What if you became an expert in the day-to-day management of the Livret A? Like 55.7 million French people, you probably have this flagship savings product. But, like the other booklets, this placement has a subtlety which it is absolutely necessary to know to draw the maximum profits from it. And all the more so since his remuneration rose to 3% on February 1, a level not seen since 2009.
The interests of the livret A, if they are credited once a year, on January 1, are indeed calculated by the banks throughout the year using the rule of fortnights. Each year is divided into 24 portions which begin on the 1st and 16th of each month. Interest is therefore determined twice a month on the basis of the amount present in the Livret A at that time.
A method to the advantage of banks
Thus, the money paid begins to produce interest from the first day of the following fortnight. And the sums withdrawn cease to produce interest from the first day of the current fortnight. In other words, to make the most of your savings, you should fund your savings account Apart from a transfer or payment just before the 1st or 16th of the month. And to make a withdrawal, you have to do it from these dates.
An old rule to the advantage of banks and which penalizes – slightly – the saver. Imagine for example Amandine, who has 5,000 euros on her savings account A and who has decided to place 1,000 euros more on February 1. Until February 15, these 1000 euros will not produce interest. And she will collect 6.25 euros in interest over this fortnight instead of 7.50 euros if she had made the transfer a day earlier. If on March 15, she withdraws these 1000 euros, her booklet A will only produce 6.25 euros over this first half of March against 7.50 euros if she had left this sum one more day.
A drop of water, of course, but over the year, taking care to make investments and withdrawals at the right time, the trick can produce a few tens of euros more interest for an average saver. Not to mention that the rule of fortnights is valid for the booklet A but also for the booklet of sustainable and united development, at 3% currently. And for the popular savings account, for those who are eligible for it, the rate of which is 6%.