Cash ISAs? Do me a favour, only for high rate tax payers

MrMicawber_2

It does sound that for you cash may be just the job - especially as you are not looking long term and seem worried about your S&S ISA.
However if your S&S ISA is a tiny proportion of everything you have then you could hang on until it goes up a bit. It's what we private investors are accused of all the time - i.e. selling low.

On the other hand if it's a tiny proportion you might just want rid for peace of mind.

Any other views out there?

Edinburghlass_2

Biggles wrote: »

A single post, posing a contrarian point of view, and not followed up by any further post? Looks like a bit of trolling to me. Best ignored.

The bit I liked most was "Last edited by leejp : Yesterday at 10:13 PM. Reason: spellinh". You couldn't make it it up, could you? :-)

Not everyone can get back to a thread the day after posting it and contrary or not it has produced an interesting thread and options for people.

chesky369

I've given

chesky369

I've given up looking at my s & s ISAs - I trust they'll improve eventually and, to be honest, they've done pretty damn well up until the past six months or so. So I think I will just sit back and wait (and wait).

Dave2112

I have both cash and equity ISA's but favour overpaying my mortgage (tracker) rather than putting into the cash ISA as it's a daily rate and is effectively "saving" tax free as well. Not sure if this is the best way as once I've paid off my mortgage I won't have lots of tax free savings but seems to be a good idea.

MrMicawber_2

Personal opinion - paying off the mortgage early is great. Once you have paid it off calculate the effect of putting all the monthly payments you have saved into savings / investments say at 6% annual return - it's big. Plus it gives you a lot of freedom.

It might be good to balance a bit though - cash for emergencies. A bit of investment for the future.
Not everyone's view though

Han_naH

Bah! The risk-averse British people and their comfortable savings accounts!

Look people, for a start you have to move your money in and out chasing the best rate. And this for 20 (or 40) % of 6 % of £3K. Wow.

Also, the interest rate cycle is such that when rates are low, savings accounts are rubbish - tax free or not. this 6.25% is not there each year, so even with compound interest the result is still pretty rubbish. What about the years with 3% interest rates? Good luck with that trailblazing cash ISA (not).

With CPI at 2-3% (an utter fabrication - real inflation is 7-10% or even more in the UK), then your savings are a poor return indeed. With or without this little tax slice.
You've all been brainwashed!

People should invest all their tax free amount in stocks and shares - the best return of all since the second world war (ok, property overtook recently, but will recede soon).

Honestly, these amounts are just not worth the time. The Government are having a little chuckle, and no way should cash ISAs be at the top of Martins savings page. No way.

Paul_Herring

Did you actually read any of the replies on this thread Lee or did you just want to re-post the incorrect assumptions you made in your first post without regard to any of the corrections posted in the interim?

meester

leejp wrote: »

Bah! The risk-averse British people and their comfortable savings accounts!

Look people, for a start you have to move your money in and out chasing the best rate. And this for 20 (or 40) % of 6 % of £3K. Wow.

Also, the interest rate cycle is such that when rates are low, savings accounts are rubbish - tax free or not. this 6.25% is not there each year, so even with compound interest the result is still pretty rubbish. What about the years with 3% interest rates? Good luck with that trailblazing cash ISA (not).

With CPI at 2-3% (an utter fabrication - real inflation is 7-10% or even more in the UK), then your savings are a poor return indeed. With or without this little tax slice.
You've all been brainwashed!

People should invest all their tax free amount in stocks and shares - the best return of all since the second world war (ok, property overtook recently, but will recede soon).

Honestly, these amounts are just not worth the time. The Government are having a little chuckle, and no way should cash ISAs be at the top of Martins savings page. No way.

Go away, you have not read the thread.

Useless timewaster.

Aegis

leejp wrote: »

Bah! The risk-averse British people and their comfortable savings accounts!

Look people, for a start you have to move your money in and out chasing the best rate. And this for 20 (or 40) % of 6 % of £3K. Wow.

Wow yourself. Clearly you didn't bother reading any of the replies here, or you'd realise that saving the maximum each year from now until 10 years down the line will result in a difference of between £3k and £6k simply by saving in an ISA instead of a normal account. I'd say that was worth a day or so of looking to find a decent ISA to transfer in to!

Also, the interest rate cycle is such that when rates are low, savings accounts are rubbish - tax free or not. this 6.25% is not there each year, so even with compound interest the result is still pretty rubbish. What about the years with 3% interest rates? Good luck with that trailblazing cash ISA (not).

Neglecting the fact that the MPC will only lower base rates when inflation drops, of course... Still, if ALL savings accounts then have to lower their rate, you're still going to be better off inside an ISA than you would be outside one!

With CPI at 2-3% (an utter fabrication - real inflation is 7-10% or even more in the UK), then your savings are a poor return indeed. With or without this little tax slice.
You've all been brainwashed!

Don't throw out these accusations without actually understanding the material first! On this forum investing is discussed regularly, but if you know the first thing about investing, you'll know that in order to invest safely, you need to have a decent cash pot to allow you to leave your investments in the market during turmoil. Cash ISAs are ideal for this, as they grow tax free, don't count towards any kind of income total for working out benefits, and generally have rates that compare favourably with other savings account.

If you don't have a cash pot before you invest, then you're in for a very nasty shock when the markets eventually turn against you.

People should invest all their tax free amount in stocks and shares - the best return of all since the second world war (ok, property overtook recently, but will recede soon).

A lot of people did just that in the late 90s. Fantastic advice there, just begging for another bubble to burst and for a load of people to be left without life savings. In any case, if your argument is that basic rate taxpayers shouldn't bother with an ISA, what the hell would one need a stocks and shares ISA for? A basic rate taxpayer gets no benefit at all from a stocks and shares ISA until they become a higher rate taxpayer or need to sell of a LOT of stock at a profit in one go. Quite frankly, a cash ISA is a much better use of their allowance for most such individuals.

Honestly, these amounts are just not worth the time. The Government are having a little chuckle, and no way should cash ISAs be at the top of Martins savings page. No way.

If you still can't see why you're wrong, then there's probably little hope for you. Please don't look for any sort of career where you advise people about their finances.