Investing ~£70k of cash

Participant · 26 May 2018 at 09:50

What's current best tactics for saving / investing sub-£100k levels of cash?

Should I see a financial adviser, or is that overkill / unnecessary expense?

Main objectives are to maximise / fund children's education (relevant in 5 years) and help with a house move (again in c. 5 years).

I'm thinking:

- £5k holiday upgrade
- £20k short term access / emergency fund...no idea what vehicle though
- £20k S&S ISA
- £5k simply sitting in flex saver current account for unforeseen immediate expenses
- £20k in premium bonds? Which I gather are rubbish unless you're lucky, in which case should this it into my 2.5% mortgage? Or more equity?

Thanks.

Participant · 26 May 2018 at 16:28

Em3bbs said:
Asking on an internet forum which has nothing to do with investing and where most people won't earn that in 5 years, just so you get to look cool.

Well I didn't really earn this either, if it helps your ego.

Seems like there are quite a few on here that know what to do with this sort of sum.

Thanks for the help so far.

Participant · 27 May 2018 at 07:40

godinman said:
Lol. Why waste your time investing such a trifling amount? I'd just do a few hours overtime and earn the same again.

Haha. @paradigm reference?

Participant · 27 May 2018 at 07:44

Participant · 25 Feb 2019 at 08:32

Just to finally follow up on this old thread about basic personal savings and investments, and to address a few queries...

I'm extremely risk averse, with a young family and a mortgage.

I'm not mortgage free, but my mortgage rate is only 1.7% and is currently fixed for five years. I can only pay off up to 10% of the remaining balance per annum.

Against common wisdom perhaps, I chose to maximise premium bonds (£50k) and put the rest into a S&S ISA with dividends reinvested automatically.

I didn't see an IFA.

The PB is acting as my emergency / instant access fund, with any 'prizes' going into the annual ISA allowance. The ISA will be a long-term investment. Currently the PB return is slightly above par / expected value.

Finally, I've increased my pension contributions so that I'm on track to maximise the lifetime allowance.