CommBank GoalSaver options for interest

realsniper09 on 06/09/2014 - 04:31

Hey,

Just would like some opinions on how may be the best to manage the following situation.

We know that the CommBank Goalsaver allows a bonus interest of about 4.00% (currently anyway) if you increase your amount (excluding the interest they pay you monthly) by $200 each month whilst making no more than one withdrawal, up to $100,000.

Now, I have one GoalSaver account (Account A) which is nearly about to hit that $100,000, and have made another one (Account B) (You can have a maximum of 2 GoalSaver accounts). What is the best way to maximise my interest with these accounts? If I go over it Account A, then I will be maxxed out and won't earn any interest over that $100,000. I have thought of this:

Option 1 would be to keep putting $200 in each month in Account A, still earning the bonus interest interest, and putting the rest of my pay into Account B. Here I would be maximising my interest in account A but losing out at the same time (not earning any interest over $100,000). However, I would not lose on a month's interest ($300+ dollars from Account A), by still putting up $200 a month.

Option 2 would be to transfer about $90,000 from the Account A into Account B at the START of the month, thereby losing nearly all bonus interest from Account A for that month, but I am able to earn it from Account B. Thereby the following months I will just insert at least $200 per account per month. Therefore, account B shouldn't max out for a while longer.

Or can anyone think of anything else, or what would be the better option?

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Comments

  • bluesky on 06/09/2014 - 05:43
    +1

    Between option 1 and 2, option 2 seems better. With option 1, the problem never goes away for Account A (you keep having to increase $200 month after month, and wont get interest for amounts above the 100K threshold).

    But you can implement option 2 with a slight change. So on the 1st of the month, instead of transfering out $90K, transfer out the entire amount from Account A, and let this account stay dormant for the month.

    Some amount (say $80K-$90K) goes to Account B as you intended, but with the rest, park it somewhere where it will earn you some interest. For e.g. a 1-month term deposit, or maybe Netbank account. Then start of the next month, you can move this parked amount back to Account A.

    This way, you will still get some interest from the parked amount, rather than hardly any, had it been left in Account A.

  • Unorthodox on 06/09/2014 - 09:52

    It's back to 3.81%

    I know this isn't an option you listed but I think it would be best to transfer that 100k to another savings one (look at comparison sites) that has no 100k limit.

    With around 100k, your monthly interest will be around $400 and add on the $200 deposit, you'll reach your cap pretty soon.

  • c64 on 06/09/2014 - 10:11
    +2

    have you considered ubank? they are currently offering 4.17%

    • mmd on 06/09/2014 - 13:42

      or alternatively Rams 4.10%. Beaware, they allow no withdrawals per month. Once you do a withdrawal, then no interest for that month. But if ur saving for a house, u wouldnt be withdrawing and buying a house monthly…

    • BadHorse on 06/09/2014 - 14:23

      I've just opened a UBank account.
      With Ubank you will get the base interest (~3.07%) + bonus rate at the start of the NEXT month (~1.10%)

      How are you finding it if you have one mattgal?

    • c64 on 07/09/2014 - 12:37

      i assume you opened the usaver + ultra. just deposit $200 into the usaver (and remove if you want) and then next month you will get the 4.17% rate and you can shift your money in.

      adjust the sweep rate to the minimum of $100. $100 is always going to get 0% interest.

      they are taking ages to send out the visa debits cards, but you can still use the internet banking. i still haven't got mine yet

  • LPH on 06/09/2014 - 12:13

    I'm having some issues with my goalsaver accounts. Ubank looks very tempting in terms of interest rate as Goalsaver interest is going down.

  • raymond y on 06/09/2014 - 19:42
    +4

    You have 100k and two Goalsaver accounts yes?

    The key is to MAKE ONE withdrawal of all money you put in on the last day of each month EXCEPT $200.

    Account 1 (currently has 100k) & Account 2 (currently 0) & NetBank Saver

    1st of the month
    Move ALL money from A1 —> A2

    last day of month
    Move all BUT $200 from A2 to NBS (earning 2.5% pa for one night opposed to 0.01% pa)

    Opening balances for the following month
    A1 = $0
    A2 = $200 (last month's deposit) + $333 (last month's interest)

    Put 50k in each and then take out all but $200 to increase both balances by the threshold. Put the money in a NBS for the one night. That should take you a while to fill up, depending on your saving habits.

