Confused about savings!!

fiesta_mad

Hi, I really need some help with what to do with my savings. Ive got £5000 as a lump sum for saving and want to save a further £500 each month. Ive read all there is to read about (e)ISAs, (e)Bonds, Regular Savings etc and now Im even more confused than when I started. If anyone has any ideas they would be gratefully recieved :j

amcluesent

>If anyone has any ideas<

Impossible to comment with the limited information you've given. Are you a taxpayer, do you need the money at short notice etc. etc.

Irresponsibly, I'd say put it all into Zopa.

lisyloo

Do you have an emergency fund in case of - boiler breakdown, car crash, lose job etc.
Do you have a decent pension?
What rate of tax do you pay?
How long can you tie the money up?

There is no straightforward answer because everyone circumstances are different.

Are you covered for death, sickness, accident redundancy.

I'd say your first priority is to save an emergency fund.
6 months lliving costs is a good rule of thumb in this climate.
By it's nature this needs to be instant access.
If you are a tax payer then a cash ISA is good.

Also you need to be funding a pension at a minimum of 10% of your salary. I put in 15% but it does depend a bit on your age.

jamesd

What sort of access do you need for it? Can you lock it away for five years with no access during that time? Is it possible to accept losing some capital if you need immediate access at the wrong time? What sort of up and down movement in capital value are you willing to accept? Something like 30% up and down variation is to be expected from pure share funds but that can be adjusted up or down by selecting higher or lower risk investments and producing a mixture. Are you willing to use investments that have neither Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection nor any investment regulator?

fiesta_mad

Thank You for your help so far but Oh my gosh. Im even more confused! I have got a pension, I have one with my job. Ive been paying into it since I was 17 (Now 28). I am a tax-payer. I dont think Ill be needing short notice access to my savings but dont really want to not be able to access if need be. The most amount of time Id like to leave it untouched is 1 year. I have an emergency fund already set aside. Ive had one for years but thankfully havent had to use it.