Been left £130,000 net after my mum died, what do i do?

milkymilky666

I have no idea on these things and its my 1st post, i really need help in doing something with this. I have a job and in an ideal world, id work part time but i dont reckon this will be enough, can anyone help? Im willing to "risk" upto £50k of it but obviously not that keen to risk it all, please help guys.

cheerfulcat

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

There are a few things you need to consider before you make any decisions -

Do you need an income from this money? Do you want to increase the capital, or just preserve it? Do you have money set aside for a rainy day already? Do you have other savings? Debts? A mortgage? A pension/retirement savings?

HTH for a start, and welcome to MSE

Cheerfulcat

EdInvestor

Hi milky

I have no idea on these things.

Very sorry to hear about your loss. But clearly your mum had learnt something about money, as she has left you this excellent nest egg.

So what I would do first is to divide it up into 3 or 4 bits and put the bits into the best high interest accounts you can find. PLenty of details around on the site - see the Savings articles on the left.

Then I'd spend a few months reading the threads in this forum about saving and investing, asking questions when you don't understand something - posters here are very helpful There are quite a few threads already about how to invest big lump sums.

By around March you should be in a position to take advantage of both this years and next year's ISA tax allowances to get some of the money invested, and you should have a good idea about what you want to do.

But just get the money into the hi- interest accounts first, so they'rre earning the best return while you learn.

milkymilky666

Thanks guys. Yes i need about £20k to clear every debt (I have no mortgage) and im living in rented accom with my partner, i dont need to really spend any of the money for the next 2 or 3 years and dont plan to buy a house (unless its a good idea!) So i more or less have just over £100k that im prepared to 'chance ' half of !!
Also i have no pension, just the £300 a week i take home from my current job. I have no money set aside or a rainy day either, just livin month to month at the mo, but happy doin it.....for now!!
I keep hearin about ISAs even though im not very clued up and dont even know what it really is if im honest.

cheerfulcat

Once you've cleared the debt and put aside enough for six months to a year's worth of your normal expenditure ( rainy day account ) you can start thinking about the next step. I agree with Ed; best to put the lot on deposit while you find out more. MSE is one place; you could also have a look around the Motley Fool for ideas, especially the discussion boards.

montycat_2

Hi ,
I lost my husband last year and was left alot of dosh .
I paid it all into a high savings deposit account ,then went and saw some bank managers ,building societies and an independent financial advisor .
It took me 5 months to make a decision but i am happy with it .
I have some money in a 6 month bond paying 7%,a large ammount in a Portfolio Bond and another amount in a high interest Instant access savings account .
Covering all emergencies .
I also paid off debts and mortgage .I am now debt-free and secure financially .

Cagey

I am no expert but I am sure most of the guys on here would advise you to stay away from banks & building society for financial advice as they usually push their own products.

Why pay rent for the rest of your life. If I had that kind of money I would put it towards a house rather than line someone elses pockets.

montycat_2

I have had very good advise from a Building Society ,yes ,it pushed one product but ,even IFA's I have talked to have said for my needs it is good .
I have had bad experiences from all arenas of the financial world but ,like life ,not all the eggs in the basket are bad .

black-saturn

Personally I would buy a house. Property investment always goes up and at the moment you are shelling out rent for something which is never going to be yours.

sarah_elton

black-saturn wrote:

Property investment always goes up

... in the long term.

padders_2

Property investment always goes up

Please don't listen to the muppets here who don't know what they are talking about. Nothing *always* goes up, including property that crashed not much more than a decade ago.

You have a big sum of money and need to get some proper financial advice. About the only thing everyone here is likely to agree on is getting the £3,000k Cash ISA before the end of the tax year. Before doing anything else I would seek some professional advice.