Fiddling Around With Finances

So as you know by now, I've been trying to get my life back in order since the beginning of this year. The aim was to get grounded and mentally stronger before I resume my degree in September. I've had my peaks and I've had my troughs, but overall it's going well and I'm in so much more of a happier place now.

Whilst the first part of this year was about taking some time to myself, getting back in touch with my crafty side, etc. this obviously wasn't good for my finances. So when I was ready, I started work. It started with pub work and then I managed to find a temporary 9-5 with good pay for three months. Thanks to working very hard and moving into a cheaper place, my money situation has got a lot better and I can think about savings.

I opened a Help to Buy ISA recently which is great but of course this is for quite a few years in the future when I'm in the position to buy a house (see here if you're not familiar with the scheme.) Whilst I'm paying in £200 a month, and the interest is pretty good, I wanted another good account I could keep the rest of my savings in.

The savings account I have at the moment is going to change to 0.1% interest soon. I mean, what is the point? I may as well keep my money under the mattress. I decided to check the rates on my student account since I couldn't remember what they were, and guess what I found? 3% on balances up to £2000. I've been keeping money in a savings account when I should have just left it in the current account! So I feel like a bit of a wally. I'm now keeping £2000 in my student account at all times and transferring any excess to a different savings account with ever-so-slightly better interest, and transferring £200 from that each month into the ISA, which I think is 2.5%. Banking is complicated. It's also lucky that I put some money into a fixed rate bond a year and a half ago, before it all got so much worse. It's probably not a good idea now though, saving at the moment is tricky. Still, you've got to do the best with what you're given, and I find it quite fun to move my money around.

I'd recommend checking all your bank accounts if you're not sure about them, there's usually a better option. I'm with Santander so I used their interest rate finder, but other banks have a similar thing.

Limpet x