Grab 2% Top Easy Savings While You Can

[inflating]

Grab 2% top easy savings while you can

With savings rates lower than a snake's belly - and slithering further down - grab the paltry best of the bunch now

Switching to a new top savings account is easy. Just withdraw cash and put it in a new, hopefully better pot. With rates so dire, it's never been more important to check & boost rates. All deals below have full UK £85,000 savings safety.

2% AER from 'Nationwide' - effective 1.5% min rate guarantee. The top variable payer is Derbyshire BS (min £1,000). Many don't realise this is part of Nationwide, offering an identical rate to its MySave account but with unlimited withdrawals. It pays 2%, of which 1.5% is a guaranteed bonus until March 2014, which effectively means the rate can't drop below 1.5% until then. Diarise to to ditch and switch once it ends, though.

If you've less than £1,000 to save, Coventry BS is also 2% but limits you to 4 withdrawals a year. Full info and more options, incl how to get 3% in a current account, in Top Savings.

Why are rates so low - will it get worse? Today's best buys are 1%-point lower than six months ago. It's mainly due to the Govt's Funding for Lending scheme, which pumped money into the banks for them to lend out, so they no longer need savers' cash as much. There's no sign of the decline ending, so it's sensible to grab the top rate now, as long as it's easy access so you can leave if things improve.

The above is from the MoneySavingExpert weekly email.

At least he's telling people why. And I hope they also realise why everything's going up in price due to the weakening of the currency.

[Renewed Investor]

1.5% per year? What's the point? That's a negative return.

People need to learn how to take control of their own savings. I took a portion of mine and currency trade with it. I'm averaging 1.5% per day, not a year. Look into it, you can do it tax free here in the UK and don't need a fortune to get started. Practice with a demo acoutn first though until you find a method that works consistantly for you.

[inflating]

1.5% per year? What's the point? That's a negative return.

People need to learn how to take control of their own savings. I took a portion of mine and currency trade with it. I'm averaging 1.5% per day, not a year. Look into it, you can do it tax free here in the UK and don't need a fortune to get started. Practice with a demo acoutn first though until you find a method that works consistantly for you.

I am conscious of the fact I may lose what I currency trade with, as should anyone who gives it a go. Could you recommend a couple of sites that facilitate currency trading and perhaps a quick guide or cheat sheet on how to do it. I presume strict stop-loss limits and the like should be used if things go against a trader. Not sure if hedging can work effectively, but am interested in any tips or wisdom that you can pass on.

[ItsColdUpHere]

If you earn 1.5% a day, trade 200 days a year and start with £100 you'll have 8 trillion after only 10 years, 2 million after 5.

Or you're talking rubbish.

The audience can decide...

[Renewed Investor]

I am conscious of the fact I may lose what I currency trade with, as should anyone who gives it a go. Could you recommend a couple of sites that facilitate currency trading and perhaps a quick guide or cheat sheet on how to do it. I presume strict stop-loss limits and the like should be used if things go against a trader. Not sure if hedging can work effectively, but am interested in any tips or wisdom that you can pass on.

The real trick to it all is money management. The most I will ever risk on any one trade is 2% of total account equity. My reward/risk ratio is either 2:1 or 3:1 depending on how I view each potential opportunity. As my accoutn grows I will no doubt shrink the percentage that I risk though as the £ amount does affect your thinking as accounts and trades get larger.

Read the following to get started in trading:

Market Wizards

Trading in the Zone

Come into my Trading room

Mastering the Trade

95% of traders lose because they are not mentally prepared to deal with the euphoria and distress that each trade has the potential to drive you to. You need to discipline yourself and gradually ease yourself into trading. Start with a demo account, preferably one that does not expire. Once you have found a technique that works for you over what you deem to be a reasonable time period (for me it was 3 months of consistant results) then open a live account with a small amount of money. I started my live account with £200 on 100:1 leverage. My rule was that I stick to my method, never risk more than 2% per trade. Every month I would add £200 to the account and gradually increase my £ amount per trade without exceeding the 2% risk limit.

