banking, savings

[stevewool]

Well its time to change the banking in our family,
I have been with natwest for such a long time and now i know i do need to get my money working
but who do i choose,
I am never overdrawn, we have a few direct debits and there is quite a lump sum to put in each month, so what am i looking for,
If i can get some sort of intrest on what is going in i would be happy and if its worth leaving in the bank account rather then moving it here there and everywhere, some banks seem to offer a good rate for this sometimes better then a savings account rate, but they all seem to last for 1 year,
My biggest worry is what happens if the bank i move to is rubbish, yes move again ,
so any thoughts ,

[Ako Si Jamie]

I know of a NatWest bank that was left open overnight because the staff forgot to lock one of the doors. I won't mention which branch.

[ynwa]

have you tried buying stocks and shares steve?

[stevewool]

have you tried buying stocks and shares steve?

yes and no is the answer to that, i have a saving pot in stocks and shares already
i started that a few years ago and its making a good profit, ups and downs but i am still ahead and i would never make that amount in the bank, but i dont want to put anymore into anything like that, my thinking is if it crashes and i loose it all its gone, so put it somewhere else that is a little safer the next lot

[ynwa]

I put a little amount towards it but i don't know how it works so i let my other half do the maths.
Buying and selling gold sovereigns is a good idea just keep monitoring the price of gold in the market when the price is high we sell them and when its low we buy more

[bigmac]

fingers crossed ive sold my house--should exchange contracts next week. i'm going to rent for a while--probably a year or two---and put the £ equity into an a/c for the sponsorship savings pot.

any suggestions where to invest it--? needs to be instant access for UKBA rules--and i dont want it tied up for a long period. are there ANY accounts paying ANY interest in instant access schemes ?