My first SOA - Any ideas/advice please

Verbatim

Re ISAs
They can be transferred BUT never withdraw them yourself as you then lose the tax free wrapper. Find another provider with a better rate and ask them to do the transfer. The tax free wrapper is then kept. You can request a transfer as often as you like. The best rates are announced around the run up to the end of the tax year (Apr 5). Use this year's allowance by then or it's gone.
Re Pensions
Buy to Let gives a rent which will keep up with inflation plus your capital should hold its value/appreciate over time.
Unless you have a final salary pension with built in inflation increases you'll be getting a low rate. The rates are very low when buying annuities with high fees and charges at every turn. I would advocate taking as much tax free lump sum as possible with a view to putting a deposit down on a B to L
and having a mix of ISAs and pensions too. Keep an eye on annuity rates to get accustomed to how little they pay. Annuities are the type of pension where the pensioner has all the risk. You save, sometimes in an employers scheme, called "defined contribution" ie what you put in is defined with no guarantee as to what you'll get back. The illusrations all say "what you might get back" and give several options based on percentage returns. Try to get a pension plan with low charges and employer contributions. Better still get a job with a final salary scheme where the benefit is defined and the pension provider or employer takes the risk and you know what you'll get back.

Fmess

Hi

Just had a read of your SOA and I think the biggest area you can save is the grocery budget. Where do you currently shop? I have swapped to Ald! this year and the savings were massive. Not only are their products cheaper but because they don't have as much choice as the larger supermarkets (e.g. just one brand for most products) you are never tempted to buy the more expensive brands that are on offer. I wish I had discovered this years ago!

I now feed two of us on £40 a week and spend a max of £5 a week on toiletries/cleaning products/wash powder etc. I haven't found a product yet that isn't as nice as products from other supermarkets and sometimes they taste suspiciously like the big brands but are loads cheaper!

Good luck with your savings/pension or whatever you decide to do