{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-index-js","path":"/blog/money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay","result":{"pageContext":{"post":{"uri":"money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay","id":"cG9zdDoxMTExNw==","postId":11117,"title":"Couch to £5k: making your savings pay","content":"<h6>Money Matters <strong>| October 2024</strong></h6>\n<h3></h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Autumn is here – in all its squirreling, puddling and breezy glory. And, with UK savings week recently behind us, now is a great time to warm-up your savings and start planning for a tropical getaway.</p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Another ‘rainy day’?</strong></h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Well, according to the <a href=\"https://smartmoneypeople.com/resources/article/no-savings-start-small-save-smart?utm_campaign=12_09_24_hubspot&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9H-uO62pk5LyuP1paNYoT7qnohyXbNPbtIsVW3blRuhBcZ5MBvsE9WPrvjpLtGhkXvk3OwMvH3bkP_mO7tEJzfDY6Dng&amp;_hsmi=94684236&amp;utm_content=UK_savings_blog&amp;utm_source=B2Bmail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Building Societies Association,</a> one-third (33%) of people are putting money aside to cover unexpected costs – a ‘rainy day’ emergency fund. And, around one in four are saving for holidays (26%) and for later life (25%).</p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Taking the first financial step</strong></h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Like the post-lockdown Couch to 5K craze, building your savings can start with small, manageable steps that can lead to impressive results.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Whether you’re a novice or savvy saver, we believe it&#8217;s possible to <strong>make £5,000 interest from existing savings </strong>of £60,000, without having to move banks (or even off the couch), and we&#8217;d love to show you how.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11139\" src=\"/htbcontent/uploads/2024/09/eb39e2a8-4a3d-4d20-a7a0-6e87b4e07590-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"376\" /></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Ready to get started? Read on&#8230;</strong></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<h1><strong>Step 1. Set clear financial goals</strong></h1>\n<p>The first step in any fitness programme is to set clear, achievable goals. The goal we’ll explore here is, for example, to <strong>earn £5,000 interest</strong> from £60,000 of savings within two years.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Goal: <strong>£5,000</strong></li>\n<li>Total savings: <strong>£60,000</strong></li>\n<li>Timeframe: <strong>Two years</strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<h1><strong>Step 2. Cash (ISA) is king</strong></h1>\n<p>Cash ISAs offer tax-free interest on up to £20,000 each tax year.</p>\n<p>A secure and stress-free way to keep more pounds in your pocket, it’s a logical place to start saving for those who are eligible.</p>\n<p><em>Example:</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"TextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">We&#8217;ll open an ISA </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">f</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">ixed </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">term</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\"> account (</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">2 </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">y</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">ear</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">s fixed)</span></span></li>\n<li><span class=\"TextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">Pay-in </span></span><strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">£10,00</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">0</span></span></strong><span class=\"TextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\"> at </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\">4.25% AER</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW103338931 BCX8\"> tax-free</span></span></li>\n<li>Earn an estimated <strong>£868 in 2 years</strong>.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<h1><strong>Step 3: The rainy-day fund</strong></h1>\n<p>It’s important to keep some of your savings handy to dip into should something unexpected happen &#8211; the boiler goes, the car needs major work, the tax bill is higher than expected&#8230; allowing life to carry on with less worries. These are variable accounts and the interest rate can decrease as well as increase.</p>\n<p><em>Example:</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li>We&#8217;ll open an easy access savings account</li>\n<li>Pay-in <strong>£10,000</strong> at 4.65% AER</li>\n<li>Earn an estimated <strong>£952 in 2 years</strong> (assuming the rate doesn’t change).</li>\n</ul>\n<p><strong> </strong></p>\n<h1><strong>Step 4. Fix what you don’t need</strong></h1>\n<p>Fixed rate savings accounts are a great option for safely securing your cash away and knowing exactly how much you’ll get in the 2 years.</p>\n<p>Only put aside money you definitely will not need during the two years because you won’t be able to withdraw them until the end of the term.</p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket &#8211; find the right balance for you.