Almost finished university - advice on using my savings wisely.

davidbennett1819

Hi all,


The past several years Ive been exceptionally frugal, and between my part time job and surplus from my student loan Ive been able to squirrel away almost £5,000, of which £3,000 is in a nationwide ISA.


Ive paid my rent in advance already for the next 7 months - by the time I finish Uni in June Ill have at least £7,000 in savings, probably a little more.


Originally, I had planned to spend this on a Master's degree, but now I think Ill wait a few years and do it part time when Ive got a more established career.


Im currently torn between 3 major options.


The 1st, and my favourite, is to use it as a deposit on a house/flat, ideally a "fixer-upper" which I could refit and flip for a profit later on. Id rather get on the ladder now while I can - the way I see it, with the population going up its only going to get harder.


The other option is to "volunteer" in my field abroad - I already do this locally, but I could pay a few K to go abroad and volunteer at a conservation project. This would be great for my CV and a great experience, but expensive.


Part of me wants to go travelling on a just-for-fun basis, but I cant justify the expense. Its taken me years to earn that cash, and once its gone it's gone. If Im gonna spend it, I want it be an investment.


What do you guys think? House or work placement? And any tips for those options?

agrinnall

What is your likelihood of getting a job in your field, and if they are good, will the job be well paying? If both are true then it shouldn't take you too long to recoup the £7K so I'd go for one of options 2 or 3 (although I'm not a fan of "volunteering" that requires you to pay to take part).

However, if that money is needed for you to live on while you search for a job and to top up your salary for a time after you are in work then either option 1 or putting the money into accounts that will pay you the best interest (which are unlikely to be ISAs, and unless you are a taxpayer ISA is probably the wrong vehicle for you anyway). Option 1 is probably only viable if you can get a very cheap property and do the fixing up work yourself - just because some people on Homes Under The Hammer make a profit doesn't mean everybody can.

vlad

Its unlikely that 7k will cover the deposit and the cost of buying a property, even in less expensive areas you might need more like 20k.But well done on saving while learning.

Voyager2002

Forget about the property idea: you don't have enough money so would need a salary to get a mortgage; I doubt if you have the skills in choosing and repairing property and managing contractors; you would miss out on the early stages of a career if you were worrying about a building project...

Study hard and get the best possible degree result (perhaps that might involve spending a bit of money, but that would be the most worthwhile investment you could possibly make). You might be worn out after that and need a holiday, and in fact would deserve to spend some of your savings going somewhere nice to relax.

After graduation, high-quality professional experience should be your main objective. Getting that might involve spending money, so be prepared.

lovehackney

how about you combine "travelling for fun" with some volunteering abroad? It's not clear what you would volunteer in so not sure if it's feasible but for me it's the best of both worlds.

In terms of getting a house, yes it's tempting but as others have said it might not be that simple. This is possibly the only time in your life that you are footloose and fancy free, as soon as you have a mortgage it becomes so much more expensive to travel.

I graduated 5 years ago and bought a flat 18months ago. Although I am happy with my lot, i do regret not taking the time post graduation to see the world. Ultimately it wouldn't have delayed my career / house buying that much, but it would have given me some amazing memories!

Now I am saving up to go travelling, but need travelling expenses plus the mortgage money. And I'll need to negotiate a sabbatical from work - not easy!