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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

WWYD with a windfall?

68 replies

WWYD22123 · 03/10/2017 01:07

Posting here for traffic.

If you came into a windfall of just over £300k, what would you do with it investment wise?

I don’t have a clue! No debts, small mortgage of £50k.

Don’t like the idea of BTL and no idea where to even start with stocks and shares.

Absolutely don’t want to piss it up the wall either. Maybe a few thousand I’ll blow on luxuries but no more than that.

Help!

OP posts:
SD1978 · 03/10/2017 08:12

Don’t necessarily pay of your mortgage completely-talk to a financial advisor- going by what I’ve been told- being mortgage free strangely can affect your credit rating- you can ha e a poorer credit rating by having no debt strangler enough- I know people who have kept a small mortgage (£10,000) so keep a good credit score. A professional can give you accurate info to ensure you invest in only safe options, nothing risky.

Gubbins · 03/10/2017 08:12

What would you be investing for? If you've got a good salary and a good pension then I don't see the the point of just making more money for the sake of it. Enjoy it now, not at some unspecified point in time in the future that you might never get to.

I'd pay off the mortgage, make any improvements I wanted to the house and then rent it out for a year and go travelling.

RosyPony · 03/10/2017 08:15

Pay off mortgage, put towards a bigger house and buy myself a little 3.5tonne lorry for my horse.

WWYD with a windfall?
anonymousbird · 03/10/2017 08:15

Possibly pay off mortgage (if numbers make sense).

We didn't get as much as you, but put our lump sum towards a second home in somewhere we have always wanted one. Primarily for our regular use, but also as an investment and potentially to let out for income generation a few years down the line.

ememem84 · 03/10/2017 08:16

I would completely clear all debts.

Then invest half of what’s left. And I’d have some fun with the remainder. I’d go on a fab holiday, treat myself to some nice things and maybe invest in a racehorse.

anonymousbird · 03/10/2017 08:16

Oh and to buy one of these for fun! Grin

www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/offers-finance/offers/california-beach.html

Curlyshabtree · 03/10/2017 08:20

I would buy a house or two (we're in the north so not a pipe dream) and rent them out at low rents to families who want to save for a deposit. The houses themselves would be an investment and you'd help others out too. I would pay off our mortgage and the other few debts and have a nice holiday!

FakePlasticTeaLeaves · 03/10/2017 08:20

I'd probably give it to someone on Mumsnet, like FakePlasticTeaLeaves

LEMtheoriginal · 03/10/2017 08:22

Wow - that's a stack of money right there. Life changing if you want it to be. Start that business you've always wanted to do. Take a year off work and travel the world?
Enjoy it - so lovely to read a nice thing happened to someone xx

Singyourheartout · 03/10/2017 08:22

I would pay off the mortgage and spent what's left buying a house to rent out. In the long run I think property is a good investment.

winobaglady · 03/10/2017 08:23

Some sort of regular Charitable donation?
You'd be surprised the difference a regular amount makes to small independent charities.
Yes, I do volunteer at one Smile

Kintan · 03/10/2017 08:27

I'd pay off mortgage, buy a camper van, donate some, and save the rest. Although we are in London so not much would be left after mortgage is cleared!

mehimthem · 03/10/2017 08:30

I'm not sure if its been mentioned above but whatever you do choose to do with your windfall please update your Will & affairs regarding your investments.

Certainly to ensure that it will be used as you wish as I think you said you have no partner nor children, but also to set in place some protection for you if you do meet a partner & your assets would become part of matrimonial assets. Have fun though dreaming of plans ... & carrying them out Flowers

Soubriquet · 03/10/2017 08:34

Give me some GrinGrin

Gosh what would I doooooo

Pay off debts
Buy a house
Go on holiday
Savings for kids

guilty100 · 03/10/2017 09:00

Set aside a small proportion of it - maybe 10k - and piss it up the wall. Because it's good to feel like you've had a proper 'treat'.

Then weigh up your house versus your job.

  • Your house. Is it where you want to live forever? If so, do any repairs/work you need to do to make it the best you can be - this might include the garden! If not, think about moving. Also, if you're staying, look at whether you would save money by paying off your mortgage - this depends on your interest rate compared to the interest rate you'll get on savings. Bear in mind that interest rates are likely to rise (slowly) in the next few months.

-Think about your career. Are you doing what you love? If not, is there a way of making your professional dreams happen with this money? Could you do a carefully chosen course that will move you into a sphere where you are happier? Taking a salary cut can be the most amazingly liberating thing if you're not in a job you enjot.

OCSockOrphanage · 03/10/2017 09:12

Beg, borrow or steal a copy of Investment Made Easy by Jim Slater if you can. It's likely to be out of print, so start with second hand booksellers or Amazon. Take it on holiday and read it carefully, maybe twice. It is very clear and explains how to start thinking about money and investment, and how a portfolio is structured. You need to know enough to ask confident, informed questions of professionals and if you are asking us, you clearly are hesitant. Park the balance in a bank (after paying off mortgage) until you feel ready to tackle the next stage.

Ask around among the most successful people you know to find out who advises them on investment. There are good ones everywhere, but more bad ones.

Otherwise, you might consider the new generation of low-cost indexed managed funds, like Vanguard, which charge a lot less than 1.5%. I'd pick several and split the nature of investments between equities and bonds. At your age, you should have some with a 30 year horizon for retirement, probably equity-based with the primary aim of capital growth, and risk profile reduced by investing in different industry sectors, or by region; as well as some elements thinking shorter term (say 5-10 years) so that you have freedom to work a bit less if you decided. From what you say, you don't really need to top up your current income.

You say your ISAs are maxed out. but you can put £50K into Premium Bonds and use that as instant access emergency money if you need it. Bank interest rates are rubbish, although likely to start rising before Christmas, but it isn't likely to feed through to savers very soon.

Jim Slater is a bit dated; the book was published in the early 1990s, but investment thinking changes less than the newspapers would have you believe. You already know the most important ideas:

If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

There is no free lunch.
If you don't understand the risks, and someone tells you there isn't one, run.

specialsubject · 03/10/2017 09:52

Real inflation is about 4% ( 30% on energy prices). No account offers much more than half of that.

Invest and take a chance, or definitely see it disappear.

WWYD22123 · 03/10/2017 14:19

Wow, just came back to this thread. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

I think an IFA is the way forward. I’m in London, does anyone have any recommendations?

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