Not really sure what I'm doing ...

davidspd

Hi everyone. I've not ventured onto this board and don't really know what i'm doing wrt savings and investments.

I inherited about £150k a couple of years ago, and put it in various accounts as follows ...

Cahoot Savings approx £70k 4.75% Gross
Halifax Variable approx £70k 4.5% Gross
Halifax Fixed (matures Dec 08) approx £11k 4.55% Gross

Also have ...

Fidelity Maxi ISA currently about £9k
A&L Cash ISA £3k

and ...

Cahoot Current salary paid into this
HSBC Current used to pay salary into this, currently has about £500

My expenditure does not exceed my income (salary about £2k/month), I do not have any debts and i pay off any credit cards in full. I currently put about £500/month into my Cahoot savings account, but not a regular basis.

Would i be better off pooling the two large accounts? I'd like to maximise my pension (I work in the NHS) but should i be doing AVC or taking out another separate one? Should i be talking to an IFA?

Any advice gratefully appreciated.

Thanks
davidspd

ReportInvestor

Hi David,

Do you own a house and do you have a mortgage?

With those sort of savings, it is worth chasing the top rate - as 0.25% interest is worth £375 pa gross to you.

Skarab

Hi David

In my opinion the first thing that you should do is absolutely nothing!

As the thread title says you are not sure what you are doing, you have taken the first step to resolve this by posting here. There is a lot of FREE financial information and advice on the net, spend some time on research it will be rewarded!

I'ts only recently that I too decided to take my financial future into my own hands and I have spent countless hours doing my own research which has led me to a basic understanding of how it all works!

I am in a similar situation to you albeit with approximately half the capital sum, I have come to the following conclusions with regard to the questions that you asked:

Should i be talking to an IFA?
Only if you do not have the time or the inclination to work this out for yourself, these guys are NOT advisors, they are salesman and will make a tidy profit from you. If you really must then i suggest you see one that operates on a fee only basis.

I'd like to maximise my pension (I work in the NHS) but should i be doing AVC or taking out another separate one?
Personally I would do neither, dont confuse a "pension" with saving for your retirement. Once you put money in a pension wrapper it is no longer yours to control and is at the mercy of the government of the day. How much do you trust politicians?

Hope this helps.

davidspd

ReportInvestor wrote:

Do you own a house and do you have a mortgage?

Yes I own a house outright with my partner, and so am in the fortunate position of not having a mortgage.

Skarab wrote:

dont confuse a "pension" with saving for your retirement

Good advice, hadn't thought of it like that before. Can you recommend any sites (apart from this one) that provide good advice wrt financial planning.

Thanks
davidspd

Chrismaths

Skarab wrote:

Should i be talking to an IFA?
Only if you do not have the time or the inclination to work this out for yourself, these guys are NOT advisors, they are salesman and will make a tidy profit from you. If you really must then i suggest you see one that operates on a fee only basis.

By heck, there's a great deal of tar on your brush!

If you go to one on a fee basis, they are unlikely to be salesmen, and more likely quality financial planners. They are some scumbags out there (most of them work for banks or BSocs), but there are also a great deal of high quality individuals providing great service, who are well worth the money.

cheerfulcat

davidspd wrote:

Can you recommend any sites (apart from this one) that provide good advice wrt financial planning.

Yes - try here