Best way to use a £25000 windfall...?

ronaldadio

xylophone wrote: »

Interest bearing current accounts, if you can get them, would seem to be the way forward - a Nationwide Flexdirect each and a joint would also give you access to a Flex monthly saver.

TSB sole each and joint would be another to hook into.

A couple of Tesco accounts each?

Consider Santander 123 for interest and cash back?

Thanks.
With these accounts is it as simple as putting your cash in, or do they have certain things you have to do? For example, do you have to set up your Direct debits with them, etc, etc?

jimjames

ronaldadio wrote: »

I don't understand the phrase "paying yourself first"

Save or invest money when you first get paid, not what's left over (nothing) at the end of the month

atush

Given your age, and past overspending you need to tighten the reins.

Do a spending diary and see where you are wasting your money. Post an SOA on the debt free board for suggestions on where/how to lower your ongoing costs.

Pay off debt (you have, great). Have a cash fund for emergencies (not willy nilly spending) so you dont go back into debt. Then, if you arent going to buy a home to live in, then open pensions for each of you. And contribute to them monthly with what spare cash you realize from A- not paying off debt, and B- lowering your outgoings.

If you want money to spend for leisure purposes, put it in your budget and dont spend over this amt. If you dont spend it all in one month, roll it over to the next so you have a 'fun money' pot.

ronaldadio

No one has suggested either a pension or trying to buy a house.
Any reason why?

atush

I guess you didnt read post 14 then?

ronaldadio

atush wrote: »

I guess you didnt read post 14 then?

Yes, but it didn't say "Put down a £25,000 deposit on a house or put £25,000 into a pension" unless I have and still am reading this wrong?

ronaldadio

There seems to be some confusion here.
Simply put, my wife and I have zero behind us...not a jot!!! We rent a house, have a 25 year old, 22 year old & 17 year old living with us still (All working good jobs)
We are about to receive £25,000.
What would you experts do with it?
Try to get a mortgage, put it in a pension, invest it in ISAs, current accounts, or what.
I am in control of our outgoings but give or take a bit, we break even every month. That could change when the kids start to move out (22 year old has just bought a house in Kendal with bf for £290k, but have paid off £90k leaving a £200k mortgage. So she does not take after me )

jimjames

Maybe read the replies on the previous thread which I recall mentioned about houses.

If there are 5 of you in the house working and earn over £50k and have nothing left at end of the month then I'd think you're not in control of your spending

atush

ronaldadio wrote: »

Yes, but it didn't say "Put down a £25,000 deposit on a house or put £25,000 into a pension" unless I have and still am reading this wrong?

yes, you are reading it wrong.

You dont put the WHOLE 25K into any one thing. you need an emergency cash pot, for just that- emergencies. Then you need a pension, and you migth need a house too.

But we dont know where you live and what houses cost. So we dont know if buying is achievable or not. But you would not put 100% of your cash into it.

Third, you have 5 working adults in your house, and dont have savings. I am guessing, not only are you overspending but 3 of the adults arent pulling their weight? How much of the income from their good jobs are they paying you each month to live there? Eat there? They should be paying you at least 50-100 a week. Each.

I charge mine 55-60. I dont make any profit on this, this is what it costs to feed them plus hot water and other utilities.

I personally would like to see you have a pension and a house. But until you get spending under control, a house will be difficult. A pension should be easy enough.

redux

ronaldadio wrote: »

No one has suggested either a pension or trying to buy a house.
Any reason why?

My post contained the words house and pensions, but also suggested you need to arrange monthly savings on top of your lump sum.

This windfall may seem like a decent amount of money right at the moment, but looking at it another way it's equivalent to just a few months turnover of your regular income and spending, so it won't set you up for life on its own, just plant a seed to be added to, and therefore nobody can definitively say there is one obviously best thing to do with it.

While you are making up your mind, look at bank accounts that pay a decent amount of interest, discussed on plenty of other threads here.