</strong></p></blockquote>\n<p><em>Example, where we&#8217;ll invest £33,000 in a range of fixed term accounts:</em></p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW47576399 BCX8\">Open a new </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW47576399 BCX8\">1</span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW47576399 BCX8\"> year fixed term account</span></li>\n<li>Pay-in <strong>£3,000</strong> at 4.60% AER</li>\n<li>Earn roughly <strong>£138 </strong>in interest</li>\n<li>After the year, at maturity, move this into the easy access account, and <strong><strong>earn an extra £146.</strong></strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW85863227 BCX8\">Open a new </span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW85863227 BCX8\">18 month fixed term account</span></li>\n<li>Pay-in<strong> £10,000</strong> at 4.51% AER</li>\n<li>Earn roughly <strong>£681 </strong>in interest</li>\n<li>After 18 months, at maturity, move this into the easy access account, and <strong><strong>earn an extra £248.</strong></strong></li>\n</ul>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"TextRun SCXW147615986 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW147615986 BCX8\">Open a new 2 year fixed term account</span></span></li>\n<li>Pay-in<strong> £20,000</strong> at 4.51% AER</li>\n<li>Earn roughly <strong>£1,845 </strong>by the end of the term.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>With these examples, you could <strong>earn an estimated £3,013 in 2 years</strong>.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<h1><strong>Step 5: Start a regular savings habit</strong></h1>\n<p>Start paying a stretching (but affordable) amount into your easy access account monthly for the next two years (set it up as a regular payment so you can forget about it). While this won’t yield a huge return, you’ll be surprised how quickly it builds and will always be easily accessible if you need it.</p>\n<ul>\n<li>Let’s say we’ll <strong>save £300 a month</strong></li>\n<li>Pay this into the easy access account we opened earlier</li>\n<li>Earn roughly <strong>£351 in 2 years</strong> (plus you’d have squirreled away an extra £7,200!).</li>\n</ul>\n<blockquote><p>Pro tip: Our online portal makes it quick and easy to apply for extra easy access accounts and rename them depending on your financial goals. Making it really easy to stay laser-focused on that dream holiday.</p></blockquote>\n<p><strong> </strong></p>\n<p><strong>The results are in…</strong></p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11231 size-full\" src=\"/htbcontent/uploads/2024/09/Money-matters-October-edition.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" /></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>In our examples, <strong>we earned £5,229 total interest</strong> pre-tax (from our couch).</p>\n<p>Find a balance of account types that work for you, and it’s clear that savings can work hard for you, too.</p>\n<p>So, let’s start saving.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p><em>HTB doesn’t provide financial advice. The examples are for illustrative purposes only and this article should not be seen as financial advice. </em></p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Everyone’s savings and tax position are different. Individuals are responsible for declaring any interest earned on their savings by completing and summitting a tax return. </span></i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\"> </span></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Learn more about HTB&#8217;s savings accounts <a href=\"https://www.htb.co.uk/personal-savings\"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p>\n","link":"/blog/money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay/","slug":"money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay","customNewsDetails":{"customAuthorField":null,"customSubHeading":"According to the Building Societies Association, one-third (33%) of people are putting money aside to cover unexpected costs – a ‘rainy day’ emergency fund."},"featuredImage":null,"categories":{"nodes":[{"name":"Insights","slug":"insights","id":"Y2F0ZWdvcnk6OA=="}]},"author":{"name":"admin","slug":"admin"},"seo":{"metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"noindex","opengraphAuthor":"","opengraphDescription":"Money Matters | October 2024 Autumn is here – in all its squirreling, puddling and breezy glory. And, with UK savings week recently behind us,...","opengraphImage":null,"metaDesc":"","canonical":"","opengraphTitle":"Couch to £5k: making your savings pay - HTB","twitterDescription":"","twitterTitle":"","twitterImage":null,"title":"Couch to £5k: making your savings pay - HTB","opengraphUrl":"https://htb-wordpress.dusted.digital/blog/money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay/","opengraphSiteName":"HTB","opengraphModifiedTime":"2025-02-19T09:02:20+00:00"},"date":"2024-09-25T15:07:39","excerpt":"<p>Money Matters | October 2024 Autumn is here – in all its squirreling, puddling and breezy glory. And, with UK savings week recently behind us,&#8230;</p>\n"},"breadcrumb":{"location":"/blog/money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay","crumbs":[{"pathname":"/","crumbLabel":"HTB"},{"pathname":"/blog/","crumbLabel":"blog"},{"pathname":"/blog/money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay/","crumbLabel":"money-matters-couch-to-5k-make-your-savings-pay"}]}}},"staticQueryHashes":["1239430513","1586857859","1772891646","1809519547","2634765651","2661285376","3264027306","3649515864","493905975","63159454"]}