Regular Savings Accounts Article Discussion

eastofeden

Kent Reliance is 3% and allows £500per month to be paid in. Depends where you are geographically of course, as it has to be opened in branch.

EachPenny

lesleyp118 wrote: »

....I already have current (Flex) accounts with Nationwide and their Loyalty Saver as well as some other savings and an ISA.

I would also be looking to move almost everything out of the Loyalty Saver account (leaving a £1 token balance perhaps). Even with 15+ years of membership the account only pays 0.75% at present, increasing to 1% from 1 December.

Some of the best instant access accounts are paying 1.2% rising to 1.3% or more - and they don't require you to have been a customer for 15 years to get that rate.

Drip-feeding that money into (say) Virgin RS accounts @2.25% would give you a much better return, whilst still maintaining the ability to access the money instantly.

TheShape

lesleyp118 wrote: »

Sorry if I've missed something in the article or this thread, but I'm looking for a regular savings account which allows me to save approx £400 per month. I wish to keep this separate from other savings, and I already have current (Flex) accounts with Nationwide and their Loyalty Saver as well as some other savings and an ISA.
With the "best savings accounts" that I've seen listed, there always seems to be maximum of £250 or so per month, so they are not really what I'm looking for.
Can anyone help please? Thanks in anticipation

You don't mention whether you already have a Flexclusive Regular Saver with Nationwide. If not, it would be a good idea to start there with £250pm and find another place for the balance.

Kim_13

Have a look at this thread, which is run by a forum member and and provides a list of the best available accounts: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=608697

You will maximise your return if you're willing to split the money over two such accounts. (Nationwide, First Direct, M&S, HSBC (Advance customers) and Santander (123 customers) offer the best rate at 5%.) You need to hold the requisite current account to get these, some also have a requirement for Direct Debits to be paid from said account.

If considering the Club Lloyds/Lloyds/Halifax or BOS regular savers, hold off until 1st December when the accounts will receive a 0.5% increase in rate. They're fixed accounts so won't change on 1st December if you apply beforehand.

welshmoneylover

The principality building society has just launched a new regular saver at 4%, details on their website.
Its for existing members only but still worth a look.

RG2015

The Virgin Money 2.25% Regular Saver earns a maximum of £49 over the maximum period of 14 months. The same investment at 1.35% in the best easy access account earns £29.

I can understand the popularity of the 5% regular saver at Santander, First Direct, Nationwide and M&S. However I cannot see the great attraction of a 2.25% account for a net additional income of £20 over 14 months (£15 over 12 months)

Perhaps if someone already has all of the 5% savers and opens several VM savers. Five for example takes the additional earning up to £98 which is still only equivalent to £73 over 12 months.

Is it the ability to hold several VM regular savers that is the real attraction of the account?

PS: All calculations courtesy of the MSE regular saver calculator that ColdIron recommended to me in an earlier post and rounded to the nearest pound..

TheShape

RG2015 wrote: »

The Virgin Money 2.25% Regular Saver earns a maximum of £49 over the maximum period of 14 months. The same investment at 1.35% in the best easy access account earns £29.

I can understand the popularity of the 5% regular saver at Santander, First Direct, Nationwide and M&S. However I cannot see the great attraction of a 2.25% account for a net additional income of £20 over 14 months (£15 over 12 months)

Perhaps if someone already has all of the 5% savers and opens several VM savers. Five for example takes the additional earning up to £98 which is still only equivalent to £73 over 12 months.

Is it the ability to hold several VM regular savers that is the real attraction of the account?

PS: All calculations courtesy of the MSE regular saver calculator that ColdIron recommended to me in an earlier post and rounded to the nearest pound..

Why not have an additional £20 over 14mths. The Virgin Reguar Savers are easy to open and instant access so it's no bother.

The ability to open multiple issues is also a benefit as you can transfer in significant sums once you have a few accounts.

I open each new issue with £1 just in case I have periods of having additional funds such as when some of my other regular savers mature. Better in Virgin at 2.25% than in a current account at 2%.

ColdIron

RG2015 wrote: »

Is it the ability to hold several VM regular savers that is the real attraction of the account?

It's a large part of it for me, I've got 8 of them including the matchday thing so that's nearly £400 for virtually no effort, what's not to like? Obviously go for the higher paying ones first where you can (I've never bothered with the M&S one) but they can really add up. I made £544 last tax year just from RSs, £1,290 if you include the Nationwide Regular Savings, That was a one off but I would never have got it if I hadn't opened it

nomorekids

Quote:
Originally Posted by RG2015 View Post
Is it the ability to hold several VM regular savers that is the real attraction of the account?


Its the "penny in the jam jar" x 12 for me so that the goal is to have something maturing every month. Maximising the interest rate to the top paying 12 accounts is just sensible (and fun:))

Never got there myself despite starting over 25 years ago but pests (sorry typo kids :rotfl:) got in the way and still dipping early into some and reducing others at certain times of the year to minimum but remains forever the goal:A . Its fabulous family finance planning because some allow early withdrawal so you always have "rainy day money" for when the boiler blows up or the car wont start or simply for family holiday or christmas. :j

verybigchris

RG2015 wrote: »

The Virgin Money 2.25% Regular Saver earns a maximum of £49 over the maximum period of 14 months. The same investment at 1.35% in the best easy access account earns £29.

I imagine that for most people's needs, the Virgin Money regular savers effectively are easy access. Unlike a lot of other RS accounts, there's no limit on withdrawals. There are restrictions on deposits, but if you open enough of them then that's not likely to cause much difficulty.