Your last chance to earn 5%

Halifax's market-leading Regular Saver offers a fixed rate of 5% AER for one year when you save between £25 and £500 a month - but it's only available until 8 October. This is a rate well worth grabbing, so get it before it goes!

In troubled times like these, it's more important than ever to squirrel away some savings ready for a rainy day.

But with the recession pulling on our purse strings, many of us are struggling to find any spare cash to stash.

The key is to only save a sum you can genuinely afford. It is far better to save little and often than never and not at all.

Check out my moneysaving tips '15 simple ways to save' and '10 steps that will save you money this year' to help you find a few extra pounds to put aside each month.

Enter the regular saver

Regular savings accounts are useful for people who want to save small amounts of money at consistent (usually monthly) intervals.

The interest rates on offer from deals like these tend to be attractive, but you must commit to putting away a set amount of money every month.

Be aware, if you miss a payment or try to withdraw your money before the account matures, you are likely to lose your high rate of interest.

A super deal

Right now, when you save between £25 and £500 a month in the Halifax Regular Saver you will enjoy a fantastic 5% interest rate fixed for one year - that's ten times the Bank of England base rate!

This is great news for savers.

When the Bank of England base rate dropped to a historic low of 0.5% earlier this year, it had a devastating affect on high street savings rates.

Now the base rate appears to have stabilised, it seems many providers have begun competing more strongly for savers' deposits, driving rates upwards.

However, this offer is only available until 8 October, after which the rate will drop. So get your skates on and grab this deal before it disappears!

Important information

You are required to set up a standing order which will transfer your payments automatically each month, saving you the hassle of moving the money yourself.

However, this does not mean you have to save the same amount each month.

If you decide you want to put away a little more or less one month, as long as it's between £25 and £500, you can simply change your standing order to suit you.

To operate the Halifax Regular Saver, you must be aged 16 or over and the account can be managed online, by phone or in branch.

Once the twelve months are up, your savings and the interest you've earned will be automatically transferred into your nominated savings account (which you will be asked to open at the same time as opening your Regular Saver).

Remember, this will usually be a bog standard savings account.

If you want to continue to make the most of your money, it's crucial you shop around and dig out another super savings deal.

A word of warning

The rules of this account are rigid.

If you make any withdrawals or miss a payment during the 12 months, your account will be closed and your impressive interest rate will plummet to just 0.1% - backdated for the whole time you were saving.

Therefore, if you suspect you may not be able to meet the minimum £25 payment every month, or could need to access your cash before the year is up, this is probably not the right account for you.

Alternatives…

If you have a lump sum to stash away, you may be better off opting for a fixed rate bond or an easy access savings account.

To find out more about fixed rate bonds you can read my article 'Q&A: Should I invest in a fixed rate savings account?'.

Or if you want to learn more about easy access savings accounts, check out Laura Starkey's article 'A great place to start saving'.

And don't forget to take advantage of your tax-free ISA (Individual Savings Account) allowance. You can read how to keep your hard earned interest out the tax man's greedy grasp in Laura Starkey's useful article 'Why you need an ISA'.

Happy saving!

**Articles featured on BeatThatQuote.com are for information purposes only and reflect the views of individual writers. Articles are not, and should not be considered as, financial advice. BeatThatQuote.com strongly encourages our readers not to rely solely on information contained within our website, but to conduct their own research and seek independent advice about the financial products they purchase.**