For those of us lucky enough to have a bit of money to save in a financial environment where interest rates are lousy, I have noticed some new trends. 

Firstly, savings rates are changing at the click of a mouse, so if you see a half decent rate you need to act quickly. Some rates are pulled after only a couple of days, often because financial advisers get the inside track on their availability so they can advise their clients and get a fee for doing so. 

Secondly, there are a range of devices to get you signed up for a ‘good’ rate for a fixed period on the expectation that normal behaviour means you will forget to move your money at the end of that period. Then you'll end up in a product paying 0.1%, the kind of product that only banks are proud to sell us!  

One of the more common devices is a savings rate that includes a ‘bonus period’.  You will miss this in the ad but the small print says that this bonus (really a temporary top-up to an otherwise lousy rate) stops after a set period.

So two tips when looking at savings rates.  First, read the small print and second, if the rate changes after a fixed period, put a reminder in your smartphone to look for a new home for your money before that date comes around.

Leave a comment

Comments:

There are no comments on this article as yet, why not add one above!

Leave a comment:

Forename:
Surname:
Email address:
Your comments:

Choose an icon below:

I would like to receive updates by email when new comments are posted to this blog