What do to with £30k savings 30 years old?

Evening All,

Just so you have some background on me... i am 30, have my own mortgage and I am pretty awful with my money. Not in the sense that i spend is on pointless stuff, i just get paid and that's it. Whatever i don't use just stays in my current account. I hardly have time for any social activities outside work unfortunately. I work in the IT industry and have the kind of job where my phone starts ringing at 7am and stops around 9pm. Its probably really unhealthy for me to work like this but that's another subject for another day.

I have been on the housing ladder for 2 years now and happy where i am / with my mortgage, its just a £250k mortgage - repayments are pretty low hence saving the 30k in a couple of years.

So now i have around 30k sitting in my current account and i just think there must be something i can do with that and make it work for me?

Can anyone here give me some advice or point me in the right direction of what i should do?

It looked at a savings account with my current bank (Barlcays) but it just doesn't seem worth the hassle for the rate you get? or is that a bad attitude for me to have? :)
«13

Comments

  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
    Overpay mortgage & get it cleared earlier
  • Westie983
    Westie983 Posts: 5,213
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    Hi, and welcome to the forum.

    Can I direct you to have a read of the Top Savings Accounts page which should give you a start on where you can save your money.

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

    Westie983
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Banking & Borrowing, and Reduce Debt & Boost Income boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySaving Expert.
    Save 12k in 2023 #58 Total (£4500.00) £2500.00/£5000 = 50.00%
    Sealed Pot Challenge ~17 #24 Total (£55.00) £0.00/£500 = 0.00%
    Xmas 2023 £1 a Day #13 Total (£85.00) £344.00/£365 = 94.24%
    Virtual Sealed Pot #1 Total (£500) £550.00/£500 = 110.00%
    £2 Savers Club 2023 #17 Total (£25.00) £45/£300 = 15.00%
    The 365 1p Challenge 2023 #7 Total £656.19/£667.95 = 98.23%
    Total £4095.19/£7332.95 = 55.84%
  • DrEskimo
    DrEskimo Posts: 2,337
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    Here is my general plan...

    1/ Keep a side 3-6months of expenses in a easy access savings account (I'm not too fussed on interest rate, but I currently keep it in a NationWide Flex Direct account and Flex saver earning 5%, because it seems daft not to!). This is to protect you against any unforeseen change in circumstances, so quick access is key.

    2/ Pay off all high interest debts.

    3/ Work out how healthy my pension contributions are, and whether I am contributing enough to retire on an amount I deem reasonable.

    4/ Put away anything I want for short/medium term savings in high interest savings accounts (car savings, moving house, etc.).

    5/ Put away anything I want for longer term (but before retirement) in a S&S ISA, using cheap multi-asset global funds.

    6/ Overpay mortgage
  • Massy
    Massy Posts: 17
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    Thanks for the info all, i am going to have a good read of that link Westie thanks
  • Reed_Richards
    Reed_Richards Posts: 4,062
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    You will never find a savings account that will give you better interest than the interest you pay on your mortgage. If such a thing were to exist then all the smart investors would borrow to save and it would be fully subscribed within days.
    Reed
  • Audaxer
    Audaxer Posts: 3,506
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    Massy wrote: »
    Can anyone here give me some advice or point me in the right direction of what i should do?
    Presumably you have a company pension. You could increase payments to it or start a SIPP and invest the money, but you won't be able to access the pension until you are 57. You could also consider a Stocks and Shares ISA to invest in for some of the money if you do not need access to the money for at least 10 or 15 years.
  • TheShape
    TheShape Posts: 1,777
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    You will never find a savings account that will give you better interest than the interest you pay on your mortgage. If such a thing were to exist then all the smart investors would borrow to save and it would be fully subscribed within days.

    Obviously you're not a stoozer!
  • kidmugsy
    kidmugsy Posts: 12,709
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    You will never find a savings account that will give you better interest than the interest you pay on your mortgage. If such a thing were to exist then all the smart investors would borrow to save and it would be fully subscribed within days.


    Factually incorrect.
    Free the dunston one next time too.
  • Reed_Richards
    Reed_Richards Posts: 4,062
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    TheShape wrote: »
    Obviously you're not a stoozer!

    "Stoozing", as I understand, involves borrowing at a "special offer" rate in order to invest at a better savings rate. True, I don't do this; I thought it typically involved borrowing on a credit card (with a 0% introductory offer) rather than a mortgage.

    You might be able to beat the interest rate on your mortgage with a regular saver account but these always allow you to save only a limited amount per month. So if you set-up one a month for a year with 12 different providers each taking, say £250 per month that would occupy £3,000 in rotation. If you could find another 12 providers that might be another £3000; how many regular saver accounts exist?

    We're still very short of £30K. So if what I wrote is
    kidmugsy wrote: »
    Factually incorrect.

    it would be helpful to the OP to give some counterexamples that would work with £30k, rather than just ticking me off.
    Reed
  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
    "Stoozing", as I understand, involves borrowing at a "special offer" rate in order to invest at a better savings rate. True, I don't do this; I thought it typically involved borrowing on a credit card (with a 0% introductory offer) rather than a mortgage.

    You might be able to beat the interest rate on your mortgage with a regular saver account but these always allow you to save only a limited amount per month. So if you set-up one a month for a year with 12 different providers each taking, say £250 per month that would occupy £3,000 in rotation. If you could find another 12 providers that might be another £3000; how many regular saver accounts exist?

    We're still very short of £30K. So if what I wrote is



    it would be helpful to the OP to give some counterexamples that would work with £30k, rather than just ticking me off.


    You can get 5 year fixed savings bonds for over 2.5% plenty of mortgages for less than that. Obviously if you get a lower rate 2 year deal, there is a risk of rates going up.
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