I have noticed each time I receive correspondence from a few of the banks I bank with they are increasingly sending out a letter explaining the levels of your deposits which are covered by the FSCS insurance scheme if the bank defaults. It states £85k per person on the account, this used to be 75K.
Now clearly this should not matter because our savings should be “ring fenced” I think they call it. But the correspondence is very clear to point out there is a limit to how much of our savings our safe in their vaults.
It does appear that they are preparing Joe public for a major default scenario and yet I am sure most people don’t even read these documents.
Godfrey could be right but it is difficult to know where your money would be safer than in several banks (after using up all of your premium bond holding entitlement.)
Get creative and hope you don’t develop dementia !
The government bank guarantee is in place but you have to be careful that if you spread it around, that the banks are truly separate in terms of their business. If for example you have accounts in subsidiaries of the same company say Lloyds, Halifax and Bank Of Scotland you are not protected on an individual basis, so if you have £85k in each of those, only £85k from one bank is covered and the others aren’t as the deposit scheme only gives protection on a “Per Institution Basis” so the other 2 x £85k is at risk. My other concern with the banking guarantee is, how will it cope if the banks fall like dominoes ? They might be able to handle one or two but what if the shit really hit the fan, I’m not so confident about such a scenario. Also while interest rates are in the basement I just don’t see the need in taking the risk and prefer the mantra of cash is king. Do they really deserve the pleasure of playing with it for such crap returns ? Obviously it loses some buying power over time if it’s just lying dormant but providing you still have it coming in from trading etc while rates are crap I prefer the security of knowing it’s easily accessible and under my control, rather than scenarios of limits at ATM’s and such things, we remember the Cyprus scenario 2012/2013 ? You can still index link cash to some degree by making some wise cash purchases and turning it over. Use the cash to buy scrap gold, silver you only have to pay a little more more than the likes of cash converters etc and no receipts or record of purchase etc etc. Always people wanting to weigh in wedding rings etc from the ex love of their life You can fit a fair bit in an old Rover assortment tin !! Premium bonds still the government, the way they are shaping up, how sure can we be they will do the right thing or perhaps that they are even able to ? Nobody will look after your dosh like you can. As usual…take with a pinch of salt.
The pinch of salt might have more value than money in the not to distant future.
I read the clause about banks under the same umbrella only paying out once.
It is interesting to consider the various scenarios. Most people do not have that kind of money, i.e. £85k. Therefore they should be fine if something bad happened; and therefore I wonder if the people at risk are those with six figures or more who might suddenly find that they have ‘opted-in’.
One can buy gold bullion for ‘investment’ upon which VAT is not charged. It is also allowable to bring in gold from e.g. Switzerland where you can buy it in the airport provided it is for investment purposes. You might also have to declare it if the amount is huge.
Then you can bury it in that … now what is it called … I’m sure it was out there in the yard …
edit: you’re a craftsman Stu, could you make the Rover box out of Gold and paint it to look like a box of biscuits…
This is true but you need to do the research to find out, which I believe is simply a call to customer services and the available half-hour to wait while you are ‘in the queue’. For instance I believe that Sainsburys Bank is run by HBoS and therefore you could be caught out. However I think that Natwest and RBS have separate licences and therefore you could have £85k in each and be fine. How crazy is that?
You can buy any amount of government bonds. Not only Gilts but US treasuries and Spanish government bonds. There is even a healthy market for BoJ bonds where you have to pay them so that you can hold the bonds!
I like the uk premium bonds EX because it is like holding 100000 £1 lottery tickets each month (per couple) so 1.2 million lottery tickets per year and you can pull your money out anytime.
In reality it justs means you receive on average 5 or 6 £25 cheques each month
But someone has to win the main prize and all those prizes below
I have never bought gov bonds as I don’t really understand the relationship between them being worth more or maybe less when cashing in dependent on bank interest rates.
I should’ve taken up skateboarding when I was young. Playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games was not enough training. I always start with a decent ollie with the markets, I make some decent money. Unfortunately it always ends up being a ball crushing fiasco by the end of the month.
No. I just collect. I don’t see the point. As it is, it is sorted and hallmarked. If you melt I presume you would have to pay the assay office to be able to hallmark it again in it’s new form. I believe D.I.Y refining is doable if you want a single lump of known purity but haven’t looked into the costs. Will be happy to just pass it on or dip in if things ever get bad. Not a traditional gold bug but it is so easy to buy at street level.
I do find it very interesting how we give value to any commodity. It will all vary greatly probably based on what type of shit is going down.
Will we ever see a time when you can have gold & silver bars by the wheelbarrow but never enough to compensate for a good clean water supply, seeds and patch of grass ?
