Also worthy of consideration is becoming a Zopa lender, by lending out some of your longer term savings for better returns for those seeking a break from conventional investments. Lend your money out yourself cut out the middleman (banks etc) and reap the whole profits for yourself.!

7.9% APR - Average rate enjoyed by Zopa lenders on money lent over the last 12 months (after fees and before bad debt)

Over the last 12 months typically 6.6% return was the lowest return for the safer lending category, with 11.6% return on lending to the more expensive higher risk.

Comment from

This is Money

"According to Barclays Capital's analysis of the historical performance of asset classes, (lender returns at Zopa) are better than the annual return from cash and gilts over the past 10 years, and have certainly been better than a saver would have seen from bonds over the past two years."

Should you save your cash in an easy access account or would a fixed rate bond be better? Will your savings work harder offsetting your mortgage or in an ISA? Felicity King-Evans looks at the market-leading savings deals to help you find the right home for your money...

Click here to read Felicity's article 'Where's best to stash your savings?'