Creating a haven of peace with adequate savings

A beautiful garden is a joy to behold and can do wonders for a person's wellbeing by providing a haven of calm in a world full of stress and constant demands. Landscaping a garden can turn it into an oasis of peace that contains everything from pure beauty to practicality. Decking, for instance, will pride a perfect area for barbecues or simply sitting back and enjoying the sunshine. Sweeping lawns provide a space for fun and games, while a water feature brings serenity with the gentle splashing of water.

Flower beds, bushes and trees create colourful patches and welcome shade, while accenting the layout of a garden. In short, landscaping can create a perfect place to unwind in for the whole family. Naturally, this will involve a lot of planning if everything is to be just right. Part of the planning is making sure that the funds to finish the project are readily available. The most beautiful and well-planned landscaping project will suffer if work has to stop halfway through because funds have run out.

The perfect way to avoid this is by planning the project, working out how much it will cost to complete it and initiating some savings to cover the expenses. Finding the perfect savings account can be more trying than designing one's personal paradise, so it is important to investigate various options carefully.

Out of the possible choices, most potential savers will find that an ISA is likely to offer the best savings rates on the market. Individual savings accounts offer excellent rates in comparison to many others and come in a variety of options. One is the instant cash version - while the actual rates obviously vary from provider to provider, as do minimum investments, savers are able to access funds at any time. This is naturally an advantage for families that have to get at their money if the need should arise.

The other choice is to select a fixed-rate version. They are available in 12-month short term, 24-month medium or 36-month and above long term variations. Obviously, the longer the selected period is, the higher the AERs. All of these options have an upper limit to what can be saved, because they are exempt from taxes, which makes them even more attractive. Minimum investments can vary from £1 on a few of the instant cash accounts through £100, £500 and up to £1,000.

Naturally, the available budget to begin with will determine which choices will be the most suitable. It should be noted that the majority of the fixed rate variations do not permit withdrawals until the term has matured. Those that do permit withdrawals usually apply a penalty charge as a result of taking funds out. These charges usually consist of a loss of interest.

AERs range from 3.05 per cent on some of the best instant cash accounts through to 3.35 per cent on the top short term choices, while 3.75 percent is the market-leading medium term rate. Meanwhile, 4.4 per cent is the best rate among the long term versions, which in this case is a five year term.

Assuming that a person wishes to have their funds for landscaping their garden available within a year, the top rate quoted above is for a 12-month term requiring a minimum investment of £500. The next choice down would require an investment of £100 and offers a rate of 3.3 per cent, which is still excellent in comparison to other savings opportunities.

There are actually two different providers offering these terms. It should be mentioned that the top three choices mentioned here are online accessible online. A saver wishing to access their funds via a branch or by telephone may choose to opt for the 3.25 per cent rate offered by the next choice, which requires an investment of £1,000.

Alternatively, a possible choice allowing access through a branch or the post office and only requiring a £500 investment offers an AER of 2.95 per cent. In any case, the choices are among the best savings accounts currently available anywhere - and rates are only rivalled by bonds, which have the disadvantage of not being tax free.

As it is, investing one's funds will have to be as carefully planned and considered as the landscaping project itself. All the possible options should be carefully investigated and compared against each other, as well as against the actual available budget and requirements. By taking the time to compare not only the rates, but also the terms and conditions attached to each choice, it will be possible to make the most informed decision and subsequently making the most out of what is available to begin with.