Savings account - Best Options

D

Donkeyman

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I have about 40k sitting in a savings account.

Its in the aib online notice deposit 7 account."You can avail of our great interest rates of 3.25% AER variable on all balances up to EUR10,000, and 1.50% AER variable on savings amounts from EUR10,001 - EUR100,000. You can save instantly, easily and securely at any time, online."

Is this a good place to have my money, I may need to access it.

 
Re: Savings account

There are better options. Did you look at the Best Buys thread. As you may need access to your money its a demand account you need. Anglo Irish Bank offer 3.60% and National UK offer 3.55%. Go into Best Buys, click on Lump Sums and all the rates are there.
 
Re: Savings account

Your money is state guaranteed with Anglo Irish Bank and is safe. Many people have reservations because of all the hype etc and do not feel safe with their money there. If you feel uncertain, go for the next best option, National UK. You could leave €10,000 in AIB 7 day on line account @ 3.25% and put remainder in National UK @ 3.55%. National UK is covered by the British guarantee up to £50,000. Your money is well diversfied and covered by two different guarantees and you have easy access to both accounts.
 
You'll need to ask yourself some questions:
-Are you comfortable with online banks (banks that don't operate a branch network)
-What do you value most the interest return or safety?
-Do you just want lump sum savings and / or regular savings?
-What % of savings could you commit to on demand and / or fixed savings?

There are numerous subsets to the questions above but that would be my principal breakdown in determining disposition towards savings.

A few comments on the above:
-Online banks don't have a street presence persay... though in theory the reduced overhead of costs allows them to offer more competitive products. Some people prefer local branches for reassurance.
-People are getting panicky regarding the safety of banks and often choose the very safest (subject to interpretation) options, often to the detriment of a good rate. My general reading on the forum is that most seasoned AAM users have resisted the panic and are pursuing the best rates (rationally not as a gamble).
-You'd be surprised how many people don't consider how to use both lump sum savings and regular savings to best effect i.e. when possible feed regular savings from a lump sum account (this might simply involve moving amount X from the lump sum account to your current account before the regular payment is due). Naturally consider your salary as well. Also take advantage of banded rates in lump sum accounts as well.
-The general view regarding interest rates is that they're going to go continually down during the year. This is one of the weaknesses of lump sum on demand accounts, while you can access them whenever you like their rates are variable and thus can change overnight. Here is where fixed term savings come into play. As their name suggests their rate is guaranteed for the term.
Though the ECB rate has theoratically bottomed out at 1% a quick glance at the best buy threads show a multitude of accounts offering significantly more. Its doubtful that these offerings will remain for long... so if possible open a fixed term account while rates are good.

If I was in your shoes based solely on the 40K and assuming that you can't commit anything to a fixed term:
-First 10K in the Halifax Flexi Saver to get 3.75% (only get this rate up to 10k)
-The remaining 30K in the Anglo Premium Demand to get 3.60%
-Open an Anglo Regular Saver to get 5.50% on up to 1K per month (ideally feed it as much as you can)
 
Im wondering if anyone can tell me what the difference is between this online 7 account and aibs saving account which offers 5%.....I dont understand the difference.


"If you would like to save between EUR10 and EUR300 per month, and earn an incredible 5.00% A.E.R.* variable on your savings, then the AIB Regular Saver Account is worth checking out. As well as this great rate of interest, you can access your savings at any time - without penalty."
 
The AIB 7 day on line account is a deposit account i.e. you can put in any amount whenever you like. A regular saver account is one where you agree to save up to a max of €300 per month. Despite advice above, personally, I am not a lover of regular saver accounts. It means setting up a direct debit to transfer money monthly into a regular saver account. You will get more interest but its not much - not worth the hassle in my opinion.
 
If you have a joint AIB account you can both have €10,000 in two separate 7 day notice online accounts and avail of that preferential rate.
 
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