What to do with £10000

[insideoutsider]

I received £10,000 as a gift*

• I have £60,000 left to pay on a mortgage (15yrs left), very easy payments. No home improvements needed.
• I have started to hate my very secure job. I want to quit and complete my research study (which may take several years as it requires international work)
• Research will need about £4000 of my own money - manageable if I have a job
• Holidays this year already paid for. I'm not big on holidays anyway and don't really buy 'stuff'
• Kids are fine, they have everything they need.

In the light of Brexit, what would you do with this money? Would you plough it into your mortgage? Would you just keep it in the bank?

AIBU to just keep this money under my bed till I know what will happen in a year from now?!

*Used this situation just in case 'someone' reads this :-D

[ATBhinchers]

Don't pay off your mortgage. then you're just sat there on thousands of pounds twiddling your thumbs with no money to do anything else. On your mortgage amount and term rates would need to go up to 15% or more before you might find things hard. Just do what you want to do with it and leave your mortgage as it is, with some in savings just in case.

[ATBhinchers]

*thousands of pounds worth of house I mean.

[Sparklesocks]

I would spend some on something for yourself (maybe the business start up) and save the rest for a rainy day.

[LaBelleSauvage]

You could put it into a savings account for when your children go to university?

Or you could pay a handsome swedish man to come and give you weekly massages for the next 20 years

[ATBhinchers]

Totally missed the 10k bit!! Don't waste it paying it towards your mortgage in that case. Its not enough to make a big dent and there's no need on your mortgage balance. Do something useful with it.

[Bananasandchocolatecustard]

You could give it to me 😉

[insideoutsider]

@ATBhinchers Do something useful with it
What is this useful thing I must do? I feel pretty boring now!

@Sparklesocks I would spend some on something for yourself (maybe the business start up) and save the rest for a rainy day.
There is nothing I want 'for myself'. I have all the things I need or want :-(

@LaBelleSauvage You could put it into a savings account for when your children go to university? Or you could pay a handsome swedish man to come and give you weekly massages for the next 20 years
The kids dad has Uni sorted although it is really far away. The Swedish masseuse though ;-)

Really though... no buying of gold bars? Dollars?

[SnowyDaze]

I’d bank it for a rainy day. The weekly massage idea is a good one haha

[insideoutsider]

I guess the best thing would be to just leave it till it's needed.
I'm worried that it'll be worth less after brexit and I should have done something with it when I could have.

[boomboom1234]

If you can overpay on mortgage I would just do that if you don't need it for anything else. Makes you 2.5 years closer to being mortgage free. Not bad!

[mysteryfairy]

Put it in a stocks and shares isa and see if you can grow it?

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

I know you said you’re not big on holidays but is there somewhere you or your kids have wanted to go?
Maybe a bonding adventure?

Otherwise, just keep it in the bank. I’m sure there’ll be opportunities to spend it over the next few years.

[ShatnersWig]

My rule on "money I never expected to have" IF you are in an OK financial position (ie, some savings, you're not living hand to mouth, no debts other than mortgage) is to spend it enjoyably. You can't miss what you never expected to have.

[BarbaraofSevillle]

AIBU to just keep this money under my bed till I know what will happen in a year from now

Well YABU to literally put it under your bed, but I assume that you really mean stick it in an instant access savings account so it is safe and earns a little bit of interest. That seems sensible in your circumstances.

You can get 1.5% with Marcus, or if you are happy to lock it away for the year, you might be able to get a little bit more in a 1 year fixed term product.

I wouldn't pay it off your mortgage as you can't usually get it back, and your mortgage interest rate might be about the same as the savings interest, so there might not be a financial advantage anyway.

[BarbaraofSevillle]

I wouldn't put it in a stocks and shares ISA if you're likely to want to spend it in the next few years, as if the market goes down, so does your investment.

[insideoutsider]

Thanks for your replies.
Re holidays, there really isn't anywhere we want to go that we haven't gone or isn't paid for.

It's not that much money or I could have ploughed it all into my mortgage.

I'm worried about the uncertainty over brexit and currency devaluing. I don't want my 10k to be worth only 5k overnight.