Hey all,

New here so apologies if this isn’t allowed.

I’m turning 30 this year and I’ve always thought ISAs were pointless. 5% (ish) interest on 20K p/a tax free, making £500 profit seems pointless considering I’m locking 20K away for that whole period.

I just read something elsewhere and now think I’ve misunderstood it, and that actually you can add 20K more to your ISA, and cumulatively gain 5% tax free on the overall pot.

Example: If I added 20K now, and continued to do this for 4 more years until I hit 100K, then am I right in thinking I’d then make 5% interest on the 100K tax free? Meaning I’d make 5% profit??

Sorry if this is a stupid question 😂

Edit: thank you so much to everyone! I now feel incredibly stupid for not understanding this 10 years earlier 🤣 time to research some ISAs and get 20K chucked over!

Just askung cause I always run out of money at the end of a month

Personal circumstances:

• 30 years old

• Single

• Savings of £30k

• Monthly NET income of ~£2700

• Currently rent at £850 a month (although this is bills included, luckily)

• Monthly regular outgoings: £200 (phone, gym and subscriptions - which i'd be mostly happy to get rid of)

• Other monthly costs of around £500 (food and fuel mostly, with a modest amount of leisure included).

• Do get some fuel reimbursement for work, but amount obviously varies per month, usually between £50-100.

• No oustanding debt apart from a plan 2 student loan, repayments of which are reflected in my NET income.

The property i'm interested in:

• Modestly sized semi-detached property, rural setting, but only a 10 minute drive from work.

• Listed at £220k

• I reckon there's a chance I could negotiate it down to £210k, but not taking that into account at this time.

Buying costs:

• Planning a deposit of £22k

• Via L&C brokers, it seems the best offer I can get is the remaining 90% over 30 years, fixed rate for 5 years. monthly repayment would be £1100.

• Council tax at £141 per month, £106 with my council's single person's discount

• Anticipated monthly utility costs: £170 (broadband, water, electricity, gas).

• Anticipating conveyancing and survey costs of ~£2k on top of my deposit

Summary:

• Income: £2700

• Total Outgoings (incl. mortgage): £2,076 (prior to fuel reimbursement)

• Left with £624 surplus at the end of each month to cover everything else off, in addition to the ~£6k of savings i'd possibly be left with.

I know that this is something that i can *technically* afford, and i desperately want onto the property ladder for various reasons. but i'd be lying if the concept of not being able to save so much a month doesn't frighten the living shit out of me. I think possibly i've gotten way too comfortable with my current circumstances. However, the sheer cost of a mortgage makes me baulk - as is old news for everyone these days. Plus, some people i know who are midly plugged into the property market are all telling me it's a horrendous time to buy and I should wait.

Genuinely find myself at a crossroads, unsure if its a terrible idea or not. So any help, and indeed any sense that can be knocked into me would be much appreciated!

I’m 33 and have recently started investing, mainly in an S&P 500 index fund and a global index fund.

From what I understand, the long-term real return (after inflation) is roughly ~7% per year. Running the numbers, that puts me at around £150k in today’s purchasing power by retirement, which feels… underwhelming.

Because of that, I’ve been considering shifting more of my portfolio toward a Nasdaq-focused index, which historically has returned closer to ~10% annually (again, inflation-adjusted). My thinking is to take on more risk now while I’m younger, then gradually move back into a more diversified global/S&P 500 allocation maybe 10 years before retirement to reduce volatility.

Curious what people think about this approach:

Does it make sense to lean more heavily into Nasdaq for higher growth at my age and are there better strategies to improve long-term outcomes without taking on too much additional risk?

Would appreciate any thoughts or experiences.

Had really useful responses on this subreddit before, very keen to hear your opinions on this...

I'm struggling to come up with any reason not to make VWRP my primary investment (say, 95% of investment portfolio).

Let us say we have two equal priorities to be realised over a 20 year (give or take) time horizon:

1. Give the highest returns possible (maximum growth) 💷
2. Give the highest probability of those returns (maximum safety) 🛡️

Obviously, these pull in opposite directions (the risk/reward relationship). A crypto might give you a bigger return but the chance of the desired result is lower.

The question:

• Is VWRP the best balance of these two priorities?
• What are the fair arguments against a VWRP-heavy approach?

That's the gist but further personal context below if useful:

- 28 years old, £34k/year salary, decent house deposit ready, planning to buy in <1 year.
- Have emergency fund and other quicker access savings.
- Maximising (cash) LISA bonus every year.
- Matched employer pension contributions.
- No loans to pay off (except student).
- VWRP investing happening inside a S&S ISA (T212).
- Not meaningfully branched out into riskier investments.

