Tax Free Saving Explained

By Author: Lecia Selbo
Total Articles: 49
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No matter what the current economic situation might be, putting away an almost negligible amount of cash each month in savings can be a great idea ? you almost certainly won''t miss it at the time, but it might prove very useful at some point further down the line.

ISAs, for instance, offer you a fantastic place in which to keep your money and let it grow in interest. Standing for ''Individual Savings Accounts'', ISAs are not taxed, meaning that while they do have a limit as to how much you can put in them, you''ll get a lot more for your money than if you just left it in a standard interest account.

Keeping your money in an ISA will protect you from the 20% or 40% (depending on your rate) that you would normally have to give up in tax. The only rules with paying money into an ISA are that you must be at least sixteen years of age, and you need to be a UK resident or an employee of the Foreign Office overseas.

ISAs aren''t limited to cash savings, either. Stocks and shares can be invested in through ISAs if you''re over the age of eighteen, meaning that the stocks'' capital growth and dividends that you ...
... would receive from them are completely free of tax, just as your money would be if you were to have a cash ISA.

Naturally, ISAs aren''t the only way for you to keep some funds aside, and there are plenty of other kinds of investment you could make instead. Great opportunities for saving come in many different variants, and you wouldn''t be blamed for preferring physical commodities to money that is only ever kept in a bank.

Take housing, for instance. Although the market frequently fluctuates between high and low, a cash or stocks and shares ISA can seem less secure than the more tangible purchase of an actual property, and you''ll also receive a whole new form of income from the house''s rental.

Gold is an equally fantastic alternative investment. Whether the market on the whole is in a prosperous situation or not, gold has historically retained stability as a solid commodity, and while it may seem strange to be buying up a precious metal without putting it to any use, you might find that it offers you unwavering support when times are a little tougher.

Saving for your future doesn''t have to involve keeping money in banks, and there are countless ways of ensuring that you have enough stored away for yourself in case of misfortune. For instance, natural resources are perhaps even more stable than gold as commodities, and if you were to buy up land and cultivate fast-growing, sustainable forests for paper manufacture, you''d never be short of demand. Lecia Selbo is a finance writer with over 10 years expertise. They recommend Legal