What to do with modest savings pot??

[Picahu]

Hi Mums,

I have a fairly modest amount of savings between 20k and 30k which I have been savign for years and most is in an online savings account. I this year (just before April) opened an ISA and put 20k in there; but am confused by all of the current news stories of lowering the limits etc. I will need some of the money as we are getting house painted and some carpets, I am also pregnant so will need some to cover when I am on Stat Mat pay, but otherwise that leaves me with circa 20K - I feel it is too little to get professional financial advice, but I have been wondering what to do with it to maximise it? Should I buy a small property to rent (with all the additonal charges etc, is this worth it), should I be investing, paying extra into my pension? I am not sure?

Just looking for some friendly starting points I think...?

Thanks in advance

Just leave it as savings in the best paying instant access account, you've said its needed for carpets and maternity leave and just as savings.

If there are any changes to cash ISA limits, it won't apply to money already in ISAs so don't worry about that.

Buying a rental property is unlikely to be a good idea, for various reasons.

The financial flow chart is useful as a 'to do' list/plan of personal finance

https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

I did a lot of research on this recently. I found the Barclay's ISA to be the best. I initially opened an ISA with Nat West, but after 30 days no more deposits were allowed, which makes no sense to me, as I like to save over the year. Also, no withdrawals allowed.

With the Barclay's ISA, you can add as much as you want over the year (up to the £20k limit) and you can also make 3 withdrawals without penalty. Also, if you do take money out, you can put it back, without it counting towards your savings limit. So, I closed my Nat West one and moved it to Barclay's. I lost about a month's worth of interest, but it was worth it to me.

If you don't have a Barclay's account they do ask you to visit a branch to open the ISA, but there is a way around this - you can download the App, open a current account, and from there you can open an ISA. That's what I did, as I have no branches close by. The interest rate is 4.1%.

If you look at Compare the Market and Go Compare etc, there are certainly ISA's out there that pay a bit more, but they are names I've never heard of, and that put me off. The Barclay's App is really slick to use as well, for moving money around.