UKPersonalFinance: Getting your pounds in order

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/daytonawind on 2023-08-12 00:01:12.

I inherited a house (320k value) a few years ago and now live in it. The mortgage is fully paid off and my only outgoing costs for it are council tax, utility bills, insurance etc. I am aware how fortunate this position is. I am now aged 35.

I have never been a wealthy person. I am self employed in a creative field and my income has always been modest, around 30k a year. I enjoy my work. It’s just me and my dog so I get by. I do not have a spouse or any dependants and no family.

I am not great with money. Due to dyslexia in part, but finance and numbers etc terrify me. Maths in general gives me crippling anxiety. I don’t understand it, I am not a savvy financial person. I have an accountant who handles the financial side of things for my self employment. I have no confidence when it comes to money / numeracy.

As the house is paid off, I was wondering what I can do to make the most of this fortunate situation I find myself in. I have about £10,000 in savings from years of squirrelling away what money I could. I enjoy the job I have but I am hardly flush. I get by but am content. I have a car that’s reliable and although a few years old (2014) it’s paid off fully. I have zero debts and no credit cards. My credit score is around 970, when I checked a few months ago.

I was wondering what more I could be doing to make the most of the fact I am mortgage free?

I have always liked the idea of property development, or perhaps buying / letting / renovating a property but I have no expertise in that area. It’s something I daydream about sometimes.

A friend said I should seek some financial advice but I don’t even know where to begin. So I thought I’d ask here. I intend to speak to my accountant but at the moment I don’t even know what to say in terms of direction.

Ideally I would very much like for there to be some sort of passive / continual income to help top up my salary so that I could afford a holiday now and then to visit friends in America or Australia.

If replies could be ELI5 that’d be helpful so I can wrap my brain around it. Thanks all.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/sritanona on 2023-08-11 21:28:49.

Just wanted to share the updates on my post two months ago.

The overwhelming advice (I hadn’t exchanged yet) was to let the lender know which would have resulted in no mortgage + having to drop out of the sale. Which basically would’ve had the worst possible outcome.

I talked it over with my previous company and decided to take garden leave instead of getting outright redundant with my notice period salary (2 months). I immediately looked for a job and secured one for the same pay to start when I finish working for my original employer, it took me around a week and a half of frantically interviewing. So my circumstances in the end did not change at all.

So everything just took its course! We’ve completed this week and kept our mortgage offer which was under the base rate and the house which we found at a very good price. My garden leave has not even finished yet. So I have a few extra days there to rest up and decorate the house.

I had a few people mention in the post they had done this and I think it was the best advice. Otherwise I would’ve been set back years and lost thousands of pounds over the years while renting and then paying a much higher interest on the mortgage. So I just wanted to share. In the end getting two weeks to think about it and managing to secure another job saved everything for me instead of rushing off and shooting myself in the foot.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/PrivateFrank on 2023-08-11 21:23:03.

Say you have £5000 spare that you will not need for 10 years.

Which platform and fund do you use to invest it so you don't have to think or worry about it?

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Cautious_Moist on 2023-08-11 19:56:32.

Hi guys,

I've been look at potentially getting a debt consolidation loan and was having trouble being accepted. I've just found an old 2018 default from when I was a student with Virgin Media. I believe the last person out of my student house forgot to cancel the deal and therefore we were still charged until I found out. I never heard anything from them after I cancelled. The annoying thing is it's for £50. I have two questions:

1.) What impact will this be having on my credit score, is it a big one?

2.) What do I do to get this off my report if it is having an impact?

Worried a stupid thing, stupidly long ago, for stupidly little money is having a big impact on me.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/MasTerBabY8eL on 2023-08-11 19:44:53.

Hi

Looking for tips on how to protect myself and a few friends who are among those affected by a recent data breach. Other than keeping an eye on credit files, bank accounts etc, is there anything we can do to prevent this data being used to apply for credit lines, benefits etc?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, mods can remove if necessary.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Consistent_Bit_5438 on 2023-08-11 18:17:17.

