problems with my finances in life

joey2011

this is a personal issue for me as i feel i am way behind everyone else. im 24 years old and have never saved a penny in my life. recently ive started saving in my current account. would it be best to transfer these savings (€4000 approx) to a savings account or should i keep them in my current account?

can somebody please advise me here im very down over this. i cant seem to hold on to my savings. id like to be able to withdraw from my savings whenever i like and also would like them to be safe.
i have a BOI current account if this helps..
where do i start?? totally lost...

For a start you would be well to keep over €3000 in your current account to avoid BOI transaction fees, if what I heard on the radio before CDhristmas is accurate. Worth checking into that.

I have a BOI savings acc and a current acc, both linked on my online banking, so I can transfer from either easily.

Might I say fair play for having a decent amount saved at your age, too many don't think of saving when younger.

mr_edge_to_you

well done! thats great way to be starting a new year.

for what its worth: i'd transfer some of it into a special savings account - maybe half. if you keep your bank balance above a certain limit it may help reduce/eliminate some of your day to day banking transactions. to be honest unless you are saving vast sums of money there is very little to earned in interest from the banks.

I would continue saving but I would split it between the credit union and a bank. the credit union is a great place to build a few quid in savings (you never know when you may need a small quick loan).

the post office also have some very saving schemes.

if you have a credit card it would be hugely beneficial to clear it off and close it.

it would also be worthwhile contacting your local Mabs office if you have any debts that are worrying you.

joey2011

thank you both for your replies.
to the first poster, you said i should keep some in my current acc to avoid BOI fees. Do these fees come out of my acc automatically?

to the second poster, why do you advise to split the savings between credit union and bank? why not just go with one?
is my money unsafe in one or the other?
also what if i saved €20,000 in my current account? would it be safer in a savings acc? i really dont get what savings accs are for as surely people can save in current accs and not have to worry about accessing their money?

mr_edge_to_you

the credit union is a great place to get a loan. if you have a few quid saved there you will always be able to get a few quid in a rainy day. but you need to have a good consistent saving record.

mood

Another way to avoid the fees is to use their online banking / telephone banking facilities a certain amount of times a year or quarter. Check with the bank to find out more. This would mean you don't have to keep 3K in the account and them won't be tempted to spend it. Credit Union is good I think. It's open on Saturday mornings so you could pop in deposit money or take out some if an emergency arrises.

With saving accounts you often get a higher interest rate on your saving.

Fittle

I would second the credit union OP.
While I wouldn't suggest you put all those savings into an account with your local CU, I would suggest you put 1thousand into an account, and save with them on a weekly/monthly basis.

In the recent past - the last 2yrs - I have applied for 3 bank loans (for mortgage deposit, car loan and education fee). I was refused every time, despite me having decent savings, my salary going into the account on a monthly basis AND banking with the same bank for over 15 years.

The credit union came up trumps every time, and gave me those loans with no problem. For the mortgage deposit, in particular, they were wonderful. They loaned me a large sum for a period of 3 months, interest free. I was getting the same amount back in 3 months, and was able to prove to them that it was coming - they were very happy to help me out, and I was able to deposit that large amount back to them, in the three months.

The credit union is run by local volunteers in alot of cases - most of whom are like you and me - and when it comes to decisions about loan approval, it's people discussing your situation and making decisions, in a human capacity. As opposed to computers.

The banks, on the other hand, don't appear to be loaning money to anyone at the moment - or for the forseeable future.

joey2011

Fittle wrote: »

I would second the credit union OP.
While I wouldn't suggest you put all those savings into an account with your local CU, I would suggest you put 1thousand into an account, and save with them on a weekly/monthly basis.

In the recent past - the last 2yrs - I have applied for 3 bank loans (for mortgage deposit, car loan and education fee). I was refused every time, despite me having decent savings, my salary going into the account on a monthly basis AND banking with the same bank for over 15 years.

The credit union came up trumps every time, and gave me those loans with no problem. For the mortgage deposit, in particular, they were wonderful. They loaned me a large sum for a period of 3 months, interest free. I was getting the same amount back in 3 months, and was able to prove to them that it was coming - they were very happy to help me out, and I was able to deposit that large amount back to them, in the three months.

The credit union is run by local volunteers in alot of cases - most of whom are like you and me - and when it comes to decisions about loan approval, it's people discussing your situation and making decisions, in a human capacity. As opposed to computers.

The banks, on the other hand, don't appear to be loaning money to anyone at the moment - or for the forseeable future.

thanks for this fittle. however can the bank really refuse to give me my money if its in a savings acc?
i mean its mine so can they say no?

mood

OP i think Fittle meant that his/her bank refused to give him/her a loan despite the face that he/she was a regular saver with a good income etc.

