00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.319
Okay, welcome back to your savings rate update for September.
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So the base rate is still sitting at 3.75%.
00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:12.800
The Bank of England held at the end of July, and it was a 6-3 vote where three dissenters wanted to hike, not to cut.
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Inflation has ticked up to 2.9%, and the bank meets again on the 17th of September, and nobody is pricing in a cut anytime soon, which for savers is genuinely good news.
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So rates aren't just holding, some are actually climbing.
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Fixed bonds are steady at 5% and require just a thousand pounds to open.
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Fixed ICEs have pushed up since last month, and easy access is still very competitive with a couple of new accounts on the table.
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But the loudest news this month came from premium bonds and the NSI.
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So the prize fund rate is going up from 3.8% to 4.35%.
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That is the second rise this year.
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And the odds of each one pound bond winning improved from 22,000 to 1 to 21,000 to 1.
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What that means is if you hold the average of around 5,000 pounds in premium bonds, you could win a prize roughly once every four months.
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But just to reiterate, that 4.35% is not an interest rate, it's the average payout spread across every bond holder.
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And because most people hold far less than that average, two-thirds of holders have never won a single prize.
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So with that all in mind, who are premium bonds for?
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Well, it's the same answer as always.
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If you're a higher or additional rate taxpayer who's already filled your ICER allowance and burned through your personal savings allowance, then tax-free prizes on up to£50,000 of treasury-backed cash genuinely makes sense.
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But for everyone else, I'd say you're just swapping guaranteed interest as high as 5% right now for a lottery ticket.
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As always, everything we mentioned in today's episode is on depositscout.com and was up to date as of the 31st of August.
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Deposit Scout is a free site Jan and I built.
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You can filter by account type, set up email alerts, calculate your savings and tax, and check the rate history graphs to see whether a provider holds its rate or has a habit of cutting quickly.
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That's depositscout.com.
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Link in the description box.
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Please do check it out and let us know what you think.
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:09.599
So, Jan, I hear Starling will now pay you in toothbrush for switching banks.
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Can you talk us through how that works?
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Yeah, Johnny, they're providing a toothbrush if you decide to switch to their current account, which is worth approximately 105 pounds.
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Maybe you could get that on sale for a little bit cheaper than that.
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Um, but yeah, it's it's not a cash reward, it's a toothbrush.
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Requires a full switch in 30 days, and there's nothing else required.
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So in case you don't have a toothbrush yet or a styling account, take advantage of that.
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Besides that, you can get up to 500 pounds worth HSPC, but it's also the most difficult switch offer to qualify for and requires 100,000 pounds salary switch or 100,000 pounds of savings and investments within 90 days.
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So it's not available to a lot of people.
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But I would say if you're looking for something that's yeah, still rewarding you in cash and not in toothbrushes, and it's somewhat accessible.
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HSPC standard account is a good choice.
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220 pounds of bonus.
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And in order to get that, you need to deposit 2,000 pounds into the account, you need to make 500 pounds in debit card spending, and you need to set up two direct debits within 60 days.
00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:14.479
So that's somewhat manageable for most people, I would say, and um definitely a good option.
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Up to 220 pounds right there.
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And I can really vouch for that toothbrush that Starling are offering you.
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It's from Surrey, I believe it's pronounced, and it's a really good toothbrush.
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Johnny approved easy access accounts this month.
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Well, some of them sound pretty familiar, but I'll get through those ones as quickly as possible.
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So Lemfire sitting at the top with a 5% rate.
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It does come with a sharp cliff bonus of 1.96%, which ends after six months, so it reverts to 3.04%.
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This is the shortest boost on the table.
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It's an international money transfer company.
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We've talked about this a lot.
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I have opened the account, I can vouch for it, I have received interest from this account.
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It's powered by Clearbank, which means that if you have any other clear bank-backed products, then you'll all be sharing the 120,000 FSCS protection limit.