Hello. I am 16 and get child benefits. I have a job and I am going to 6th form in september. My mum doesnt want me to work more than 24 hours because she thinks I will no longer get child benefits pay. However, I’ve read from the government website that i’ll only stop getting child benefits if i leave school AND work more than 24 hours. Can somebody help me understand this better?

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/striped-monster4214 on 2023-08-11 18:03:18.

Hi all

I'm selling my vehicle on eBay and a buyer contacted me literally 30 minutes after I put up the listing. Apart from one or two other questions around the vehicle itself, he then said the following:

"do you have pay pal as I will be paying you with that, as it is a secured way to pay online If you are okay with that, you can send me your details so I can pay with it .I have also got a transporting firm that will handle the conveyance after I have paid the money to your pay pal and the transaction is completed."

I said that I can only take bank transfer, to which he replied:

"I would have loved to use bank transfer like you mentioned but understand that you are an unknown person and BACS isn’t as safe as pay pal ,so i decided to use pay pal because of the distance between us and i will be paying without any form of delay, pay pal is secure and reliable so you can easily create an account with them now on www PayPal . Com and get back to me with your pay pal account name and email so I can pay to your pay pal and you will get a confirmation from pay pal the moment I pay .I hope you can read this and understand me more better ."

I've been around long enough to see a lot of scams on eBay (when escrow services were a thing), but I wasn't sure if I should entertain this buyer any longer? What does everyone think?

Thanks

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Fractorc on 2023-08-11 16:13:35.

Right so seems i’m being a bit ridiculous by not paying it off quickly. I increased my paypal direct debit to £1000 each month, and will to the best of my ability keep out of my overdraft next month. A car can wait.

I know the general advice for this is, if you can afford to do it, yes. But hear me out.

I earn 60k p.a. and which after some deductions works out to just over 3k pcm.

I currently have a £2000 overdraft (of which i’m £1000 into) with Santander and a £2700 debt to paypal credit, along with a £200 capital one card which is paid off in full each month.

I have around £800 of non-negotiable monthly expenses, meaning I have 2.2k each month to play with. While I could spend it all on repaying debt, and thatd logically be the smartest thing to do, I’d like to think I’m human, I like to live a little bit

I have just passed my driving test, which was running me down about £500 a month. This money is now going to go towards saving for a car, which I will buy outright and likely finance the insurance.

My paypal credit minimum payment is around £100 pcm, at a modest (>10% for sure, possibly over 20%, id need to double check), and I make a £250 payment every month.

Assuming my credit card is maxed, I keep my overdraft under £1000 (for 0% APR), and the paypal credit payment doesnt change, this takes my “disposable” income down to just shy of 1.2k.

I live in London, so that 1.2k can get eaten very fast from only a few days out in the city so I try to avoid it where possible. Especially if drinking is involved.

Should I bite the bullet now, sacrifice saving for a car now and repay my debts or is my current repayment and saving plan smart?

Just looking for some advice here, as i’m aware once the repayments are gone, that money now becomes mine again and can be repurposed

ETA: In an ideal world I’d pay it off now. My partner currently goes to university in another city, and the plan was for me to get a car asap so I’m not spending money on train tickets every few weeks. I can help out my parents more with a car, e.g. by taking them grocery shopping, as well as for social use

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/exoduschips on 2023-08-11 15:12:02.

I currently overspend on my mortgage £450 pcm. The mortgage is 3%, fixed until November 2027 and I’ve just hit 60% LTV. I’m also a higher rate taxpayer.

I’m wondering what is the best thing to do with the overpayment out of a cash ISA, bonds or something else, but I want to keep it purely for overpayment.

I’m currently nearing the £500 savings interest limit based on the amount I have saved in the instant-access savings account I have (Chip).

Any advice welcome.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/absoluteshamble on 2023-08-11 14:20:19.

hi, want to confirm I am following flow chart correctly and not overlooking anything

have 10k inheritance coming in

looking to write off short term debt (interest free for 2 years, paying off 80 a month currently)

this leaves 8k

keeping some for emergency fund (3 month wages = 5.5k, currently do not have one)

this leaves 2.5k to stick in a LISA for a house deposit

does this sound okay? what about inheritance tax?

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/cdoc365 on 2023-08-11 15:00:36.

