Best place for £80k short term
Discussion
Ok so we have £80k moved over from the offset on our previous mortgage. It's now sitting in a nothing account waiting until next year when we are building an extension. The money will then be spent gradually over 4 months or so from April onwards. Is there anywhere worth putting it for that short a term?
Get opening some current accounts. Only 3% but in this day and age this is good.
As a couple get 3 Santander, a TSB each, 3 Bank of Scotland with Vantage upgrade and two Tesco each.
Really quick to open.....well it was for me. Keep your eye on the small print them just circulate any minimum pay in on your pay date
I do it .....the banking system must go into overdrive on my circulation date
Santander has a fee so let Santander be the one you close first when you start to pay for your extension
As a couple get 3 Santander, a TSB each, 3 Bank of Scotland with Vantage upgrade and two Tesco each.
Really quick to open.....well it was for me. Keep your eye on the small print them just circulate any minimum pay in on your pay date
I do it .....the banking system must go into overdrive on my circulation date
Santander has a fee so let Santander be the one you close first when you start to pay for your extension
...or if you can't be bothered to open multiple current accounts to scrabble about for a few extra pennies of interest you can stick the whole lot in an online account with Birmingham Midshires at 1.6%
http://www.birminghammidshires.co.uk/savings/
You may not have heard of BM Savings but it's a serious player as part of the Lloyds/Halifax group. Alternatively Tesco will pay you 1.5%.
http://www.birminghammidshires.co.uk/savings/
You may not have heard of BM Savings but it's a serious player as part of the Lloyds/Halifax group. Alternatively Tesco will pay you 1.5%.
I would agree with the above - for a period that short term I would forgo the pitiful interest rates on offer and just stick it in premium bonds for a bit. You get the whole lot back, so the only opportunity cost is the interest you would have made otherwise. And I'd say that would be more than made up for the anticipation of the draw for the next few months. Almost certainly you won't win big but you will get something back
Quick tip though - your bonds aren't entered in the first draw after you buy them, so it's best to buy them at the end of the month...
Quick tip though - your bonds aren't entered in the first draw after you buy them, so it's best to buy them at the end of the month...
megaphone said:
Or stick it in premium bonds for a few months. Not the best investment % wise, but safe, tax free and you might win something big!
Unfortunately you're far, far, far more likely to die in a freak accident.- National lottery - chance of winning big is 1: 14,000,000
- Premium bonds - chance of winning big is 1:27,300,000,000
Ozzie Osmond said:
megaphone said:
Or stick it in premium bonds for a few months. Not the best investment % wise, but safe, tax free and you might win something big!
Unfortunately you're far, far, far more likely to die in a freak accident.- National lottery - chance of winning big is 1: 14,000,000
- Premium bonds - chance of winning big is 1:27,300,000,000
I'd call a big win £10,000 do you have to factor in all the £100k, £50k, £25k and £10k prizes. Still huge odds of winning anything decent but there is a slim chance. Depends if the 2-3% from a bank is really going to make any difference to the op at the end of the day.
Shares? I don't think so, this is money I'm definitely not gambling with. The premium bonds route sounds good actually. I started opening some 3% current accounts etc but it's going to be a pita to be honest. One question, how long does it take to get cash back out of premium bonds at the end?
neil-c said:
Shares? I don't think so, this is money I'm definitely not gambling with. The premium bonds route sounds good actually. I started opening some 3% current accounts etc but it's going to be a pita to be honest. One question, how long does it take to get cash back out of premium bonds at the end?
Premium bonds take a couple of weeks to cash in.The only issue with the "3%" accounts is that they only pay 3% on the first few thousand pounds (Nationwide do a 5% account, but you only get 5% on the first £2,500, over that you get 0.)
Edited by Monty Python on Sunday 18th October 20:26
Monty Python said:
Premium bonds take a couple of weeks to cash in.
The only issue with the "3%" accounts is that they only pay 3% on the first few thousand pounds (Nationwide do a 5% account, but you only get 5% on the first £2,500, over that you get 0.)
Santander 123 pays 3% up to £20kThe only issue with the "3%" accounts is that they only pay 3% on the first few thousand pounds (Nationwide do a 5% account, but you only get 5% on the first £2,500, over that you get 0.)
Edited by Monty Python on Sunday 18th October 20:26
Ozzie Osmond said:
megaphone said:
Or stick it in premium bonds for a few months. Not the best investment % wise, but safe, tax free and you might win something big!
Unfortunately you're far, far, far more likely to die in a freak accident.- National lottery - chance of winning big is 1: 14,000,000
- Premium bonds - chance of winning big is 1:27,300,000,000
Supernova190188 said:
The chance of winning the Premium Bonds you've quoted is gonna be for a single bond, with 80k it's gonna be a chance of 80:27,300,000 per monthly draw , still incredibly unlikely to win the jackpot though , but there are still some fairly decent sized prizes that could potentially be won.
The new National Lottery odds have change as there are 10 more numbers to chose from so, according to the National Lottery, the jackpot odds are now 1:45,000,000. Plus there's the small matter of having to buy a £2 ticket that you won't get back.
Comparisons of the lottery vs premium bonds isn't quite a fair one.
dimmy said:
always buy a convertible supercar for cash for a good price, then close to March/April when the sum appears .. sell it for little more or worst case same price and you got to enjoy a supercar 
I thought the very same a while back, I told the other half we should buy a Porsche 993 for 25-30k and either a 80s Mercedes SL or a M3 CSL and use them sparingly for a year or two. This was obviously when prices were flat. Unfortunately this is joint cash and "investing in cars" was never going to fly. Oh how i longingly look at prices now.While I'm with you on the idea, firstly I live in Scotland and the idea of running a super car though the winter (let alone the BMW that's outside right now) is not ideal, secondly I have a young son who would love it but realistically would hardly get in it, and thirdly the retained value of super cars is hardly cast iron?
I'm going with the premium bonds idea. Will report back on the win rate!! Hopefully from Barbados!
CRB14 said:
The new National Lottery odds have change as there are 10 more numbers to chose from so, according to the National Lottery, the jackpot odds are now 1:45,000,000.
Plus there's the small matter of having to buy a £2 ticket that you won't get back.
Comparisons of the lottery vs premium bonds isn't quite a fair one.
+1Plus there's the small matter of having to buy a £2 ticket that you won't get back.
Comparisons of the lottery vs premium bonds isn't quite a fair one.
We put £15K into premium bounds a few years ago, now looking at over £21K, had a few >£100 wins, and every other month get £25 prizes.
If you play the lottery and buy 15K tickets, and win nothing, that's it, all your investment is gone. Where as with premium bonds, you only set to loss maximum 2-3% in terms of lost interest payments had you put the money else where.
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff