Money to invest

[WartOrNot]

I have about £15K squirrelled away in a bank account. I know this is not the best place to keep it. Dh manages our finances, but I would like to do something independently with this cash. What can I do that will not clash with what he does? It can stay squirrelled away until we or I need it. I was wondering about buying Premium Bonds. Any advice?

Now may be a good time to invest in Stocks and Shares as the market has dropped so much , you would be looking at at least 5 years though if you wanted to see better returns

Don't buy premium bonds unless you have maxed out everything ISAs, normal savings, pensions etc. Premium bonds are more likely to erode the value of the capital than pretty much anything other than keeping cash under the matress. Premium bonds should be looked at as a bit of fun but arent every going to give the same returns consistently as other products. If you can invest for the longer term 10 years or more then a S&S ISA. If you are likely to need the money in the next 5 years then find the best paying savings account and stick it in there. I am assuming from your OP that you don't have any additional savings in your name that that would take you over the £1000 (£500 if you are a higher rate tax payer) interest from savings allowance? If you are likely to exceed this the a cash ISA would be the better option.
Have you got a pension?

Cash ISA are paying 4.5% at the moment tax free.

I’d make sure you have your own Emergency Fund, just in case. I know you said your DP manages the finances, but it wouldn’t hurt to have your own EF. I’d put a minimum of £1k in there.

Do you have a pension, which you pay into? If not, then I’d open a SIPP and deposit most of the money into there.

If you do have a pension, then you could open a high interest savings account and keep the money in there, or a S&S ISA if you want to invest in the long-term. If you want to use the money for specific things e.g. home improvements or holidays etc. then savings pots would be a good option.

It’s completely up to you, really!

I do quite well on the premium bonds, hold 50k, my average return is 4.5% over the years and i like the idea of a big win !....i also have an isa with t212, and trickle 40 a month into some funds....good time to buy as low prices and will go lower and forget about them for several years.

If those are your only savings then I’d say no to premium bonds. Go to Money Saving Expert (Martin Lewis) and look at the highest paying savings accounts. You might get a better rate on a decent paying savings account than an isa. Isas are best if you pay tax on savings (which you may not with 15k but it depends on which tax band you’re on). Long term you might want to look at S&S ISA but it’s all looking a bit frightening at the moment so it depends on how brave you are and when you’re likely to need the money

Each person can put a maximum of 20k per year into a tax free ISA
Cash ISA
Or
Stocks & Shares ISA

Each person can have a maximum of 50k in Premium bonds
All prizes are tax free

Do you pay into a private or work pension ?
Because you can get tax free contributions

Suggest read

Money Saving Expert website
The Guardian & The Times money

You can also buy gold coins & sell tax free

Also look at some of the online money platforms for saving money that are higher rates than high street banks

Plum
Raisin
Kufflink
Monzo
Zopa
Etc

All the responses in this thread are good. S&S ISAs are good but only if you don't need to touch the money for 10 years, cash ISAs are also good. I have savings / ISAs with a few providers including t212, plum and others, they are good but also quite 'full on' (ie complex). More recently I put some money into a new app marygold as I wanted to test it (just a straight forward FSCS protected easy access account) and I have to say i really like it (mostly because I like the 'piggy bank' feature).