So I have £30,000 sitting around

Alexland

Temrael wrote: »

And should it not be 1.5% on the 123 rather than 3%?

derrick wrote: »

It's 2 not 20, @ 1.5% not 3%.

Student and Mini 123 accounts pay 3% on between £300 and £2k. My toddler son has a Mini account and we use it to help counterbalance the volatility of his 100% shares Junior ISA.

I tend to put gifts from others safely into the 123 Mini (incase anyone ever accuses us of loosing the money) where at least it follows CPI and gifts from us into his Junior ISA with the aim of beating inflation. The only exception is gifts from my parents where they want them put in premium bonds where the return is less than inflation (he hasn't won anything yet).

In terms of the OP's question +1 for the Nationwide 5% regular saver for £250 per month. Also I think even the 123 Student account gets you access to 123 World offers including the 5% regular saver for £200 per month.

xylophone

Had you looked at LISA?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-ISAs

Alexland

xylophone wrote: »

Had you looked at LISA?
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-ISAs

The problem I see with the LISA if the OP is looking to buy in 2022 is that 4-5 years is too long to be on the Skipton cash LISA where the low interest rate on the whole balance starts to errode the additional bonus on the extra contributions but too short to be in stocks and shares where even a balanced portfolio of different assets classes could suffer a 25% drop at a bad moment. Unless the OP was willing to accept the risk of a market drop (property prices might drop too) or delay their purchase until a recovery?

buglawton

I'm surprised that, with the news that recent students are liable to pay up to 6% interest, you haven't considered paying off part of your student loan. The earlier, the less actual interest to pay.

Though I also agree with Voyager2002's comments about being able to fund initial career flexibility mentioned below.

Have to say though, that in my youth as an engineering graduate, moving around to seek work seemed cheap and internships were not really a thing. Have times changed that much?

steampowered

In order to work out what you should do, you need to assess your goals.

If you are intending to save for the long term, you should invest in the stock market.

As you are intending to save for a deposit, perhaps your risk tolerance is lower. But if you think it will be a few years before you get a mortgage perhaps it is worth using stock & shares, once you've maxed out your HTB ISA.

Using the money to pay off your loan is a terrible idea. Read MSE's article to find out why. Using savings which can be used to fund a deposit to pay-off an extremely low interest student loan that you might never have to pay-off, given that you are intending to take on a mortgage in a few years would be utter madness (you'll likely pay more on your mortgage and you definitely have to pay that off, plus paying off your student loan would mean you would have less of a deposit).

My advice would be to use some of the money to have fun and grow your life experience. Investing in yourself (such as through spending a year travelling, or funding a post-graduate degree) has a much higher rate of return than any financial investment.

Alexland

steampowered wrote: »

Using the money to pay off your loan is a terrible idea. Read MSE's article to find out why. Using savings which can be used to fund a deposit to pay-off an extremely low interest student loan that you might never have to pay-off, given that you are intending to take on a mortgage in a few years would be utter madness (you'll likely pay more on your mortgage and you definitely have to pay that off, plus paying off your student loan would mean you would have less of a deposit).

It may not be low interest but I agree it's too early for the OP to know if paying back the loan is a good idea or not.

Alex

Yazi

Lungboy wrote: »

Should that be £20000 in the 123?

Temrael wrote: »

And should it not be 1.5% on the 123 rather than 3%?

derrick wrote: »

It's 2 not 20, @ 1.5% not 3%.

I corrected it in my post that it is a 123 student account where I get 3% interest on up to £2000.
Sorry for that misunderstanding!

Yazi

economic wrote: »

Spend it

BananaRepublic wrote: »

You're a student, blow it on drink, drugs and parties.

However, it would be wiser to invest it. It would make a nice deposit on a house or flat when you get a proper job. If you do invest in the stock markets, you really do need to be able to leave it there for more than 5 years simply because you don't know if the markets will crash, and hence even after 5 years you might be nursing a loss. Of course you usually end up doing quite well, but you need to account for the worst case when you plan.

Wouldn't know what to spend it on!
As I work in the evenings to early mornings I don't usually get the time to go out to do those parties :A
What would you recommend in the stock markets?

Yazi

Eco_Miser wrote: »

Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver 5% - add £250 each month.
...
.

None of those listed I can just put the money straight in with no monthly cap?
You're correct, I don't have any direct debits.

Yazi

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Many people save wisely like you have, put it in the Stock market when they see how much others have made because the market is high (like it is now)... the market falls..... they get bitten..... so they sell at a loss and never buy shares again.
But thats unlikely to happen if you invest for at least 5 years, and don't lose your nerve and sell when it dips.

What is your stock market advice? I have never invested before and it is a high risk gamble if I do not have adequate research.