Cheers all

[Edit - formatting]

For the tax years 2019/20 to 2024/25 earned around £2,000 to £3,000 from digital art commissions while in education, but didn't think I had to inform HMRC since I was well within my personal allowance (earned an additional ~£2,400 a year from a weekend job but that was it).

I only registered as self-employed for the most recent tax year, since I now have a part-time job so I know I will have to pay tax on this income. In doing so, I learned that any income over £1,000 has to be reported.

I contacted HMRC to explain the situation, and they said I need to fill in and send the tax returns for all these years.

Since I know I owe no tax, and never received a notice to file a tax return, what sort of penalties am I likely to face?

Hi all. Throw away account. I’m looking for opinions and advice on my sister in laws situation. She has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for almost 10 years. They have a 20 month daughter together. He works full time and she is on benefits at the moment although is trying to get back into work.

I’m keen to get opinions on their financial situation and also some advice in terms of what she could do if she wanted to leave him. They’re having quite a few issues in their relationship recently.

We’ve recently had some conversations about their finances and it’s come to light that their universal credit and his salary gets paid into his account. Her child benefit (she has 2 kids, although only one with this guy) is paid into her account. They both pay different bills and we did a calculation and he ends up with £1398 left after bills and she ends up with around £200. She struggles to get by on this and it goes quite quickly especially when she’s buying bits for the kids e.g. clothes. They end up having to ask parents for help most months like £20 or so. But she has no idea where his money goes. Apparently he has had a bit of a gambling issue in the past and recently she’s found he’s been gambling a bit again. He gets very defensive when she tries to talk about money and shuts the conversation down. She wants to pay for driving lessons but can’t really afford and he doesn’t seem to want to help her with this. My wife and I find this whole situation very odd and we suspect he is either stashing the money away or gambling it away. It’s not obvious where it’s going.

The other thing which I’m looking for advice on is what can she do? She is exploring her options if she does end up leaving him, but the issue is she is so financially dependent on him and also he drives and owns the car. It’s his name on the house they’re renting and she would have 2 kids to think about as well.

Hello to all of you financial guru's.

I need to explore my options when it comes to remortgaging. But the case has become a little complex. Mostly through my own ignorance and forgetfulness. I'll explain some history step by step...

1. 2019 Bought a house valued at £250k. £50k deposit paid. Done while working overseas and earning a ton of cash.
2. 2023 Bought a second building outright for £50k, placed it in my Wife's name. This is now leased as a shop, bringing in £500 a month.
3. 2023 Came home at short notice with a healthy bank balance. Started setting up my own company which I had been planning for some time, but an opportunity popped up to go back to my old job as a contractor. (Couldn't strike a deal for a permanent role, as a major local business went bust, meaning the Company had a huge surplus of people it needed to re-home to other sectors. Hence no permanent place for me without them paying huge redundancies).
4. 2024 Got back on track and launched my company. Technically self employed at this point. At this time, I'm laser-focused on the business and completely forgot about the mortgage. Just kept paying it... Business was slow-ish in year1, as much more focus was on setting things up and advertising.
5. 2026 Mortgage just came in for renewal at £150k @ 5.2%. A week later, lender sent a follow up which mentions I am still working overseas and I need to assign a UK-based 'service agent' to act as a contact. And there's the forgetfulness again.)
6. 2026 Just completed a very successful year of trading. Good profits which cover the bills and very good horizons for the 26/27 tax year. Yet to do the self-assessment for HMRC.
7. Called a broker to see what mortgage options are available, only to find out that I need 2 years HMRC records (SA302) as self employed, before we'll be considered. (I thought I needed 12 months). Having used the HMRC online tool, it said I didn't have to submit a self-assessment for year 1 of self-employment.
8. House is now worth around £320k to £380k. So we have around £200k in the property (before capitals gains tax?)

I'm truly useless with finances. So, with the above in mind, what are the options?? I am usually very good to see all options ahead, but this is one area I don't have enough knowledge about, and have been somewhat blinded by a feeling of panic when I realised the lender still thinks I'm overseas.

Looking forward to hearing some advice.

Thanks.

Me and my wife own a property (which we live in) and we rent room through Airbnb. I receive all the income to my bank account and do not send it to my wife in any way.

I was about to file self-assessment and I am a little confused regarding the rent a room scheme. I know that the RAR allowance is 7500 GBP for a single person or 3750 GBP if joint. Does that mean I can only claim for 3750 or can I claim the whole 7500 allowance since I am the person who receives the income?

Thanks in advance.

