pls do share on the making money front - even if it is only 6%

I know I know...pick me

Dear Mr BW

Consider yourself picked!

Please share :)- especially as it looks as though I may have to replace my mobile soon - I've only had it for about 4 years and my friend only had it for a couple before that - does nothing last these days? (NB: rhetorical question!)

great colours to lift spirits:) How is the spinning progressing BW?

Sue - I thought of getting rid of a similar aged mobile of mine after it finally gave up the ghost and ate most of my photos and contacts. You know those ads that say, up to £150 for your old phone? They offered me 47p.

I am amazed that none of you money-savvy types seem to have worked this one out. No idea if it's been discussed on the money forums - I've given up on them, too many internet idiots and 'junk journalism' these days.

Right. You need, £1,000 that you can afford to send on a little trip for one day per month (or an hour or so if you can be bothered to micromanage using online banking and your bank supports Faster Payments).

Now, open a Halifax Reward Current Account. You'll need to visit a Halifax branch to do so as the online version only deals with transfer of an existing current account and this isn't necessary. The setting up process took me 17 minutes.

This account will pay you £5, tax free (they pay the £1.25 tax) every calendar month that you pay in £1,000, indefinitely. There is no stipulation about account usage and no requirement that the money stays in the account, and no charges for banking while in credit.

If you are a non-taxpayer, you get £6.25 a month by filling in an R85). If you pay higher rate tax, you will have to declare the £60 you make every year on your Self-Assessment and pay another 20% of your £60 to HMRC (ie £12).

If you have a partner, they can also open an acocunt for double the perks.

Then, you set up an electronic faster payment for £1000 from your existing current account, into your new Halifax reward account. You also set up an electronic payment of the £1000 back to your current account on the next day (you can do this manually as soon as you've seen the payment hit your Halifax a/c, but that's probably too much hassle for almost everyone). Presto, a 6% tax-free return, for a brief electronic journey of £1000.

If you have two Halifax Reward accounts, you set up the £1000 payment to go electronically from the first to the second of them, before going back to your exisiting current account, thereby getting two lots of £5 a month, or £120 a year. A 12% tax-free return.

If you can save £1000 a month, then you can send the payment from your existing current account to your new Halifax current, then straight to your high-rate savings account and get £15%+ interest on that £1000.

And this is absolutely rubber-stamped as perfectly legitimate by the nice account manager at my local Halifax.

Past bad experiences tell me not to trust anything else to the Halifax, although events of late make me reaslise that banks are all just as bad as each other these days.

Happy profiteering! Beat the banks at their own game!