I’m in the money!

I think it means making sure all repairs are done and modernise where necessary before spending on anything else CrazyH. ?

I can't believe how lucky some people are regularly winning on premium bonds! My MiL bought each of my 3 DC £250 worth of bonds almost 40 years ago. I think they have won about £15 in total! I have never won anything on mine in 55 years! Granted I only have £5 but still.....! I'll be in touch when I win the big one next month though!!

You need to have at least 10,000 premium bonds to get any regular wins. That said we have the maximum stake and won nothing this month. We're spending it soon and looking around now that interest rates have gone up.

I take “future proofing your house” to mean ensuring having all facilities on the ground floor (in case you can’t manage stairs in the future).

Yes that too or keep some money for a stairlift!

There are loads of investment ideas for you in the market but you can opt for SIP investment for direct mutual funds (https://orowealth.com/), wherein you do not have to pay an agent and can invest fixed sums of money regularly at great interest rates.
Staggering investment over a period is a better way to invest in equity mutual funds, depending on the amount of money you would want to invest. The money is invested regularly in a scheme without your efforts. If you invest for a long time and earn returns on your investment, your money will start to compound. The compounding effect means that the return difference is compounded over the years due to cost savings and helps you build a much larger body in the long term.
You can customize how you use SIPs to set money. Many fund houses allow investors to invest at their convenience on a monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly basis.

The Marcus Account with Goldman Sachs is paying 1.5 pa for the first year. So that might be worth thinking about, certainly while they have the bonus in place. Shares are always a gamble, although tend to do well over time. Question is do you want to take the risk?

The current premium bond odds are I think 24,500 to 1 for each £1 bond.

So you need £24,000 to be reasonably sure of winning a £25 prize each month.

Poppyred I posted something on another thread which could be relevant, not sure if I can cut and paste without it being deleted, so I'll change it a bit!
In essence - investments should be age-dependent too. Any stock market investment could be risky so perhaps may not be suitable for older people. If you're a fit 50 something or 60ish, then it is probably worth it, but perhaps not for over 70s, although 'drip-feeding' monthly could be a good idea.

I've just realised this is an older thread - hope you got sorted Poppyred.

Thanks Telly/Jalima1108 - have just opened a Goldman Sachs Account! Not even getting £25 a month prize on large Premium Bond investment.??

That's a pity (about the Premium Bonds, I mean).

I always expect a cheque for £1m each month but do occasionally get £25!

Glad you got sorted and I hope it does well for you.

I was going to open up a Goldman Sachs account myself this week, that is until I realised what a huge part they played in the "sub-prime" mortgage debacle in the USA which in turn led to the financial crisis in the UK.

As much as I would like (and to some extent need) a good return on my money I cannot ethically invest with them.

I am now looking for an ethical investment, if any wise Gransnetters out there know of any I would be most grateful to you.

Depending on how much your pension pot is, and where in the country you live, have you considered buying a small property - say a flat - to rent out for an income?

If you buy the right property in the right area at the right price (eg at auction) the yield would far outweigh any interest you would get from a normal savings account.

Ok, you will have to accept property price fluctuation, but the trend is always upwards.

We have been investing in property for years, and even when we think prices can't rise any more, they do!

Certainly worth a thought.

Rising prices, very nice for some people.

GrannyGravy I think L&G does an ethical fund (well, they used to) and I'm sure that many others do also.

I don't think I'd want the worry of property at our age, even if we could afford any; the upkeep of our own is enough to think about!

Thank you Jalima will look into it. We have discounted any more properties.

I’ve got one third of my savings in a stocks & shares ISA, one third in a cash ISA, and one third in premium bonds.

I’m concerned about the impact of inflation on the cash ISA and premium bonds and have thought about rebalancing by transferring more into the stocks & shares ISA. But the stocks & shares ISA has been falling in value over the year, so now not sure what to do.

We had a very pleasant surprise with PBs.
We had a friend who was on hard times. We lent him a car for three months. He gave us three PBs as a thank you.
The funny part was, at the time we had the maximum amount so of course the £25 & £50 trickled in but it was one of his 3 that was the big winner.

www.nsandi.com/guaranteed-growth-bonds Not bad interest depending on how long you commit to leaving it in for.

but it was one of his 3 that was the big winner.
Well, that's heartening petra
I always think that, unless they are in a block, they will never win anything. Not that I have a big block!

However, I do have 3 from many years ago and a block of £100, one of which once won £100.
Many years ago now though.