180k to invest for 6 months, but where?

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Lynn107
Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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in Savings & investments
I sold my house last Tuesday and relocated to a different part of the UK to be near my son & grandchildren. I am renting for 6 months until I find a property to buy and the sale proceeds of £180k are currently in my First Direct bank, 5k in my ISA and the rest in my e-saver. I have little understanding of investments & savings so could someone please advise on how I can maximise the interest as every penny now counts as I find myself on my own at a not so young age! Also, I understand that up to 85k is protected by the FSCS but as I have 180k should I have 3 different accounts with different banks, or is that being overly cautious?
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  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    edited 11 February 2018 at 11:40PM
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    Up To £1M from a house sale is protected for six months as an exception to the normal £85k limit, and NS&I have a £1M limit as well.
    In your case you don't want "investments" which means stocks and shares you want savings.

    For simplicity you can put it all in NS&I but you can always look around and see if you can find some accounts with instant access (not 1 year fixed periods) offering more than what they do. Look above at the savings links. 1.3% seems to be about the max you'll get.

    Edit; A quick glance shows some accounts offering about 0.5% more than NS&I which my back of a fag packet calculation says is worth about £450 so perhaps look at the links above and split over a couple of the higher paying accounts.
  • aroominyork
    aroominyork Posts: 2,827 Forumite
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    Bank and Clients have a six month notice account paying 1.5%. There is nothing to stop you giving six months' notice the day after you open the account.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
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    £50k can be lent to the Government and used to buy premium bonds.
  • Lynn107
    Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    But I'll need it in 6 months to buy a house. I don't understand how premium bonds work or the return...
  • Lynn107
    Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    Thankyou, but what is Bank and Clients?
  • Lynn107
    Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    Thank you, but what is Bank and Clients?
  • Lynn107
    Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    Thank you, can you please explain? I don't know what Bank and Clients is?
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
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    Lynn107 wrote: »
    But I'll need it in 6 months to buy a house. I don't understand how premium bonds work or the return...

    You get no interest. But prizes instead. Typical return £50 a month on £50,000. Might get nothing. Might win £1m. Tax free.

    Don't be afraid to research them.
  • Lynn107
    Lynn107 Posts: 14 Forumite
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    Someone has suggested I put it into a Santander current account, is this possible? Would this be more beneficial than a savings account?
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
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    Lynn107 wrote: »
    Thank you, can you please explain? I don't know what Bank and Clients is?
    It's a bank. Not one I've heard of.

    http://www.bankandclients.com
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