    I do that with my one account, which means I can take some money out each month to pay my credit card balance.

    Pretty much, just cycles your money, that way if you ever need part of your money for whatever purpose, you can still be making 4% pa. Hopefully this helps somewhat in your situation.

    • Banana on 06/09/2014 - 19:45

      Smart! But that seems complicated, can you just do it for me? There will be reward ;)

    • bluesky on 06/09/2014 - 23:20
      +1

      Haha, hats off, this is better than what I can come up with. OP miss out on the full goalsaver interest for only one day, and only on the portion OP wants to move back to Account A. Pretty nifty! :-)

    • mmd on 08/09/2014 - 21:56

      Very smart! Does CBA allow transfers of 50k or 100k in one day tho?

    • realsniper09 on 09/09/2014 - 19:14

      Awesome. Great idea. I was thinking along the lines of this… of transferring money into the NetBank Saver, but not this way.

      So you suggest that at the start of the next month (when my 100k is in the NetBank Saver), to put about $50,000 in each GoalSaver? Is that right? This is where I get a little lost with this plan.

      And then on the last day of the month again, take out all but $200 again, and do this over and over and over for one account so I can basically have cash on hand at all times?

      • raymond y on 09/09/2014 - 20:07

        i don't mean to get too personal, but can you tell me how your money is at the moment ie what accounts they're in.

        As I understand it you have 100k in a GS. On the first of next month move it ALL into a GS with $0 opening balance and then on the last day move it all but $200 into a NBS. That way you meet the $200 criteria for 100k. Then split it 50/50.

        Just want to also say, that i'm not a financial advisor nor associated with the CBA. Just trying to help from my personal experiences.

        • realsniper09 on 09/09/2014 - 20:54

          Yeah fantastic. Your answer was exactly what I wanted to get out of the thread, and probably a lot of strategic than I expected.
          MOST of my money is in A1, with a very minimal amount in NBS, and even less in A2.

          Didn't want to lose the $300+ interest per month, and wanted to find a way around that. That's a great strategy and one I will be using at the start of next month.

          Never thought to use my NBS but it's a great way to be able to split it 50/50 into my two GoalSavers and then just insert at least $200 into each GoalSaver each month.

        • Unorthodox on 09/09/2014 - 21:04

          @realsniper09:

          Just to confirm…

          For you to get the bonus intetest on your GS, you need to only have one wothdrawal PLUS you need to deposit that amount you withdrew plus the $200.

          ie: you have a base of $100,000
          You follow above and withdraw $100,000 and deposit in $200. You'll still miss out on the bonus interest.

        • bluesky on 09/09/2014 - 21:29
          +1

          @BanSlavery:
          Actually OP wont miss out on interest, since the transfer is done on the first of month. No interest will be earned on A1, and all on A2.

          On last day of month, A2 will have one withdrawal to NS (OP having made sure A2 is at least $200 above beginning balance). So the 2 criteria are still met.

          I like raymond y's general idea of transfering all (except for $200 increase), into NS at end of month, so that there is flexibility to withdraw funds to pay for things.

          Since OP has 2 GS accounts, if one GS account's withdraw flexibility is good enough for OP, OP may not even need to transfer all to NS on the last day, but only the amount intended to go into A1.

          This will lose even less interest, but the disadvantage is this will set the minimum amount for A2 for next month.

        • Unorthodox on 09/09/2014 - 22:01

          @bluesky:

          Thanks for explaining! :)

        • bluesky on 09/09/2014 - 22:04

          @BanSlavery:
          Oh, you're very welcome, I am learning a lot from the discussion as well :-)

  • realsniper09 on 01/12/2014 - 21:48

    Thanks raymond y.

    Have now done this, and have half-half in my two Goalsavers. Your NetBank Saver was a fantastic idea, to transfer into at the last day of each month, so now I have about $50,000 which is quite liquid but earning the maximum CommBank interest available.

  • jaybmate on 01/12/2014 - 22:53

    Go Ubank. 4.02% without restriction of pulling out money. 200k limit on account.

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