best place to put £100 per month

fistfulofsteel

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886737#Comment_81886737

True (with the exception of pension) but with other savings you can access and spend them without penalty, whereas with the LISA, if you ever experience a period of unemployment and need to dip into it before being eligible for any kind of state help, you get back significantly less than you put in.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886978#Comment_81886978

It's a 6.25% net reduction. As you'll be earning annual interest, it would be unlikely you'd get back any less than you put in, let alone "significantly" less.

That said, a LISA is not a good idea for anyone that foresees not being able to purchase property in line with the scheme rules, or anyone who could reasonably anticipate needing to claim means-tested benefits while they are saving for a property.

fistfulofsteel

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886807#Comment_81886807

My career is coming to an end in my late 30s due to industry collapse, I'm having to use my non-LISA life savings to buy my partner's ex out of our home because I don't have the income to qualify for a mortgage, and I'm stuck with this LISA that prevents my partner claiming UC but would cost £8,500 to access. Yes, at 60 it will be a useful bridge to the state pension ~10 years later, but I'm trying to figure out how to survive until then, while being disabled enough that most jobs aren't possible but not in the right way to qualify for PIP.

WillPS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81887716#Comment_81887716

I'm sorry to hear about your financial difficulties.

A significant amount of that 'cost' is, I hope, the bonus added by government in the first place right? For example you might have saved £24,000, to which government added £6,000 and now with interest your balance is somewhere around £32,000, meaning you'd have to pay £8000 to withdraw. In this worked example you end up essentially back where you started as if you had earned no interest.

I'm not saying as if implying "well that's alright", it's still a rubbish situation, clearly dreamt up by someone who has never faced any real hardship, but my position has always been that I understood it was a bit of a gamble and I stand to potentially lose a bit if we hit hard times before we buy.