I have some savings myself and I will be easily under the £1000 allowance. Father in law wants me to manage £50k of his money, he trusts me and I'm tge executor of his will and will do what he asks. How will managing that in my name affect me?

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/let_me_use_reddit on 2023-08-11 14:05:39.

Hello,

I am money stupid :)

32F with a salary of £104K/annum (about to go up to probably 108K) and an annual bonus 10%. I rent very cheaply, I have no dependents, and I do not live in London.

I have always been terrible with money but better since my salary went above 70K. I now have 55K for a house deposit, 5K sitting in a sharesave schemes, 5K in 'Moneybox' and a few K's in various "Natwest Savers" where the interest is poor. I just sort of use them as rainy day funds.

On top of that I have a private pension where I've shoved another 5K into it, on top of the standard regular pension that comes with work.

I'd take a guess that my net worth is somewhere around 70K, if you include the inaccessible funds.

I have had no idea what to do with my money and spent some of it poorly. The above savings aren't really based on a strategy – they're just adhoc things I've done over the last two years or so. I've considered getting a financial advisor because I'm so bad with my money – or knowing what to put it into.

If you were me, what would you do with it? Property? ISA? Stocks? Would you get a financial advisor or is that just for people with MEGA bucks? I tend to panic putting money into long-term schemes in case I need it – (but also don't want to grow into one of those people who hides money in their walls... and then forgets where it is...)

Any advice welcome.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Which_Associate_8820 on 2023-08-11 13:39:43.

Money in every month 2050

12.9% loan 414 pm -44 months remaing 29.9% loan 133pm - 36 months remaining Monzo flex 125 pm Overdraft feees 25pm

Car 233 pm 30 months remaining

Rent 500 pm

I'm left with around 600 every month with 200 a month on fuel and 150 on food, 50 on dog food and I'm left with 200 a month.

It's crippling me and making me depressed. Is there any solution.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/boatandhos on 2023-08-11 12:16:12.

Hi,

Am looking at making a lump sum payment at the end of my 3 year fix in October. £72,000 balance. Considering between £10,000 and £20,000 lump sum payment.

Does it really matter if I chose to either reduce the monthly payments and keep the term the same, or reduce the term?

Rough calculations show that new monthly payments with a £20,000 lump sum payment would make my monthly payment £350 p.m

Or, alternatively monthly payments would be £490 p.m. But with a £20k reduction in balance, I would knock off 11 years and 9 months from the overall term.

Probably too simplistic of a question ,but I wondered which is the better option?

Thanks!

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/OrdinaryXylophone on 2023-08-11 12:45:30.

Two passports, a decade in the UK, and a frozen pension pot — no, this isn't a spy thriller plot; it's my baffling reality.

As a proud British citizen who was born in Moscow and shops at Aldi, I've recently stumbled into a financial conundrum that's left me both puzzled and frustrated. Vanguard has locked my assets, citing sanctions due to my Russian passport, and I need your help, Reddit!

Here's my story...

I’m a British citizen with two passports: Russian and British. I was born in Moscow but have been living in the UK for the last 10 years. I’ve got a job in the UK, have a mortgage, I’m also self-employed, I pay taxes, etc.

I recently switched jobs and was trying to transfer my pension from NEST to Vanguard to have everything in one pot.

I didn’t find an option how to do that with Vanguard and blamed their UX first.

But then I discovered that my assets (roughly 20K pension, 1.5K ISA) are frozen because I’m under sanctions. It's not a UX issue!

Facts about me:

1. I’m certainly not an oligarch last time I checked. I shop at Aldi. I buy wine at Sainsbury’s.
2. I’m also strongly anti-war, and we even hosted a refugee from Ukraine in our flat under the programme “Homes for Ukraine.". I don't like Vladimir Putin. In my eyes, he's the cockroach.
3. I’ve got accounts with American Express, Chase, Monzo, Firstdirect, and we have a mortgage with Nationwide — no issues whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I have some S&P 500 from Vanguard, but purchased through Trading 212 — they also seem to be totally fine.I'm curious as to why Vanguard is the only institution to have taken this step in light of my Russian passport.

