To ask what you would do with this money?

[Budgetingmum2025]

Sorry shamelessly posting for traffic. Firstly - Merry Christmas!

I’ve had a small bonus - £850. I was going to put it all into my pension (I’m a contractor so no employer pension). My pension is dire. Around 4K due to years of freelance which I finally started paying into properly this year. I’m early 30s for context. It’s obviously a tax benefit to put straight in pension also.

But - I really want to take the kids to Lapland UK next year so I could save it for that? Or option 3 is the media wall in the living room I’m saving towards.

WWYD?

Pension. You’ll thank yourself later.

Pension

Yeah pension. Sorry to be a party pooper.

Also merry Christmas! 🎄

I think that the fact that you are asking means we are supposed to vote Pension.
So, Pension!
Sorry.

Have £100 treat money and the rest pension.

Treat the kids to a super day out in the uk.

Handbag. Complete self indulgence I know but what a treat.

When you’re an old lady your adult kids would prefer you be financially stable rather than they went to lap land 50 years ago.

I would use a small amount for a nice treat day, then rest in pension/savings

Nah, go to Lapland fuck it! Tomorrow isn't guaranteed and you've plenty of time to build up your pension. If you were 50, my advice would be different, but your DC are only young once.

Yes pension, sorry. Only £4k in your pension you can’t afford to be going on trips away or buying media walls.

My parents died at 52 and 56 so never got their pensions....spend it now making memories.

Pension is obviously the sensible answer but I'd either put it towards Lapland or buy something fancy for myself with it.

You mean like Lapland UK? 🤔

OP put it in your pension.

People on here are obsessed with bloody pensions.

You're not even halfway through your working life, enjoy your bonus now, you've earned it!!

I agree. OP has several decades to build up her pension and with the state of the world right now, I say spend it all on a holiday. Life’s too short.

I know pension is sensible - I’ve overhauled my finances and budget ready for the new year to really sort it out.

I have a few savings pots - each around 750-1000 needed for things like Lapland UK, living room media unit etc.

So it’s just tempting to just close off one of those savings pots instead of paying monthly. In theory if I was putting say £175 a month into the media unit pot I could put that in the pension instead?

My mum also died in her 50s so never saw her pension which does make me think twice.

but then I see my tiny pot and panic in the event I (hopefully!) get to retire!

£100 for a treat day for the family. £750 for pension.

Lapland UK is overrated IMO. Went this year with 2 believers (just) and we’ve had more fun elsewhere akin to Bocketts Farm.

@TeaDrinker247 this is my worry I see such mixed reviews. Some say it’s the best thing ever and others say not worth the money. We took ours to our local garden centre for a whole Santa experience (definitely inspired by Lapland UK tbh - a story with Mrs Christmas, Teddy making with elves, reindeer food making, meeting Santa - we even potted a Christmas tree sapling we can plant in the new year in the garden!). It was magical but didn’t have the same ‘wow’ as Lapland UK seems to have. But for context it was less than £60 for all of us 🤣