Full ISA Guide Discussion Area

Lokolo

merlin1 wrote: »

oh my! have read through this thread and i'm starting to gain what i think is some very basic knowledge of isa's

i have just opened a ybs cash e-isa, and will be setting up a standing order to pay into it monthly.

my questions come about the s+s isa's.... how stocks and shares savvy do you have to be to use one to its maximum benefit? also when you see an increase in the value of your s+s isa, do you withdraw? how does it work?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0470992808/

Read that first.

p_natalia

Quick question - I am not very good with savings but I am trying. Last year I opened an ISA account with Halifax, £3600. This is maturing 11/8/09 and I am going to get the interest then. I assume that I can save £3600 for the Apr2009-Apr2010 year, £3600 more. The question is
a) if I speak to Halifax and I decide to top-up the existing ISA account with £3600 more 1) can I do this 2) can I accumulate every year 3) will all the amount £7200 be tax free and will the apr be applied to the whole amount 4) does this mean that every year if I decide to stay with Halifax I can top-up e.g. Apr2010-Apr2011 would I be able to have £7200+£3600?
b) if I change banks and do a transfer as people describe does this mean that the money I saved Apr2008-Apr2009 can be transferrd to the new bank and have a total of £7200 for Apr2008-Apr2010?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Natalia

Lokolo

p_natalia wrote: »

Quick question - I am not very good with savings but I am trying. Last year I opened an ISA account with Halifax, £3600. This is maturing 11/8/09 and I am going to get the interest then. I assume that I can save £3600 for the Apr2009-Apr2010 year, £3600 more. The question is
a) if I speak to Halifax and I decide to top-up the existing ISA account with £3600 more 1) can I do this 2) can I accumulate every year 3) will all the amount £7200 be tax free and will the apr be applied to the whole amount 4) does this mean that every year if I decide to stay with Halifax I can top-up e.g. Apr2010-Apr2011 would I be able to have £7200+£3600?
b) if I change banks and do a transfer as people describe does this mean that the money I saved Apr2008-Apr2009 can be transferrd to the new bank and have a total of £7200 for Apr2008-Apr2010?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Natalia

a) 1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes whole amount
4) Yes, but interest rates are likely to slide if you stay in the exact same ISA, assuming its maturing, you get fix rates, so as long as you continue to do this and not leave in something like an instant access ISA its good. You don't have to stay with Haifax.

b) Yes, but you will have more than £7,200 because of the interest you gained from the original ISA. But yes in theory, you now have £7,200. (as you will add an extra £3,600 I assume)

First Year of ISA: Total = £3,600
Second Year of ISA: Total = £3,600 + interest, + £3,600
Third year of ISA: Total = £3,600 + interest, + £3600 + interest, + £3,600

lea_t88

Hi, can i get a bit of advice...

I opened my first ISA in April this year and haven't touched anything in there-but last months interest was bigger than this months... Does this sound correct? I thought that as the amount grew steadily each month i would get either the same interest or more (depending on whether it took the interest into account or not). Any help is much appreciated,

thanks, leat88

Lokolo

lea_t88 wrote: »

Hi, can i get a bit of advice...

I opened my first ISA in April this year and haven't touched anything in there-but last months interest was bigger than this months... Does this sound correct? I thought that as the amount grew steadily each month i would get either the same interest or more (depending on whether it took the interest into account or not). Any help is much appreciated,

thanks, leat88

I think you'll find the interest rate dropped over the past month. Have a look online at the account you have and compare the rate to what you think you are getting.

skitskut

lea_t88 wrote: »

Hi, can i get a bit of advice...

I opened my first ISA in April this year and haven't touched anything in there-but last months interest was bigger than this months... Does this sound correct? I thought that as the amount grew steadily each month i would get either the same interest or more (depending on whether it took the interest into account or not). Any help is much appreciated,

thanks, leat88

Each month can consist of a different amount of days (28-31) the interest is calculated over and weekends at the start and end can mean the interest gets paid slightly earlier or later in the month. Your last months interest was probably for a period of 1 or 2 days more than this months. It's quite normal.

lea_t88

Thanks to both of you, this does make sense. I have just read some of my info from when i opened the ISA and while the rate is 3.51 AER, it says the interest rate is not fixed, but always guaranteed to be above base rate until Feb 2010. So thats probably it! Thanks again.

lea_t88

Lokolo wrote: »

I think you'll find the interest rate dropped over the past month. Have a look online at the account you have and compare the rate to what you think you are getting.

I can hardly find any info online as the account is no longer available- Natwest Cash ISA Plus. There is only a little in it from last month's interest to this month's- pennies.

Lokolo

lea_t88 wrote: »

Thanks to both of you, this does make sense. I have just read some of my info from when i opened the ISA and while the rate is 3.51 AER, it says the interest rate is not fixed, but always guaranteed to be above base rate until Feb 2010. So thats probably it! Thanks again.

Its still 3.51%

http://www.natwest.com/personal/savings/g6/rates.ashx#cashISAPlus

It must be because of the number of days

lea_t88

Lokolo wrote: »

Its still 3.51%

http://www.natwest.com/personal/savings/g6/rates.ashx#cashISAPlus

It must be because of the number of days

Thanks for the link:T