Tried asking a friend, thought would now ask the audience

PuzzledDave

Have one of those nice problems to have, some background:

Family consists of the other half, two children (age 4 & 2) and me. We have always been very careful with money and are now in the fortunate position of having no meaningful debt and a little mortgage left.

At the very end of 2013 I was made redundant after a very long period of continuous employment so am due a hefty redundancy payment. I was lucky enough to gain another role quickly (prob start next week or so) which will (for what we are used to) be very well paid however, may only be for a couple of months, may be a year or two. The other half stays at home to look after the children.

So in short, we are shortly going to get an unexpected significant lump sum on top of our existing decent cash reserve (and income insurance) and still have employment available. We have no debts to pay off and can't even settle the mortgage without paying more in penalties than the interest due if we just finish out the current terms.

Our problem is we have no idea how to spend this lump sum, our children are too young to make a massive trip to Disneyland or similar and we both don't get much of a kick out of holidays in general. Our home is modest, but fine for our needs and the idea of using the sum to jump up the ladder fills us with dread at the amount of work that would need to be done to make our home in a sellable condition. Our youngest child stills occasionally draws on the walls :mad::mad: so an expensive redecoration is currently a waste of time.

There is no furniture or big expensive toy either of us want and the kids like to drop their toys down the stairs for fun Our car is getting on and also very modest... but works fine and upgrading also seems a waste of money since it serves our needs just fine.

The best we have come up with is to demolish the very elderly shed that came with the house and replace it... but really ??? That's the best we can do with a windfall ?? We could keep it in case my new employment turns out to be very short... but we already had a good reserve and income insurance. Just letting it sit in the bank seems silly - we scrimp and save each month and now we really do for once have money to burn, we are just lost on what to do with it.

Any suggestions would be really most welcome.

tea_lover

I'll pm you my bank details

Caroline_a

Why do you need to spend it? Put some towards your pension, maybe have a treat or two, maybe a holiday, and the rest in a savings account. You could even put some into Premium Bonds or maybe dabble with shares.

aileth

I wouldn't effectively 'force' yourself to spend it. A windfall is fantastic, but if you are spending it for spending's sake and because you feel you need to, you'll only regret it. I'd put some aside to live comfortably and as a safety net in case the new employment isn't fantastic and then probably lock the rest away in a savings account. If you pee it away on things you don't care about, a few years down the line when something does come up that you want, you'll think, "I wish I had that money."

On the other hand, why not put it to the side to take your kids to Disneyland when they ARE old enough?

jezebel

Do you have a new television or computer for the family (or one for yourselves and one for the kids!)?

gingin_2

I really believe in the benefit of a good family holiday. 4 and 2 are lovely ages to have fun in the pool or building sandcastles on the beach but I wouldn't go spending money for the sake of it if it's really not going to be enjoyed.

Ainat

As others have said... You don't need to spend it just for spending sake.

My husband got an unexpected windfall. Saving it until we were ready to buy a house meant we were able to put down a good deposit. I know that doesn't apply to you guys, but point is, by not spending it straight away he had it there for something it really was worth spending it on.

You'll regret spending it for spendings sake. But keep it safe, maybe treat the kids to a holiday of a lifetime once they are old enough to appreciate it (something like Disney), or simply save it in a pension fund or in a trust fund for the kids for when they're older.

Georgiegirl256

Why spend it just for the sake of it? If there is nothing you really need, put it in the bank until there is.

When I got made redundant, it wasn't a big sum, but we spent it on the house, doing things/replacing things that needed doing. Such as a new cooker, new bathroom and decorated the living room and kitchen.

But if you don't need things doing, or need to replace things, why do you feel the need to spend the money when you don't have to?

Alikay

You don't have to do anything big or worthy with it: Just keep it (in a high interest account, obv:money:) and use it when you want to make life a bit easier. You can be pretty sure that at some point it'll come in handy for something like a new carpet, expensive car/boiler/roof repair, orthodontic treatment or whatever. And if it's not needed for those things, you can always have a good holiday somewhere far-flung when the kids are old enough to appreciate it .

peachyprice

Put it in the bank and keep it for when the children are old enough not to draw on walls etc and have whole the house decorated to accommodate your slightly older family.

It'll give you something to look forward to and it will be something that will improve the property if you do decide to move, and if not it will make your surroundings a pleasure to live in.

Kayalana99

Personally I would put it in the bank for a few more years THEN go to disney land... :-)

Its on my to do list.