If someone could recommend a good book for you and others reading this thread that would be great.

Mr. Loverman

If you really want to be safe...

Go to Germany and open a savings account. I have an account with Deutsche Bank.

Why?

If/When Germany leaves the euro, your money will be in a strong, stable currency.

If you do not want to go to Germany, you can open an account with Keytrade Bank online. You can choose Luxembourg or Belgium. Again, the idea here is to move your money our of Ireland just in case (or more likely, when) we are forced to leave the euro.

I would not recommend putting your money in Rabo because you are not allowed transfer your money into a foreign bank. That means should the day come when Ireland must leave the euro, you will have to transfer the money into an Irish bank before you can transfer it abroad. This will take a few days and will mean you might be stuck with an punt nua.

There is currently a run on the banks. You can read more about this in the Irish Economy forum.

...

Some people will say I am being paranoid but it only takes a little bit of effort to ensure your savings are safe. Better safe than sorry is my motto!

joey2011

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

If you really want to be safe...

Go to Germany and open a savings account. I have an account with Deutsche Bank.

Why?

If/When Germany leaves the euro, your money will be in a strong, stable currency.

If you do not want to go to Germany, you can open an account with Keytrade Bank online. You can choose Luxembourg or Belgium. Again, the idea here is to move your money our of Ireland just in case (or more likely, when) we are forced to leave the euro.

I would not recommend putting your money in Rabo because you are not allowed transfer your money into a foreign bank. That means should the day come when Ireland must leave the euro, you will have to transfer the money into an Irish bank before you can transfer it abroad. This will take a few days and will mean you might be stuck with an punt nua.

There is currently a run on the banks. You can read more about this in the Irish Economy forum.

...

Some people will say I am being paranoid but it only takes a little bit of effort to ensure your savings are safe. Better safe than sorry is my motto!

thanks for this. i'm just wondering, is my money ever not safe in an irish bank savings acc?
like whats the worst that could happen?
surely, the bank legally has to pay me MY MONEY?
also, if the currency changes, what would that mean would happen to my €5,000 for example if i had that much saved?

Mr. Loverman

joey2011 wrote: »

thanks for this. i'm just wondering, is my money ever not safe in an irish bank savings acc?
like whats the worst that could happen?
surely, the bank legally has to pay me MY MONEY?
also, if the currency changes, what would that mean would happen to my €5,000 for example if i had that much saved?

Your money is guaranteed by the government's bank guarantee, but personally I don't think the guarantee is worth anything. The government cannot afford to honour it.

Worst case scenario you lose your savings.
More likely scenario: you cannot access your savings for a period of time, e.g. 6 months, 12 months, etc.

If we left the euro your savings would be converted to the new currency. We live in a tiny, bankrupt country so the currency conversion would mean they lose a lot of their value.

joey2011

thanks mr loverman!
you say we could lose our savings. well would the money be safer in a current account then? or is it the same thing?

Mr. Loverman

joey2011 wrote: »

thanks mr loverman!
you say we could lose our savings. well would the money be safer in a current account then? or is it the same thing?

It's the same thing.

Note losing your savings is absolute worst case scenario. I don't see it happening. It would cause chaos for all banks in Europe, so the ECB would probably step in and make sure everyone gets paid.

But if I was you, this is what I would do, in order of priority.

1. Open a savings account in Germany, or
2. Open a savings account in another stable EU country, or
3. Open a Rabo account.

I don't know if it makes sense to open a sterling/dollar/etc. savings account due to the weakness of the euro. Maybe someone else can answer this for you.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

dudara

dellas1979

Might be easier to answer your query if you stated exactly what you are looking for in a savings account?

i.e. Do you want a high interest account for a certain period of time?
or maybe you want a savings account you can access straight away? Do you want the best interest rates possible?

For example, I have most of my savings in Rabo bank, because it is a AAA acredited bank, and offered a high interest rate (now that rate has fallen), and I find it easy to move money in and out of my own current account to Rabo and vice versa.

So what are you looking for?

If you leave money in a current account, you will not get a very good return interest-wise (granted its only a few thousand, but I imagine you still want a good interest return), also you are left open to scammers etc (personally I only leave a small enough amount in my current account for reasons like this). I have another savings account with AIB online which is my sub-savings i.e. I never touch the Rabo account (sometimes I dont even look at the account for 6 months or so) but I use my AIB savings regularly. Heck I even have a sub sub savings account for things I save up for on a monthly basis (ahem Im probably admitting too much here -I micro manage my money - I work hard for it so want it doing its best).

So, figure out what you want first!