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Whats Best For University?

David_Williams84
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hi, im new to this website and just thought i'd try looking here for some advice and guidance im totally a dumbass when it comes to the financial sector lol so heres my query.
i recently received £3,000 from my brothers will who passed away last year, and i was looking to put it to good use and not blow it out on a holiday or something, so i thought it was a good idea to use it for my future and invest it for unversity living or paying of "the" uni debt.
someone mentioned to me its best to split some of the money up and put some in national savings and some in premiem bonds? im not so sure and would like peoples opinions and advice i obviously want some interest to be added over about 4years!
any help or opinions would be much appriciated
David:j:think:
i recently received £3,000 from my brothers will who passed away last year, and i was looking to put it to good use and not blow it out on a holiday or something, so i thought it was a good idea to use it for my future and invest it for unversity living or paying of "the" uni debt.
someone mentioned to me its best to split some of the money up and put some in national savings and some in premiem bonds? im not so sure and would like peoples opinions and advice i obviously want some interest to be added over about 4years!
any help or opinions would be much appriciated
David:j:think:
0
Comments
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Sorry to hear that about your brother. I think you'd be doing him proud using the money wisely to better yourself.
I think your best bet is to find the highest paying instant access account and whack it all in there. Hard to really give you an opinion without knowing all the circumstances, though. What other income can you expect when you're there? Are you employed and paying tax? If so you may be best getting an ISA.
I wouldn't bother with premium bonds as the rate of return is so pants, and there's only really an argument for them if you're a higher rate tax payer.
Don't pay off student loans, it's never worth it financially.“I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.” - P.G. Wodehouse0 -
With £3,000, assuming you work and pay tax, I would put it all in a cash ISA. An ISA is a tax free savings account. the best one at the moment is Barclays Golden ISA
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa#instant
I wouldn't personally put the money in premium bonds as the chance of winning more than you'd get in interest in a savings account is very low.
Also, i wouldn't bother with national savings since unless you are going to save more than £50,000 you wont benefit from the protection they offer and their rates tend to be a bit low.
In terms of going to Uni, a great idea! However, unfortunately £3,000 is not going to be enough to support you through Uni. Don't be put off by "student debt". Many people leave Uni with lots of personal debt (i.e. bank loans and credit cards). This is very different from a student loan.
A student loan supports you though Uni and gives about £6,000 a year to live off (I'm guessing the amount, i went to Uni in 2001 and got about £4000). With a student loan, you only have to pay it back when you are working and the interest rate is the rate of inflation, which means effectively the loan is not costing you anything. For most people the student loan is essential when going to Uni and is the cheapest you'll ever get, so grab it!!
In terms of personal debt, you really don't need to get into debt if your careful. My partner went though Uni with little/no help from her parents much like me, however, she didn't go boozing every night like I did and so didn't have any personal debt when leaving Uni, whereas I did, even though i worked every holiday!!
Finally, if you are looking to invest in yourself, I would recommend a degree with good employability at the end of it. Such degrees are typically engineering (well, Im bias), medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary science, law, accountancy, a good business degree, etc. These degrees are harder and require good grades, but will make you much more employable at the end. of course, if you really have a passion for fine art or ancient history then do a degree in it, but dont expect to find employment as easily.
Sorry for the lecture, I hope you find it usefulMortgage £120K, monthly overpayment £600, 18 years and £100K saved0
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