ann m

Anyone got any tips on where to put savings at the moment (in Canada).

Scotiabank kindly pointed out to me today that their own rates were poor (!) and currently stand at 2.25% I believe, and so recommended that I investigate where I would like to put my money ...

Even ING are only offering 3%. Anyone got any other institutions that may offer more on an instant access account (and yes, I appreciate this is my downfall, but I cannot commit to putting the funds away for 1, 3, or 5 years at this stage!).

The UK offers better rates - and I do still have a savings account there. I'm wondering if it's worth changing the money back into pounds (and I will win due to the good/bad exchange rate )

bazzz

649

Flossie and Jim

Hows about UK Premium Bonds?

Pros: they go in a draw every month and the rate of return seems pretty good, plus you don't pay tax on any winnings as its classed as a lottery.

Cons: take about a month to get into the draw and take about a month to cash the money in, plus no 'interest' as such. If you don't already have premium bonds and you live in Canada its a bit of a faff as you have to give them tax numbers and stuff.

Othwerwise there used to be some good rate E savings accounts in the UK, but would the tax you pay on any interest earned in the UK here in Canada cancel out any additional interest you might have earned?

I am also wondering where the best interest rates are over here - TD savings account is offering a measly 0.25%, so for now I am using ING but as you say its only about 3%. If you have a mortgage where you can make overpayments it might be better to use the money to pay a bit of that off instead!

Let me know if anyone finds a better rate than ING that is easy to get at.


Its worse than I thought.....http://money.canoe.ca/rates/savings.html

Iain Mc

We got an introductory rate on our HSBC Direct Savings account last month, I think it was a one-off that applied to any money used to open the account with and was something like 4.25%, so that's what we're still getting.

The regular rate now is 3%, same as ING.

It was advertised a lot on the TV. Watch for the specials!

Helen Parnell

Just been looking into this for my son and sorry the best I found was 2.25% with instant access. We offered to invest it wisely for him in various shares etc or even ING but my son wants to see it go into the bank and interest slowly grow in his bank book!!

Surrey Expat

That's about the best it gets. Correspondingly lending rates are higher in the UK than Canada, mortgage holders are better off as are business borrowers.

gryphea

You could look at offshore savings like those that bradford and bingley have.

geedee

You may well be better off taking advantage of the strong CAD and saving in the UK, where rates are not expected to drop anymore for a while. You'll get double the interest, and, fingers crossed, when you need the CAD's the rate may be back up to the 2.2+ mark!

mandymoochops

you can get a cashable GIC which offers you the best of both worlds - we do a casable rate riser whereby you can access your money every month on the anniversay of its deposit and then each year after that - however I would take it out at the end of the first year then re-invest in another, (currently the rates are 2.75 for the first year 3.25 for the second and 4 for the third, not great but 2.75% on a minimum investment of $1000 is not too bad at present)

Check out the other banks options at present and compare what they have.

The locals such as ATB will offer you better rates than the big 5 however they are obviously limited to their own province - alternativly speak to an FA who will have the best rates from all of them.

hth

drwoodsy

RBC has an internet esaver account which is 2.75%. Not much but better than some.

Journeyman Electrician

Forget banks buy some good olde gold bullion and hide it under your bed.