where to start saving

wanttobethrifty

After being in debt to he tune of 21k at start of 2018, i now only have 2 payments left to make to be completely free of debt, £450 end of Feb, and £372 end of March. I also have an emergency fund of £7200 built up (been working my !!!!!! off and not buying what i don't need). What i need to do now is find somewhere to invest £300 pm from May for the next 10 years, to give the best returns, then use this pot from 2031 at age 67 for 4 years to put off withdrawing on my pensions, private (paying approx £90pm and employer putting in £170ish) and state. Private renter and employed earning £33500pa. what would you suggest please

El_Torro

Congratulations on paying off your debts.
The most tax efficient thing you can do is likely to pay more into your pension. 

You say you rent. Buying a property is likely to give you a lot of benefits, including no longer having to pay rent. This may or may not be practical for you.

AskAsk

regular savers from your own bank may give you the best rates at the moment.  review savings rates at the end of the term, which is usually 12 months.

Albermarle

Probably best to add the £300 per month to your pension and get the tax relief.
Then as there will be more money in your pension pot you could just start taking a bit earlier.
With your pension , your money is actually in investment(s) within your pension . What investments can be important and they may need changing as you get nearer to taking the pension.
If you say which workplace pension provider it is and the current investment funds , you may get some sensible guidance .

AskAsk

my worry about pension contribution for the OP is that although it is tax efficient, there is risk with the investment of the pension pot.  the OP's emergency fund of £7,200 is also quite low so if it was me, i would concentrate on building that up a little bit more to 20k

Albermarle

AskAsk said:

my worry about pension contribution for the OP is that although it is tax efficient, there is risk with the investment of the pension pot.  the OP's emergency fund of £7,200 is also quite low so if it was me, i would concentrate on building that up a little bit more to 20k

It is a fair comment . Maybe split the £300 a month between savings and pension to begin with . 

eskbanker

Albermarle said:

AskAsk said:

my worry about pension contribution for the OP is that although it is tax efficient, there is risk with the investment of the pension pot.  the OP's emergency fund of £7,200 is also quite low so if it was me, i would concentrate on building that up a little bit more to 20k

It is a fair comment . Maybe split the £300 a month between savings and pension to begin with . 

There's always the option of buying money market funds within a SIPP to get the best of both worlds?