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Personal bank account recommendations for contractors

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    Personal bank account recommendations for contractors

    Anyone know of a good personal bank account for contractors working 'outside of IR35' taking low salary each month?
    I'm getting annoyed that HSBC now gives me 0% interest on my balance, and other accounts I've seen only pay interest if at least £1K salary is going in each month, which doesn't regularly happen for me.

    To make matters worse, there are times when I hold a big chunk of cash in my main account whilst I plan what ISAs etc to move it to, and usually decide to hold a chunk back as personal working capital.

    What banks do others use? any recommendations for earning 'some' interest rather than 0%?

    #2
    Why would they pay you any interest when they can borrow money at 0.5% from BoE? It's sure much safer for bank as BoE won't call in loans, they won't queue around the corner.

    The only half decent interest that I saw is on 3-5 year bonds, or some "icesave" foreign bank that I'd rather not touch.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by AtW View Post
      The only half decent interest that I saw is on 3-5 year bonds, or some "icesave" foreign bank that I'd rather not touch.
      There are some savings accounts out there with promotional rates etc, but I'm looking specifically for a normal bank account that I can make payments from, standing orders, direct debits, use a debit card, etc. The whole idea is that all of my money is generating some interest, even whilst I decide where to put it.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by CheeseSlice View Post
        There are some savings accounts out there with promotional rates etc
        Those are paid on pitifully small amounts of money (like £5 paid by Halifax if you pay £1000 into current account), they even offer "Ultimate Reward Current Account": "for a monthly fee of £12.50. And if you pay in £1,000 a month, we’ll give you £5."

        Buying five sockies of DimProng or sadguru is a better investment of money given current sockie ban rate - this is not an investment advice though, just an opinion

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          #5
          We switched from HSBC to Alliance and Leicester about 4 years ago. Very glad we did, even though they've now been bought by Santander:

          Current Accounts - Bank Accounts - Alliance & Leicester

          Their online user interface is functional, does a good job and supports all the usual things you might want to do.

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            #6
            There aren't many any more.

            What you do is set up some electronic savings account with the bank that you have a current account with. These tend to pay more interest than current account.

            Then you move money in and out of that account as you need to spend it i.e. you pay yourself into the current account, then move most of the money to your savings account, then say on Friday you realise that you need to pay direct debits on Monday morning you move money to the current account on Friday to cover the direct debits and your weekend spending.
            "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

            Comment


              #7
              I hear Grey Squirrel Bank PLC offers 10% interest, you'll have to deposit at least 10 pounds of wallnuts for at least 50 years minimum term...

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                #8
                Originally posted by AtW View Post
                I hear Grey Squirrel Bank PLC offers 10% interest, you'll have to deposit at least 10 pounds of wallnuts for at least 50 years minimum term...

                I'm going to get a shot gun license and a shot gun and shoot all the grey squirrels in my area.

                Then I'm going to sell the meat as tree rat.
                "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by SueEllen View Post
                  I'm going to get a shot gun license and a shot gun and shoot all the grey squirrels in my area.

                  Then I'm going to sell the meat as tree rat.


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                    #10
                    Originally posted by CheeseSlice View Post
                    There are some savings accounts out there with promotional rates etc, but I'm looking specifically for a normal bank account that I can make payments from, standing orders, direct debits, use a debit card, etc. The whole idea is that all of my money is generating some interest, even whilst I decide where to put it.
                    Do you have a mortgage, or somesuch long-term debt?

                    If so, chuck your cash savings into one of those mortgage bank accounts. The interest you'll save yourself paying on the mortgage will outstrip most savings rates, which you pay tax on as well.

                    Comment

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