Recently widowed

clever-girl

Hi There


I have recently been widowed and im only in my thirties.
i have been left with approx £265,000

my mortgage has £77,000 left and only other debt is my car which is on a payment plan and at the moment the settlement figure is more than the car! grrrrrr - roughly £7,000

i live in a small village and i am fed up with the bank here and trying to advise me what to do. nearest city is 3 1/2 hours away
i will continue working and with state pension and husband work pension and child benefit i approx come out the £1800.00 a month.

so im thinking if i clear mortgage and car only things i will be left with is c/tax, bills, food, fuel etc which is £800 a month so will have £1000 a month for leisure, treats, clothes and holidays

so i wont need direct access into the funds for treats and too be honest i should probably lock it away to stop any access for impulse holidays etc....


what do you think i should consider doing?

i have a 4 year old and they get a pension from my husband work for approx £360 a month until he is 16yrs or stays in full time uni until 23 year old. so he will get approx £55k-£85k which is just amazing for him

my head is pickled from losing my best friend to now 5 months on having to think of all this money

thanks
x

BLB53

Sounds like a sensible idea to clear mtg and car loan which leaves ~£180K.

You could start to invest in a S&S ISA - £15,240 per year. I would invest in the Vanguard Lifestrategy funds - maybe the LS60 or LS40 depending on your attitude to risk.

You could invest in this fund in a non-ISA trading a/c for as much as you feel comfortable investing and switch some it over to the ISA at the start of each tax year.

You could also lock some away longer term in a SIPP - again using the Vanguard funds - you would not be able to touch it until age 57 yrs at earliest which may remove some temptation.

May be worth getting a read of 'DIY Simple Investing' mentioned on Monevator site this week to help with the decisions.

http://monevator.com/weekend-reading-the-best-investors-are-dead-right/

Good luck with it all!

badger09

clever-girl wrote: »

Hi There


I have recently been widowed and im only in my thirties.
i have been left with approx £265,000

my mortgage has £77,000 left and only other debt is my car which is on a payment plan and at the moment the settlement figure is more than the car! grrrrrr - roughly £7,000

i live in a small village and i am fed up with the bank here and trying to advise me what to do. nearest city is 3 1/2 hours away
i will continue working and with state pension and husband work pension and child benefit i approx come out the £1800.00 a month.

so im thinking if i clear mortgage and car only things i will be left with is c/tax, bills, food, fuel etc which is £800 a month so will have £1000 a month for leisure, treats, clothes and holidays

so i wont need direct access into the funds for treats and too be honest i should probably lock it away to stop any access for impulse holidays etc....


what do you think i should consider doing?

i have a 4 year old and they get a pension from my husband work for approx £360 a month until he is 16yrs or stays in full time uni until 23 year old. so he will get approx £55k-£85k which is just amazing for him

my head is pickled from losing my best friend to now 5 months on having to think of all this money

thanks
x

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Please don't rush into anything. With that amount of money I would seriously consider consulting an IFA. Note I = Independant, so not someone linked to a bank who will only tell you about their own products.

Ask friends and family for personal recommendations, or have a look here.

https://www.unbiased.co.uk/

Where is the money at the moment? Try at least to make it safe in the short term, so no more than £85k in any one bank/banking group or put most of it in NS&I for full protection while you plan a little.

http://www.nsandi.com/income-bonds

Don't dismiss the idea of a holiday, you and your 4 year old probably need one.

Biggles

clever-girl wrote: »

i have been left with approx £265,000

my mortgage has £77,000 left and only other debt is my car which is on a payment plan and at the moment the settlement figure is more than the car! grrrrrr - roughly £7,000

Good idea to settle all debts before you go any further.

i live in a small village and i am fed up with the bank here and trying to advise me what to do.

These days, any bank is sadly a poor source of financial advice.

clever-girl

Thanks all
Your right decisions probably not the best at the moment
I'm still grieving a great deal

I have opened a ns&i tonight but only managed to move £50k as debit card wouldn't allow any higher

Will go to bank in morning as I recieved a settlement figure
Will call ns&i tomorrow and see if I can move more in

And thank you to the person ( sorry forgot ) who said yes take the holiday
I think your right and that's a wee plan for myself and my little boy


Thanks xx

speakingofart

I can't offer any advice, other than to say I'm sorry for your loss. If it were me, I would pay off the mortgage/ car, put some in a long term investment of some sort and think about what I want with the rest of the money - a pension? emergency fund? etc. I would second the idea to get some sort of financial advice, including for your little boy's pension.

And yes, take the holiday - life is far, far too short not to create some happier memories for you both.

lejog2003

I'm sorry for your loss. Having been through a similar situation, I think you have received good advice so far. Pay off your debts, put your money somewhere safe (aka a savings account - where you won't lose any), take a break away from routine and begin to plan out the rest of your life.

Only when you have done this and worked out your priorities (housing, meeting someone new and increasing your family, plans for retirement) should you think about moving any of your savings into investments. From personal experience this may take a couple of years. No advisor can give good specific financial advice until you have done this and you seem financially secure, there is no rush.

If you don't have this knowledge already, also find out a little about the various types of investments (shares, bonds, property etc). Investments give higher returns in the long run but may incur short term loses. While you certainly don't have to be an expert in the stock market to invest with shares, it helps to have a basic understanding of where your money is.

A good IFA may help you with this process, but not one who wants to rush you into a decision. When you feel able, try contacting a few and see who you are comfortable dealing with.

kidmugsy

There's a rule of thumb that says you should not make big decisions within 14 months of a bereavement. Best wishes.

Janie_Zebra

Firstly clever-girl, I am so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you are going through at the moment.

I wouldn't make any rash decisions, but I think you are on the right tracks and it would be exactly what I'd do. Pay off the mortgage, then you have a roof no matter what. You've started to transfer to NS&I, did you know there is a child's NS&I as well, all tax free at 2.5%. Maybe £250 a month to that, £100 for birthdays, Christmas etc to somewhere accessible? And yes, get away for a holiday... as you are fully aware life is too short to just sit at home and count pennies... make memories xxx

Lastly, a massive hug and well done. It seems that you are doing a great job in coping xxx

atush

So sorry for your loss.

But the advice above is sound. Keep the money safe, and think about taking advice. Educate yourself even if you do. Time well spent for you and your child's benefit.

I agree with opening a S&S isa and a PP of some kind. I agree you should pay off debt. I would have a look at taking care of any outstanding maintenance issues on the house.

As for your child's money, I would open a S&S Jisa. You can save the rest as it comes in (but believe you can spend small amounts from it for his comfort/benefit as well) and then keep saving into the Jisa or use unwrapped investment trust savings plans. Consider using one of those for some of your monthly savings once PP and S&S isa is full with the year's allowance.

And yes do take that holiday. And do consider if you are happy where you are (now you are on your own) or would you be happier nearer to civilisation or family? 3.5 hours from the nearest larger town/city is pretty remote?

pandora205

Sorry for your loss OP - what a lot for you to have to think about. You will get some excellent financial ideas here.
What about your own future? Do you have a career or a job that you love? Is there anything that you would like to do?