Been given £500 pounds what to do with it?

[notsodimwit]

I have been given this amount of money from a relative (grandad) its such a large amount of money for me and dd more than I have ever had in a hugh lump sum..all bills/rent etc paid and up to to date and managing quite well on on my small wage, summer savings for the holidays ok..what should I do with it as dont want to waste it. Thinking about putting half in dd savings account ..but £250 is still a lot of money for me to decide what to do...nothing in house needs replacing or updating just some ideas as to put in my bank account (current account) or something else xxhaha! I feel rich

I'd put £409 on her savings and use £100 over the summer as six weeks is a long time to fill and that could stretch to a few things if you are careful.

I have to agree with PP in that if £500 is a lot of money to you I would be tempted to put the majority away so that you have a bit of a buffer.
It would be very easy to fritter it away over a couple of days out and then you get an unexpected bill and wish you had kept it.

i'm actually really shocked at folk suggesting to spend it on a holiday etc. when you have no rainy day fund AND you weren't counting on this to pay for something. i'd no idea anyone would ever think that was a sensible course of action!

Definitely save it until you really need it.

In that case maybe put it into stocks and shares isa? Ie grow it, you don't need it now.. Grow it and maybe next year you can use what's its grown too...

If its alot of money for you I'd do that. Sounds boring but will give peaceful mind

Invest them into premium bonds on your DD name. You could win more to add to it from prizedraws. The money is safe as houses and you could cash it in if you needed it.

Maybe small amount premium bonds much better to go to Hargrave and lansdowne website... Look up stocks and share isa or junior isa etc and have a look. Google junior isa and the comparisons tables... For growth.. Compared to normal saving rates.

A nice block of 500 in stocks added to over years would be wondeful lump sum for your dd when older, driving lessons or a car...

Or do same for you... Add to it when you can and buy a car

If you want to get a thing, get premium bonds. You could get half in DDs name. You'll always be able to get your money back if you need it for something, but each month you'll have a chance of your grandad giving you the big win.

If £500 is a lot of money and you don't have a lot of savings, don't spend it. Premium bonds are a good compromise.

Give to me

to be honest, if you think £500 is a lot of money then I think you need to save it for a rainy day.

It’s not a huge windfalll or anything. If I received it, I woukd be delighted but it would be going straight on something fun like a weekend away because we already have savings in the bank for the future.

Anyone that doesn’t have any savings needs to save it, no question. Stocks and shares ISA, or Tesco bank are doing a savings account at 1.33% at the moment. Don’t lock it in a fixed saver just because they have higher interest, because you never know when you might need to get at it.

I wouldn't put any of it in your daughter's name. You need a rainy day fund and this would be a great start. I'd put it all into premium bonds - you have to wait a couple of days before taking it out, so that stops you spending it on anything frivolous.

You said you were saving change - does your bank do anything like that? My bank has a thing where it rounds up payments going out and puts the difference into a savings account.

Someone on here also said that every morning she opens her online banking and puts £1 into a savings account. If you did that you'd have £365 every year for Christmas. If you took it out regularly you could pay it into premium bonds and you might win something.

Save. Save. Save but keep £50 for yourself.

Put it into savings, it doesn't sound like you have any and you don't need anything urgent

I agree with PP, if you’re in such dire straits as to see £500 as a lot of money and more than you’ve ever had in one go before, you absolutely must save it. Maybe spend £20 or so on a little treat for you and DD, cinema or something, but keep the rest. It’d be idiotic to spend it, or even a good chunk of it, when you’re in such a difficult spot financially.

Agree with curly

Spend 56.55 and save the rest for a rainy day

Statistically it’s not worth buying only 500 quid worth of premium bonds. You may as well spend it all on lottery tickets as you’re very unlikely to win a decent amount of money. We have 100 quid worth that DH’s nan gifted us 14 years ago. We have never won a bean. You’ll be better putting it in a savings account with decent interest.

Op, your straits don't sound dire to me, you sound like you've got it sorted! What a lovely present

I think you should save it for now, as there's nothing you need, but given that your Grandad said it was for a treat, use it if a treat comes up i.e. If there's something youd love to do/have in the future. No harm in having it in premium bonds till then!

www.nsandi.com/premium-bonds

Save it. You never know when an unexpected bill will come up. If you were to be made redundant for example, £500 could make all the difference. The fact that you're struggling for ideas on how to spend it tells me it be a waste not to save it.

Are you set for winter coats/shoes/jumpers? If I had £500 right now in your position I'd be tempted to make my winter shopping list and see what I could put together off EBay - lots of retailers use EBay for their outlet store year round.

I'd also hide away £ for after school activities in September that I know are looming - I know already I'm looking at £150-ish for gymnastics & swimming for my two.

God I'm so boring!

I agree, take a bit for a small treat (cinema, meal out, necklace, whatever) and save the rest, and in your name, so that you can access for a rainy day. If you are worried you would be tempted to fritter the savings, then may be premium bonds are a good idea if there’s a slight delay on withdrawals. Otherwise just go to money saving expert website and look up the best savings account rate. Even at 1% interest you will get an extra £5 on it every year, which is better than a kick in the teeth as they say. No need for an ISA as you don’t have anywhere near enough savings to pay tax. And stay clear of stocks and shares at this stage - they are far too risky when you have such a small amount.

And if you save it now, you can do other things with it later if you need or want to - be that go on holiday, or put it in your daughter’s name, or whatever. But for now you will have a cushion in case something goes wrong. You sound really organised and together, and that’s great, but life has a habit of throwing us curveballs and it’s useful to have a bit of protection beyond managing the day to day.

Save most but please buy something for yourself. Its a lot of money for me too.
Is there anything you see that you would love tp buy but you could never justify it. For me it was some make up, i won a similar amount and my mom sat me down and said make sure you buy something for yourself, not the house, that will make you smile.

If you save it it buys you a little bit of piece of mind for the future.

Don't think about frittering it away on stuff you don't need.
Spend a little on a nice day out and keep the rest.
When something goes wrong in the future- a washing machine breaking down or similar you will not have the stress of wondering where the money is coming from.
And that avoidance is priceless.

Buy a nice bottle of wine & some chocolate/a takeaway to congratulate yourself on how amazingly you budget your finances then put the rest in a 'rainy day fund' and enjoy feeling rich until you really need to use it, you will regret blowing it £500 Is a lot to me too, enjoy having that little cushion for yourself.