Lots of accounts and i'm confused!

Mum_of_5_2

Hi

I have;

A current account (in overdraft for the last 10-15 days of the month)

A savings account which I save in monthly which pays my yearly bills(this tends to get to about £1000 before I empty it to pay them)

A savings account which i pay into monthly and use as a bills account (emptied monthly)

A savings account into which are paid child benefit and WFTC so i can transfer them at the beginning of the month, rather than have them come in 4 weekly. (emptied monthly

A savings account for any other money that i happen to have (this is normally empty!)

I've just found out that all of these are on about 0.10-0.15% credit interest, all with Barclays.

Now the current account i've asked about on the other forum, but i'm confused about which savings accounts to go to. I would like to try to earn some interest on them when they are in credit, however I also need to move money around between them easily, so would really like online accounts, I don't need cash cards or chequebooks though.

Any suggestions??!

Thanks

ps. Also any suggestions for instant access accounts for kids under 16 would be good!

MrMicawber_2

I use the Nationwide flexaccount which is OK. 4% on balance up to (I think) 3k, 9% overdraft provided you stay within your agreed limit.

Their e-account pays 5.5% on balances >£0.

Can you squeeze a cash ISA in there. You can make subscriptions up to 3k & get instant access.

It isn't a world beater but it's steady / solid and dead easy to transfer cash between accounts.

Regarding children's accounts - I'm no expert on these but lots of childrens accounts can be a bit gimmicky so I would look at the top rate instant access across the board which are available for people under 18 and pick one which has the convenience needed.

lr1277

The advantage with having the savings account at the same place as the current account is that transfers between the two should be immediate. If you have the current account at one organisation and the savings accounts at another organisation, then there will be 3 days between initiating transfer and the money actually available in the account. You can do this, but you just have to be a little more organised

I am with First Direct and have my current accounts and savings accounts with them. The savings accounts are for everyday saving as opposed to the savings for things like if I lose my job. I can transfer instantaneously between all of the accounts. I know that there are constraints on getting a FD current account, but I suspect you want something like that. I think the savings account pays in the region of 4.5% but the current account pays 0% interest.
The first £250 of the overdraf is interest and fee free, and I think the first £500 is fee free, but from 250 - 500 you have to pay the interest. I have never gone over £100 overdrawn so am not sure of the rules at those amounts.

debbie42

I agree with the earlier poster in that I have my "convenience" savings accounts with the same provider as my current account (Halifax). I have a high interest current account which pays a good rate up to £2500, and allows multiple web savers (not such a good int rate, around 5%, but v. convenient).

Afahmaep

Coventry Building Society would be a good starting point.

Their Family 1st Account is specifically designed for people in your situation. It pays 7.25% for the first year on all Child Benefit paid in directly and 6.00% on all other money.

http://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/ProductFeatures.aspx?ProdCode=!!!!!!

CannyJock

Mum_of_5 wrote: »

Now the current account i've asked about on the other forum, but i'm confused about which savings accounts to go to. I would like to try to earn some interest on them when they are in credit, however I also need to move money around between them easily, so would really like online accounts, I don't need cash cards or chequebooks though.

Weighing up the pros and cons, I'd say you should look at the Premier Direct account with Alliance & Leicester. It pays 8.5% interest when in credit on balance up to £ 2500. And it comes with a linked PlusSaver account that pays 5.75% if you'll have more than £ 2500. It also has a free overdraft for 12 months, so that may help you. The catch is that you need to have at least £ 500 going into it a month from a non A&L source. You can spend it once it's in though, nothing says it has to be in for any period of time.

And if you sign up through a "recommend a friend" offer then you both get £ 25 as a bonus. There are people offering to be your recommended on one of the other forums.

YorkshireBoy

@Mum of 5,

I agree mostly* with CannyJock (and your own thoughts on the current accounts board). You'll be better off with the one A&L Premier Direct account, with it's overspill PlusSaver for anything over £2,500.

On the upside: 8.5% in credit interest . You'll get a 0% overdraft (hopefully) for the first year, and if you haven't got yourself sorted out by next year the overdraft will only cost you 50p/day (capped at £5 for the month). The 8.5% rate falls to BOE less 1% (currently 4.25%) after the first year or so, so not an unreasonable ongoing rate.

On the downside: You'll have to budget (perhaps better then you do now) and run with 'virtual' pots within the current account (ie "I know I have £1,000 but £500 of this is for the holiday, and £100 is for the car service, so I only really have £400" etc).

* Regarding the £25 referral, if you go through Quidco you can get £50. If you'd rather not bother with all that, the referral's thread is here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=513795&page=6