Excel.

and can't do it in Google Sheets as there are a lot of transactions (I've been keeping transactions since 2010)

Bobblehat

DRS1 said:

As someone who recently had to ask Google how to subtract cell B from cell A in a spreadsheet can I say "hats off" to @clairec666.

In answer to a question in one of her other posts I fund all my RSs by standing order.  Which makes it easy to forget that I have some.  I just had to look at my Nationwide accounts for a maturing bond and found I had a Flexclusive Saver (paying 1.35% - so my 2.45% RS isn't my worst!).  I took the opportunity to open another Nationwide RS paying a somewhat higher rate. but I did not close the old one just reduced the monthly input.

So I now have 5 RSs monthly contribution £1700.  Lowest interest rate down from 2.45% to 1.35%  Maybe I should move that to a 95 day notice account? 

Out of interest(!), which 5 Regular Savers do you have? It would be good to know the exact name of the Bank/BS and account name of each as I'm a little confused by the interest figures you are quoting. The figures in the region of 1.35% to 2.45% sound more like matured accounts that have been converted to some sort of Easy Access accounts!

Regular Saver enthusiasts on here are more used to figures like 7%, 6% and getting down to the lower end, 5%? 

Kim_13

Bobblehat said:

DRS1 said:

As someone who recently had to ask Google how to subtract cell B from cell A in a spreadsheet can I say "hats off" to @clairec666.

In answer to a question in one of her other posts I fund all my RSs by standing order.  Which makes it easy to forget that I have some.  I just had to look at my Nationwide accounts for a maturing bond and found I had a Flexclusive Saver (paying 1.35% - so my 2.45% RS isn't my worst!).  I took the opportunity to open another Nationwide RS paying a somewhat higher rate. but I did not close the old one just reduced the monthly input.

So I now have 5 RSs monthly contribution £1700.  Lowest interest rate down from 2.45% to 1.35%  Maybe I should move that to a 95 day notice account? 

Out of interest(!), which 5 Regular Savers do you have? It would be good to know the exact name of the Bank/BS and account name of each as I'm a little confused by the interest figures you are quoting. The figures in the region of 1.35% to 2.45% sound more like matured accounts that have been converted to some sort of Easy Access accounts!

Regular Saver enthusiasts on here are more used to figures like 7%, 6% and getting down to the lower end, 5%? 

2.45% might well be Ecology. It formerly offered Direct Debit meaning many MSErs had it, and once open many MSErs do not close accounts so that any new offers by that provider can be easily snapped up.

Given the username, I hope they have a NatWest/RBS Digital Regular Saver in there @ 5.5%.

Ch1ll1Phlakes

clairec666 said:

No need to add this to the spreadsheet, but would be interesting to know who else manually funds all their accounts each month, and who sets up standing orders and just lets everything run itself.
For a mid-table regular saver like myself, doing everything manually each month isn't too strenuous.

I always make the first payment manually and then set up standing orders for the next X payments on the 1st of the month. I'm not too worried about lost interest due to non-working days as I always try and open new Regular Savers late in the month (which gives nice bonus interest). Tbh at the rate the number of account I hold is growing I'm very glad I'm not doing manual payments.

dont_use_vistaprint said:

For example, if you had £100,000 sat earning 4.6% in a 95-day access, with the maximum effort and number of regular savers , schedules transactions etc what  would be the  increase you could get in one year 

I totally disagree with those who say the effort is minimal the process of opening and administering all those accounts is huge, and all the extra mail emails text messages cards and pin numbers, it can easily consume hours of your time, that  you could be using to make money

I wouldn't say the rewards are too small for me but I don't have anywhere near £100k. But I'll put it this road my Regular Savers increase my weighted mean interest rate across all my accounts from 3.99% to 4.54%. Might only seem like an increase of half a percent but it works out that I earn 13.5% more total interest than before, that's the equivalent of £1000 becoming £1137.84.