Actions I’m thinking of taking (and need your help here, Reddit!)

— Would it make sense to register a complaint with Vanguard and then use the Financial Ombudsman Service to escalate this further? I think it’s discrimination based on my nationality, and I don’t think it’s fair!

— If I were to decide to close my account with Vanguard, would I be able to safely transfer my pension and ISA to another provider? Any recommendations in this case?

Thanks, everyone!

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Environmental-End199 on 2023-08-11 10:54:20.

Hello,

I am fortunate enough to be receiving a lump sum of £400,000 (after tax) as my relative has passed away. I am currently renting a flat and haven't got too much money saved so I always thought buying a house for around 350-375k would be the best option and using the rest to pay off my car (5k left currently).

I've given it some thought though and was just wondering if there were any options I should consider with what to do with it, one that I thought of doing was buying a much smaller house for around 200k and then putting the other 200k into a high interest account and leaving it there for X amount of years, my understanding is it would make quite an amount over time and would be a good way of prolonging it.

Aside from my 400k inheritance it is also worth noting I will be receiving a 200k pension also (as well as my pension from Working, currently have a 40 hour a week job so just have a nest pension) meaning I don't necessarily need to put it aside for retirement.

Perhaps useful information: I'm 24, currently working a £22,000 a year job.

Hopefully I've provided enough information, I'd just like to see what recommendations people would have for someone in my position.

Thanks in advance.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/highnoon888 on 2023-08-11 11:34:53.

Hi all,

Does anyone know of a loan provider that will provide a personal loan for a length longer than my remaining visa?

My visa expires next year in September, but I will be eligible for ILR and will convert to permanent residency. I own a house and have a mortgage, so I have roots in the UK long-term.

I was soft denied by Nationwide for a 48 month loan for debt consolidation and told I could only do an 11 month loan due to my visa.

Are there any mainstream providers that will offer a longer loan term?

For context, I am looking to pay off c.£14,000 in credit card debt, interest rate of 35%. Have been to a counsellor, have a new budget, have the root causes sorted and family supporting me emotionally, but getting eating by nearly £400/m in interest. A personal loan would help wipe this off.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Big-Sandwich-BLT on 2023-08-11 10:25:13.

My partner is moving in. Two CCJs for 2018 and 2022; both repaid in last month.

Saw a post last night about insurance being avoid due to someone living with a CCJ at the address that got me worried.

Anything I should be more mindful of? Home insurance recently renewed but they didn’t asking about CCJs at the address only bankruptcies. I’ve done a car insurance quote for just me (its due soon) and they don’t ask about it either.

I know for sure in some quotes I see the question about ‘anyone living at the address with a CCJ’.

I’m new to problems caused my poor money management and struggling to keep up hence reaching out for advice please.

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/insignificantostrich on 2023-08-11 10:22:38.

My partner made a somewhat risky choice just over 3 years ago when she purchased a corporate bond for £5000.

Received advice through Charles Hunt (company A) for a bond in Romco Metals (company C) - Charles Hunt are not FCA authorised

Investment application made through LogicalInvest (communications are addressed from Romco)

Confirmation of funds received by Haich & Associates (Company B, were FCA authorised at the time) and bond certificate issued.

Since then monthly interest has been paid by Romco even after Haich Associates dissolved last year.

Their bond matured last month, but she's not received the money for it, nor has she had any contact. She has contacted both Romco and Charles Hunt but had no response. What can she do?

Edit: added company names for clarity and a bit more detail

Another weird thing is that she has a bond certificate but also had to agree to not surpassing the ISA limits in her application

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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/Father_Husband on 2023-08-11 09:16:27.

I have a very detailed Excel which I’m thinking is a bit tedious / over kill to monitor all the various accounts myself and wife have.

Is there a system that can be used (free or paid) that can monitor and track spending / savings and cover cash flows / net position going forward?

I have the following;

2 current accounts - 2 pensions - 4 fixed savers (1-5 years) - 2 flexi savers - 1 credit card - 2 mortgages

Hopefully I can get away from the current systems I use but would be great to hear how others monitor their financial positions and forecast…