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

www.reddit.com/r/ukpersonalfinance/wiki/lumpsuminvestment

I totally disagree on stocks and shares isa.

She is viewing this as extra money she doesn't know what to do with. She doesn't think it's vital to her and its worth investing it.

I don't think £5 is worth putting into Bank for though.

She can put into stocks isa.. Take out if she needs too... Some or all and also with this throw away money learn about stocks and shares isa and investment.

Interesting article I read that lower classes missing out on cash because they don't have stocks and shares knowledge, dont invest that way, don't put child's savings into it.

We are lower classes, and my dc savings are in cash. I did lots of research and will be moving my own over very soon.

Returns are so much better.

I would open a stocks and shares isa for yourself and stick the whole lot in. This is a windfall - you don’t have to spend it if you don’t need to. Don’t fritter it away if you can’t afford to - just think of how long it would take for you to save £500. The peace of mind from having a financial cushion is priceless. Your mindset changes when you realise that saving regularly, whatever the amount (however small) is effectively taking control and it’s the cumulative effect which makes all the difference!

Rayne

Interesting . Class aside I have always invested in low risk .

Sod it I am moving the kids premiums bonds to a Stock and share based ISA

I agree that over the long run, stock markets have historically tended to go up. So for investing for kids’ future, when you don’t need the money for years, they may be the way to go. But if this is all your savings which you may need tomorrow when the boiler breaks, the risks are too great as you may need the money when the stock market is doing badly.
Not sure if this will work as have never attached a picture before, but this is a chart of FTSE 100 (UK’s biggest companies). If you bought in 1985 and didn’t need the money until now, you would have done very well indeed. But if you bought, for example, in 2000 and needed the money back two years later, you would have got back 1/3 less than you put in.

If you haven't got one - use it to get a driving license... I've not come across anyone who has regretted it!

Once you have it-that's it!

Op- your grandad said to enjoy it! So enjoy it!
If this is a lot of money to you then it will seem alien but you never had it before he gave it to you so if you don't have much savings now and cope then you still will cope.

Is there anything your dd needs now? I don't recall you mentioning her age but for example my dd is 7 and wants a trampoline, I would buy her one in your situation.

I really think you should get something ( not expensive ) just for you, a handbag/pair of shoes/favourite perfume etc that you can say "grandad bought me this".

We were given a small amount of money a few years ago and used it to buy a gorgeous new headboard for our bed. Boring as hell but I always remember who "bought" it.

Anyway, what a lovely problem to have. Whatever you decide, enjoy :)

In your circumstances, I think you should save some and have two lovely days out, that you might not normally have.

One over Summer and one over Christmas.

If you've really never had £500 before, FGS save it. It's incredibly important to have a rainy day fund.

Save it for a rainy day like if your washing machine or something needs replacing.
You sound very organised but sometimes shit happens.

When I received similar i kept it as a guardian angel fund. Bus broke down and it was raining, spent twenty on a taxi 'thanks grandad'. Too ill or tired - get a takeaway in - thanks grandad. Off to a party - new dress. Thanks grandad. That kind of thing. I'd try to top it back up when I could but felt for several years I had a guardian angel making life easier when I needed him x

Put it all in premium bonds, we've won 275 do far this year

Put it into a (relatively) high interest savings account for a rainy day. Yes you could win £1,000,000 on premium bonds. But with only £500 invested, there’s an 80% chance you’ll win absolutely nothing over the next year. You’d only expect to win £25 over five years (and there’s still a 30% chance you’ll win nothing over that time).