Nationwide offering 2.50% on savings – Britons urged to act on ‘limited time’ deal | Personal Finance | Finance
Yesterday the Bank of England doubled the base rate from 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent, the second rise in the last three months. Now, savers could look forward to rapidly increasing interest rates, with some key ways to save more and benefit from this rise.
Nationwide’s Flex Regular Saver account is offering 2.50 percent interest rate to help encourage savers to save often.
The account is only available for a limited time and has a vary degree of eligibility criteria.
Savers can access their funds for three withdrawals during the 12 month account term without impacting their interest rate.
The account is available to current account holders at Nationwide and savers can deposit up to £200 every month.
Regular saver accounts work by limiting the amount of money one can deposit at any given time and encouraging savers to put money into their accounts monthly and watch it accumulate instead.
For savers that don’t want this type of limitation or require more access to their funds can use Nationwide’s online account finder to help them find the correct type of account to match their savings goals.
The interest is worked out daily and paid into savers’ accounts on the anniversary of their account opening.
If savers choose to close their account early the interest accrued until this point will be paid on the day the account is closed.
However, as the cost of living skyrockets, many are struggling to save at all while others are being forced to drain their savings entirely.
Clare Framrose, Head of Savings at Atom Bank noted that while the current economic state can “feel pretty scary”, there are steps savers can take to help make their money go further.
Getting creative
In a time when traditional saving and spending methods no longer work, Ms Framrose suggested savers get creative in order to get into a good savings habit.
She commented: “To keep things exciting, try taking on a different savings challenge each year. A good one to start with is the rounding the change challenge, where you round up all your purchases to the nearest 50p or £1 and save the difference – it all adds up.
“Another fun one is the 1p challenge, which lasts a year but will see you save £667.95 by the end. On day one, you save 1p, then 2p on day two and 3p on day three, building up until you’re saving £3.65 on the last day.”
Look for deals
Savings start with spending less, and in a time when everything seems unbelievably expensive, it can be incredibly fruitful to shop around for deals before deciding on what to buy, from beers to bank accounts.
Mr Framrose noted: “Finding a bank that offers you a competitive interest rate can gain you more money without you having to work for it. And the more interest you earn, the more you can reinvest. It’s a perpetual net gainer for your money and a safe investment for the savvy saver.
“Additionally, whether it’s for your broadband or your gym membership, shop around for the best deals; renegotiate your contracts at the end of leases and don’t let your memberships roll over without having a good look at what’s out there. There’s always a better deal and always room to negotiate.”
