Having recently switched to self employed/Tax SA etc etc, I’ve a bunch of notes ‘in my possession’ that at some point need to be given to the tax man, but not yet..

I was thinking of an offset mortgage, but the arrangement and higher fees make that too much hastle I think.

ISA are pretty low return rates…

Any suggestions to ‘make my money work’?
My arms/chst aren’t really big enough to get into the money lending sector…

DrP

My arms/chst aren’t really big enough to get into the money lending sector…

Zopa lending?
I think they break the folks legs for you..

Yorkshire BS were doing offset mortgages with rates barely above non offset.

Depending on amount offset can be v favorable.

Fee was only 345 too which these days is a brucey bonus

coke’n’hoes

(supply, not consumption)

and

Not sure how these’ll make me money, but willing to give it a go…

DrP

Most mortgages can be overpaid by 10% of the balance each year inconvenience being when you want the money back. But if your due to remortgage before then it could be workable. That said my mortgages are lower than the 3% you get in a Santander 123 account. Be aware for the rewards 123 are great, especially if you have Santander mortgage, but their customer service is shocking. For me by the time you factor in fees, higher rates etc, overpaying a standard mortgage was way more cost effective, but you needing the money back at some point may negate the benefits.

I’m sure someone of more use will be along shortly…..

123 was better than any “not locked in” ISA I could find too, even after you consider tax, there’s an equivalent rates converter on money savings expert.

If it is a large sum then offset mortgage is probably the best, for a smaller amount then maybe a cash ISA. Rates are low at the moment so only slightly better than doing nothing. Bear in mind at the end of the year they’ll want 18 months tax then start taking 6 monthly so after the first year there is less benefit.

I’d say stick it in a cash ISA so at least it isn’t in your current account tricking you into thinking you are better off than you actually are.

I’d say stick it in a cash ISA so at least it isn’t in your current account tricking you into thinking you are better off than you actually are.

Downside to this is that you’d be using your cash ISA allowance for something that is short term, and ISA rates are crap anyway.

Have you asked the nice people at Wesleyan/BMAS/whoever?

..but you needing the money back at some point may negate the benefits.

Exactly.

At the moment I’m just playing about with standard cash ISA/savings accounts (as it was the first year of a non ISA account, the rate, even with tax on interest, was higher than my ISA..)

Really it needs to be minimal/low risk, with easy access at the end of the term.

Might just reply to that email from my long lost Nigerian Uncle..

DrP

When I had an offset mortgage I used that for Tax Dues, now I just use Premium Bonds as relatively easy access and you “might” win something, bit a free bet really.

Premium Bonds?

I had some money from a house sale, that was required for the purchase of another house but not for a further 6 mths, stuck a load in premium bonds, didn’t get any big wins but got enough to be very similar to any interest I would of earned. Always a chance of getting a big prize as well.

Premium bonds are about as low risk as you can get.

Check on how long it takes to get your £££ back out though.

As above, Premium Bonds maybe. Though the first month doesn’t count, and returns are pretty low.

In days gone past, council rates were collected either monthly, or for the year – mid-way through year. IIRC my dad used to take the pot of cash allocated for rates, dump it in PBs for 6 months, then cash them and settle the bill after 6 months. Usually – in those days – ‘won’ enough to be quids in.

Also as above – Peer to Peer lending maybe (though it’s taxable) – also – with a longer term view – invest in a couple of VCTs, that way the investment can be offset against tax and income is tax free. Not that risk free though 🙁

I went for the rock and roll premium bond option…
Just waiting for my million pounds then I’m outtahere…..

DrP

i have a similar problem and the only answer I found a few years back was savings account. I couldnt see any better way to earn more than what you’d get with standard good savings ‘interest’… will watch this thread for genius ideas.

If you know exactly when you have to pay back the money and it’s a reasonable period in the future i.e. approaching 12 months (ideally much longer) then you could consider the following:-

How to create your own cheap, simple and secure Guaranteed Equity Bond

Basically find the highest paying guaranteed rate savings account you can find, calculate how much return you will get from that over the period the £££ is available to you. Then take that income amount* and put it into a stock market tracker. If the tracker crashes and burns then you’ll still end up evens but if the tracker jumps substantially then you’re quids in 🙂

Depends upon the amount you have to squirrel away though, £10K would only give you a few hundred quid to play with and once charges have been taken out then might not be worth it.

An interesting proposition though for anyone looking for a punt 🙂

* not that exact amount, you need to do some maths to work out how much of the initial capital is invested in the guaranteed vehicle vs the risk vehicle (explained in the link).

@DrP is this is gong to be a frequent longer term occurrence then offset mortgage is a good idea and worth setting up. The next most likely allowance you have not fully utilised is capital gains but you have to risk something to use it, investing in the stock market for example ad if you lose money thats a hassle/big risk when it comes time to pay the tax you know you owe.

LBG shares. Dividends due to be announced shortly. As such I expect share prices to climb considerably. Shares can go down as well as up blah blah blah.