what would you do if you had 20k lying around

[iffy]

When I mean lying around, currently the money is invested in premium bonds. I am open to ideas as to what one could suggest to do with the amount? Thanks.

 

[hikiwari]

Give us a few more details @iffy like your age and if this is disposable income. Have you taken up your ISA allowance this year? Got kids? How many and how old?
Give us a bit more or you may get some George Best type answers

 

[iffy]

Thanks for the reply. I am 40 years of age, no kids, have a partner, Disposable income is around 600 per week. Haven't taken up the ISA actually

 

[Bob Morgan]

"What would you do if you had 20k lying around?" - Quite simple 'Loan Sharking!'

 

[iffy]

"What would you do if you had 20k lying around?" - Quite simple 'Loan Sharking!'

now there's an idea my wicked self didn't think of.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

Buy your friendly advisers on UKBF a beer or three...

 

[Bob Morgan]

now there's an idea my wicked self didn't think of.

'Iffy' - Great Brand Name too!

 

[HFE Signs]

Spend it on motorbikes

 

[Toon]

Buy a business.

 

[macScot]

If you may need the money at short notice then ISA, if you are ok with long-term investment then SIPP, or split it both ways.

 

[Picture Bute]

Spend it on motorbikes

By far the best suggestion so far.....

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I would be spending my allowable EU 90 days in Greece this summer thats what I would do

 

[WaveJumper]

First question is how well is the money doing in the premium bonds generally those I know with 20k in bonds pick up quite a few wins over the year so depending on your luck it maybe in the right place. If your a bit more of a canny investor self investing ISA, why because everything you earn is tax free, if you need to get your hands on some cash you can withdraw your funds at anytime.

 

[Mark T Jones]

First question is how well is the money doing in the premium bonds generally those I know with 20k in bonds pick up quite a few wins over the year so depending on your luck it maybe in the right place. If your a bit more of a canny investor self investing ISA, why because everything you earn is tax free, if you need to get your hands on some cash you can withdraw your funds at anytime.

We've averaged just under 2% over the last couple of years, so it wax the best 'safe' deposit

Obviously things are changing now, but as is so often the case, the OP has given no indication of appetite for risk, or need to access

 

[WaveJumper]

Of course if you feel frivolous (ok I had one of those moments) and it arrived yesterday buy yourself a new Gibson guitar, the wife understands what a great investment it was, plus as I told her you only live once ?

PS my ISA's are all maxed out

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

If you have a mortgage, suggest paying a lump sum as long as there are no penalties for doing so!

 

[WaveJumper]

If you have a mortgage, suggest paying a lump sum as long as there are no penalties for doing so!

Frank thats an interesting subject I was pretty shocked over the dinner table at the weekend when this came up I did not appreciate the 'quite stiff' terms lenders seem to be putting on some of these mortgage deals now, one of my sons was going to pay off a lump sum and the penalties were pretty high I am not not if this has always been the case or just a new trend over the last few years.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Frank thats an interesting subject I was pretty shocked over the dinner table at the weekend when this came up I did not appreciate the 'quite stiff' terms lenders seem to be putting on some of these mortgage deals now, one of my sons was going to pay off a lump sum and the penalties were pretty high I am not not if this has always been the case or just a new trend over the last few years.

I think they've been doing that for quite some time on any Fixed Rate deals. Less so on variable rate/tracker deals.

 

[The Soup Dragon]

You could spend half of it on champagne and blondes, the rest of it you could waste!

 

[The Byre]

Thanks for the reply. I am 40 years of age, no kids, have a partner, Disposable income is around 600 per week. Haven't taken up the ISA actually

Your first priority is to protect your money from the government and all the inflation that the government has created. When discussing inflation, everything depends on how you live and what you spend your money on. Every person's inflation rate is different. Mine for example is fairly low because I have no debts and pay no rent and only shop at Aldi and Lidl. We also have several income streams, most of which are index-linked.

But even I have to protect my funds from wasteful governments and their breakneck deficit spending which leads to runaway inflation. I do this with gold and real estate.

But your first priority should be to invest in yourself - and that you can do fairly cheaply by just learning. I spend the first three hours of the working day reading books on economics and attending online lectures. As you are far younger than I am, I suggest you spend at least four hours a day learning new skills and acquiring fresh knowledge.