Where should I put my money?

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Getting_By_2
Getting_By_2 Posts: 51 Forumite
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in Savings & investments
Hi.

At the moment I am what you might call cash rich but asset poor. I was saving for a mortgage but the market doesn't work for a single person on a low income so in the end I never bought anything. On top of that I have left my position in the civil service due to being bullied.

So I have decided to take a break from the jobs market for the time being. Luckily I am still with one of my parents, so rent is low.

So I have roughly 25k to put somewhere. At the moment it is in a 123 current account but with myself being unemployed I don't think I can get that benefit any more.

I know interest rates are still pathetic and well below inflation therefore I am prepared to go into a 2 year deal to get a better rate.

If anyone could advice me what my best option would be I would be most grateful.
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  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,495 Forumite
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    I see no reason why you should not keep the 123 if you wish - presumably you have the two DDS and you can simply cycle in/out the required monthly input from another account.

    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html
  • NineDeuce
    NineDeuce Posts: 997 Forumite
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    I reckon you should spend it all on Bitcoin.....
  • ivormonee
    ivormonee Posts: 395 Forumite
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    You can find best buy tables for the best two year rates on fixed rate bonds if that's what you've decided to do with your money. You'll get slightly better rates than a one year bond although is it really worth it?

    The suggestion of putting the entire amount on Bitcoin would be a high risk option as it may be a way of losing the entire amount or making you extremely rich and nobody can know which way it will go.
  • JusinScot
    JusinScot Posts: 46 Forumite
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    For a short term cash park I can recommend NS&I Premium bonds.

    I've had my cash in there for about 4 months and I have got about 1% return so far. That's the same as I was getting in a saving account.
  • Getting_By_2
    Getting_By_2 Posts: 51 Forumite
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    xylophone wrote: »
    I see no reason why you should not keep the 123 if you wish - presumably you have the two DDS and you can simply cycle in/out the required monthly input from another account.

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

    Hi.

    Would that be 'legit' so to speak? Just recycle the money in the account so it looks like I am putting £500 in every month?
    NineDeuce wrote: »
    I reckon you should spend it all on Bitcoin.....

    Haha I've been thinking about that but I am suspicious about the exchanges and what is safe and what is not. I've heard about exchanges going bankrupt :(. TBH I've missed the boat on that one because back in 2014 I was close to setting up a big mining farm to extract litecoin. Wished I'd done that now :(
    JusinScot wrote: »
    For a short term cash park I can recommend NS&I Premium bonds.

    I've had my cash in there for about 4 months and I have got about 1% return so far. That's the same as I was getting in a saving account.

    Yeah I've heard of premium bonds. NS&I Premium bonds? Is this the government version or a private one? I suppose I could try and keep my 123 account by recycling the money and put everything above 20k limit into premium bonds for a while and see if I get anything back. How often can you win the prizes?
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,118 Forumite
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    Getting_By wrote: »
    Yeah I've heard of premium bonds. NS&I Premium bonds? Is this the government version or a private one?
    They wouldn't be my first choice especially for small amounts but you can read about them here
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds
  • Riff_Raff
    Riff_Raff Posts: 38 Forumite
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    Cycling money in and out of current accounts to meet monthly paying in requirements is fine.

    My circumstances are different but I'm in a similar situation to you in terms of saving for a house. I feel that I've saved a decent amount, much more I reckon than most of my peers, but as a single person it still just doesn't buy you anything around here. But regardless of how unaffordable houses are to us, I think it's still worth planning your savings around that goal assuming you're in your 20s/30s/40s. Living in hope that I can buy a house within the next 2-5 years, I also don't think I should be risking investments, so I stick to cash savings in spite of the low rates.

    Have you read up on getting a LISA? I'm maxing out my cash LISA allowance and have the rest of my savings in as many high interest current accounts and regular savers as possible within reason (at some point all the paperwork, logins etc for too many different banks just isn't worth your time).

    Anything I can't fit into one of these worthwhile accounts yet (a few 000s for me) sits in bog standard savings account earning 1.xx%. Until you've got most of your money into the better savings accounts, you may get marginally better returns putting the money in NS&I Premium Bonds instead of a savings account. I ditched my PBs recently.

    I can't post any links but you'll find articles about all these topics I've mentioned on this site.
  • Getting_By_2
    Getting_By_2 Posts: 51 Forumite
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    So are NS&I Premium bonds very safe and secure?
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,118 Forumite
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    Yes, as safe and secure as it gets. NS&I are an executive branch of HM Treasury and if they fail it's time for beans and bullets
  • capital0ne
    capital0ne Posts: 872 Forumite
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    Getting_By wrote: »
    Hi.
    On top of that I have left my position in the civil service due to being bullied.
    All civil service departments have access to Harassment Officer - did you not speak to one?
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