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There's a new account called First Active, this instant access account, which is backed by NatWest.
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It's 4.55% with a bonus across 12 months of 1.5%.
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That has a maximum balance of 1 million pounds.
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Um, just something to note though, because this is part of the NatWest group, similar to Clearbank, you'll be sharing the FSCS deposit protection with any other NatWest or Ulster accounts.
00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:28.480
So just be aware of that.
00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:33.279
Tembo, again, have the home saver account, maximum balance of£20,000.
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That includes a 1.55% fixed bonus.
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And if you take out a Tembo mortgage or you remortgage with Tembo, it can be a house, it can be a buy-to-let mortgage, you can get up to 5.55%.
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And I think you have to do that within three years of taking out this account.
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Kahoot has a 4.52% easy access.
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This again has a bonus of 3.52%.
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So that's pretty sharp.
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It reverts to 1% after 12 months.
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So that's definitely one that you want to put an alert on for if you're going to open it up.
00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:08.399
And the Chase Saver's still on the table at 4.5%, new customers only.
00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:28.879
And if you are fed up with these easy access bonus accounts and you just want no frills, no worries, no need to set a like a date deadline or expiry date, then just go to depositscout.com, toggle promo rates, and you'll see right at the top Oxbury Bank's summer accounts or summer account.
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It's 4.33% with a maximum balance of 120,000 pounds.
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That is a real winner for me.
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Uh has a minimum balance though of a thousand pounds, which I appreciate could be a bit high for some people on an easy access account.
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If that is you, then you could look towards uh an account that's geared for smaller balances.
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Spring recently released the Accelerate Saver.
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This has a 5% rate with a cap of£5,000.
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Interestingly, it beats the other small cap savers, such as Santander's Edge Saver at 6%, but that has a cap of£4,000, or Kahoot's Sunny Day Saver, which has a cap of just£3,000.
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A couple of caveats as well.
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The Santander Edge one requires the Edge account, which has a three pound monthly fee, and the Kahoot one has a 12-month term.
00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:22.480
So this spring accelerate saver, Yan is really quite compelling, mate.
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I I really like the look of this account, particularly for people with lower balances.
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Just be aware that you have to deposit your money within 28 days of opening the account, otherwise, it closes and it is an app-only account.
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.240
Johnny, the cash ISIS this month.
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They look incredibly interesting.
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So we got eToro at the top of the table, 4.87%.
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That's an account that has previous uh that has just returned, I believe, last month.
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Um, very, very attractive.
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The only real downside I can see here is the sharp bonus component.
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This is closely followed by chip, which also has a great account, 4.6%.
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We have Money Box with 4.57%, um, that has a 500-pound minimum.
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Tembo's HomeSaver, Cash ISA is also worth mentioning.
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So they offer up to 5.5%.
00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.959
But yeah, you need to take out a mortgage with them, right, Johnny?
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Yes, that's right.
00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:16.480
And that's the honest test with this ISA or any Tembo product where the headline rate depends on mortgaging or remortgaging with them.
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Only open it if you genuinely believe you'll use them when the time comes.
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Now they do stack the deck in your favor.
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Tembo is a fee-free whole of market broker.
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So they search over a hundred lenders and they run a best mortgage deal guarantee.
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Basically, if another uh whole of market broker finds you a cheaper comparable deal, Tembo will pay you the difference.
00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:43.439
So realistically, if you're getting a mortgage anyway, well, there's a good chance that you'd have ended up with them regardless.
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But, and this is a very big but, um, if you don't complete with them, this ISA will quietly become a 2.8% account.
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And that's a long way below everything else on the table.
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But yeah, what if you're sick of all these bonus components and hurdles?
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Then take a look at Hagre's Landsdown.
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They have a cash ISA which offers 4.52%.
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And that's, I think, market leading.
00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:14.959
If you look only at the normal rates without any bonus, um, it's not a flexible account, but definitely interesting and compelling.
