Realistic Savings

Before you can decide how much money you want to save and which savings account is best suited to your financial circumstances, you need to make a in-depth record of all your outgoings and measure it against your income. Until this is done, you will not be able to make an inform decision.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP??

You can make your own budget planner on Microsoft Excel or simply download templates on the internet to record your information.

I recently opened a fixed-term savings account at 4% for the first 13 months with Santander.

The Banks and Building Societies are not offering very attractive rates, but it is imperative to lock some money away each month, especially for those rainy days.

End of the 2009/2010 tax year looming!!!!!

Make use of the remaining amount of time to contribute to your ISA allowance which is £3,600 in cash.

If you were over 50 from October 2009, your allowance was bumped up to £5,100.

From 6th April everyone can invest a total of £5,100 in cash each tax year.

Currently there are not many appealing interest rates, but Santander are offering 2.75% variable rate.

You are able to transfer previous ISAs into this account, the minimum amount you have to invest is £1.00 and you are able to have instant access to this account.