So I have £30,000 sitting around

Yazi

ivormonee wrote: »

I'd say drip feed a monthly amount into something like the vanguard LifeStrategy range of funds. Pick one that suits how much risk you feel comfortable with. Probably, at such a young age, if you are willing to leave the money invested for a good few years, the Vanguard LifeStrategy 80 may be a good option - it's more volatile than the 60, 40 and 20 versions but you can give it plenty of time to ride the ups and downs.

economic wrote: »

i would stick to 100. Im 34 and even i have vanguard LS 100. I have no bonds whatsoever. i prefer cash instead of bonds.

First time hearing of vanguard LS! What are your experiences with it?

iltisman

Listen to your student mates they are going to vote for Corbyn and Mrs May is looking a bit wobbly. Buy US stocks or even Dollars as the pound will collapse if Corby wins.

Yazi

Voyager2002 wrote: »

As a student, the best investment you can make is in your career and hence your future earning power. So a good use of that money would be things like study time (not needing to take a job when you need to hit the books); financing a good internship; and of course meeting accommodation costs when a good opportunity arises in an inconvenient place. So I suggest keeping most of your money liquid until you are established in your first graduate job. At that point, look very seriously at a help-to-buy ISA since buying a home is likely to be your next move.

I do have a part time job but I do agree to prioritise my education. I am in uni to be an electronic and electrical engineer so it does dominate a lot of my time but I have no real life experience so a part time job as a team leader gives my CV something rather than it being blank.

Finding internships are so difficult but they are usually paid £17k-£22kpa from what I have observed though my peers.

I do have a help to buy ISA with santander (2%) which has £4000 in currently. It will reach full potential in sept 2021 so that (fingers crossed) is 2 years after my graduation.

Yazi

iltisman wrote: »

Listen to your student mates they are going to vote for Corbyn and Mrs May is looking a bit wobbly. Buy US stocks or even Dollars as the pound will collapse if Corby wins.

I'm not the most knowledgeable of politics or US currency I'm afraid. How does one buy dollars or stocks?

Yazi

xylophone wrote: »

Had you looked at LISA?

Alexland wrote: »

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?

Buying in 2022 is a self projected goal as my help-to-buy ISA reaches full maturity.
What's the difference between the LISA and help to buy?
I am not knowledgeable enough to understand the risks of market drops or stocks and shares.

Yazi

Alexland wrote: »

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.

What do you mean by £xxx per month? I believe the other 123 costs money to open up.

Yazi

buglawton wrote: »

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?

As I pay back the money in proportion to how much I earn I think its a good idea for me to not pay it back now. Although I do save more money long term, it would take a long time to build up my money again.
I am also doing engineering and the field is very competitive particularly as I am not in a Russell group with no experience. It's difficult for me to move around from my local area though as I want to stay close to family.

Yazi

steampowered wrote: »

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.

Interest rates are quite high actually at 3%+inflation but I know that you pay it back in proportion to income. Still hoping they'll one day cancel it haha.
As much as I would love to travel again, I would like to get a graduate placement as soon as I can after university as I won't have to pay back any loan for a year after graduation. I'm very fortunate that I have travelled to far away countries to visit family and school trips (hawaii, san fransicso, hk, japan, Switzerland) though I have never done so with just friends.

Eco_Miser

ivormonee wrote: »

I'd say drip feed a monthly amount into something like the vanguard LifeStrategy range of funds.

The OP has a largish lump sum, but not much in the way of monthly income, so a lump sum investment would be better.

Eco_Miser

Yazi wrote: »

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.

No, they're designed for monthly saving, and the amounts are strictly limited, as the rates are higher than the market, in order to attract customers.
That doesn't stop you, and many of us, from feeding our savings into them, to get a better rate.

1.6% is a good rate for lump sum savings.
The ' Top Savings Accounts 1.3% easy access or up to 2.5% fixed' quick link at the top of the page will take you to the current best accounts for lump sums.

Yazi wrote: »

What do you mean by £xxx per month? I believe the other 123 costs money to open up.

Santander 123 customers over 16 (any of the 123 current accounts) can open a monthly saving account paying 5% AER on a total which increases by a monthly sum of up to £200.
Nationwide Flex*** customers can open a Flexclusive monthly saving account paying 5% AER on a total which increases by a monthly sum of up to £250.
You have both of these current accounts, use the 5% savers as well.

On investments, global multi-asset funds offer the easiest method of investing cheaply and (relatively) safely, without needing massive amounts of research. Do do enough research to be comfortable with them before investing, and be aware that at ten years since the last significant crash, another crash may be coming soon (it's cyclic, with around ten years cycle length). There's lots about investing on this board, no need to repeat it here.