If you had £50,000 in savings what would you do with it?

[Eve223]

Genuine question. If you had £50k in savings what would you do with it? Save it in case of unemployment? Spend it on holidays and other luxuries?

Invest to watch it grow-very satisfying 😂

Save it

Spend £5k on improving my house. £2.5k to each DC.

Of the remaining £40k - I’d put it into a savings account and pay off my most of mortgage when the deal comes to an end in 2025 (I’ll be owing about £42150). With no mortgage would be able to afford to retire at age 55.

I spent a similar amount on a downstairs extension and new kitchen. Worth every penny!

Put some or all into premium bonds. Still easily accessible if you need to dip into it.

Not much. I am on UC, so if I came into that sort of money, I would be expected to live on it until I could apply for UC again, and provide proof that I was not spending to get rid of it.

It all depends on your situation. I'd pay off any debts, then put £10K into a good savings account (not premium bonds) and then invest the rest long term. Oh and look at your pension, too.

Totally depends on debts and interest being paid on those debts (including mortgage debt), current pension savings, current investments. I am currently using premium bonds to stash money as I’ve maxed out mortgage repayments and ISA contributions for the year. But in other years money would have been used to pay down debt or invest in house repairs and maintenance.

Go travelling, life is short.

We actually have this exact amount now due to a windfall.
We are going to have a new bathroom (as ours is very old), buy a second hand car (so we don't lease anymore)
Get a few odd jobs done and keep the bit that's left to one side for a rainy day.

Leave it in savings (getting interest)...... But having it there would be a safety net that would mean that I would be able to leave my job at any point if I started to really hate it! That would be an awesome feeling.

Stocks and shares (not bitcoin type shite though... it's too up and down).

DH and I have got that amount in premium bonds, just because we run a business and need our savings to be instantly accessible.

He got £500 this month and I got £250 so return isn't always bad.

I would save every penny so I could sleep at night and not worry about losing everything all the time.

I wouldn't rush to spend it but would put it into something high interest for retirement/helping the children

I would leave it in savings unless I had debts ( apart from a mortgage student loans) then I would be sure I had 3 -6 months of living expenses depending on job security, do you have emergency fund I would not consider spending unless I had a) 6 months living expenses as I'm self employed b) an 5000 emergency fund to cover things like central heating breaking down major car repairs c) enough money to buy my next car in cash not on finance
then I would look at whether there was anything I needed to buy in next 12 months? is there anything not exactly essential but not a luxurt either maybe extra clothes or better version of something, is my computer/ phone needing replaced or upgraded, a maybe a slightly better holiday than I could have just out of income. Then I would consider whether I was happy with my pension provision or did it need boosting? was there anything else I needed to save for such as an extension, new kitchen, money for DD while at uni, only being happy with these would i consider what I would call luxuries.
depending on age and how long till i needed money would guide whether I would buy a stocks and shares ISA or just guaranteed bonds or just the best fixed rates account
personally I have a separate acccount for money that I'm free to spend savings have a specific purpose and are generally not touched until it is time

Do you mean in addition to life savings or that's all your savings?
Either way it depends on your financial situation, mortgage etc.
If it's there to spend I'd go on a couple of holidays and spend some on my house.

Keep hold of it to use as a deposit on a house.

Totally depends on your situation.

Do you own property ?
Do you have debts ?
Do you have a mortgage?
Do you have dc?
How old are you?
What is your income ?

I don't want to know the answers of course - just saying, the answer is going to depend on all these.

In order of priority, dependant on what you already have:

• pay off any interest-earning debt (unless low interest like student loan)
• 3-6 months’ living costs saved as instant access cash
• pension savings if you would receive tax relief (guess this depends how you came into the money)
• invest in stocks and shares ISA

All of these would either take precedent or else be more tax efficient than paying off a mortgage unless your mortgage is very high.

boring though I admit!

All of this, plus whether the money is savings or a windfall. Savings can involve going without and take a while to accumulate, so I would keep genuine savings stashed away, unless you are 99 years old or something, in which case blow it on something you've always wanted to do, and have a great time doing it.

If it is 'given money' then I would maybe save half of it and spend the rest on a luxury of some kind. Depending on your age, you could do something life-changing such as retraining for a career you'd enjoy, or moving to a different area.

cookies!!

Calculate how many years earlier it meant I could retire!

£35,000 would go off the mortgage.

£5,000 would go into my daughter's savings account.

The remainder would go on having the kitchen floor repaired, some new PVC windows and having the garage lintels replaced.