Anyone else get tied in knots by all these "products" ?

Me too ... the whole subject frightens me. l
Luckily my DH avidly reads the financial bit of the paper, so though he's far from an expert, he at least understands more than me. I was in the fortunate position of inheriting a bit of money and worried myself daft about where to save it. In the end I put it in the Post Office in a combination of ISAs, bonds and an instant access thingy. The interest rates, though tiny, were about 0.25% above most others. One of my other reasons was that we had a local Post Office within walking distance and the lady there was very patient with my dithering - sadly it's now closed, so I have to do it over the phone or the interweb.

My mum and I got into ridiculous knots with her little bit of savings. What started off as us deciding that, since she wasn't mobile, I should have access to the money ended up with an appointment with the building society financial advisor, who split it into all sorts of accounts, which we could never access, and we barely knew where it was. Some was in joint names, some in mine.
I ended up being interviewed under caution at the job centre, investigated, and had to pay 2.800 pounds, as there was an account which we didn't know about in my name when I claimed carers allowance. So yes, we found it confusing!

Our premium bonds made 9% last year. Not guaranteed of course but at least you know where your money is.

kitty - that is exactly what I think.

MissAdventure - you poor thing. This is exactly what puts me off. You take out these things and then 4 or 5 years later, when you have forgotten everything about them, you have to try and get your head round it all again. If interest rates were high and there was lots of money to be made, then it would be worth the effort, but that is not the case. The situation you found yourself in is exactly what I want to avoid. I am having to deal with all this at the moment because OH no longer able to deal with it.

As Kitty says, at least you know where your money is!

Exactly so, luckygirl. It was an enormous amount of stress, for a silly bit of money. Enough to pay for my mums funeral, and my daughters, when the time came.
I spent over a year trying to look after my mum, and being summoned again and again to the job centre, being asked why we had put money in my name if it was my mums. Of course, there was no reason to believe my explanation that it really wasn't my money, but I was working when we'd done it, so didn't think we had to worry.
I had to keep trying to find out where accounts were, and even Santander didn't seem sure!! I had to provide photocopies of 2 years statements, from accounts which dont issue statements as a matter of course.
If I ever find myself with money to spare, it'll be going under my mattress!

I've always made a point of not putting my money into anything I don't fully understand or know how to get it out again! I have used cash ISA's which were OK, and have a simple savings account attached to my current account.

I'm sure I could get my head round other things but really don't want to. (I have had £100 in premium bonds since the year dot and never won anything.)

I have a very small ISA which is paying the grand sum of 0.4% interest, I can't add to it, so I was thinking of closing it and buying Premium Bonds - at least there would be a bit of excitement each month!

kittylester - you must be getting my winnings by mistake

Jalima - that is exactly what we are doing. Have cashed in the granny bond and the two ISAs and they are going to be put into PBs. I know it is against all advice - but I like to know where all our money is and how much is there. I feel more comfortable like that.

Many years ago when we had to downsize with our young family so that OH could retire from his high-stress work at the age of 42, we released enough capital from the sale to abolish our mortgage. Accountant wanted us to keep the mortgage for some complicated tax reasons; but we just felt better knowing the new house was ours and we could breathe easy.

I like my premium bonds. I get a little buzz every month when I type that holder's number into the Have I Won? box. Even though the answer's usually no, I hold my breath and compose myself just in case it says I've netted a million and I disgrace myself with unladylike behaviour. And they may not be doing very well at the moment (now there's a polite understatement!), but at least they're not going down in value like DH's pension pot and the ISA I gave up on.

I've got £5 worth dating back to 1956 and they are the ones I want to win big with!

I like your optimism Maggiemaybe

Just call me Pollyanna.

Maggiemaybe I have a feeling that you may have a very long wait.

On the whole I am lucky and win £25 and some months it is £25 x 3 but the "big money" has eluded me. I like the buzz I get checking monthly if I have won.

I am most certainly the odd one out here! I have a spreadsheet with all our savings in lots of different places with different interest rates depending upon whether we need instant access or can leave it for a while. DH hasn't a clue and just signs bits of paper I give him. Good thing he trusts me!

Had an email yesterday saying interest rate going down in April for one account so noted that on spreadsheet with the date I need to move that money.

I update the spreadsheet each month with any interest paid and the current value of shares. I have always liked numbers and always worked with them. I like spreadsheets.

I have a £1 premium bond which I bought when I was 16, never won anything.

I am totally confused by it all, and I dread seeing financial advisors in case they realise how little I understand it, and how bored I am. As long as I have enough, which I seem to have, I’m really not interested in making a little bit more here and a little bit less there.

Unless you have a minimum of £20k to invest it is highly unlikely that you'll have a win and with inflation running at nearly 3% your money will be losing value daily if you keep it in Premium Bonds. May I suggest that you take a look at Martin Lewis money website. You can even contact them with your questions if you sign in. I have found it useful over the years for many different queries. At the very least you might just learn a little bit more about the ups and downs of finance. I wish you very good luck.

I did once, just once, type in that holder's number and the message popped up "Congratulations, you have won £500". DH thought from my reaction that we were so rich he'd never have to work again.

My DM won £1,000 back in the early 70s, when that was a serious amount of money. Hope springs eternal!

As a fully qualified economist, I probably understand these things better than many.

However the best financial advise I have ever received came from DD who knows absolutely nothing at all about the subject.

Her advice is: Never save/invest you money in anything you do not fully understand.

In other words, Luckygirl is doing exactly the right thing, she is investing her money in premium bonds, which is something she understands, and not in things she doesn't.

If your financial understanding doesn't rise beyond keeping every penny you possess in your current account or at a stretch a deposit account, then do just that. If you understand more and feel confident investing in stocks and shares then do so, but essentially providing you always stay in your financial comfort zone and you are unlikely to go wrong.

I am a radio 4 listener so hear lots of consumer programmes and will add one thing to MOnica's advice: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is. So many people are conned because they believe their is an easy way to make money, there isn't.

How I wish I had read this advice before letting that man mess with mothers money!
Even now I live in fear of another account rearing its ugly head!

I disagree with all of you apart from M0nica.

I've always saved. I was taught to save many many years ago by my very poor family. I was given a few pennies to take to the school savings bank. The school acted as a sub-branch of a main bank. We didn't even know if we'd have a future then - it was 1940!

I may have lost the habit at different times over the years, but I was always glad when I had some savings, not glad when I had none.

I've had ISAs and their forerunners over the last couple of decades. When interest rates went so low I gave up on savings accounts and went to a stocks-and-shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown online. I now have almost £20K in savings, from nothing. I'd have had more, but I took some out for different purposes. The bathroom in 2016. My cosmetic surgery a couple of years before that. Have taken out approx £15K but keep adding on a regular basis, and the stock market FTSE does the rest.

I think everyone should learn, at an early age, to save. Years ago in the 60s I came across a newspaper ad for unit trusts with Save & Prosper. Really, the early days of what I do now. £20 a month then and I'd have been wealthy today.

Now, DH and I aren't rich but a long way from being poor. I shouldn't have had years of financial struggle in the 1980s-90s if I'd remembered my early lessons.

if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
The Technology ISAs did not look too good to be true - they looked like the future, but spectacularly failed to deliver.

Keeping up with inflation is the problem though - unless you keep swapping savings round from place to place then any savings you have lose value nowadays.

We cashed our ISAs in and bought more Premium Bonds, we bought quite a few when we both retired. We’ve made far more than we were getting interest with the ISAs.