Mortgage Free, now what?!

clarky365

Hi, I often read this site and find it really useful, but this is my first time of posting. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am 31yr old and single, I own my own investment property in the UK which is worth approx 120k and I have very nearly paid off completely (within a couple of months). I have it rented out consistently with a return of 6k per year. I have zero debts having cleared my student loan and have no credit cards. However I also have no pension plan or any other savings/investments of any sort.

Currently I am living and renting overseas and have the ability to save about $1,000 a month which I am keen to send back to the UK. My question is what should I be doing with it?! - Up till now I have always sent every extra penny towards overpaying my mortgage so now need a few new plans?! - I am keen to invest as well as save.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

lisyloo

Firstly you need to think about your goals.
One might be some a retirement savings plan (I use that as a general term rather than pension which is a specific wrapper).
Another goal might be to save for a deposit for your own home.

I'd say you need to know what your goals are before you decide where to put your money because your goals will have a bearing on what you do.
For example a goal of retirement savings is long term which gives you many options and you may want to use a pension. On the other hand if you are saving for a deposit for a home in a few years then you might need to save rather than invest because you might want the money short term (I mean less than the general 5 years + recommended for investing).

So my suggestion is that you start from the beginning and decide on your goals.
IME - retirement planning should defintiely be one aspect, whether it's traditional pension, investment property or something else - the goal is pretty muc a MUST, however you do it.

lalman

I agree with Lisyloo - as you are paying tax on your property income why not stop overpaying/ release some equity so you can continue to net off your interest payments with your income... it makes financial sense i think.

With that money (say 30k) you could buy another BTL property?