New saver advice!
Red-Squirrel_2
Posts: 4,341 Forumite
So for the first time since I've been a homeowner I'm in a position to save again! I'm hoping the lovely experts on this board can give me some suggestions as to the best easy access places to keep a small but hopefully growing pot of money. I have around £500 a month that I can save from my salary.
I currently have the following pots/accounts:
£400 in a Natwest current account earning no interest as far as I know (this is a 'spare' current account, no DDs or other use apart from me paying in and out of it.
£550 in a co-op savings account earning 0.59%
£100 in Starling
£760 in Monzo
My main current account is with the Co-op but I have just opened a HSBC one for the bonus and the switch should go through in the next week or so. I will then open the regular 5% savings account and put the full £250 in there every month.
I'm stuck as what to do with the little bit of money I already have and the other £250 I want to save each month. I could do with easy access as it will be a mixture of emergency fund and pots for things like vet bills, holidays, home improvements etc. One pot is for travel plans that are more than a year away so I could conceivably put some in a longer term product.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
I currently have the following pots/accounts:
£400 in a Natwest current account earning no interest as far as I know (this is a 'spare' current account, no DDs or other use apart from me paying in and out of it.
£550 in a co-op savings account earning 0.59%
£100 in Starling
£760 in Monzo
My main current account is with the Co-op but I have just opened a HSBC one for the bonus and the switch should go through in the next week or so. I will then open the regular 5% savings account and put the full £250 in there every month.
I'm stuck as what to do with the little bit of money I already have and the other £250 I want to save each month. I could do with easy access as it will be a mixture of emergency fund and pots for things like vet bills, holidays, home improvements etc. One pot is for travel plans that are more than a year away so I could conceivably put some in a longer term product.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
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Comments
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Open a TSB Classic Plus current account? That will earn you 5% on up to £1500 so long as you meet the minimum monthly pay-in requirement and go paperless. The account can be opened and managed online so no need to go to a branch. That might do for the 'easy access' part of your savings. The only down-side is possibly missing out on a future switch bonus if TSB do one again in the future. (but that will depend on the T&C's and whether the offer is only available to new customers, or those who haven't switched before)Red-Squirrel wrote: »Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
If you don't want another current account then do you have a Virgin Money branch you can get to easily? Their regular saver pays 3% but allows withdrawals so gives a reasonable level of easy access."In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0 -
Open a TSB Classic Plus current account? That will earn you 5% on up to £1500 so long as you meet the minimum monthly pay-in requirement and go paperless. The account can be opened and managed online so no need to go to a branch. That might do for the 'easy access' part of your savings. The only down-side is possibly missing out on a future switch bonus if TSB do one again in the future. (but that will depend on the T&C's and whether the offer is only available to new customers, or those who haven't switched before)
If you don't want another current account then do you have a Virgin Money branch you can get to easily? Their regular saver pays 3% but allows withdrawals so gives a reasonable level of easy access.
I don't think I want to go down the road of having to move my salary from one account to another. I don't want to leave myself vulnerable to accidentally leaving direct debits unpaid or having to do manual transfers on specific dates each month as I'm not always in a position to do it (work travel, long hours etc.)
I'll have a look at the virgin money account, there's a branch in the city centre, I'd have to pay to get to it either parking or tram fare, but might be worth it. Thanks!0 -
No need for any of that. Just set up a standing order to pay £500 from your main current account into the TSB one, with another standing order paying the money from the TSB account back to the main one a couple of days later. So long as you pick a date for the first SO when your main current account will always have at least £500 in it (e.g. a few days after you get paid?) then there is nothing that can really go wrong.Red-Squirrel wrote: »I don't think I want to go down the road of having to move my salary from one account to another. I don't want to leave myself vulnerable to accidentally leaving direct debits unpaid or having to do manual transfers on specific dates each month as I'm not always in a position to do it (work travel, long hours etc.)
The Classic Plus has no requirement for DD's to earn interest... which is partly why I thought it might suit someone new to the game.
You need to go to the branch to open the account and to make withdrawals, but if you plan to open the account when you need to go into the city centre anyway then the cost of that is mitigated. It can also be useful to have some 'hassle' involved in withdrawing savings money as it discourages you from dipping into the savings unless you really need to. :money: Just be aware that Virgin are especially fussy about you having the right ID to open accounts, and for the first one you will definitely need to make an appointment.Red-Squirrel wrote: »I'll have a look at the virgin money account, there's a branch in the city centre, I'd have to pay to get to it either parking or tram fare, but might be worth it. Thanks!"In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0 -
FirstDirect also do a 5% regular saver, but their current account doesn't pay anything.0
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No need for any of that. Just set up a standing order to pay £500 from your main current account into the TSB one, with another standing order paying the money from the TSB account back to the main one a couple of days later. So long as you pick a date for the first SO when your main current account will always have at least £500 in it (e.g. a few days after you get paid?) then there is nothing that can really go wrong.
The Classic Plus has no requirement for DD's to earn interest... which is partly why I thought it might suit someone new to the game.
You need to go to the branch to open the account and to make withdrawals, but if you plan to open the account when you need to go into the city centre anyway then the cost of that is mitigated. It can also be useful to have some 'hassle' involved in withdrawing savings money as it discourages you from dipping into the savings unless you really need to. :money: Just be aware that Virgin are especially fussy about you having the right ID to open accounts, and for the first one you will definitely need to make an appointment.
The bolded definitely simplifies it, thanks!0 -
Just be sure you meet the other 3 key requirements for this account. Nothing is "simple" with finance.Red-Squirrel wrote: »The bolded definitely simplifies it, thanks!0 -
YorkshireBoy wrote: »Just be sure you meet the other 3 key requirements for this account. Nothing is "simple" with finance.
Yeah, I might stick with just one 'main' current account after all!0 -
I don't think YorkshireBoy meant to put you off completelyRed-Squirrel wrote: »Yeah, I might stick with just one 'main' current account after all!
The requirements for the Classic Plus are not onerous, you just need to make sure you understand them and set things up properly. Hence the caution.
Even 'simple' savings accounts come with T&C's which need to be understood and followed. "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"0 -
I don't think YorkshireBoy meant to put you off completely The requirements for the Classic Plus are not onerous, you just need to make sure you understand them and set things up properly. Hence the caution.
Even 'simple' savings accounts come with T&C's which need to be understood and followed.
You’re right and I can see how it’s do-able, i’m Just not sure it’s the right answer for me!
I think i’m sorted on my £500 a month, i’ll put £250 in the HSBC 5% saver and open a virgin 3% saver for the other.
Any tips on where to put the £1800 ish that’s sitting around earning nothing at the moment? ISAs look rubbish.0 -
The TSB Classic Plus account would pay 5% on £1,500 of this which would seem ideal.
Not sure why you keep ignoring this?0
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