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[albitz]

And what do you think is going to happen in 5 years time ? 

[tunnie]

And what do you think is going to happen in 5 years time ? 

Go up, no doubt. But with it being fixed I've nothing to worry about for 5 years. With any luck I'll over-pay during this next period

[aaronjb]

And what do you think is going to happen in 5 years time ? 

If what some people seem to be wishing for happens, I'll probably be homeless. You've all got a spare sofa, right?

[albitz]

Im not wishing one way or the other,as it doesn't really affect me directly one way or the other.No mortage and no savings with a bank.
Its inevitable though that a lot of people are going to kid themselves that interest rates are going to stay at almost zero for evermore.
Those people are going to have their world turned upside down when they start rising.
The stock market has performed very well in the last couple of yeas or so.Thats the place to put some money imo. But,dont just jump in,do the homework first.

[aaronjb]

I didn't specifically mean you, Albs, with the 'wishing' comment There's a lot of it in the press, for a start..

I've never really had the cajones to play the stock market - I keep an eye on things (largely because I do get allocated shares in the company I work for) and while I think, anecdotally, that I could have made money by investing certain places.. I'm also pretty sure I'd have lost at least as much investing in other companies 

Financial markets genius I am not

My pension plan is (touch wood, at the moment, etc) doing alright though so clearly someone out there knows where to stick their money! Although I know many people who have been considerably less lucky and are now sitting on pensions worth far less than they've paid in, which must be an awful situation to be in when you're approaching what you thought was retirement age.


I'll just keep stuffing mine under the mattress.. unless the kittens start shredding that, too

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Im not wishing one way or the other,as it doesn't really affect me directly one way or the other.No mortage and no savings with a bank.
Its inevitable though that a lot of people are going to kid themselves that interest rates are going to stay at almost zero for evermore.
Those people are going to have their world turned upside down when they start rising.
The stock market has performed very well in the last couple of yeas or so.Thats the place to put some money imo. But,dont just jump in,do the homework first.

 With *uck all in the way of interest from the banks, classic cars are becoming a  popular investment opportunity.

I understand ( from reading the classic car mags) that prices for the  Lotus Carlton and the Esprit V8 are due to go into imminent overdrive.

Just look at the price of a MK1 Lotus Cortina.....£40,000......or even more crazy, a MK1 Escort Twin Cam.....£55,000.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I didn't specifically mean you, Albs, with the 'wishing' comment There's a lot of it in the press, for a start..

I've never really had the cajones to play the stock market - I keep an eye on things (largely because I do get allocated shares in the company I work for) and while I think, anecdotally, that I could have made money by investing certain places.. I'm also pretty sure I'd have lost at least as much investing in other companies 

Financial markets genius I am not

My pension plan is (touch wood, at the moment, etc) doing alright though so clearly someone out there knows where to stick their money! Although I know many people who have been considerably less lucky and are now sitting on pensions worth far less than they've paid in, which must be an awful situation to be in when you're approaching what you thought was retirement age.


I'll just keep stuffing mine under the mattress.. unless the kittens start shredding that, too

But the parasite fund managers still get their cut.

[Rods2]

If you have savings where do you put them?

1. Inflation for the past few years has been running at an average of 2% above the 2% target. This has now been loosened to 2.5% in Carnage Carney's BOE report, which suggests 4.5% inflation.

2. Interest from banks is in the 0.25-0.5% range pre-tax, so their value is going to drop by at least 4% a year. The Government through ZIPR and high inflation are stealing the value of your savings.

3. Gilts - Market rigged by the Government with QE. Once QE is withdrawn or in the US even a hint of reducing it then the price drops as the market is less rigged. When they drop you make losses, plus they currently pay between 2 and 3%, so the Government is stealing by stealth the value of your money.

4. Equities are overbought and there will be a market correction in the not too distant future, probably on the back of more bad Eurozone news. The PE ratio is currently far too high this suggests a correction in the order of about 25%. Again all that QE money has created and inflated the bubble so another rigged market.

5. Gold, this is currently dropping, but if you do have a punt make sure it is real physical gold, not a worthless piece of paper saying you are entitled to x amount of gold. Physical gold is ALWAYS more expensive than paper gold. Where Germany has asked for its gold back from the US it is going to take them 7 years to get it back. The rumour is that is has been leant out as this is a way for banks / central banks to make money from it. So will there be a shortage and the price goes up again, who knows?

6. UK Property, personally I think this is one of the better prospects at the moment. With an expected 5% per year house price inflation, buying your first house or trading up to a larger one or purchasing a BTL as part of a pension plan, may be a good move. I was going to sell my house as part of moving to the Ukraine, but I'm now looking at renting it. Where I live there is a shortage of property, so prices are going up and normally a house will rent in under 5 days from being placed on the market. The Government is relying on rising house prices and economic growth to provide a 2015 feel good election victory. Many people think house prices are about 25% too high, but I think with the norm of 2 working in a couple / family home this has changed the amount that they can borrow and supply and demand is well and truly on the demand side at the moment.

