What to do with £10k in cash before 31st Dec

Loveabell

If you had £10k in cash (not in the bank) and are worried about the pound falling after the (more than likely) no deal brexit, what would be the best thing to do with it now?  Please be kind, I have absolutely no clue about stocks/shares/investing in gold etc.  I'm genuinely worried that I am going to lose my very hard earned small pot of savings or it will not be worth the same as it does now after January.  I am planning on moving to Portugal in the next 3 years so would it be an idea to exchange the pounds for Euros now?  If so, should I simply take the pounds into an exchange shop and get Euros or do it some other way?  Thanks in advance for any help.

tafelmoneysaver

£10k in cash on 31/12/20 will still be worth £10k on 01/01/21.
If I was in your situation I think I would be more concerned about the likelihood of a house fire or break-in

wiseonesomeofthetime

As above 👆

No point in investing with such a short time-scale. I do not invest myself, however, all advice I have seen written has suggested a minimum of 5 years, but preferably 10 years or more. So that's, out with you plans.

No idea what the Euro will do against the £, come 2021, so why not just throw it into the highest paying easy access account, assuming you are not willing to lock into a fixed term saver, so that it is at least (a) safe from damage or theft, and (b) earning you a little something.

xylophone

You might as well earn what interest is available for the next three years?

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html

grumiofoundation

Loveabell said:

If you had £10k in cash (not in the bank) and are worried about the pound falling after the (more than likely) no deal brexit, what would be the best thing to do with it now?  Please be kind, I have absolutely no clue about stocks/shares/investing in gold etc.  I'm genuinely worried that I am going to lose my very hard earned small pot of savings or it will not be worth the same as it does now after January.  I am planning on moving to Portugal in the next 3 years so would it be an idea to exchange the pounds for Euros now?  If so, should I simply take the pounds into an exchange shop and get Euros or do it some other way?  Thanks in advance for any help.

Put it in a bank account ASAP. 

Albermarle

Over the next few months , the Pound could go down in value against the Euro , then again it could go up.
As you are not a foreign exchange currency trader , do not even try to second guess currency movements.
If you had a lot more money and were about to buy a house in Portugal in the next few months , there might be some sense in exchanging some for euros to hedge your bets . But you are not in that position so put it in a savings account.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

steampowered

You are far too late to be mitigating the effect of Brexit I'm afraid.

The pound has already lost 15% of its value as a result of the Brexit vote in June 2016. There's nothing you can do about that now.

You might not be able to move to Portugal in 3 years, again thanks to Brexit. So you'll just have to keep your money in pounds for now, get the best investment returns or interest possible, then look again at your situation in 3 years time to decide if moving to Portugal is a good idea (or even possible) at that time.

Steve182

Long term I don't fancy the pound against the dollar, just one reason why most of my investments are in companies who's currency is $. What happens in the next couple of months is anyone's guess. I'm in it for the next 30+ years.

I too am considering the option of a retirement on the continent in a few years, and have an insurance policy against that option being blocked by Brexit.