£15,000 to 0

lonelyrat

Agree with everyone else - keep it in your easy access savings then deposit in April when things are clearer if you want to use this years allowance.

Silver_Queen

You're all right. The reason why I've been shoving into the LISA as much as possible is because I want to use my allowance for this year. I will be getting a significant pay rise (amount tbc) which will be first reflected in my end of April pay, which should leave me with about £1k spare money each month. I have earmarked this all for savings but it means that I will be using up my allowance very quickly next year! I want to buy a house by the end of 2020.

Will keep the money in an easy access saver for now, even though the interest rate will be abysmal in comparison. I'll look at how the land lies at the beginning of April and might move half over to the LISA.

If worst case scenario, I can always withdraw from the LISA but I don't fancy that penalty :eek:

EssexHebridean

Not sure which easy access you're using SQ but take a look at the Tesco Internet Saver (1.42% currently I think - need to ditch & switch after a year) - very easy to transfer in and out of, and dead easy to use app.

lonelyrat

Yay to the pay rise - that’s fab!

Silver_Queen

Pay rise amount still tbc

Weird spot right now where I should rightfully be getting the pay rise because I've been getting paid significantly under the market rate for about 3-4 years now and it's been agreed that once I get my qualification in March, I would get a big pay rise. It will still likely be below market rate but market rate for my role is about £65k and I'm currently getting paid £25k.

But also have the concerns of brexit to contend with.

enthusiasticsaver

Another vote for Tesco Internet saver. The post office also do one or you could go down the route of high interest current accounts but almost all have conditions now like minimum monthly payment in and direct debits going out. You can get round them but it is a pain and most have maximums.

I am concerned about Brexit too and am not working. I think no deal would be a really bad move but we seem to be heading bullishly towards it.

enthusiasticsaver

Silver_Queen wrote: »

You're all right. The reason why I've been shoving into the LISA as much as possible is because I want to use my allowance for this year. I will be getting a significant pay rise (amount tbc) which will be first reflected in my end of April pay, which should leave me with about £1k spare money each month. I have earmarked this all for savings but it means that I will be using up my allowance very quickly next year! I want to buy a house by the end of 2020.

Will keep the money in an easy access saver for now, even though the interest rate will be abysmal in comparison. I'll look at how the land lies at the beginning of April and might move half over to the LISA.

If worst case scenario, I can always withdraw from the LISA but I don't fancy that penalty :eek:

If your Lisa is invested the stock market is not doing great at the moment. Not just Brexit as I assume you are globally diversified but the US shutdown, growth slowing in China, currency fluctuations due to Brexit etc etc. That is part of investing in that values go up and down but withdrawing on a low should be avoided at all costs. Far better to build up some instant access savings you can draw on re holidays, moving etc.

If you are training as a solicitor presumably you can work anywhere in the country and almost anywhere would be cheaper than London to live both in terms of housing and commuting costs? Of course if you are a specialist in a certain area Luving in London may be essential.

Silver_Queen

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

If your Lisa is invested the stock market is not doing great at the moment. Not just Brexit as I assume you are globally diversified but the US shutdown, growth slowing in China, currency fluctuations due to Brexit etc etc. That is part of investing in that values go up and down but withdrawing on a low should be avoided at all costs. Far better to build up some instant access savings you can draw on re holidays, moving etc.

If you are training as a solicitor presumably you can work anywhere in the country and almost anywhere would be cheaper than London to live both in terms of housing and commuting costs? Of course if you are a specialist in a certain area Luving in London may be essential.

My LISA is doing OK at the moment, I'm down about 0.4% which is of course offset by the 25% I get.

The holidays and moving will not come out of the LISA, the only time I would ever take out from the LISA is either to buy a house or if things really, truly, go south. We're talking cant-afford-to-pay-for-food dire. Unlikely to happen in my circumstances, fortunately.

My area is quite specialist so I'm stuck in London for now. I may be able to move out of the area once I have 2+ years post qual experience but the job market is bleak at the moment. The general trend is that nobody is hiring until at least the summer because of Brexit uncertainty, not just in my area but across all areas of law. Counting myself lucky that I'm being kept on, many of my friends at other companies will be out of a job come March.

I'll be shopping around for an instant access saver but I need to do a proper tidy of my accounts! I have a few empty savings accounts which I opened back when the interest rates were not terrible, I could stand to close them.

Silver_Queen

A quick update for me and a fresh SOA.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1644 pay rise that I keep banging on about expected in three months
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 100OH and I settled on a regular £100 repayment until April, when it will increase to a regular payment of £250 until he pays off the £1,400 he owes me
Total monthly income.................... 1744

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 650 Agreed increase from £400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0 included
Council tax............................. 0 included
Electricity............................. 0 included
Gas..................................... 0 included
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 included
Telephone (land line)................... 0 included
Mobile phone............................ 55 taken out in a fit of keeping up with the joneses
TV Licence.............................. 0 included
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0 included
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 I tend to pay for my sister's food too
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 200 next year's train ticket savings
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 1.67 £20 haircut once per year!
Entertainment........................... 150
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 0 relying on savings for now

Total monthly expenses.................. 1321.67


Assets
Cash.................................... 4650 includes £600 train ticket savings, £1300 for holiday spending, all regular savers etc
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 1650 LISA
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6300

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Parents Loan 1.................8250......250.......0
Barclaycard....................1747.9....165.......0 last year's train ticket. 0% until Feb 2020
Total unsecured debts..........9997.9....415.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,744
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,321.67
Available for debt repayments........... 422.33
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 415
Amount left after debt repayments....... 7.33

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,997.9
Net Assets.............................. -3,697.9

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

lonelyrat

Silver_Queen wrote: »

It will still likely be below market rate but market rate for my role is about £65k and I'm currently getting paid £25k

:eek: that's a significant difference... I'm going to keep my fingers firmly crossed for you and how for something in the 40 thousands (that, to me, is a genuinely eye watering amount..... tbh 25,000 is as well :rotfl:)

Well done on the "assets" :cool: They're adding up nicely... and the debt is reducing!