Is this a financial mistake? Help please

[Subjk]

I have a 2 year old and have recently been gifted 80k. If I paid off some of my mortgage with this I would owe 150k. I’m 35.

The schools round here are absolutely awful. I can’t move area as I need family support so I have to stay.

Yesterday I looked round a private school which is 20k a year including vat. Me and ex are on good terms and he pays 1,200 a month. He won’t pay school fees but has said he will increase monthly payments to 1,500 if I choose private.

What would you do? I don’t have a high income my take home is 2,400. I am worried for dd and feel a bit lost with what to do. Please help!

Professional advise from a financial advisor is not incorrect advice.

Only thing is you need to pay for financial advice which is expensive.
better researching yourself

The sad thing is that OP's research appears to consist of asking Mumsnet for advice.

So many replies on this thread are advising paying down the mortgage without any clue of what rate that mortgage is or if there's any other debt. It's rubbish advice to give, as it's not informed.

Following the advice of those replies could be a very expensive mistake for the OP to make. The majority are not always right.

Many advisors offer a free initial consultation, which would at least give you some idea of the numbers involved

👍 If it’s free then that’s who I would consult it’s too much money not to do something sensible with

If you have been perfectly fine making the mortgage payments without the random £80,000 then I would definitely not just put it into the mortgage no. Plus I would be aware of where the gift has come from - if the person who donated it died within the next 7 years you could be liable to pay some tax on it. I would definitely consider using your ISA limit, I put some in a stocks and shares account and it has a very good growth. I don't have to know anything about the best place to put it, because the account is dealt with for me, you can select your level of risk. It's good for money invested longer term. You could still put some money into the mortgage, do you have an overpayment limit? I wouldn't personally want to be penalised by going over that either. I would also consider putting a large sum into premium bonds, no growth on savings if you don't win much, but the potential is there for winning a million - you never know, and that would put you in a good place for private schools!

I inherited a large amount, and decided to clear the mortgage, leaving me a little afterwards. I'm so glad I did, I have paid it off 15 years early and it's turned out that due to illness with my DS I'm not able to work as much now, so having no mortgage has made it easier. My brother kept it and is enjoying the money, but I guess I've always been on the side of clearing my debts first. School may resolve itself in time, and in the future if you have less mortgage debt you may be able to afford a bigger mortgage if you are able to move later

If anything you should hold out and pay for a tutor to get her through 11 plus into grammar or some kind of bursary in private?
I honestly don't think a two year old requires private school. At primary it's really only for those who can easily, comfortably afford it. Even then I'd say it's not worth it especially. You'll end up overstretching yourself. And if she has to leave the private school prematurely due to financial issues that could be upsetting for her.