www.iva.co.uk

I've been meaning to post about this for the last couple of days - I'm getting slack! I've been trying to get a savings account for a while as although I've got an esavings account linked to my Nationwide account I wanted an account that wasn't quite so easy to get at! Going by the reaction of the banks you'd think I was trying to get a loan rather than somewhere to keep my meagre savings - I was credit checked and needless to say I failed!

I get the Money Saving Expert email once a week and it recommended an account with Bradford and Bingley paying 6.4% AER and you only need £1 to open it! I thought I'd give it a go, so I applied and much to my surprise they accepted me! They don't give a cashcard so the only way to get the money is to transfer it to my current account which will make me question whether I need it or not. I am going to put half of my savings allowance into the N/Wide esavings and the other half into the Bradford & Bingley so I can get at some, but not all of it!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Skippy -

Did you consider the old style Post Office "Investment Account" (I think it still exists). It is run on a passbook basis and you have to send away when you want to make a withdrawal - and the Post Office (or I think it is called NS and I now) send you back a "warrant" to cash at the Post Office. I dont know what the interset rate is but it certainly stops you making spur of the moment instant withdrawals if you suddenly get the urge to buy something that you quickly realise you didnt really ned!!

I looked at one of those but I was put off as if you pay tax on savings interest it's not automatically deducted and I didn't want any hassles with the tax man!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Hi Skippy I am hoping to start to put some money aside, into some kind of savings, pennies add to pounds and all that.
How do you manage to save? I have no allowance in my IVA, the only way I would be able to do it would be to cut down on my food/household expenditure.
What would you reccommend?
Thanks Spenmotherhen

I don't have savings as such, just allowances for my car, dentist, optician etc - sadly it's all accounted for! I'm not doing very well at the moment, but I want to get more disciplined - it's just getting used to it!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Hi spenmotherhen
I have looked at everything and tried to see where I can cut back, I have turned the hot water to twice a day,it used to be continuous, I switch lights off that I used to leave on, some have been put on timers. I have cut my virgin package to large rather than xl and saved £10 there, car insurance we always stuck with the same but I have shopped around and got it with breakdown included, protected no claims as before and svaed the £60 breakdown.
I look continuously for bargains, got £40 boots for a fiver at the weekend, so set for the winter, I only buy clothes on offer and only if i need them.
Buy mince and things like that and do a big pot full of spag bol or shepherds pies and freeze them they taste the same when defrosted and you can usually get mince on offer, saves your time and money.

I check out online the supermarket offers so I know what to get when I go.
Hope that helps a bit.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Thanks Ang, Skippy.

I do the spag bol/shepherds pie in bulk, it saves loads of time and works out cheaper like you say to make meals that way.

All so do this with chilli's and curries.

Great bargain on the boots!! did they have a size 6??? lol!!

I have just tried to cut our internet and phone bills down, a lady rang from BT offering us Total Broadband for £13.99 a month for 6 months then it would go up to £22.oo pounds a month for the rest of the 18 month contract.

As I was paying £40 for phone and £18 for internet, this sounded like a great mony saver....However......

What she forgot to tell us that my payments have actually gone up from £40 to £57!!! So between the phone and Internet I have actually saved a £1!!

Line rental and 3 months upfront service charges etc makes my monthly Direct Debit £57, when I queried it alls i got after 2 hours on the phone to BT was "sorry you should have been told this".

My phone bill was £101 and i have only been living here for 3 weeks!! not bad considering by calls were only £11.

I guess I can put my £1 towards my savings lol!!

Thanks for all your tips.

Spenmotherhen

I can see the benifit in trying to find cheaper insurance and cutting down on electric etc forthe short term but what happens when you next have to submit and income and expenditure form. Would you not loose all the benifts of cost cutting because your expenditure would be lower, would the IP not just increase your payments....Just a thought.

Hi Louise
You dont have to decrease them as they are your set accepted amount and they could go up and down anyway. I have seen it posted in sevral times that if you save fom your expenditure then that is ok as ther are lots of other things that happen that you need that bit extra for.

Ang

Please visit my blog at http://aguise.blogs.iva.co.uk/

I have a very low opinion of BT - they are so expensive! When we move we are going to switch the broadband to Sky - £5 a month instead of £26. At the moment Dave pays £38 for Sky, £11 line rental to BT, £26 Broadband and about £10 to £15 in calls - total £85 to £90 a month.

I've worked out that by switching everything to Sky it will cost £38 for Sky TV, £11 line rental to BT, £5 Sky broadband and £5 to Sky to cover all phone calls - total £59 a month.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Sky sounds like a great option Skippy, wish I had looked around before going with BT - tied in for 18 months now

skip I asked for a savings account at the coop and was accepted, it is easy access though. I didnt expect to be accepted but was pleasantly suprised.

lily

ive have one tied in with my alliance and leicester account which i use for "contingencies"

58 PAYMENTS TO GO..

I have Sky - £48.50, seperate broadband - £14.99, BT Landline - £10.50 and One-Tel telephone account - approx £20.00. Adding all these together gives the total at approx £94.00.

I would like to switch everything to the Sky package ie Sky, Broadband and Telephone only because it works out to be cheaper. As an existing Sky customer (have been for 9 years) and having just gone BR, what are the chances of them accepting or refusing?

Sue

Ho Hum! Think I'll bang my drum!

Read My Blog
http://sadsack.blogs.iva.co.uk/

I was watching an advert on TV last night for Orange I think it was £24 or £25 for phone and broadband. Not sure if there is any clauses but sounds good.

Sadsack that's pretty hefty a month.

I cancelled our Sky Sports to get the bills down - hubbie wasn't impressed - "Hey Hum" think he will need a bang on your Drum LOL!!