What should i do with £5k?

[TinyDancingHoofer]

Anyone have any ideas? Currently it is sat in my account but its seems i should have it somewhere earning money. I don't want to just fritter it away on crap and it probably won't be needed for a couple of years at least. Friend suggested an ISA, opinions please

ISAa are straightforward, easy ways to invest and get a good return as there is no tax on interest. You can also choose if you lock it away or have instant access.

Alternatively you could send it to me

Okay, if you promise to keep it safe

I could invest it in Mulberry and Jimmy Choo
Ooh! And maybe in gold.......

I'd spend it all on perfume. HTH

Premium bonds. Or an ISA. Or split it between the two...

ISAs are great. Assuming you don't want to pay it off your mortgage or buy a new car

what tax rate do you pay?

if you do not have to pay tax, there is no immediate advantage in putting it in an ISA, and you can often get a better rate in a non-ISA account (banks, being crooks, like to pocket the savings you would make in a tax-free account and keep it for themselves by paying a lower rate of interest)

if you do not have to pay tax, there is no immediate advantage in putting it in an ISA

Unless you receive child tax credits. The interest on ISAs is not counted as income for tax credit purposes, whereas interest from non-ISA accounts is counted.

Would also suggest a Cash ISA if you want the money to be safe. If you really think you won't need it for a few years there are some short term fixed rate ISAs that offer a slightly better interest rate than the instant access type. Fixed rate bonds sometimes offer a better rate but you have to factor in that the interest is taxed at source.

Okay MNers thanks for the advice. I worked for Mulberry so have already wasted invested a lot of money there and unfortunately jimmy choo are hard to find in a size 2 . What with the whole tax thing isa sounds good so i shall have a proper look into it. Definitely shouldn't need it for a while unless something very unplanned happens.
Thank you

gold is best current best investment..

Before you consider investing you should wipe out any debts. Pay off any credit cards or pay down on your mortgage if you have one. Most mortgages would be at least 3%-4% and you will be lucky to find that rate being paid out in a savings account or isa.......

suzyszoo is spot on, if you have any debts pay those off first, as the interest paid on them is bound to be higher than you'd get in an ISA right now, although maybe not on the mortgage front, if that's 3% and you're prepared to do a little bit of stock market research. If you have no debts aside from mortgage, you could consider a stocks and shares ISA - look for a big safe share or two to split it between, with a dividend yield around the 6% mark, and you'd be doing okay.

I'd maybe steer clear of gold though at the moment, as it's at an all-time high and looks like a bubble to me, although as long as everyone's still feeling scared about the state of the world it's not a bubble that's likely to burst yet...