Don't ever risk more than you are comfortable with, Gamblers get nowhere in this industry. Go for many small wins over a lengthy time period rather than the big wins that double your account or so. Try to stick to one sector too or one currency pair when starting out too. This is just to prevent information overload in your mind.

[Renewed Investor]

If you earn 1.5% a day, trade 200 days a year and start with £100 you'll have 8 trillion after only 10 years, 2 million after 5.

Or you're talking rubbish.

The audience can decide...

You're assuming I aggressively compound my wins, which I don't. Aggressive Compounding very rarely works out. To demonstrate how I would play it as a newbie starting out here is an example. £ starting amount is not a recommendation, just an easy number for demonstration purposes.

£1000 equity with strict money management.

- Average of 1 trade per trading day.

- 2% risk for 4% profit (% of total starting equity)

- Trading method is 60% successful

- 20 trades per month brings 12 wins and 8 losses

Account equity grows in total to £1320. I would not compound this yet and just stick to the 2% of £1000 starting equity. Assuming the trading method is consistant we can continue to trade like this.

I would keep this up for a further 6 months, at which the total account equity stands at around £3240. At this point I would withdraw the £1240 so that no matter what happens I have not lost my initial deposit, in fact I have a profit no matter what. This does wonders for your mental health in trading. Now your account equity is £2000 of what you could call "free money" which again leviates stress. So now we apply the trading method again but to this larger pot of equity.

£2000 equity with strict money management.

- Average of 1 trade per trading day.

- 2% risk for 4% profit (% of total starting equity)

- Trading method is 60% successful

- 20 trades per month brings 12 wins and 8 losses

Account equity grows in total to £2640.

Again, do this for a further 6 months and take profit off the table again for piece of mind.

This is all very possible, I know people who do it every day. My stategies vary depending on the type of trade but I can confirm this money management system works. The trick is, and it is definately easier said than done, is keeping a level head. If you feel yourself getting too down about a losing streak or too euphoric and careless from a winning streak then log out and go do something else to ground yourself before you do something stupid and break your rules..

Edited February 13, 2013 by Renewed Investor

[inflating]

Thanks RI

I shall see if I can stumble upon a decent site to try the demo

[ItsColdUpHere]

1) If you could consistently get 1.5% a day why would you NOT "aggressively compound", with money being fungible its THE SAME as suddenly having a larger starting stake.

2) If it was easy as you say the big boys wouldnt have to leverage large amounts of borrowed money to make their profits.

3) Your examples showed nothing more than what would happen IF YOU WIN. Obviously you make monet if you make money - my premise is that currency trades are by nature a zero sum game and that your 1.5% a day is just wishful thinking.

[Renewed Investor]

1) If you could consistently get 1.5% a day why would you NOT "aggressively compound", with money being fungible its THE SAME as suddenly having a larger starting stake.

2) If it was easy as you say the big boys wouldnt have to leverage large amounts of borrowed money to make their profits.

3) Your examples showed nothing more than what would happen IF YOU WIN. Obviously you make monet if you make money - my premise is that currency trades are by nature a zero sum game and that your 1.5% a day is just wishful thinking.

1.) It's too psychologically straining to play the game like that, emotions run high. Only a sociopath would stand a chance of keeping level headed with an aggressive compounding strategy. Just look at the threads in forex forums for people who have tried this, it always ends badly.

2.) Big boys don't have to, they just often choose to because the cost of borrowing is minute and more capital = more profit.

3.) My examples incorporated losses. The gist of my post was that you need a strategy and the discipline to stick to a strategy. Back test strategies and then forward test ones that worked in backtesting via a demo account. If the strategy still works in demo then try it live with a small amount of cash.

[ItsColdUpHere]

1.) It's too psychologically straining to play the game like that, emotions run high. Only a sociopath would stand a chance of keeping level headed with an aggressive compounding strategy. Just look at the threads in forex forums for people who have tried this, it always ends badly.

