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MONEY COMMENT
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A while back, I wrote about my 'financial frenzies' (when I race around trying to find the Best Buys for all my financial products). I'm always on the lookout for a better deal and am determined to squeeze the last few pence out of every financial product I buy. I'm particularly busy at the moment, as there's a few problems that I've decided to tackle. Here's what I've been up to this week: Best Buy No. 1: Finding a better current account When I started university in London, I opened an account with NatWest, the most popular bank with students. However, after about six years, I realised that the market had moved on and far better products and services were available. So, around eleven years ago, I upped sticks and moved to my present bank, one of the leading direct banks. Despite better products appearing over the years, I stuck with my bank because of its superior service. However, in the last two years, I've suffered more calamities, mishaps and bungles that you would believe. This appalling lapse in service has prompted me to switch bank accounts. I want an account that pays a high rate of interest while in credit, a fee-free everyday overdraft and low overdraft interest rates. To find my banking Best Buy, I visited our very own Online Banking Centre, Switch with Which? and Moneyfacts. Potential candidates included: Abbey National*, Alliance & Leicester*, Bank of Scotland*, Cahoot, Halifax*, Intelligent Finance, Lloyds TSB*, Nationwide BS and Smile. See this article for more information on bank accounts. I immediately rejected the providers marked *, based on my own past experiences and press comment. Of the remainder, I like the look of Smile best and, what's more, it has a 'Best Service' rating from Which? That's good enough for me - I'm off to open a Smile account right away via the Fool. Tomorrow, I'll chronicle my search for two more Best Buys: an easy access savings account and a Tessa-only ISA. The author owns shares in HBOS, parent company of Halifax and Bank of Scotland. More: Avoid Rip-Offs: Become A Money Wolf | Ten Tricks To Make You Richer