Savings & Investment

[Wolfie]

Just wondering how people on here are saving money, with bank interest rates remaining so low...?

I've been banking with Santander for years and their rates were always one of the best. They have been reduced now, though, so I was looking round for where to get a decent return.

Since February I've been using Plum (Facebook messenger based) for regular savings. You can do it manually or let them automatically take money weekly from your bank with the amounts determined by your current account balance and spend history. The money is then invested in Ratesetter - who are a peer-to-peer lender. Plum is free to use and I've been getting just over 3% on my savings (just over £1000 saved since February - over and above our main Santander savings account).

You can now choose to invest the money yourself, through Plum, in various things with differing risks/returns but I haven't looked into that yet, as it's new and I'm lazy.

I'm sure similar things are available but I thought I'd just highlight this as a really good way of saving without having to think about it too much.

I do not work for Plum, by the way.

[Angry Ram]

No financial expert but it depends on what you are saving for. Do you need to get hold of it?

We have various savings accounts and some will offer a slightly better rate but cap the amount you can put in there. We then look for another and so it goes on. 

If you don't need it, bung it in your pension. I don't know anywhere that will give you 20% or 40% ontop of your investment. If you are a 40% tax payer, you will need to claim the additional 20% via a tax return. These are pretty easy nowadays.

[Coneheadjohn]

2 hours ago, Wolfie said:

Just wondering how people on here are saving money, with bank interest rates remaining so low...?

I've been banking with Santander for years and their rates were always one of the best. They have been reduced now, though, so I was looking round for where to get a decent return.

Since February I've been using Plum (Facebook messenger based) for regular savings. You can do it manually or let them automatically take money weekly from your bank with the amounts determined by your current account balance and spend history. The money is then invested in Ratesetter - who are a peer-to-peer lender. Plum is free to use and I've been getting just over 3% on my savings (just over £1000 saved since February - over and above our main Santander savings account).

You can now choose to invest the money yourself, through Plum, in various things with differing risks/returns but I haven't looked into that yet, as it's new and I'm lazy.

I'm sure similar things are available but I thought I'd just highlight this as a really good way of saving without having to think about it too much.

I do not work for Plum, by the way.

@metalsheep02 might be able to offer you some help mate,but he might not thank me for volunteering him.

Knows his stuff and 100% honest,which I know is a rarity in the world of banking and finance.

[eddie]

Every spare penny I had went into ISAS and Pensions funds.

[metalsheep02]

3 hours ago, Wolfie said:

Just wondering how people on here are saving money, with bank interest rates remaining so low...?

I've been banking with Santander for years and their rates were always one of the best. They have been reduced now, though, so I was looking round for where to get a decent return.

Since February I've been using Plum (Facebook messenger based) for regular savings. You can do it manually or let them automatically take money weekly from your bank with the amounts determined by your current account balance and spend history. The money is then invested in Ratesetter - who are a peer-to-peer lender. Plum is free to use and I've been getting just over 3% on my savings (just over £1000 saved since February - over and above our main Santander savings account).

You can now choose to invest the money yourself, through Plum, in various things with differing risks/returns but I haven't looked into that yet, as it's new and I'm lazy.

I'm sure similar things are available but I thought I'd just highlight this as a really good way of saving without having to think about it too much.

I do not work for Plum, by the way.

Can't argue with the 3% but that could vary as there are no guarantees with peer to peer lending as I am sure you understand.

If I was to express concerns it would be that their FAQs make it clear there is no protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (if they go out of business). The language they use about whether they are FCA registered is also a little vague. The company they represent (Resolution Compiance) has, according to last accounts assets of only £130,000.

[metalsheep02]

Just to add to above the Plum website references some protection under electronic money regulations but I think this only applies when your funds are in your 'e-wallet'. It seems that the 3% is only paid when your funds are transferred to ratesetter who make the following clear on their website:

Capital at risk. No FSCS protection. Instant access not guaranteed. 

Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

[ketteringram]

Argentina have today raised their interest rate to 60 %, if anyone would like to move their savings there ?

[Zag zig]

8 hours ago, metalsheep02 said:

Just to add to above the Plum website references some protection under electronic money regulations but I think this only applies when your funds are in your 'e-wallet'. It seems that the 3% is only paid when your funds are transferred to ratesetter who make the following clear on their website:

Capital at risk. No FSCS protection. Instant access not guaranteed. 

Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole myself. 

[Wolfie]

18 hours ago, metalsheep02 said:

Just to add to above the Plum website references some protection under electronic money regulations but I think this only applies when your funds are in your 'e-wallet'. It seems that the 3% is only paid when your funds are transferred to ratesetter who make the following clear on their website:

Capital at risk. No FSCS protection. Instant access not guaranteed. 

Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Yes they are very clear about the risks involved and much more than the legal requirement I'd imagine - which I see as a good & responsible thing.

