rach 1 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I have been able to save a modest amount the last year or so while I've been here, but the bank interest rates are pathetic, as you most surely know. I usually end up getting the money sent back to my bank in the UK via the post office. What do you do with any savings? Any better ways to make the most of them? Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Ask db for a market tip or investment advice he seems to have his finger on the pulse! Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 rach - send you cash over to me here in London and I'll see to it for ya Link to post Share on other sites
LiquidX 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I do the same as you rach when I can. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 tip #1: never ask for or follow market tips. sure way to lose money. A simple bank account solution for Australians: You can open an online account at INGdirect (ingdirect.com.au) that pays over the central bank rate for overnight deposits. That means, you earn more on a 1 day depo than the CBA can earn with any other bank. This is very very unusual. There are *no fees*, no minimum amount and no minimum term. Your cash is on 24hr call. The current rate is 4.75% p.a. paid monthly. There are no branches... all transactions are on the internet and the ING account is linked to a nominated cheque/ATM account. You are crazy if you do not have your savings in this ING account. The only way to get a better rate on a normal bank depo would be to invest a large sum for a very long term in a Time Deposit. This is viable if you expect interest rates to fall over that time period and want to fix a rate rather than take a variable rate. I suspect that there are ING direct online facilities in the UK and USA as well. Link to post Share on other sites
sexy-northerner 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Sure is: http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/ Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Do you think that 2,500 quid is a possibility in a year? Or would I have to live like a hermit? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Dude anything is possible i save double that On a regular salary and no bonus. I have opened up my schedule for more hours. The interest rate sucks here. My problem is will I live here or will I live back home. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Buy a house. Place the money down for a 25% deposit, have the rentees pay the mortgage off. Get a mortgage in Japan while you are here, at around 1.69%, and switch it when you go home. The beauty of buying in th UK, is the limited space, so house prices nearly always track the cost of living. Banks are good, but you can use that as a second investment, no one's gonna contribute to your bank account the way they do to your mortgage! Rach, check out the off shore banking options, or fixed five year deposits with monthly contributions. I hate the bank 4,75% interest thing, just too damn boring. Better to risk a bit, expect nothing, and enjoy the times things go well! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 UK capital bonds offer 3.9% interest guarantee over 5 years. Me Ma and Pa keep buying me big chunks of them so that they'll be penniless when they die. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 That sounds like a shrewd way to avoid inheritance tax, Ocean! Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted June 5, 2003 Author Share Posted June 5, 2003 THanks for the advice - not interested in complicated things I dont understand, just want a hell of a lot better than 0.00001%! Link to post Share on other sites
akibun 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 IF I want to enjoy my life, I do not get enough money for saviung also Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by miteyak: I hate the bank 4,75% interest thing, just too damn boring. Better to risk a bit, expect nothing, and enjoy the times things go well! The 4.25% thing is the best place to put your cash whilst accumulating the 25% house deposit Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Now that depends on the market doesn't it... Still boring... (where the hell did that mooning smiley go... ) Link to post Share on other sites
snowboard_freak 0 Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 db is a man of wisdom. I opened one of those ING accounts about 6 months ago. Great great stuff. I couldn't recommend it more. I have access to my money whenever i need it, no fees of anykind, good interest. What more could you want. s_f_g/sam is in the process of opening one now as well. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 That sounds like something to look into. I HATE my money just hanging around in my local bank here. Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I do the same as you rach, send a postal cheque home once or twice a year. Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 I seem to spend most of my money Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Savings? I been living on credit for a long long time now. Having worked out an ingenious way to roll over credit indefinitely without having to service ballooning interest payments, I can spend as much as I like. If the bankers ever figure this out, the Hong Kong banking system is going to be like Japan's...over burdened with bad debts and needing to make big write-offs! Link to post Share on other sites
slimeypete 0 Posted June 8, 2003 Share Posted June 8, 2003 All my pathetic savings go to paying things off. " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Don't let YOUR money work for somebody else. I know db will dissagree w/ me but savings accounts are pure stupidity as an investment!! YOUR money could be doing so many other things. .0001% interest???? Let me tell you, you can bet that those who possess YOUR savings demand a higher return..and get it. YOUR money can and will work for you if you put it to the right use. A savings account should be for emergency liquid cash or a tiny (and I mean tiny..as in little..insignificant ) investment. Go ahead and dissagree... Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Kintaro, of course I disagree! Stop spreading this anti-saving philosophy otherwise it's going to be difficult for me to continue to get credit from the banks. Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Sorry Markie...I'll try to keep a lid on it Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Kintaro: I know db will dissagree w/ me but savings accounts are pure stupidity as an investment!! Go ahead and dissagree... Oh man, how can I ignore such a comment. Might have to get a little cheeky here Well: 1) I was refering to the ING online account, which as I said pays greater than institutional rates to retail savers. After 10 years as a money market trader, who on a daily basis indulges in the inter-bank cash market levels, I can comfortably state that under the current yield curve, ING are not making much money with my savings. By law they are not able to use these funds for equity investments. Banks borrow and use teh cash to lend. We earn the spread between the two rates. When I worked in Australia I at times had up to AUD3 billion spare at the end of each day. I would have LOVED to have been paid what ING pays retail customers. And I worked for a top tier bank. 2)glam and high risk investing is almost always what attracts people to things they do not understand and hence to lose money, lose sleep. I personally spend every day after work executing what most peoiple would call very risky and very flashy speculative transactions. These adjectives are totally irrelevant to me. What I enjoy is the strategy, the personal psychology and the compound return that I realise. In my futures brokers account I keep only approx 20% of my cash, the remainder resides in a bank account earning stupid interest. But, it needs to be there so as to justify the risk on my notionally funded trading account. 3) Like I said, I would leave 90% of people in my wake when it comes to strategy, speculative risk, return and "excitement".... and yes, I still disagree with you. Savings accounts are very worthwhile, particularly compound interest bearing accounts. Pull out a good old spreadsheet and play around with different rates and payment frequencies. 4) Japanese interest rates are very very low. I do not keep any money spending cash in a Japanese account. By comparison, a retail saver in Japan earns 0.0001%, or some such close to zero number. In the meantime, interbank markets allow decent banks to borrow at negative rates. No compare that to what ING offers (as described above). 5) one day I will start an alternative investement fund open to public investment. The law will prohibit me from advertising, but I will let you know when the fund is open to the public. The law also restricts who I can take funds from: your net assets must be greater than USD1million and your investment with me can not constitute more than 10% of your net worth. If that rules you out, then can I recommend a savings account until you accumulate the cash. 6) obvioulsy people who borrow your money use it to make more money for themselves. No one would ever take funds if that were not the case. No matter what you do with your cash, someone is attempting to do better with it. The only way you can avoid this is to enter financial markets directly via your broker (where you still pay brokerage). Once you do that you have a far worse fate: you have people like me waiting to take your money off you. The more people who think that savings accounts are stupid, the more people there are for me to take money from in the markets..... and there are plently of guys like me who will help you out and be on the other side of your losses... futures markets, stock markets, options, FX... you name it, we are waiting for you. Link to post Share on other sites
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