maximising my money

number_3

i have an easy isa with abbey national paying 4.30 aer,and some cash to put in which would still leave me short of the next rate of 4.55 aer.because you can only have 1 isa would in be better to close my abbey isa and open a barclays instant access tax haven isa 6.5 aer with £3600 and the remaining cash open a savings account with kaupthing edge also 6.5 aer.or could someone recommend a better way of making my money work for me.i can only save small amounts regularly

steveksullivan

Presumably the Abbey ISA was opened in 2006-2007 tax year (or before) ?The 'One ISA' rule only applies to NEW MONEY - so you can open another ISA this tax year with upto £3600 You can continue to hold as many other ISA's as you already have open as long as you dont fund them with any new money - or you could indeed transfer them to another provider who is accepting 'transfers in' if you can get a better rate. I'm just transferring all my fixed rate ISA's one - by - one as they mature to Nationwide ISA's fixed at 6.15% (as long as the rate holds...)I'm fairly sure all my comments are all accurate but anyone with better knowledge please correct me .....

Jonbvn

As the previous poster mentioned, the one ISA rule only applies to new money.

Given this, I would suggest you consider the following:

1. Transfer your existing (previous tax years) ISA to a better paying account (Barclays does not except transfers).
2. For this tax year open the Barclays tax-haven ISA with 3.6k.

BTW, that Abbey ISA rate is extremely poor.

steveksullivan

Thansks JONBVN....As I mentioned in my last post, Nationwide at 6.15% looks like a reasonable fix and they accept transfers in....I would also comment that whilst Barclays seems to be about the best rate around, there has been a lot of adverse comment in the forum about their service ......

Darth_Trader

And the important thing - alluded to by the other posters - is not to close your previous ISA yourself. Get a transfer-in form from whoever you decide to invest with, and they will handle it for you. Otherwise, you've lost the tax-free interest benefit on the 'old' money.