I did check them out a bit & MSE seemed to think it was OK.

[metalsheep02]

58 minutes ago, Wolfie said:

Yes they are very clear about the risks involved and much more than the legal requirement I'd imagine - which I see as a good & responsible thing.

I did check them out a bit & MSE seemed to think it was OK.

Nothing wrong with a bit of risk as long as it is understood and can be tolerated.

[Coneheadjohn]

1 hour ago, metalsheep02 said:

Nothing wrong with a bit of risk as long as it is understood and can be tolerated.

Hope you don’t mind my recommendation?

We can have a straightener in the gym when we meet up?

[Wolfie]

12 minutes ago, coneheadjohn said:

Hope you don’t mind my recommendation?

We can have a straightener in the gym when we meet up?

Is that a Euphanism?

[Coneheadjohn]

2 minutes ago, Wolfie said:

Is that a Euphanism?

Haha,no mate.

[Rev]

I use Funding Circle. Invested £4k on the 1st December last year, and it grew roughly £170 quid in the first four months, but since then has dropped back to around a hundred quid up, as of today.

Shows a return at the moment after charges and bad debt of 4%, which isn't that great imo.

I'll leave it the full year, but it's probably not worth it from a risk/reward perspective as it is 

[jono]

Peer to peer way to risky for me. When I play with a bit of spare money I put it in FTSE 100 companies. It’s risky but if you buy at the right price there are gains to be made without huge risk. I mean pretty much always blue chips. I’ve made about 10% over the last year. Some winners and losers always. Down with National grid but more than made up for it with Diageo for example. And neither of them are going bust anytime soon. Best I ever did was Fever Tree .. thought I’d left it a bit late when I bought a grands worth at 14 a share but sold them recently at around 32 . Should have hung on but decided they might run out of steam and having doubled my money was very happy. I don’t invest huge amounts because I haven’t got huge amounts but it’s interesting and relatively safe. Mind you last month has been very poor ?

[GboroRam]

1 minute ago, jono said:

Peer to peer way to risky for me. When I play with a bit of spare money I put it in FTSE 100 companies. It’s risky but if you buy at the right price there are gains to be made without huge risk. I mean pretty much always blue chips. I’ve made about 10% over the last year. Some winners and losers always. Down with National grid but more than made up for it with Diageo for example. And neither of them are going bust anytime soon. Best I ever did was Fever Tree .. thought I’d left it a bit late when I bought a grands worth at 14 a share but sold them recently at around 32 . Should have hung on but decided they might run out of steam and having doubled my money was very happy. I don’t invest huge amounts because I haven’t got huge amounts but it’s interesting and relatively safe. Mind you last month has been very poor ?

Do you have to pay tax on the profit?

[King Kevin]

Whatever you do with savings and investments be thrifty till you're 50 then spend to the end.

[jono]

18 minutes ago, GboroRam said:

Do you have to pay tax on the profit?

Good question .. you get a capital gains allowance like a personal allowance I suppose. You have to pay capital gains if you make more than I think 12 grand in a year as a difference between buying and selling prices . but I didn’t .. I am a very very small investor and to be honest it’s rainy day money invested for the long term .. unless I get a fever tree situation where a proper profit was there to be seen and taken. 

you also have to pay tax on the dividends you receive. So for example I earned something like 38 quid on a BP dividend .. and pay tax on it at normal rates. 

[Gritstone Ram]

3 hours ago, jono said:

Good question .. you get a capital gains allowance like a personal allowance I suppose. You have to pay capital gains if you make more than I think 12 grand in a year as a difference between buying and selling prices . but I didn’t .. I am a very very small investor and to be honest it’s rainy day money invested for the long term .. unless I get a fever tree situation where a proper profit was there to be seen and taken. 

you also have to pay tax on the dividends you receive. So for example I earned something like 38 quid on a BP dividend .. and pay tax on it at normal rates. 

You don’t have to pay tax on the dividend if you have a share ISA. You can buy and sell as you like so long as you stay under your £20k limit for the year. If you have a cash ISA you can split the amount you put in between the two.

[jono]

9 minutes ago, Gritters said:

You don’t have to pay tax on the dividend if you have a share ISA. You can buy and sell as you like so long as you stay under your £20k limit for the year. If you have a cash ISA you can split the amount you put in between the two.

Yes of course but I am just investing purely in the stock market and hold shares personally in individual companies. Not via a stocks and shares ISA which is in essence a managed fund with, as you say no tax liability, but of course you pay fund management fees. I’m not clever at all and do have a small ISA in stocks and shares with Fidelity. It’s done OK but equally, my safe bet FTSE investments have more than kept pace with a professional fund and somehow I like it because it’s mine to play with with just a click or two on my banks website. I suppose if I was really clued up i’d do my personal investing via an ISA platform. But it might give me a head ache and another set of log on details !