Choosing a stoozpot savings account
| Author: Clariman | Created: 26/03/2006 |
In the fast-moving world of stoozing our focus is usually on credit cards, as lenders announce new offers or tinker with existing ones. It is essential that the stoozer keeps up to date with these in order to exploit new offers and to ensure that the Terms and Conditions of existing cards do not change for the worse. In this environment it is easy to assume that the savings account market remains constant and somewhat dull in comparison.
While savings accounts
do not change as frequently as credit cards, they are
just as important to the stoozer so it is essential not to take our eyes off the ball.
This article gives an update on the stooz pot savings account market and helps you choose
the right product for you.
What should you Look for in a Stoozer's Savings Account?
There are some account features, which we consider essential for all stoozers:
- A high interest rate in order to maximise your return.
- Instant access to your savings. This enables you to pay your credit card bill without a delay, so select an Instant Access Account with no notice period.
- Speed of operation. The account should be managed by phone or via the Internet. Postal or branch accounts are not suitable for stoozing.
- Large maximum Investment. The account's maximum investment limit should be sufficient to hold your largest stooz pot with a 50% margin to allow it to grow if you get the opportunity to exploit a lucky break. Given that the average stooz pot on stoozing.com is approx £29,000, a beginner should ensure that their stooz pot account can contain an investment of at least £30,000.
In addition, we consider the following features to be highly desirable. You should only consider relinquishing one of these features once you have assessed its impact on your stoozing and only if the account in question has some other feature that makes it worth the sacrifice e.g. if the account has a fantastic interest rate that can not be matched elsewhere.
- For the smoothest stoozing operations, you do not want to have to worry about whether or not there is a limit or penalty cost to making a withdrawal, so only give this up for a very good reason.
- It is easier if you have an account that has a good long term, standard interest rate. However, some stoozers are happy to go for an account which offers a high introductory interest rate, happy in the knowledge that they can subsequently move the money elsewhere when the introductory period is over. The idea of exploiting introductory periods is absolutely central to the whole idea of stoozing, so doing so with savings accounts should not be a major issue to the stoozer. In respect of this, our stooz pot savings table now shows accounts with introductory rates too!
A note on cash mini-ISAs
A cash mini-ISA is a special savings account in which the Government allows you to save up to £3000 per annum without paying any tax on the interest earned. This means that a Stoozer could use it for the first £3000 of their Stooz money in any one year, thus earning interest without tax. However, once you have paid £3000 into the account, you can not pay any more into the account in the same tax year, even if you have withdrawn the original money paid in, so only use an ISA for your Stooz Pot if you are not already planning to use one for your normal savings. ISAs sometimes have interest rates a little higher than normal savings accounts, but we have excluded them from our tables because of the low maximum investment.
Which one will you choose?
Choosing a savings account will depend on your own requirements and your own assessment of such things as customer service and whether you think a restriction is worth putting up with, in the end it should be your decision.
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