Advice for 400pm

YorkshireBoy

Moam wrote: »

Interest rate is locked in at 3.2% for 5 years, yes there's two of us.

You can get 5% AER fixed for a year on £7.5K with 3 accounts between you at Nationwide.

Additionally, a Flexclusive regular saver each would take a further £12K over the next year...currently 5% AER but variable.

Doesn't make sense to save 3.2% when you could make 5% instead?...especially when you say..."I'm wanting my money to work for me".

Consider using the savings if/when you need to get a better LTV upon re-mortgaging.

justme111

Depends on what your life plan and money requirements are. If you do not mind to live on state pension and retire when it is payable then I am not sure to which extent additional conteibutions to pension would be benefitial if compared to other investments. In any case you would be able to move other investmwnts into pension later if you wished to do so. If I were you I would either opened stock and shares ISA for those 300 spare or looked into decreasing your LTV and remortgaging at a lower rate ( although I am not sure whether it is possible in current mortgage market , may be lower rates are not available)

YorkshireBoy

justme111 wrote: »

looked into decreasing your LTV and remortgaging at a lower rate ( although I am not sure whether it is possible in current mortgage market , may be lower rates are not available)

OP is locked in for 5 years. Even if it were possible to reduce the rate (which is already 'reasonable'?) the ERP charge and any arrangement/product fees may wipe out any savings...or worse!

AnotherJoe

£50/month into a pension is wholly inadequate.
Its not sufficient merely to have a pension, you need to pay enough into it as well.

Whilst they can be complex in the details, the basics are simple.
You pay in whilst working, and draw from it once retired. Thats it.

If you pay into it for say 35 years and withdraw from it for the same length of time, it doesn't take a mathematics genius to work out that that amount you put in wont be enough, even after optimistic growth, to fund a lavish retirement

As said, maybe it will buy you a latte every day whilst you sit in the cafe since you cant afford to use the heating in your house.

Put more into a pension. Could be your company scheme, could be a parallel private one, but do put more in.

LHW99

Even if your employer doesn't pay any extra, any money you put in a pension gets topped up with tax relief by the Government.

macman

As above. A 20% top up FOC courtesy of HMG is by far the best investment. Remember that your OH can invest £3,600pa gross into a SIPP, even if they are a non tax payer-so that's a gain of £720 every year.