What to do with £140k
What to do with £140k
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Discussion

brianb

Original Poster:

447 posts

160 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
I have around £140k coming from the sale of a renovation project later this month and trying to decide where best to put it

i have around 170k left on my mortgage (4.2%) fixed for another 4.5yrs, plus 30k each on 2 BTL’s, both have steady tenants on repayment mortgages tho swaying towards leaving them run for now (5yr fixed on mid 2%)

I have only a small amount of other savings (around 15k) as most where used for the renovation

Pension wise, it’s not great at all, only just joined the company scheme and have around 50k in the pot, previously I always anticipated more BTL’s being my main source of income into retirement

I’m just gone 40 with 3 young kids all under 10, partner works part time and have a household income of just over 100k before tax (excluding bonuses), both PAYE

I don’t need access as such, equally I’d rather not tie it down for longer than 12 months, and I’m very risk adverse when it comes to investments

Initial thoughts are £50k into premium bonds and £90k into 12month saver @ around 5.5%?

Kswap

191 posts

65 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
100k off the mortgage
10k for each of the kids
10k Disneyland holiday

brianb

Original Poster:

447 posts

160 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
Went to Disney in April and 10k wouldn’t touch the sides biglaugh

Kswap

191 posts

65 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
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Haha, I thought when typing I could be way out on that one!

brianb

Original Poster:

447 posts

160 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
It’s a good point regarding the kids tho, for reference we have a separate savings account for the kids which both us and the BTLs feed into so I’m confident we’re covered

Panamax

8,527 posts

58 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
brianb said:
I have around £140k coming from the sale of a renovation project later this month and trying to decide where best to put it

I have around 170k left on my mortgage, plus 30k each on 2 BTL’s
And you need to ask??

Those mortgages are being paid out of taxed income so in reality they're costing you a lot more than the headline rates. If you had the same amount of investment in a tax free wrapper you'd be way ahead. And bear in mind that paying down debt always gives you a "risk free" return - a concept which has value in itself.

Alternatively if you think you can reinvest somewhere else for a 10% return, hopefully without too much risk, then knock yourself out.

tighnamara

2,623 posts

177 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
Boo-urns said:
First and foremost, use your ISA allowance! £20k for you and £20k for the wife.

I'd probably use the rest to pay down the residential mortgage. Assuming you're a higher-rate tax payer, I doubt you'll be better of saving it and paying tax on the savings.

Don't put it in your pension - if you want to increase your contributions, do some from your salary and decrease your tax exposure.

My two cents, anyway...

Edited by Boo-urns on Saturday 26th August 18:23
You can decrease your tax exposure putting any money in your pension, doesn’t have to come directly from your salary.

brianb

Original Poster:

447 posts

160 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
Panamax said:
And you need to ask??

Those mortgages are being paid out of taxed income so in reality they're costing you a lot more than the headline rates. If you had the same amount of investment in a tax free wrapper you'd be way ahead. And bear in mind that paying down debt always gives you a "risk free" return - a concept which has value in itself.

Alternatively if you think you can reinvest somewhere else for a 10% return, hopefully without too much risk, then knock yourself out.
That’s a great point, and something I naively didn’t consider, I’m assuming paying off the mortgage on my primary residence is the way forward?

Panamax

8,527 posts

58 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
quotequote all
brianb said:
I’m assuming paying off the mortgage on my primary residence is the way forward?
Yes, the general principle is to pay down your most expensive debt first. Just make sure you understand any early exit fees if and where applicable. They're typically attached to a "fix" contract rather than the mortgage itself.

Pistom

6,254 posts

183 months

Saturday 26th August 2023
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Have you allowed for any CGT if applicable?

Stu-nph26

2,150 posts

129 months

Rocket.

1,657 posts

273 months

Tuesday 29th August 2023
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Get your cash saving up to 6 months take home salary.

Buy one Bitcoin, take it off the exchange and put in a cold wallet, sit on it for 10 years.

With the rest pay off as much mortgage as you can.

Drl22

803 posts

89 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
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brianb said:
I have around £140k coming from the sale of a renovation project later this month and trying to decide where best to put it

i have around 170k left on my mortgage (4.2%) fixed for another 4.5yrs, plus 30k each on 2 BTL’s, both have steady tenants on repayment mortgages tho swaying towards leaving them run for now (5yr fixed on mid 2%)

I have only a small amount of other savings (around 15k) as most where used for the renovation

Pension wise, it’s not great at all, only just joined the company scheme and have around 50k in the pot, previously I always anticipated more BTL’s being my main source of income into retirement

I’m just gone 40 with 3 young kids all under 10, partner works part time and have a household income of just over 100k before tax (excluding bonuses), both PAYE

I don’t need access as such, equally I’d rather not tie it down for longer than 12 months, and I’m very risk adverse when it comes to investments

Initial thoughts are £50k into premium bonds and £90k into 12month saver @ around 5.5%?
Paying down your mortgage is one option and lots are tempted to do it but whether it’s right for you depends on numerous things but you’re fixed at 4.5% for a while yet.

It sounds like all already have a good idea of what doing BTL involves so taking the money and buying either 1 or 2 new BTL’s would probably be my choice. As long as you can make the rent pay the mortgage in this high interest environment this is free money. In the long term you’ll be far better off.

Depending on how the last project went, you could invest in another, larger scale renovation project.

Both options would outstrip any interest you save on the mortgage. IMO you should always have cash that is left in an interest account available to invest in a project. Ultimately you can get 4.5% easy access while you figure out what to do with it and then when you have the right project you are ready to go. If you don’t want to pay the tax on the internet that can always go to your pension.

Average return on premium bonds is 4%, so why bother?