Not sure what to do to maximise my savings.

chrisd8780

I am 37 years old i work for the nhs pay band 2. I am in the pension which started early December 2011.

I live with my partner (not married) who owns the house and will be leaving the house to her children. So as such have no long term security because of this I want to maximise my earnings from my savings.

I have £5882 in a help to buy isa with Halifax and pay in £200 a month. I opened this primarily for the 3.5% tax free interest rate, I had and no plans to buy a house at the point of opening it and still don't under my current circumstances.

I have been wondering whether I should transfer the h2b isa into a LISA which offers 25% of what you put in, but you can't withdraw till you buy a house or reach 60.
Under my current circumstances I have no plans to do this (this could change crystal ball would be nice) and I have an nhs pension so is it worth saving in the LISA considering both these?
Would it be worth getting a stocks and shares LISA instead and keep the h2b isa?

Elsewhere I have £2500 in a nationwide account which was earning 5% the 12 months for this is now over.
A Halifax reward account with next to nothing in which earns £3 a month.
£3000+ in a Tesco account earning 3%. £2300 in a Lloyds account earning 2%. And £1500 in a TSB account 3% interest. And a main account I bounce money around the accounts with.

Roughly 15k. Would I be better off investing (a little or more) or are there any savings accounts or similar I could utilise. I saw one offering 1.95% over 12 months to lock the money away. Which say you put 10000 away you're return would be 10195 an extra £195. Which the above method does more or less without restricting access.

Confused?

Mogley

I would be utilising your Nationwide and Lloyds accounts to make use of their regular savings accounts at 5% for £250/m and 3% for £400/m respectively. Pay into these from your existing current account savings pot. This would help maximise interest earnings on your cash. The £9.3k you currently have is a good emergency fund.


Regarding HTB ISA and LISA, it will be your own judgment. Based on what you have said about your circumstances, I would be tempted to transfer all the HTB ISA into a S&S LISA and give up on 3.5%. If you have paid in £200/month this tax year so far that makes £2200 of your £4000 LISA allowance. If you can afford to risk £1800 of your emergency fund to top up to this years LISA allowance, then you will have maximised the return for this year on the HTB/LISA scheme. I would then continue to contribute to the LISA at a rate you feel comfortable with, perhaps stopping at a lump sum you feel would be enough for a house deposit if there was a change of circumstance. IF no house required then the pot will form part of your retirement fund.

ValiantSon

chrisd8780 wrote: »

I am 37 years old i work for the nhs pay band 2. I am in the pension which started early December 2011.

I live with my partner (not married) who owns the house and will be leaving the house to her children. So as such have no long term security because of this I want to maximise my earnings from my savings.

Do you share any of the mortgage cost? If you do then you need to do something about that. She can write in to her will that you have a lifetime interest in the property, i.e. that you can live there until your death and the children can only dispose of it after that point. In your current situation you are extremely vulnerable and if you are paying any of the mortgage cost then you need to ask yourself why. I'd also add that if you are paying towards the mortgage then it would only be right for your name to be on the deeds too.

chrisd8780 wrote: »

I have £5882 in a help to buy isa with Halifax and pay in £200 a month. I opened this primarily for the 3.5% tax free interest rate, I had and no plans to buy a house at the point of opening it and still don't under my current circumstances.

I have been wondering whether I should transfer the h2b isa into a LISA which offers 25% of what you put in, but you can't withdraw till you buy a house or reach 60.
Under my current circumstances I have no plans to do this (this could change crystal ball would be nice) and I have an nhs pension so is it worth saving in the LISA considering both these?

The LISA is a potential option, and if you did find yourself needing to buy a house in the future then it could be a better option than HTB if you have sufficient income to take advantage of the the bigger allowance.

chrisd8780 wrote: »

Would it be worth getting a stocks and shares LISA instead and keep the h2b isa?

You can have a cash LISA and an HTB LISA if you want. An S&S LISA would be a better long term bet than a cash LISA. Do you have some income with which to contribute to the LISA?

chrisd8780 wrote: »

Elsewhere I have £2500 in a nationwide account which was earning 5% the 12 months for this is now over.
A Halifax reward account with next to nothing in which earns £3 a month.
£3000+ in a Tesco account earning 3%. £2300 in a Lloyds account earning 2%. And £1500 in a TSB account 3% interest. And a main account I bounce money around the accounts with.

Roughly 15k. Would I be better off investing (a little or more) or are there any savings accounts or similar I could utilise. I saw one offering 1.95% over 12 months to lock the money away. Which say you put 10000 away you're return would be 10195 an extra £195. Which the above method does more or less without restricting access.

Confused?

The current accounts are paying you more interest than you will get with a one year fixed rate savings bond, so it isn't really worth you changing that. Are you, however, making use of regular savers, as these would bring in a bit more?

I honestly think, however, that your long term security would be best served by having a serious discussion with your partner about your current living arrangements and the complete lack of security that you have.

chrisd8780

ValiantSon wrote: »

Do you share any of the mortgage cost? If you do then you need to do something about that. She can write in to her will that you have a lifetime interest in the property, i.e. that you can live there until your death and the children can only dispose of it after that point. In your current situation you are extremely vulnerable and if you are paying any of the mortgage cost then you need to ask yourself why. I'd also add that if you are paying towards the mortgage then it would only be right for your name to be on the deeds too.



The LISA is a potential option, and if you did find yourself needing to buy a house in the future then it could be a better option than HTB if you have sufficient income to take advantage of the the bigger allowance.


You can have a cash LISA and an HTB LISA if you want. An S&S LISA would be a better long term bet than a cash LISA. Do you have some income with which to contribute to the LISA?



The current accounts are paying you more interest than you will get with a one year fixed rate savings bond, so it isn't really worth you changing that. Are you, however, making use of regular savers, as these would bring in a bit more?

I honestly think, however, that your long term security would be best served by having a serious discussion with your partner about your current living arrangements and the complete lack of security that you have.

I don't pay any of the mortgage as there isn't one. The house was mortgage free when I met my partner. I do pay towards bills etc. I think my best bet maybe to go for the s and s LISA and utilise the regular savings accounts