Banks and Building Societies

I only have the HSBC account as it gives me access to a 5% monthly saver, plus it had a linked  ISA for 12 months with a really good bonus, plus a £125 switching bonus.

OH has a First Direct account that has a similar, linked monthly saver.

Nationwide and Santander also do linked monthly savers that pay 5% interest.

Was it a cash ISa or stocks and shares Isa?

I'm reluctant to open any more new accounts as my wallet is already bursting with too much plastic!

It was a cash ISA, now empty,  OH, who is not a tax payer at all, holds the few shares we have.

Now, if you are a basic rate taxpayer, or pay no tax at all, you have  a £1000 savings interest "allowance" tax free,  so unless you have a lot of savings, ISAs are not necessary.

We get more interest using interest bearing current accounts.

There is also good, tax free,money to be earned from switching bonuses. Just before Christmas OH got one from Clydesdale and I got one from Nat West.

There is no need to carry all the debit cards around with you, we only carry the one for our main account,  in case we need cash,  plus a few credit cards.  We never pay with a debit card, we use the bank's money instead.

We have closed down a few accounts recently, 4 I think, as they were no longer making much money, I leave the detail of these things to OH to sort.  She knows where all the best deals are to be found.

We have three Banks within 200 yards of each other in our very small local town. Less than 1.5 miles from home, parking 30p and 200 yard to furthest bank. NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC. I probably go into HSBC branch about 5 times a year to get cash. 

Using the "banks" money on a credit can cause ongoing and prolonged debt for some. Unless you have funds to pay of the debt each month an ordinary debit card is better, some banks offer rewards on their accounts if customers stay in credit.

I think as people get older it's a good idea to simplify accounts unless you have a trustworthy whizz kid in the family who will operate your accounts for you when you are less able.

IMHO (as usual )

I suspect that many do as I do and have a direct debit to pay off cards in full when due rather than for true borrowing. 

+1

Our accounts are with Halifax ,Nationwide,and Virgin,but if we want cash ,its a trip to our local Post Office 200yds away