2.) Big boys don't have to, they just often choose to because the cost of borrowing is minute and more capital = more profit.

3.) My examples incorporated losses. The gist of my post was that you need a strategy and the discipline to stick to a strategy. Back test strategies and then forward test ones that worked in backtesting via a demo account. If the strategy still works in demo then try it live with a small amount of cash.

1) if you were good enough to make 1.5% a day it wouldnt be psychologically straining at all, it would be a a laugh. It IS psychologically straining BECAUSE its hard to make money.

2) They will do whatever makes them the most money, and if it was that easy theyd all be billionaires. Theyre not because currency trading is a zero some game - some win and some lose.

3) "My examples incorporated losses"

No they didnt, they incorporated you winning more that losing, which is the hard bit.

You could just as easily use that exact example with a roulette wheel "if i pick the right colour 12 times and the wrong colour 8 times i win."

Well yes, obviously. But the hard bit is actually doing that.

Edited February 14, 2013 by ItsColdUpHere

[ItsColdUpHere]

As Nicholas Taleb says, the advantage of playing the markets is that it scales - you dont have to work twice as hard to make twice as much money, you merely employ twice as much capital.

If you were really confident you could average 1.5% a day your method should scale to reasonably large amounts, and you should be borrowing every penny you can get to use your method.

I can only assume that since you're not doing that and havent increased your money by a factor of 20 every year (which is what 1.5% a day equates to), that you're NOT confident of 1.5% a day, and what you mean is "if things go my way i sometimes make 1.5% in a day, but other days I lose". Which is more reasonable.

We're then down to the win/lose ratio like any other gambler with a "system".

Edited February 14, 2013 by ItsColdUpHere

[Renewed Investor]

I understand the scepticism. it's hard to believe anything you read on the internet regarding some subjects.

All I can say is that there are people who make consistant profits. I know one guy making $20K - $25K per week on a $1 mil account who came from literally nothing. Granted he has 50 years experience behind him but still, he is what convinced me that there is more to trading than sheer luck. The closest comparison I could probably make would be Poker. Is it "luck" that the same people end up in the finals each year at the WSOP championships?

Trading is not for everyone. It takes a certain mindset, a lot of patience and perserverance.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Renewed Investor

[ItsColdUpHere]

I understand the scepticism. it's hard to believe anything you read on the internet regarding some subjects.

All I can say is that there are people who make consistant profits. I know one guy making $20K - $25K per week on a $1 mil account who came from literally nothing. Granted he has 50 years experience behind him but still, he is what convinced me that there is more to trading than sheer luck. The closest comparison I could probably make would be Poker. Is it "luck" that the same people end up in the finals each year at the WSOP championships?

Trading is not for everyone. It takes a certain mindset, a lot of patience and perserverance.

Now thats fair enough.

And I genuinely hope you come back on in 2 years with a picture of your new mansion and Ferarri, and a big "F**k You" to me!!

Edited February 14, 2013 by ItsColdUpHere

[Warwick-Watcher]

The above is from the MoneySavingExpert weekly email.

At least he's telling people why. And I hope they also realise why everything's going up in price due to the weakening of the currency.

2% gross, so 1.2% net of 40% tax, which probably applies to many savers. Big wow - £5,000 in a cash ISA - makes a whole £100 tax free. Excuse me while I dance round the room in joy at my huge windfall.

Government and BOE are thieves.

[stumpy]

2% gross, so 1.2% net of 40% tax, which probably applies to many savers. Big wow - £5,000 in a cash ISA - makes a whole £100 tax free. Excuse me while I dance round the room in joy at my huge windfall.

Government and BOE are thieves.

I thought that everyone was buying gold now to avoid the insult of the savings rates.

If you take the dropping value of currency i dont see any other way of preserving wealth.

Works for me .

[inflating]

Nationwide MySave are doing an account at 2% gross. Appalling you might think, until you realise it's now one of the best if not the best relatively easy access account available in the UK from a main institution.