00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.240
Of course, easy access cash ICEs are going to be variable rates.
00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:23.439
So if you want something fixed, if you want a little bit more assurance with the rate that you're going to get and that it'll stay the same.
00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:31.680
Vida savings are offering 4.7% on a one-year fixed cash ICER and 4.77% across two years.
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That is actually the highest fixed ICE on the table.
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It's flexible, the minimum is just a thousand pounds.
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Aldermore have three years at 4.75%, again, minimum balance of a thousand pounds.
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And Skipton Building Society have a five-year cash ICER at 4.76%.
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There's around what, 0.07% between these accounts on this table from one year to five year.
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So you're not going to be paid much to lock away for a long period of time.
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This isn't investment advice, obviously, but personally I wouldn't be locking away given how close these accounts all are.
00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:15.279
Fixed rate is the most exciting, compelling, uh hard, hardly uh hard fought over, I should say, uh, area of savings at the moment.
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I don't know if that's the right words to use, but it's a real interest rate arms race right now.
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The best one year isn't the most compelling account.
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It's MBNA.
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We've talked about them before.
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It's like a phone-managed account, it's 4.85%, minimum of a thousand pounds, but it is the top one year.
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But this next one is NSI Yan.
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So the um the treasury-backed of premium bonds essentially are actually offering 4.82%.
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This is a savings bond, okay?
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It has a minimum of 500 pounds.
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And because it's treasury backed, 100% of your money is protected.
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There's no 120,000 pound cap with these.
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And it's 4.82% for a year.
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I think this is a really, really compelling and interesting account.
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:11.200
Although InvestEc were offering 4.95% for two years, which somewhat trumps that if you can lock away for a little bit longer, it has a minimum balance of£5,000.
00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.440
Um, although, you know,£5,000 is a bit sharp for you.
00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:20.399
GB bank is paying 4.85% with a minimum balance of£1,000.
00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:29.039
If you want to go to three years, AFIN Bank have a five percent fix with a minimum of a thousand pounds.
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That's pretty good.
00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:31.279
That's pretty good.
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Investec match that five percent, they're kind of fighting over this at the moment, which is interesting to see.
00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:43.120
They they keep notching them up, but they have a minimum balance for five thousand pounds, so they have a bit of a harsher entry point.
00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.960
And then AFIN Bank again have a five-year fix at five percent.
00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:51.519
Um, GB Bank have the same five years, but at 4.98%.
00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:53.840
Notice accounts, Jan.
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Notice accounts, Johnny.
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What's the point of them?
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And I asked it every single month.
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The absolute top option at the table, 4.38%.
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GB bank with a hundred and fifty-day notice, Stream Bank offers three four point three five percent with a 90-day notice, and the Stafford Building Society offer 4.26% with a hundred and eighty-day notice.
00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:19.759
Really, oh, I'm struggling to understand who these accounts are for.
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Um, unless you have problems with your discipline, you know, that you say you need to have some sort of assurance, right?
00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:35.200
So else you might take take all your savings and spend them for other things you don't really need, then um these could be an interesting option.
00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:43.200
But personally, oh you know, I would rather I would rather look at a fixed-term bond or you know, an easy access account.
00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:47.919
They pay more, and yeah, then you don't have to give notice to anyone.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:55.120
Um maybe someone in the comments has opened a notice account that can give us some indication of what it is that was attractive to you.
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I know we we talk about this every month.
00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:59.440
Give us a notice, please.
00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:05.440
These products exist for a reason, people are using them, and we'd love to hear from you if you're one of them.
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:09.279
Regular savers, uh, these accounts are phenomenal at the moment.
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The table has never looked more crowded.
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Four accounts are 8% Yan.
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Lloyd's giving you two ways to access, although you can only open one.
00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:24.159
You can open a uh a Lloyd's Club 8% saver, doesn't require the five-pound monthly fee.
