I need a current account!

Nanor

Nanor

Well-Known Member
See, I've been working now for about 18 weeks. The money has been accumulating in my direct debit account doing nothing. Nothing! So what do I need? I need a current account where I can throw my money in as hassle free as possible and get loads of interest so I can buy games and fund nights out.

My direct debit is Halifax if that helps.
 
BiG D

BiG D

Administrator
Staff member
Nanor said:
get loads of interest so I can buy games and fund nights out.
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Don't count on it. I'm hardly making enough interest on my savings account each month to buy a game (let alone fund a night out :eek:) and you'll have to trust that I have a lot more in there than what you made in 18 weeks. :p
 
thatbloke

thatbloke

Junior Administrator
You will find that most if not all "proper" current accounts that offer interest on what you have in the account require that you make regular deposits of at least £1000 (i.e. you take home more than £1000 per month AFTER tax).

You will have to stick with the account you have currently until you start raking in the £'s i'm afraid...
 
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elDiablo

Guest
With an Alliance & Leicester Current Account, you get 8.5% until 30th April next year, up to £2500, which means you will get 8.5% (until next year) on any money you have in the account, until it gets up to £2500.

Say you have £500 to put in that account, you'll get £42.50 over an entire year from that money (assuming you don't put any in or out of the account, and not counting interest on the interest if they do that. IT'S CONFUSING, SHUSH).

Ie, not a lot... If you want to have money to buy games and go out each month, you're better off working the number of hours you need to do to get the amount of money you want to spend each month :)

Note: 8.5% is HIGH, and a lot of banks will now give you around 7-8%, but only for the first 12 months, as a "come join our bank!" and will probably then drop your account to 1% or so.
 
Nanor

Nanor

Well-Known Member
So what you're saying is, it's really not worth my time until I start raking in the dough?
 
waterproofbob

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
Nanor said:
So what you're saying is, it's really not worth my time until I start raking in the dough?
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errr not quite is worth having ISAs and things, from as early as possible if you want your money doing stuff but on the most part you aren't going to make much until you have lots in there. but making something is a lot better than nothing. Most current accounts require you to stick a chunk in to begin with and go from there. I have a savings account that has been building up over the last few years. The thing to do is open an ISA now and allocate a bit of money each month to that. It won't make much soon but in the long run you will start to see the benefits. It really is a short term hit for long term gain type thing. Especially if you are going to uni as having that extra bit of cash sitting away is a life saver. Trust me on that one.
 
Nanor

Nanor

Well-Known Member
waterproofbob said:
It really is a short term hit for long term gain type thing. Especially if you are going to uni as having that extra bit of cash sitting away is a life saver. Trust me on that one.
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Aye, I already have £1.3 grand in the Credit Union for uni. Also, what about an offshore savings account? Any benefit? :p
 
decky101

decky101

In Cryo Sleep
Um, I have an abbey savings account where I get a modest amount of interest. Saved up about 4 and a half grand over the years and I get about 200 quid in interest so that works out at 4.4% interest rate (correct me if I'm wrong) Not great but better than nothing :)
 
Wraith

Wraith

Active Member
Nanor said:
Also, what about an offshore savings account? Any benefit? :p
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Not really. HMRC have recently introduced new legislation which requires all offshore accounts to be declared and the interest income gets taxed (I think). Meant to stop those sneaky rich people from avoiding paying any more tax than necessary, but it'll affect anyone.

Nanor said:
So what you're saying is, it's really not worth my time until I start raking in the dough?
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As bloke said, got it in one. You're best off just working a few extra hours (assuming you're on an hourly rate).
 
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elDiablo

Guest
Indeed.

I would like to quickly say to Nanor though, it is very much worth having an account, even if you get one of the ~8% ones so that you get practise with saving money, knowing how much you have left, etc. It's great to learn simple things that I've seen a lot of people lacking. At university especially (not to say you have to go to university!) I saw a lot of people who just didn't understand how to budget money and look after bank accounts! If you are like that, you'll get lots of credit cards, and get into debt very quickly. thatbloke and I shared housing with someone in the first year who maxed out 6 or more credit cards, remembering each one gives you about £1000 to spend straight away. It ruins your credit rating in life, and stops you doing a lot!

Still, you won't get a lot of interest, but you'll get a lot experience! :)
 
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