BANKING OUTLOOK: It pays to be disloyal

THE BIG QUESTIONS FOR 2024

- SARAH MEGGINSO

Q HOW CAN YOU GET A BETTER DEAL FROM YOUR BANK?

Gone are the days when having a good relationship with your local bank manager gave you access to better deals, lower rates and special offers. So, I'm loyal to no one when it comes to my money.

Actually, scratch that. I'm loyal to me! Which means I'm more than happy to bank with a number of institutions to get the very best possible deals.

Overall, there are two ways you can go about getting the best value from your bank: active or passive. The active version will save you loads more money, and it's where you spread yourself thin, the way I do. I'm a customer of five banks.

I have one account with a big four bank, and I use this to manage small amounts of everyday spending, such as transferring money to a friend for buying tickets to an event.