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:30.000
Or you can open a standard monthly saver, same 8% that you get with a 250-pound monthly cap.
00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.240
Halifax are on the table as well, Yan.
00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:35.919
8% doesn't even require a current current account at all.
00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:48.240
Um, but if we ignore the headline rate for a moment and look at which account will pay the most estimated interest across an annual or a 12-month period, Monmouth Shares Building Society still sitting at the top.
00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.480
You can earn roughly 195 pounds of interest.
00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:53.200
Santander are offering one as well at 8%.
00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:59.120
You can earn 104 pounds if you drip feed the maximum deposit limit into that account at 8%.
00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:06.559
That does require a Santander current account, um, and 5% of that rate is a 12-month bonus, so it will revert at the end of the term.
00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:09.200
But again, 8% all over the place.
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Four accounts paying 8%.
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It's incredible.
00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:18.240
But every single one of them will earn you less than Monmouth Shares, 6%, um, because it lets you pay in double.
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.360
If you are only going to open one, I'd say it's Monmouth Shared.
00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:23.759
You know, it doesn't require a current account, it's open to everyone.
00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.279
But here's the thing nobody says you have to pick one.
00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.159
We're not all like capped to one regular saver each.
00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.120
So if you want to be a real maximizer, you can stack them.
00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:34.159
You're welcome to.
00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:37.360
Um, there are some conflicts, you know, to consider.
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:42.399
Like I mentioned, Lloyd's, for example, you can only open one Lloyd's monthly saver per person.
00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.279
Um, so that's the standard one or the club one.
00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:49.919
Uh, there is the groups quirk that people might, people might get wrong.
00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:55.279
So Lloyd's, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, they are part of the same group, but they are separate brands, separate entities.
00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.600
So you can open an account from each one if you want to.
00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:02.639
We have created a savings stacker product on Deposit Scout.
00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:07.759
So you could see potentially how much interest you could earn from having multiple regular savers.
00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.320
Okay, take Halifax, take Monmouthshire.
00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:26.000
If you deposited or drip fed the monthly total, which would be 750 pounds across both accounts, you're looking at earning 325 pounds in interest by the end of the year from depositing 9,000 pounds drip fed into those accounts.
00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.039
No account in the UK is going to pay you that type of interest.
00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:40.799
And you could have that money initially deposited in an easy access account, earning, say, 4.55%, like first active, while you drip feed into your regular savers.
00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:44.799
It's arguably a little bit more sophisticated, Jan, could become a bit complicated.
00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.559
It can be worth it, Johnny.
00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:47.679
It can be worth it.
00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:56.159
I'm always a fan of fixed income, and um, if someone offers 8% guaranteed, you know, and there's not much of a downside to it, then this is absolutely excellent.
00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:03.759
And it's something definitely worth taking advantage of, um, especially considering that the you know stock market historically, what was it?
00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:09.840
Like maybe, maybe 10% has performed or so um over the the period of I don't know how many decades.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.440
Um, but eight percent guaranteed, no downsides to it.
00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:14.879
Wow, excellent.
00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:20.080
You know, I would out definitely take on the extra effort to manage these accounts independently.
00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:24.879
Um, if I could get 8% of whatever I'm saving, that's uh absolutely great.
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:35.840
Go ahead and play with that regular saver calculator, combine all these accounts up to three, you know, figure figure out a strategy that works for you, and then yeah, go ahead and maximize on on your savings.
00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:45.039
And every account that we've talked about today, I'll put in a pinned comment below so you can see each one, and you can go direct to their respective pages on deposit scout.com for full details.
00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:50.080
Let us know in the comments if you have any feedback for us, if you have any suggestions, are there any accounts we missed today?
00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:51.519
We'd love to hear from you.
00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.240
And as always, we'll see you again soon.
00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:55.279
Thank you very much.
00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:56.159
Thanks everyone.
00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:56.720
Goodbye.