If you are banking with one of the big four UK banks - Barclays, Natwest, Lloyds TSB or HSBC then you will be earning very little interest on your hard earned cash that is sitting in your current account. Typically you will be earning just 0.1 % interest through these banks. If you shop around, you will find that you could be earning between 2% to 5% which is up to 50 times more interest! Some good rates can be found at Alliance & Leicester, First Direct, Abbey National, Cahoot, Intelligent Finance and Halifax.
If you find that you go overdrawn quite a lot of the time, then rather than looking for the highest interest rate, you should concentrate on finding the lowest overdraft rate. Again if you shop around, you can find much better overdraft interest rates sometimes less than half of what you might currently be paying. Also some banks or building societies will even give you a 0% overdraft for switching to them, now it can’t get any better than that! Also watch out for special deals that some banks do from time to time where they will give you anywhere between £25 to £100 just for moving your account.
Of course you may well be thinking that this is all very well, but its going to be such a hassle changing banks with my standing orders, direct debits etc.. Well the good news is that it is much easier these days to move your bank account as the banks will automatically move your standing orders and direct debits for you.
One thing that you must remember to do is let your employer know your new bank details so that your salary can be paid in to your new account. Most banks will expect you to pay in a minimum amount in each month usually between £1000 to £2000 a month.
Another way to lower your overdraft charges is to never exceed your overdraft limit as this is definitely going to cost you a lot, just stay within the limit or ask for an increase in your limit if you need it.
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Miguel Poza runs a website about money and personal finance where you can find out where to get good deals on credit cards, loans, mortgages, insurance, savings and pensions. You can also read free money saving tips, so why not check it out at www.moneyhelper.co.uk
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