For me that's worth the admin effort. I don't think the admin is overly bad, I set up standing orders and move a lump sum from other savings a day or two in advance every month (takes about five mins). I sporadically check the balances but as long as it's leaving my CA I'm happy. I don't think I get many emails, mail or texts about the accounts only at maturity and usually I've already decided what I will do with the account long before maturity. I do spend quite a bit of time with spreadsheets (as you'll see in my next comment) but this isn't really admin as it's not neccessary it's more that I enjoy the tinkering.

Ch1ll1Phlakes

mhoc said:

How do people set up there Google charts/excel charts?
I feel that I need to do some reorganisation - maybe alphabetical order would be more logical, an extra column, 1st column with bank/building society, 2nd account title ...  but what other columns do people use??

I have multiple tables for different reasons. Though none as intricate as the macro that @clairec666 created. On one sheet of an excel doc I have individual tables predicting the exact interest I will received for each account dependent on interest rate, monthly pay in, length of term and non-banking deposit days. At the top of this sheet is a table most similar to what you describe @mhoc which summaries all my regular savers. My headings are

1) Provider
2) Account Name
3) Current Value (This is updated sporadically and not really that useful except when updating the predicted interest values)
4) Maximum Value (I don't count overpayments)
5) Difference between current and maximum
6) Predicted Interest
7) Total End Value (Max+Interest)
8) Interest Rate
9) V or F (No heading but a column denoting Variable or Fixed Interest)
10) Monthly Pay-in (Good for totalling how much I need to move per month

The other table I'll mention is a very rough prediction table for comparing the total interest earning when filling a Regular Saver from an easy access account. Pretty much a column for each regular saver with name, interest rate, twelve months of balances then the rough interest calculation based an average balance of (month1+ month12) /2. Then the subsequent average balance of the easy access account, it's predicted interest and then the total interest across both accounts. 

If you're curious about any of these let me know and I'll make a dummy one like Claire did for hers.

DRS1

Bobblehat said:

DRS1 said:

As someone who recently had to ask Google how to subtract cell B from cell A in a spreadsheet can I say "hats off" to @clairec666.

In answer to a question in one of her other posts I fund all my RSs by standing order.  Which makes it easy to forget that I have some.  I just had to look at my Nationwide accounts for a maturing bond and found I had a Flexclusive Saver (paying 1.35% - so my 2.45% RS isn't my worst!).  I took the opportunity to open another Nationwide RS paying a somewhat higher rate. but I did not close the old one just reduced the monthly input.

So I now have 5 RSs monthly contribution £1700.  Lowest interest rate down from 2.45% to 1.35%  Maybe I should move that to a 95 day notice account? 

Out of interest(!), which 5 Regular Savers do you have? It would be good to know the exact name of the Bank/BS and account name of each as I'm a little confused by the interest figures you are quoting. The figures in the region of 1.35% to 2.45% sound more like matured accounts that have been converted to some sort of Easy Access accounts!

Regular Saver enthusiasts on here are more used to figures like 7%, 6% and getting down to the lower end, 5%? 

Well as I say the old Nationwide account calls itself a Flexclusive Saver though I used to have it noted as a Flex Regular Saver.  It has probably been going for 4 years or so and don't ask me for a history of interest rates but it must date from the era of low rates.

I now have the Nationwide Flex Regular Saver paying 6.5%

The other new one is the Manchester Regular Saver at 5.5%

Of the old ones the one with a moderately respectable interest rate (5%) is at Santander and survives because it auto renews every year.

The 2.45% one is at YBS (sorry @Kim_13).  It is called Access Saver Plus and again dates back years.  This one probably has changed because all the accounts with that name at YBS seem to be easy access accounts (but don't ask me what it was called before). Anyway it is still getting a standing order each month.  In my defence all I can say is that the money would earn less interest if it just stayed in the current account.  But I should really start redirecting some of those old standing orders.