10k windfall - what to do with it

Lostdotfish

After some advice. I have received an unexpected £10,000 windfall. I have no debts to pay off, no mortgage and no other significant savings (unlikely to use my tax free allowance).

I have dropped the money into a 1% savings account temporarily and I am moving £250/month into a 5% regular saver.

Just wondering if there is something else I should be doing to try and squeeze a little more interest out of the money. I'm considering moving the lump sum over to Al Rayan and I'm also considering moving some into funds with Vanguard or H&L.

I am not averse to investing with some low risk. I could also do with being able to access the money quickly if needed although my intention is to invest for several years.

Any advice greatly received.

cloud_dog

Age? Pension situation?

El_Torro

My first priority would be to have an emergency fund (between 3 and 6 months of expenditure, in case you need quick access to the cash).

If that doesn’t take up all your £10k then yes, you could invest the rest. Either in a pension or S&S ISA. Investing is long term though, you should not need to access the cash for at least 10 years.

Lostdotfish

38, married, 2 children. Moderate income household but I am on low income (I pay no tax). I have a small pension accumulating with Nest via my employer.

This money sits outside of our shared finances and I am free to do with it what I like. I'm historically not great at saving but so far I have resisted the urge to spend any of it for over 12 months. I have also managed to save a further £3000 (proving for the first time ever that I can save).

I'd like to put the money somewhere where it earns a reasonable return. Somewhere I can add more savings as I can but also somewhere where I can access it quickly should I need to.

MallyGirl

Instant access means you won't be getting a reasonable return. Savings rates are below inflation apart from a couple of regular savers that you could drip feed into.