I inherited some money, now what?

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WorkFromHome
WorkFromHome Posts: 143 Forumite
in Savings & investments
Should I put it in a personal savings account or in a joint account? It's going towards a future mortgage hopefully for my partner and I. Also I have student debt, can they take it off of me for that? I haven't even been paying it monthly because I earn less than £10,000 per year
DEBT: 27/12 £4060 :mad: 6/1 £3906 :beer: 15/1 £3756 :T 30/1 £3700 :cool: 7/2 £3911 :D19/4 £3108.93 :T 31/5 £3095.12
May Challenge £5 a day: £5.41 / £155 June Challenge £5 a day: £22.25 / £155
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  • DUTR
    DUTR Posts: 12,958 Forumite
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    Pay off the debts and invest the rest.
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 23,473 Forumite
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    Paying off student debt faster than needed is bad advice, especially for someone on a low income who might never have to pay it back.

    OP, student loan repayments are dependent on income and an inheritance is not income, so it shouldn't affect your situation.

    The best place to put the money if you need it for a house deposit is spread between high interest current accounts. You might need to make use of sole and joint accounts as there are limits beyond which no interest is earned.
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,730 Forumite
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    the student loan wont be affected, but if you have one of the new ones it is at 6%. When did you go to uni?

    when will you buy? How much is it?

    Current accts paying 3-5% would be a good start
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 23,473 Forumite
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    edited 13 August 2015 at 8:39PM
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    atush wrote: »
    but if you have one of the new ones it is at 6%.
    I don't think any of the new (2012+) loans are in repayment yet, but the rate is 5.5% and will drop to 3.9% in September.

    Edit: and after graduation, for low earners the rate drops by 3%, meaning it would currently be 2.5% and fall to 0.9% if anyone had entered repayment on these loans.
  • WorkFromHome
    WorkFromHome Posts: 143 Forumite
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    I graduated around 2006 so new rates won't affect me thankfully.
    DEBT: 27/12 £4060 :mad: 6/1 £3906 :beer: 15/1 £3756 :T 30/1 £3700 :cool: 7/2 £3911 :D19/4 £3108.93 :T 31/5 £3095.12
    May Challenge £5 a day: £5.41 / £155 June Challenge £5 a day: £22.25 / £155
    WON 2015: £50 Argos voucher, Xbox One, 2 cinema tickets, £10 Amazon voucher
  • WorkFromHome
    WorkFromHome Posts: 143 Forumite
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    atush wrote: »
    the student loan wont be affected, but if you have one of the new ones it is at 6%. When did you go to uni?

    when will you buy? How much is it?

    Current accts paying 3-5% would be a good start

    So would it be a gd idea to leave it in my sole current account? We aren't in a position to buy anytime soon, neither I nor my partner have a full-time contracted job ( both on zero hrs through lack of jobs in our area).
    DEBT: 27/12 £4060 :mad: 6/1 £3906 :beer: 15/1 £3756 :T 30/1 £3700 :cool: 7/2 £3911 :D19/4 £3108.93 :T 31/5 £3095.12
    May Challenge £5 a day: £5.41 / £155 June Challenge £5 a day: £22.25 / £155
    WON 2015: £50 Argos voucher, Xbox One, 2 cinema tickets, £10 Amazon voucher
  • Radiantsoul
    Radiantsoul Posts: 2,096 Forumite
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    I would leave it in your sole name, there is no real advantage in having the money in joint names.
  • lazer
    lazer Posts: 3,402 Forumite
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    Do not pay off your student loan at the minute.

    Save it as a desposit for your house if that is what you want.

    I would also encourage you to actually spend a little bit of it on treats for yourself - a holiday or a dinner out or whatever, but enjoy some of the money as you do currently have a low income, so using the money to imporve your quality of life at the minute as well as saving could be a good idea.


    TSB account pays 6% on £2k
    Nationwide 5% on £2.5k (but only for one year)
    Santander 3% on up to £20k (but £2 a month fee - bu should be able to cancel this out with cashback on utilities etc)

    There are more high interest accounts than these about as well, just need to look for them, but be aware there are conditions attached with most of them such as minimum funding, need for direct debits etc.

    Alternatively, look into a S&S ISA, but be aware there is an element of risk to these.

    I have a small amount of savings in a S&S isa, and my annualised return over the last 3 years has been 4.64% - so its been relatively good. (Try fidelity or cavendish for options - and i think they go through risk options to help you decide on the right ISA) - but your money is not guaranteed, the value may go down.

    Another option is a fixed rate savings account - there should be some about where you can get around 3% if you lock away your money for 3 - 5 years.

    As for personal or joint accounts - this depends on your relationship, are you together long, are you married?
    If you aren't married once you put the money in the joint account your partner has joint ownership of it, if your married this doesn't really make a difference as it would be considered joint anyway.

    If you can get good interest in personal accounts, i would leave it all in your name.

    So how to invest it will depend on how much you have inherited, and what the timeframe is for buying a house and your own attitude to risk.

    It may be worth seeing a Financial adviser depending on the amount
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  • Soleil_lune
    Soleil_lune Posts: 1,247 Forumite
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    Was it a lot of money OP? Like mid 5 figures (10s of 1000s) or just say less than 15 grand?
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,585 Forumite
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    Could you and your partner find well paid jobs in another area and use some of the inheritance to fund the initial deposit/subsidise the rent for a few months while you get on your feet?

    Then the balance of the inheritance plus substantial savings from the decent salaries could be used to build up your house deposit, using as many of the high interest current accounts as you can get hold of?

    And you and your partner could each be eligible for the new help to buy ISA?
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