What would you do please

mavvymoo

Hi I wonder if I can pick your brains please.
We are now debt and mortage free
To get to this point we were really careful with what we spent now we seem to be spending more than we should old habits and all that

So need a savings plan.
We have 3 Santander 123 acounts.1 each and 1 joint. one which is full with £20k in and the other 2 round about 10k in each. So my first plan is to fill them all.
Would you think this would be best or is there anything better you could suggest ? I also have a small savings account with around £2.5k with rubbish interest but would like to keep this money away from the 123 accounts.Would it be best to transfer this to an isa ? If so which would be best for us ?
Sorry for all the questions but need a plan and then I will stick to it I hope

Thank you in advance

YorkshireBoy

How quickly will you save the remaining £20K to fill all 3 Santander accounts?
What's your tax rates?
Why would you accept circa 1.5% in an ISA when you could get 4% net of BR tax with TSB or Nationwide current accounts?...on circa £13K, let alone on £2.5K. That's nearly 3 times as much interest!
How much 'work' are you prepared to undertake to more than double the best ISA rate you could get?
Have you read the 'Top Savings Account' article (link above) on the main site?

DiggerUK

I am taking it as read that you have paid employment. Apart from instant access cash for 'whatevers', your wages should keep you spending on whatever rocks your boat.
I am also taking it as read that you are 'middle age and supersizing'.

So all that leaves is financing your retirement; keep away from pensions, some research will show they are a mugs game.
That leaves you with best options for later years, tips will come along from others here that I might not support.
For five years plus savings you should consider gold, we have gone down that route and have no regrets. Prices for now are favourable. The following article will give you a start for now.
http://moneyweek.com/a-beginners-guide-to-investing-in-gold/

At the end of the day, take all the advice and hold your own counsel.
..._

Archi_Bald

DiggerUK wrote: »

keep away from pensions, some research will show they are a mugs game.

Tens of millions of people would disagree with you, and for good reason.

A strategy of investing into one asset class (gold in your case) is enormously high risk, and just about every financial adviser, successful fund manager and investor, author of books etc etc will tell you that diversification is key.

A balanced portfolio is a great way to invest. Pensions also have tax and other advantages that gold bars won't offer you.

ColdIron

DiggerUK wrote: »

keep away from pensions, some research will show they are a mugs game.

Possibly the worst suggestion you will receive here

But not quite as bad as this one

DiggerUK wrote: »

For five years plus savings you should consider gold
..._

It's all about opinion but there will be vanishingly few that would support the two above

Archi_Bald

some gold discussion https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5319289

atush

DiggerUK wrote: »

I am taking it as read that you have paid employment. Apart from instant access cash for 'whatevers', your wages should keep you spending on whatever rocks your boat.
I am also taking it as read that you are 'middle age and supersizing'.

So all that leaves is financing your retirement; keep away from pensions, some research will show they are a mugs game.
That leaves you with best options for later years, tips will come along from others here that I might not support.
For five years plus savings you should consider gold, we have gone down that route and have no regrets. Prices for now are favourable. The following article will give you a start for now.
http://moneyweek.com/a-beginners-guide-to-investing-in-gold/

At the end of the day, take all the advice and hold your own counsel.
..._

Please OP, do ignore this very awful post from a precious metal ramper.

Pensions are NOT a mugs game.

Between tax relief and employers contributions not to mention compounding investment return over time (something gold never does) they should be the bedrock of your retirement planning.

chockydavid1983

Depending on how close to retirement age you are, your cash would be best split between pensions and other diversified investments.
I would personally avoid gold but even if you do invest, it should be a very small % of your overall portfolio.

Pincher

Love it.

3 x £20k at 3% is £1,800, which is £900 per person.

From April 2016, you can have £1,000 interest tax free, each,
so the whole £1,800 will be tax free.

On retirement, assuming you get £7,000 in state pension, you have about £3,000 Personal Allowance left for draw down. A pension pot of £50k will last 17+ years, if you draw down £3,000 a year.

If you have a big portfolio, you can have £5,000 dividend tax free a year, plus £10,000 capital gains free a year if you sell some shares.

Obviously, anything in ISAs are redeemed tax free.

So, I would get what pension tax rebate you can, so you end up with £50k~£100k worth of pension pot, meant for draw down, but keep building your portfolio inside and outside ISAs.

Eco_Miser

If you're saving from monthly income (or have savings earning 3% or less) look at the 6%,5%, and 4% Regular Savers here.
Then the TSB, Club Lloyds (you need those two for the matching RS's anyway), Nationwide, Bank of Scotland (Vantage times six), Tesco accounts as mentioned already. You can have three of each between you for most of the banks.

And look at pensions and S&S ISAs for more return, with more risk.

mavvymoo

Thanks for all your replies I have read all of them

I will NOT be investing in Gold but thank you for your imput but its not for me really

I dont work as I have a lot of commitments at home yes I am middle aged sadly.

My DH is working and earns a very decent amount of money he is 44 years old so has a few years to go :Dso I really dont need to go back to work but would if I needed too.

I am hoping to get all 3 accounts full by the end of the year.So then I really would like a plan. I dont really want to run another current account if I can help it but will if its deemed the best idea.

The account with the £2.5k is the dogs account as I have saved the money as I cancelled the insurence which went up to £120 a month so now I stick about a £100 a month into it. But would like to have it seperate from the other accounts. Incase its needed. I was wondering if the dog would like a bit of a dabble with some premuim bonds as he is rather lucky :rotfl:

So once I fill the accounts I think we will have roughly £2.5k a month to save.
Hope this has given you some more info
I am very grateful for your advice. I have read Martins guide but I still dont know the best way to go.Thank you

Edited to say DH also has a business account with HSBC. Which his money goes into then transfered to 123 accounts. Tax and VAT are left in the HSBC to pay those bills.

I can do this saving lark quite well as we paid our mortgage off in 7 years it was tough but so worth it.So have had a bit of a spend up over the last year or so.