These days, savings accounts are becoming less and less popular. With such uncertainty in the financial air, it’s no surprise. The alternatives, however, are not great. Some slightly oddball advisors are suggesting that, ultimately, the best place to put your money, in terms of security, stability and accessibility, is under your mattress.
Though this may seem tempting, things aren’t quite that bad yet. And unless your mattress has magical properties, that money isn’t going to grow. Still, with loans and credit being turned down left right and centre in many places and for many of the poorer demographics, it’s no wonder people are looking around for alternative ways to cut back, and secure the money that you earn.
Curiously enough, one of the best answers is right under your nose (no, not your mattress). A current account, despite offering less of the savings opportunities of savings accounts, does offer easy accessibility and transferability, meaning that, should you want to, you can bail out or move house any time you please. It’s also worth knowing that, if you’re willing to shop around, there are plenty of relatively high interest current accounts out there, just begging to cradle your money. As is often the case with these sorts of things, a comparison website is one of the best places to start, and should provide you with the basics on offer.
After that, I’m afraid it’s a case of good ol’ fashion scrutiny – you’ll probably want to quiz the banks directly on what they can offer that their competitors don’t; it may even happen that the bank you are currently with can offer you something truly competitive, particularly when faced with the prospect of your leaving. It’s also feasible that you fit into a bracket that allows for particular conditions within your current account, such as a better overdraft facility.
As a starting point, Alliance & Leicester offer a very competitive interest rate on their current accounts, which only gets better the larger your account (8.5% aer). Another big plus is that the A&L Premier accounts come with linked high interest savings accounts offering a very impressive 12% AER for the first year, great news if you can afford to stash away some savings. So, rather than worrying about your money in a multitude of locations, it can pay to consolidate some of your funds into a current account, at least for the moment.
