A good investment ?

A word of warning regarding the amount of savings you can have, I've just had a look at how much you can have in Savings before it affects your Pension Credit, according to Age UK it is £10,000. Any Interest is also I believe does not affect Benefit. Do check as I had more than £6,000 & it affected my Employment & Support Allowance (I'm only 61 so not State Pension age)

Tesco current account currently pays 3percent up to £3000 and you can open 2 accounts so that's £6000 taken care of. TSB pay 3 percent up to &1500' Nationwide pay 5 percent up to £2500 and Santander 1.5 percent up to £20000' all easy access but like us, keep your eye on the interest and be ready to move the money if better deals come up, which it is very easy to do.

Thanks so much for all these great ideas , I will look into all of them when the time comes . Will also have a look at pension credit to see how much I am allowed , I didn`t realise that you could have any savings and still receive PC .

I know PBs are a bit of a hit and miss gamble, but I've already made 1%, tax free and it's only January! I think it helps to buy in a block rather than in small bits.

It might be helpful to be aware that investments are subject to Capital Gains Tax.

I like Premium Bonds, it's the nearest I get to gambling and there is always that little frisson of excitement every month (then the letdown most months).

You get your money back hulahoop but of course it could have depreciated and if you don't win there is nil interest.
But £25 popping through the letter box every so often is quite nice (£100 last month!).

We have the maximum in Premium Bonds A win most months (£500 the most weve had one go)DH monitors and its consistently better return than any of our other investments -about 5% last year .

Well, I have nowhere near that (more like the amount that f77ms is asking about) and can go for a few months without anything but then two £25 arrive together.

Wins are like buses, none for ages and then two come along together - and always exciting. And there was the £100 just in time for Christmas.

Nationwide don't pay me anything

I wouldn't go to an IFA either, especially not for a relatively small amount like that.
Their charges would have to be made up before you started getting any profit (if at all) and they carry on charging - and charging - and charging.

How about spreading it around a little - say

£5000 Premium Bonds - giving you a chance, albeit small, of winning more money every month

£2000 Bank/Building Society 1 year Bond - find the best rate - only for a year so that if rates go up you can get a better rate next year

£2000 Bank/Building Society easy access account with the best interest rate you can find - funds will always be available if you feel you need them

£1000 - treat yourself - a holiday, clothes you wouldn't normally buy - anything that takes your fancy that you haven't been able to afford

Sorry but it really is not worth while having only £5000 worth of premium bonds. I would be amazed if you were lucky enough to receive £25 a year.

Thanks for replies think I worded my query incorrectly I blame chemo brain . We have some premium bonds and have never won a bean we have had some over 30yrs for kids not a lot of money tied up so not too worried it's hard to know where to put money think marti Lewis still says. Santander 123 account alone of best but they have put up monthly fee and interest is not as good .

I had £49k in premium bonds last year and won £975 . I think that is a reasonable return and it's tax free.

I have never won anything with PBs had them for over 30 years.

I would put it into an interest paying current account while you have a think but keep an eye on the terms and conditions because they change.

Basic rate tax payers can now earn up to £1000 interest tax free so it becomes rather more questionable if Premium Bonds or ISAs are the way to go.

I've just read that the bank safeguard guarantee has reverted to £85,000 from the reduced £75,000. Check it out in case I'm wrong, please.

Yes Kim. You're right. It's because of the fall in the value of the Pound against the Euro.

Jalima and other winners... I think there is a PB fairy that does not allow winnings in certain parts of the UK it seems !!

I've just cashed in my cash ISA as the already crap interest rate of 1.5% is about to drop to 0.5%. There's less reason to use ISAs now as you can have £1000pa of interest tax free, which would need 200k of savings at that rate to be an issue. I'm going to keep it moving round several regular saver accounts, they are usually good for short-ish term (< 1 year) accounts.

Premium Bonds, I have about 30k and I 'win' £25 most months. so that's about 1% interest. Then last year I won £1000k, arrived on my birthday so that's encouraging...

That was nice Pamish but do you mean a thousand pounds or a thousand thousand ie a million which is what you have written! That may have been better than ' encouraging'!!!

I wonder what we are all doing, playing at being Financial advisers- who incidentally have to be qualified to give advice and have to totally understand the clients background and needs. Please f77MS research all of he information that is readily available first on line & elsewhere on short and long term investments and if you are still having problems a big company with experienced independent FAs/ staff WILL give you independent advice and will help you to invest in the right place for you. I speak from experience and even if you have to pay a proportion of that investment for that advice I have found that it is well worth it.

jefm those who've been kind enough to reply are not 'playing at being financial advisers' - just giving their experience and advice on a relatively modest sum.

I hardly think it worth consulting a professional who would charge a fee, which would no doubt swallow-up any interest that would be earned in an ISA/Premium Bond/Savings account.

You have the wrong account I'm afraid.

I have a friend who put her share of the divorce house-sale proceeds into a FA's hands... highly recommended, etc.

They put her money into incestuous funds, she lost so much even before the crash of 08/09, it was heartbreaking. This FA group ended up in court over their incompetence/negligence.

Didn't help her having lost over £80K !!!