7. Pensions unless you are a higher rate tax payer then after Gordon Brown's tax raid on them and the high fees then they are IMHO probably a bad investment. In my view I made a big mistake putting a lot of money into various pensions when I was young and much richer, I did almost in the early 1990's buy 2 BTL properties which is what I should have done. They would be worth far more in capital and income terms than my pension will be. Personally, these days I would rather pay the tax and be free to invest the money where I want to rather than it being locked into a pension fund with much less flexibility. 1-1.5% may not seem like much in the way of fees per year on your pension, but over 40 years it is a considerable  part of your pension pot, especially when investment funds are static or dropping, like we have had over the last 13 years in the UK.

These are just my personal thoughts, so please don't consider them any sort of investment advice, as they are not. You need to decide your own investment strategy and take appropriate professional advice.

[Sir Tigger KC]

There's a property boom starting to gather pace in the US.  When I was there, there was lots of talk on TV etc about investing in and renovating properties. Lots of building plots for sale as well and in some pretty nice locations, lake shore, beach front etc!! 

I saw one development offering 100% finance!    In the rush to grab a slice of the action they've already forgotten Freddie and Fanny... Who?? 

Still where the Yanks go we usually follow....    As long as our banks don't get taken in again by their dodgy mortgage backed investments! 

[Sir Tigger KC]

There's a property boom starting to gather pace in the US.  When I was there, there was lots of talk on TV etc about investing in and renovating properties. Lots of building plots for sale as well and in some pretty nice locations, lake shore, beach front etc!! 

I saw one development offering 100% finance!    In the rush to grab a slice of the action they've already forgotten Freddie and Fanny... Who?? 

Still where the Yanks go we usually follow....    As long as our banks don't get taken in again by their dodgy mortgage backed investments! 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/us-usa-fanniemae-results-idUSBRE9770JL20130808

Maybe there's hope for RBS yet! 

[Rog]

If you have savings where do you put them?

I was recently talking to a sensible decent estate agent, who told me the following if you have about £100k to invest.

The local authorities allow around £1,000 per month for housing a single mum with child. So,landlords are happy to charge that £1,000 per month. Buy a cheap flat in a not-so-good area of London for around £100k or even less. Et voila a 10% gross return, get a management company to deal with everything for you. Better than a building society or whatever. The property is unlikely to increase in value much, but still remains as a saleable asset.

Since I was first told this, I have found quite a few people who actually do it, very profitably. Now where's that odd £100k I had lying around . . . . . ?   

[Andy B]

...
 Now where's that odd £100k I had lying around . . . . . ?   

Bugger! I must've left in the back pocket of my other jeans! 

[Kevin Wood]

If you have savings where do you put them?

I was recently talking to a sensible decent estate agent, who told me the following if you have about £100k to invest.

The local authorities allow around £1,000 per month for housing a single mum with child. So,landlords are happy to charge that £1,000 per month. Buy a cheap flat in a not-so-good area of London for around £100k or even less. Et voila a 10% gross return, get a management company to deal with everything for you. Better than a building society or whatever. The property is unlikely to increase in value much, but still remains as a saleable asset.

Since I was first told this, I have found quite a few people who actually do it, very profitably. Now where's that odd £100k I had lying around . . . . . ?   

Problem is, there's a shortage of that type of property around here, despite lots of demand for  it. The developers seem bent on building 4 bedroom detached houses (that seems to mean you can just about get a Rizla paper between them) with no garden and minimal parking in really cluttered developments, then they wonder why they aren't selling well at £450K.

[tunnie]

If you have savings where do you put them?

I was recently talking to a sensible decent estate agent, who told me the following if you have about £100k to invest.

The local authorities allow around £1,000 per month for housing a single mum with child. So,landlords are happy to charge that £1,000 per month. Buy a cheap flat in a not-so-good area of London for around £100k or even less. Et voila a 10% gross return, get a management company to deal with everything for you. Better than a building society or whatever. The property is unlikely to increase in value much, but still remains as a saleable asset.

Since I was first told this, I have found quite a few people who actually do it, very profitably. Now where's that odd £100k I had lying around . . . . . ?   

Problem is, there's a shortage of that type of property around here, despite lots of demand for  it. The developers seem bent on building 4 bedroom detached houses (that seems to mean you can just about get a Rizla paper between them) with no garden and minimal parking in really cluttered developments, then they wonder why they aren't selling well at £450K.

 

Went to a big new development in Bicester, show homes I thought felt really small. The 5 bedroom ones cost around £500k, the living room was tiny! Maybe fit 2 x 2 seater sofa + TV at best, seriously small.

Then look at the main build areas, and its a concrete jungle, houses squeezed in, some had balcony's looking out basically onto the giant car parks behind the houses 

Once filled up with cars, 3 bins per household its going to be a sight and smell to see 

That's why I much prefer older houses, 1920's to 1960's ish, decent sized rooms, with high ceilings and decent garden.

[albitz]

If you have savings where do you put them?

I was recently talking to a sensible decent estate agent, who told me the following if you have about £100k to invest.

The local authorities allow around £1,000 per month for housing a single mum with child. So,landlords are happy to charge that £1,000 per month. Buy a cheap flat in a not-so-good area of London for around £100k or even less. Et voila a 10% gross return, get a management company to deal with everything for you. Better than a building society or whatever. The property is unlikely to increase in value much, but still remains as a saleable asset.

Since I was first told this, I have found quite a few people who actually do it, very profitably. Now where's that odd £100k I had lying around . . . . . ?   

I would be amazed if you could  buy any type of flat anywhere in London for £100k.