There are plenty of options available when it comes to housing your savings. Below are the most popular choices however there are others available which may suit some savers more than others.

Saving Accounts
Virtually every bank and building society offers some form of savings account but the interest rates and benefits differ quite dramatically. This means you’ll need to look around to find the best one for you. ISAs are a very popular choice as you can save up to £3600 each year without the interest being liable for tax. These accounts have some of the best interest rates as well and you have instant access to your money should you need it. If you’re married then both you and your partner have a tax-free allowance and so between you there is the potential to save £7200 each year with tax free interest.

Long term savings accounts are another good bet providing you aren’t going to need your money in a rush. These accounts often require you to give notice of withdrawals that can range from 30 to 90 days. In reply, the bank usually offers a preferential rate of interest which will earn you quite a few extra pounds on your savings each year. The only drawback is if you fail to give the required notice – then you are deducted the same amount of interest that would have been earned during the notice period.

Alternative Savings Vehicles
If you have used your ISA quota for the year or you just prefer not to save your money with a bank or building society then National Savings & Investments offer additional options for your money. The most popular product at present are Premium Bonds with over 23 million people having invested already.

You can invest anything from £100 to £30,000 for as long as you like without the worry that comes with some other types of investment. The main drawback when compared to savings accounts is that you don’t get paid interest on the investments but at the same time Premium Bonds aren’t subject to tax. As a bonus, each of your Premium Bond numbers is entered into a prize draw each month from which you can win a top prize of a million pounds or one of a million other prizes. There is no risk at all attached to Premium Bonds and you can cash them in whenever you want. If however you decide to keep them for a good number of years they can loose a small amount of value due to inflation and this is worth thinking about before buying. National Savings & Investments also offer a number of other options for your money and details of these can be found on their website.