Advice on what to do with the cash

[Jingers5]

I will be getting around 75k soon. I owe about 10k and have a mortgage of 70k to pay back. My house needs some work probably 12k to bring it up to scratch. I was thinking of paying a lump sum off my mortgage such as 15k.

I really want to buy a piece of land in my home country to build a small house nearer my retirement. I'm not sure if l am being sentimental though. The site would cost 25k but it would be mine for the future.

I have no savings currently so will need to put some away too. Any advice on what to do with this money?

Pay off whatever the £10k is - you're instantly saving money. Then pay off £20k of your mortgage. You're already up on the monthly income with the £10k you've just paid off.
Get plenty of quotes for the work you want doing and offer to pay cash to get as close to £10k as you can.
Once all that's finalised, look at the land you want to buy - there's never usually a bad time to buy land especially now - and get it properly valued on its suitability / sustainability.
You could build now and rent the property ready for your retirement!

@iwasgonnasay has some good ideas but I'd consider whether money that you would put towards your mortgage could be earning more in interest until your mortgage is up for renewal (if you're on a fixed rate), then think about paying a chunk off.

My answer would depend on the interest rate on your mortgage.

If I still had a mortgage (it’s recently paid off) my interest rate was 3% and I can currently get 5% on a savings account, so in that scenario, I wouldn’t pay anything off my mortgage.

I would do the work to bring your house up to date, and do some solid research on buying the land for your future, but only buy it if it’s something I could easily resell should my plans change.

I would pay off the debt first and foremost . I would put aside the 12k for refurbishment . Then I would pay 1/2 off the mortgage which will give you more money for savings from income . Then I would look at savings you can get your hands on easily for emergencies etc and anything towards a pension - Realise money cannot stretch infinitely.

I would leave the plot of land in your home country until later - but then I probably don't have the attachment you do.

Whatever you do @Jingers5 - I wish you well , it's a nice problem to have.

Do you have an ERC on the mortgage? If so, you can usually pay 10% of the capital every year without penalty. Otherwise you’d trigger the ERC.

My mortgage rate is 3.44 % fixed for the next 4 years. I can over pay 20% of my mortgage per year without fees. I'm starting to think that buying the land is not the best option. The value may increase alot in the meantime and l may not be able to afford it later in the future.

I am afraid that lm thinking with my heart rather than my head.

how much is the interest rate on your mortgage?
how much is the interest rate on your £10k debt?

My mortgage rate is 3.44 % fixed for the next 4 years

If you pay off the £10k debt and then put £65k into an NS&I bond for one year you'll get £69,030 at the end of one year - as the interest will be £4030

If you then put into an account earning 5% you could use the interest to overpay your mortgage by £287.62 each month. Do that for 3 years and then when your mortgage is up for renewal you can re asses the situation. You'd have overpaid £10,354 over the 3 years - but still have £69,030 left

if you really want the land and it’s likely to go up you should buy it. Essentially you could pay 25 off the mortgage, 25 for the land and 25 for debt and renovations. I would try to bring the renovations in for less. You could also pay monthly what you were paying the debt with off your mortgage as extra payments.