So, looking to put away £150 a month, but not sure where to put it.

New civil service pension scheme doesn’t have a normal AVC option any more, you have to take out a private pension with one of the nominated providers. I already have a private pension, so I could just put it into that.

Alternatively,I guess I could use an ISA.

Any other ideas? And yes, I know I should get professional advice really.

Depends what it’s for really. If it’s for retirement then into the pension probably makes sense. If it’s the rainy day fund in case the boiler explodes then you need it somewhere accessible like an ISA.

Stop going to Waitrose

Local bike shop?

With the change this month in the tax for personal savings an isa is going to struggle to beat the Santander 123 account (once you have enough in it to get the 3%) until you have £20K of savings.

Or Santander are doing an account at 5% with max input of 200 a month. Probably only short term but hard to beat at that.

If your top rate of tax is 40%, and you don’t think you’ll need the money, I’d put it in a pension; you get the tax back, and when you’re retired, you can take the money with 25% tax free and (probably) 20% tax on the rest. Otherwise, one of the high interest monthly savings as mentioned, and when that expires, an ISA.

As above depends what its for – rainy day fund bs long term savings

FWIW I think ISAs are a bit of a waste of time with todays low interest rates – the tax relief is worth so little and doesn’t compensate for lock-up

So I would say the following

Pension
Pay down mortgage
Bank account

If its long term put it in a shares isa, you choose the fund and could get a very good return( could go down as well). Short term cash isa, even shorter term, building society with a book( I like a book).

For long term, I’d overpay on the mortgage if you have one.

“With the change this month in the tax for personal savings an isa is going to struggle to beat the Santander 123 account (once you have enough in it to get the 3%) until you have £20K of savings.“

What wasn’t made immediately clear with the £1000 of tax-free interest is that it’s only if you’re basic rate taxpayer. Higher rate taxpayers only get £500 tax free. Which you’ll hit if you have £16,667 in Santander all year. Above the £500 it’ll be taxed at your marginal rate.

To clarify – long term savings, no mortgage, CFH seems to be winning at the moment!

Of you don’t want to lock it away then First Direct have a 6% regular saver which is the best you can get at the moment. The government have a lifetime isa planned for next year which if you save for retirement is a no brainer as they will top up 25% (if it goes ahead!).

For long term I’d drip feed it into a stocks and shares ISA. Depending on platform provider you can buy funds for no charge, or shares, trusts etc for a couple of quid commission.
Diversify your investments to spread the risk and you should amass a tidy sum over the years. You can cash them in at any time, but that’s not really the point.
S&S ISA providers include:

https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/
https://www.youinvest.co.uk/
http://www.hl.co.uk/

and many others…

Various regular savers as mentioned about at the moment offering good rates. They are limited to small amounts per month so you can only stash away a few grand in a year, but still.

Some offer big rates but a lower monthly limit, some lower and a bit more. Then there may be withdrawal limits or not. Often limited to a year also.

I’m on a Nationwide regular with 2% but max of £500 a month and unlimited withdrawals, instant access.

Stocks and shares ISAs… just be wary of the risks. Even spreading about I’ve found the returns have been lousy, or have to keep it locked up for 20 years and realised I could have got a better return in plain savings over a shorter term. If you want to make decent money from stocks and shares, you need to properly get into trading and be prepared to move things about frequently, keep an eye on the markets, etc.

Personally I’d concentrate on debts. Can you overpay on the mortgage? If so chuck money at it. You can make massive savings on the mortgage that way. A decent mortgage will let you borrow back the overpayments also so you still have funds for emergencies, but ideally you’ll be repaying the mortgage early.

If you want to make decent money from stocks and shares, you need to properly get into trading and be prepared to move things about frequently,

Absolute rubbish!

Not in my experience. I’ve done the S&S ISAs with “platform” providers and the like, and no where near as good as they make out, meanwhile they’re cashing in on fees from each investment.

Exactly the same with a “platform” pension I got convinced into investing in. Absolute garbage yet I’m seeing £1000s in fees disappearing.

I’ve dabbled in actual S&S and made some decent returns myself. I don’t do it now as it takes way too much of my time to keep on top of it.

Not in my experience. I’ve done the S&S ISAs with “platform” providers and the like, and no where near as good as they make out, meanwhile they’re cashing in on fees from each investment.

Exactly the same with a “platform” pension I got convinced into investing in. Absolute garbage yet I’m seeing £1000s in fees disappearing.

I’ve dabbled in actual S&S and made some decent returns myself. I don’t do it now as it takes way too much of my time to keep on top of it.

How does dabbling in “actual” S&S save you the fees that ISAs have lost you?
Generally, for a given broker, they’re the same charges.