Well done Mervyn & George -- you two really are berks of the highest magnitude.

(Thanks to BruceBanner for reminding me of my own MySave tip via MSE!)

Edited March 4, 2013 by inflating

[desertorchid]

Nationwide MySave are doing an account at 2% gross. Appalling you might think, until you realise it's now one of the best if not the best relatively easy access account available in the UK from a main institution.

Well done Mervyn & George -- you two really are berks of the highest magnitude.

(Thanks to BruceBanner for reminding me of my own MySave tip via MSE!)

You think thats bad, look at savings rates if your in HK:

http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/investments/mkt-info/deposit-rates/interest-rates?pwscmd=cmd_init&currency=HKD

With inflation running at 4-5% you can understand why asset prices are through the roof.

There is no lower limit for the UK and do not be surprised if 2% looks extravagant in a few years/

[BlueRat]

I've just stumbled upon this regular saver account, first one I've seen where you can put a decent wedge in per month:

http://www.thechelsea.co.uk/savings/easyaccess/regular-savings.html

They're offering 2.25% once you get to 10k, which would take 4 months at 2 grand a month plus the initial 2k deposit. Then it's 2.5% once you get to 25k (will take a year) The rate isn't fixed though, knowing my luck they'll drop if if I go to the trouble of opening an account. Re-reading it, "Effective 7 November 2009", ripe for a drop. Ah ****** it, it's not worth the bother is it?

[inflating]

I've just stumbled upon this regular saver account, first one I've seen where you can put a decent wedge in per month:

http://www.thechelsea.co.uk/savings/easyaccess/regular-savings.html

They're offering 2.25% once you get to 10k, which would take 4 months at 2 grand a month plus the initial 2k deposit. Then it's 2.5% once you get to 25k (will take a year) The rate isn't fixed though, knowing my luck they'll drop if if I go to the trouble of opening an account. Re-reading it, "Effective 7 November 2009", ripe for a drop. Ah ****** it, it's not worth the bother is it?

Well, it's an interesting find, thanks. But the hoops savers are now being made to jump through is just a bit absurd, they're so keen for savers to get rid of their money on tat or property that they're turning the screw ever tighter. It's a scandal really.

[BlueRat]

Well, it's an interesting find, thanks. But the hoops savers are now being made to jump through is just a bit absurd, they're so keen for savers to get rid of their money on tat or property that they're turning the screw ever tighter. It's a scandal really.

It's grim when I work out how much I'm losing even between a fixed rate and easy access account, all because I "might" buy a house.

Just found another good one if anyone has 100k down the sofa, 2.25% easy access: http://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/albion-web-saver.html

[BlueRat]

For those in the Nottingham area, you can get 3.25% on 15k with this branch based account: http://www.thenottingham.com/savings/first-home-saver/

It works out to 150 quid more interest per year than a 2% account.

[awaytogo]

For those in the Nottingham area, you can get 3.25% on 15k with this branch based account: http://www.thenottingham.com/savings/first-home-saver/

It works out to 150 quid more interest per year than a 2% account.

I see Halifax are doing a 3% 3year fixed rate ISA which better than a lot of others on offer.

Anyone seen any better fixed rate ISA deals.?

[porca misèria]

I see Halifax are doing a 3% 3year fixed rate ISA which better than a lot of others on offer.

Anyone seen any better fixed rate ISA deals.?

Yeah, 8% on what I paid, 7.16% currently.

Fortunately the fund portion is doing better than that.

[MattW]

Virgin Money are slashing my ISA from 2.8 % AER to 2.4 %

[crashmonitor]

Virgin Money are slashing my ISA from 2.8 % AER to 2.4 %

Amazingly until last month their instant access stood at 2.85% for those already in it. That has since fallen to 2.4%, but still good considering its flexibility.

On the ISA front put my £5760 mini allowance into a three year Halifax fix at 3%. The instant Virgin money is on standby for a dip in the FTSE 100, if we ever get one.

Edited April 9, 2013 by crashmonitor