To think I’m not crazy for not paying this off?

Money devalues and is easily spent so I’d keep emergency fund of £10000 and pay down your mortgage.

I'd pay 20k off the mortgage and that still leaves 20k to invest. If your fixed mortgage usually only overpay 10% anyway

I mean it is not sensible

Definitely do not put any money into stocks and shares ISA. These are for people who can put their money away for many many years. Are happy to pay charges and can live with the terror of never Knowing how their fund will
perform . It a sensible investor who,only has such a small amount.

i would also stay away from premium bonds. £70000 will yield £2800 per year after tax. This will be great as an emergency fund, an annual holiday or paying down the mortgage without risking your capital

Don't forget to keep some back for a fabulous holiday for you and your child!

Id pay the 30k now and then you can decide whether you will pay in or save the rest in September.

Close brothers are at 5%+ at the moment, save and secure and better then paying off your debt.

Can't seem to quote the post but you said you didn't know anything about investments so this is in response to that. meaningfulmoney.tv/ This guy, particularly his YouTube channel has helped me enormously. He was recommended by a good friend who has a financial background. Hope it's helpful.

I'd be concerned I would spend it, if it was there waiting for me. I'd do as some of the previous posters say, pay a chunk off the mortgage, put some into savings for interest and spend a little to celebrate/reward

I would put £30k in premium bonds, £20k in stocks & shares ISA and £20K off the mortgage.

Dont use the money on expenses and spending for two years as that would be a waste. Make the money work hard for you rather than waste it on frivolous spending.

👆 This

That way you do a bit of everything.

I would overpay the mortgage by the 10% you're usually allowed and put the rest in high interest but accessible savings. Then you can revisit each year whether you pay off another 10% or keep the cash.

Forgot to say, I have my savings in an ISA and that is offset against the mortgage as well - even better

Here is one example calculator of the effect of overpaying. It allows you to adjust your current mortgage size, rate, amount of overpayment either lump sum or routine small amount. It is well worth doing as an experiment on your own situation. See how much it potentially saves in interest, how much earlier you can pay your mortgage off etc. And then decide if there is any other way to invest money that would earn you more than paying off your mortgage can save.

www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/mortgage-calculator/overpayment-calculator.html

Agree with those saying look to see if an offset mortgage will work for you. Has worked really well for us and reduced our term by a number of years but we've still got access to our savings should we need them.

I think you are doing the right thing. Peace of mind financially is worth its weight in gold.
i would put £20000 into a q year ISA with a high street building society . £30000 into Kent Reliance instant access account currently paying 5.11%. The other £20000 into a one year fixed rate bond.

Don't pay any off without checking if you can do it without penalty. You might need to wait until the end of your term. Can you earn more interest (after tax) than your mortgage interest rate? If you can then I'd do that.
Otherwise I would suggest having 6 months expenses in savings and then using the rest to pay down the mortgage. Look at a mortgage repayment calculator and see how much you can save.
Also, some lenders allow you to overpay now and then take a payment holiday later if you get onto difficult situations so I'd consider that.

Have a look at the Financial Flow chart, easily found by searching the internet.

6 to 12 months expenses in a relatively easy access account, or Premium Bonds, as you can access them in a few days

Cash ISA with enough to replace the car in a couple of years

the longer term you need to invest in stocks and shares as cash will devalue, or in a pension

if you pay higher rate tax choose tax efficient savings like ISA and Premium Bonds, or you will lose 40% of your interest

I'd put 20k on the morgage
10k in easy access rainy day
20k in 24/25 isa allowance
20k next april for 25/26 isa allowance

The missing detail is your interest on your mortgage. If its over 4 or 5% mortgage might be better

Unless you have a very low interest mortgage and a very high interest savings account, it is almost always going to make more financial sense to pay down a mortgage. It isn't just saving £200/month. It is a saving of potentially 10s of thousands in accumulated interest over the lifetime of the mortgage.

If OP is saving £400/month, her financial situation is not precarious. With an additional £200 not going on mortgage, she is able to save closer to £600/month. Which most people would consider a great amount to be able to put aside. Alternatively, she could overpay the mortgage by a regular £200/month and further reduce the long term accumulation of interest.

We have just done very similar and paid off around £70k of mortgage whilst in the process of remortgaging. This sounds like a similar proportion to OP's mortgage. By continuing to pay at our current monthly rate, our mortgage will be fully paid off within 5 years, instead of about 12 years. It accelerates, as more of the monthly amount goes towards capital then closer you get to the end.

Put it in a high interest account and annually overpay the mortgage with the interest earned.

Have a look at changing to an off-set mortgage. Any savings are offset against the interest. We have shaved about 18 months from the term. Have also made a few overpayments as well

So you would keep the lump sum but reduce your interest paid

I agree with the offset mortgage, if that's an option for you, at least for some of the money (enough for 12 months' expensive would be a good guideline).

It will reduce the interest you're paying, and if you keep your repayments the same you will pay off the loan quicker, whilst still keeping the cash available for emergencies.

Depending on your mortgage interest rate, the interest saving will probably be lower than you could get by investing the cash, but there will be no tax to pay on the interest so it might work out similar or better.

Mortgage. You have to factor in the length of time you're chained to the mortgage and compound interest.

Get an offset mortgage. Then you can benefit from reduced mortgage payments but also have the ready cash there if needed. That's what I did with my redundancy payment.