Fixed term bonds - Atom, Paragon and Sensible Savings

[sgtkate]

The name of the game is to maximise your interest on every penny in every pound. This can only be done by fragmenting your savings into multiple products in a particular order.

 

Again I don't know what your circumstaces are, but lets assume you've got £10k to put away.

 

i. Start with current accounts. Yes you read that right! The interest rates they pay on credit balances outperform most savings accounts. Nationwide pays 5% on balances upto £2.5k, Tesco Bank pays 3% on balances upto £6k etc etc.

 

ii. Look at 'Regular Savings' accounts. These are saving products that are only available via your bank. Essentially these are accounts you drip-feed on a monthly basis. They pay good interest rates so they limit how much you can stash away each month. Nationwide pays 5% on a max £250/month, First Direct pays 5% on max of £300/month etc etc.

 

iii. Look at fixed-rate savings (as you've already been doing) as your last resort for any remaining cash.

 

So the name of the game is to 'max out' the accounts that pay the most first, and then work your way down.

 

And remember interest is now paid out gross because the Tories have given us a personal savings allowance, so we can earn upto £1k in interest tax-free ontop of our personal allowance.

 

Or if you *could* risk losing some of your money (it's unlikely if you go with the right types of investments though) then Trust Funds or Unit Trusts are worth looking at. You can invest your money with them and they then buy stocks and shares to meet the expected returns at a level of risk. For example, Orbis Access have a very simple system with just 2 products with one medium risk and one low risk. They have expected rates of return of around 8% per annum which is much higher than you'd get from ANY savings account. Trade off of course is that unlike a savings account your money isn't guarantee so there is element of risk.

 

If you've got a reasonable amount to invest you might be worth speaking to a financial advisor. Most will charge low enough fees for smaller amounts but to be honest you can probably do a lot of research yourself online now.

 

Here's a decent site explaining some of the options with the focus on a cautious investor, i.e. one who really can't afford to lose anything https://www.trustnet.com/news/706267/the-best-funds-for-cautious-investors-to-consider-in-2017/

[spilldig]

The name of the game is to maximise your interest on every penny in every pound. This can only be done by fragmenting your savings into multiple products in a particular order.

 

Again I don't know what your circumstaces are, but lets assume you've got £10k to put away.

 

i. Start with current accounts. Yes you read that right! The interest rates they pay on credit balances outperform most savings accounts. Nationwide pays 5% on balances upto £2.5k, Tesco Bank pays 3% on balances upto £6k etc etc.

 

ii. Look at 'Regular Savings' accounts. These are saving products that are only available via your bank. Essentially these are accounts you drip-feed on a monthly basis. They pay good interest rates so they limit how much you can stash away each month. Nationwide pays 5% on a max £250/month, First Direct pays 5% on max of £300/month etc etc.

 

iii. Look at fixed-rate savings (as you've already been doing) as your last resort for any remaining cash.

 

So the name of the game is to 'max out' the accounts that pay the most first, and then work your way down.

 

And remember interest is now paid out gross because the Tories have given us a personal savings allowance, so we can earn upto £1k in interest tax-free ontop of our personal allowance.

 

They all have strings attached. The thing is that you should be able to cover at least inflation rate after tax with no strings attached.

[Phili Buster]

I have a friend in Nigeria who is able to get really good interest rates, into 2 digits guaranteed, with no upper limit.

 

Just send a cheque, made out to me, with the the amount you want to invest and I will forward it on to him

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Also consider Corporate Bonds: higher interest rates, true, but with a degree of risk.

You have to choose one or the other; you can't have both!