£15k where do I put it

gord_3

I'll soon be getting a £15000 windfall. I want to put it into somewhere with no risk, where I can get to some of it if need be. Some of the interest rates on savings accounts look prett dismal. Any advice appreciated.

sneekymum

How about a cash ISA from an internet bank (I have a Smile ISA but it may not be the best rate just now) and then a plain old deposit account - e.g. INGdirect @ 5%. If you haven't spent it all by next April transfer some more into a/the cash ISA. And then the year after too...

grumbler

1. £3000 cash ISA (as above) if you are a taxpayer.
2. I'd pud £12000 into some instant-access saving accont with 5%+ (ING for example) and move £1000 every month into Derbyshire BS Regular Saver 5.85%. The effective rate of such a combination during the first year is about 5.5%.
If you want a comfort of making monthly £1000 transfers by Standing Order use 4.9% Halifax Web Saver as an instant-access account.

baldbloke_2

grumbler wrote:

1. £3000 cash ISA (as above) if you are a taxpayer.
2. I'd pud £12000 into some instant-access saving accont with 5%+ (ING for example) and move £1000 every month into Derbyshire BS Regular Saver 5.85%. The effective rate of such a combination during the first year is about 5.5%.
If you want a comfort of making monthly £1000 transfers by Standing Order use 4.9% Halifax Web Saver as an instant-access account.

I fumbled around with this set-up a while back and it always concerned me that I was presumably losing interest for the days the money moved between ING & say the Halifax - and then you have to carefully co-ordinate the transfer in to the Halifax and the SO out to the outside account - and again a potential loss of interest for any days the money hangs around. The theory always seemed brilliant but my head always told me I was making life unnecessarily complicated - and maybe even losing the odd few bob at the same time. Maybe it was just my way of doing things that caused meto wonder

gord_3

Thanks for all the advice.I think I'll get a cash ISA and I've found the Premier Bonus Tracker account at https://www.westbrom.co.uk which pays 5.28% AER (5.40% gross). Top buy on moneysupermarket.com.