what to do with £2000 - dont want to spend it

bikes said:
Another vote for this :D

Barclays atm pays 6.5% for the 1st year
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If I read the small print correctly to get this rate you need to place 25k in a standard savings account to get this rate.
 
ISA is your best bet for minimum risk and maximum returns. Would hurry up and get it done before the 5th April (I think) as then you can deposit another £3k in the next financial year.
 
Considering proper inflation is 13% a year (M4 money supply) - then putting it in the bank at 5.5% a year means its losing value in its purchasing power, year on year.

If your trying to get some kind of return, you might want to look into some kind of stocks or commoddity based investment.
 
If you are 16+, i would suggest putting it into a Mini Cash ISA. NS&I are doing a great one at the moment, as are Barclays.

Do not be foolish and invest in the stock market in the attempt at picking your own stocks. You WILL lose all that money.

If your attitude to risk isnt so bad, you could put it into an index tracker (which can be wrapped in a Maxi Cash ISA) which essentially means it has been invested in the stock market. Returns are historically VERY GOOD over a 5 year period, however over 3 years, with the way the market is right now, i think it may be a risk too far.

Simple answer, get a mini cash ISA. More complex answer, read up on finiance at fool.co.uk and decide for yourself.

TM
 
addy_010 said:
I have no plans to spend the money for atleast 3 years as the idea was that it was going to pay for some uni fees if I get in.
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Don't use it for that. Take a fees loan instead, at the rate you pay it back it's utterly pointless using savings to pay it off/pay for fees.
 
Probbably not much point in an ISA over a high interest direct access account - as you're a student you shouldn't pay tax on earned interest. The % gain in interest probbably doesn't warrent the loss of accesibility.
 
Premium Bonds, take a leaf out of Mr Sugars book.
Great way to save, and there is also the added bonus you may win on their monthly lotteries.
 
If you have no plans for it for 3 years, stick it in a premium investment bond. You'll get more return off that than in an ISA or standard savings account for 3 years. Only catch is that you can't touch it (not a problem if you don't want to anyway though)
 
Twinblade said:
Premium Bonds, take a leaf out of Mr Sugars book.
Great way to save, and there is also the added bonus you may win on their monthly lotteries.
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And if you don't win, inflation will mean that the buying power of your money has been reduced and yet there's been no gain!

While a nice idea premium bonds arn't a sound investment as there is no guaranteed return.
 
xolotl said:
While a nice idea premium bonds arn't a sound investment as there is no guaranteed return.
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Over a significant amount of time they usually are. People who had bonds during the .com boom made a lot of money. As long as you don't suffer a stock market crash, you'll come out with a return which is very often far more than the ~5% you get from an ISA or savings account.
 
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