am thinking of squirelling away £500 every so often - what shall i do with it

[OrvilleRedenbacher]

in secret

Mini ISA? Up to £3000 (I think) a year tax free

Buy some hazelnuts?
(-squirrel....nuts)

mini ISAs

cash ISA
allownce was increased to £3.6k at the budget
get the guardian on sat for rundown of the best interest rates

from next year you can save up to £3600 per year in mini cash ISA.
Why in secret? Are you planning a great escape?

lol no
just we dont save enough

am going to do it secretly

If long term, be prepared to shift it to an ISA with better interest every year or two though

oh god help
i havew £500 of expenses and will haev a similar amount every three monhs
am nto in a hurry to wihtdraw

Premium bonds?

somoen help a thicko fish
turn me aroudn and point
talk s-l-o-w-l-y

isa will be fine then
just keep an eye on interest rates to check you still have a good deal, same as mortgage etc

best rate at the moment is a Barclays Cash ISA, but egg ISA seems a good rate too - have a look on Mrs Badger's link.
We are investigating which one to go for. But juggling at the moment, as all spare cash either goes into offset mortgage savings or DD's Saving-up-for-University Pot.

oh badge thats far too confusing
i put hte money in and then how do i knwo abotu interst rates

s-l-o-w-l-y

in exchange you can find me a nice miror in a white frame to go over my spanky new dressing table

The bank will tell you when there is a rate change.
Read the guide on Moneysaving expert link.

ok in a in
also if my expenses cheque is made payable to me alone cna i get the cash out form lloyds wihtout it whosing up too obviously on our accoutn
if dh knows wehave this money he will earmark it

Cash/Mini ISA the way to go then I'd say. Most banks do them, as do various online banks etc. Do a google search for best Mini/ Cash ISA rate.

If you have a mortgage and you'll be saving regularly you could also switch to an offset mortgage (like Intelligent Finance) and instead of earning interest it's taken off your mortgage, so you pay it off quicker without making an effort, you can also easily pay off lump sums (eg £1000 every 6 months or so)

i fancy a nice hol in a couple of years that he knows owt about

percy STOP htis iss secret rememebr
iw ant ot ba able to say " oh look dh we haev xyz"

you can pay the expenses cheque directly into the ISA (if you get one witha real life branch near you)

no need to go via the joint account

premium bonds? The possibility of a big win is heartwarming

ok badge so i go to barcalsy adn cat daft and say iw ant a mini isa
and htey sort me out
phew.

...but the definiteness of 5% interest tax free is even more heartwarming, no?

si it easy to change?

Also, an ISA allowance is a personal allowance - you can save £3600 and DH can save same amount too. (Tax free)

Just in case he wants to 'earmark' some squirrel poo too.