30k invest or not

babuseat

Hello,

Was wondering what you lovely people thought what I should do with my 30k. I currently have no debts/ loans apart from a mortgage which we are in the process off overpaying and hoping to pay off . I do however want to invest some money as I think it would definitely generate more of a return than a savings acct . Do I look at buying a hse buy to let or stocks and shares( which I am not hugely educated on) but very willing to put some time and effort in. Or do I play safe and open an ISA for both hubby and . I also have two children who have a small amount of savings put away.? Your opinions would be greatly received :j

TCA

Do you work? Are you a tax payer? Do you have a pension? Same questions re your husband.

What level of risk are you prepared to accept? What kind of return do you want? Will you require access to the funds any time soon?

babuseat

Yes I currently work 13 hours a week, I am a tax payer and hubby works full time and tax payer.i have only just started a pension with work auto enrol which isn't the greatest however it's better than nothing. I have no immediate plans for the money apart from from investment which I have been procrastinating about for quite some time. I would say med- high risk, not sure re return tbh .

TCA

Before thinking about investing, most would advocate keeping an emergency stash of funds equal to several month's spend. Do you or your husband have any other savings you could draw on, say if one or both of you lost your jobs?

If not, then I'd say do that first. Cash ISAs pay a pittance these days, so higher paying current accounts, even as a basic rate tax payer, are preferable to many.

You never mentioned if your husband was a basic or higher rate tax payer and his pension situation?

JohnRo

babuseat wrote: »

I would say med- high risk, not sure re return tbh .

Be honest with yourself, could you really stomach a 40% to 50% short term fall in the valuation of a med-high risk investment? It's easy to say it's just a paper loss, but unless you're properly prepared to accept the reality of that scenario then I'd suggest you steer well clear.

You've the option available to have four TSB accounts earning 5% gross interest on a maximum of £8K and several other current accounts offering semi-decent interest rates which should just about preserve the buying power of that cash in the present climate.

Perhaps do both? Limiting the med-high risk liability to perhaps £5K with the rest in fixed interest cash savings and then look to adjust / top up as you become more familiar and comfortable with the volatility of your med / high risk investment valuations.

babuseat

Thank you sooooooo much both for your advice .... You've definitely made me rethink about my savings plan. I'll be sitting down later this afternoon and making decisions ..... Thanks once again!!!! Your time and effort is much appreciated :-)