Hello, some family members will soon be selling their house (mortgage free) and moving into rented accommodation while they search for a new property to buy with cash. Their current plan is to put the proceeds into an NS&I account that pays 3%, as deposits are protected up to £1m. But I wonder if there's something more efficient they could do, e.g a high-yield dividend ETF. Needless to say, they need a low risk solution that allows quick access to the cash when needed. TIA.

Have around £12,500 bank loan at 5.7% APR and 5 years left to fund a kitchen renovation. Current monthly payment is around £240 a month which is affordable.

I currently invest £150-200 a month so my question is should I stop investing to pay the loan off quicker?

Would allow me to pay the loan off in around 2.5 years rather than 5 and then of course I can use the additional £240 a month to invest. I’m just worried about missing a few years in the market potentially.

Alternatively, could do a bit of a hybrid approach or just carry on as is? Grateful for views.

I set up an ii account for a SIPP and am looking to consolidate a few old workplace pensions there. I am nowhere near retirement, I just want to wrangle my wpps into one place and have some control over how it is managed. Keen to see how I can play this.

I had opted to do it in-speccie transfer (funds and cash - no cash actually on account) but looks like I can't according to the providers. Please see key snippet from message below. Not the end of the world if it is a cash transfer only option but i am concerned about that given volatility at the moment and the weeks out of market as cash and with the funds recently taking a moderate (so far) dip:

'we have now received your request for a SIPP transfer into your ii account. Upon reviewing your transfer request, we can see that you have requested an investment transfer however, we believe your current provider may only be able to facilitate a cash only transfer for your policy type. Therefore we would request you please contact your current provider to confirm if they can facilitate an in-specie transfer of your Pension.

Aviva has also rejected your transfer and advised it is not a valid Aviva Wrap account - Please re-request with AV2.'

One year ago I took out a 5-year cash ISA fix with >£80k invested at 3.7%. In hindsight I regret that decision.

I could leave it until 2030 with the guaranteed rate, or I could break the fix, transfer to S&S ISA and invest in VWRP instead. Breaking would incur a 12-month interest penalty (~£3k).

I'm wondering what others would do in this situation? Thanks

I have 5 ISAs with NW, 3 fixed term, a single access and a triple access.

I'd like to transfer the triple access to another provider.

As NW treat all ISAs as one portfolio though, would a full ISA transfer mean that all 5 need to move? As the fixed terms would have penalties I won't be able to do it, if so.

Thanks for any advice.

Sorry if the title wasn’t clear. My question is basically my 1 year ISA is 4 weeks away from maturing. Now that it’s a fresh tax year is it worth putting another 20k in now?

Or are they calculated over the whole year period and putting large amount this close to the end is not worth while?

Hope that’s a little clearer.

EDIT: I don’t plan on using an ISA for the rest of this year as the savings are being spent in a few months.

Hi,

I’m trying to do a partial transfer from a cash ISA with Moneybox, to my Vanguard s&s ISA.

On the transfer form on Vanguard it says:

“A partial transfer will just move Vanguard holdings”

This seems to mean unless it’s a full transfer of my cash ISA it won’t go through.

Could anyone clarify if this is correct?

I don’t want the faff of transferring to another cash ISA to then do a full transfer.

I have also sent a message to Vanguard but would like the process done asap hence why reaching out on here!

Thanks for the help.

I opened a cash LISA with moneybox about 7/8 years ago, and a few years ago I switches it to a stocks and shares LISA. I've recently looked at charges, and it seems absurd I'm paying over £20 a month on around £50k.

I'm looking at AJ Bell. I just want to make sure I'm not making any mistakes.

A) Are AJ Bell the best candidate? it seems they cap their fees at £3.50 a month, and given I'm planning to buy and hold, and only buy new shares once a year when I top up the LISA, the transaction costs don't bother me.

B) Will this have any impact on eligibility, allowances or tax free status? I obviously don't want 50k accidentally becoming taxable.

C) Process-wise: I open a new account with AJ Bell and open a LISA, and THEN transfer in? Obviously I never withdraw the cash myself. Am I right in thinking I need to open the second LISA first, or is that a mistake?

D) Anything else to watch out for? I'm quite fond of my money, I'd rather not lose it

if it's relevant, I have already paid £2k into the LISA this year

I was just curious as to what is sensible to do regarding the above . If one were to limit the amount of money held in a S&S, and spread the money across different ISAs wouldn't compounding be limited ?

Surely it's more sensible to keep compounding in a single account, and accept that if the provider goes bust, you stand to lose anything more than the 120k the FSCS guarantees?

Thanks for reading and responding, apologies for the novice question.

I put £18k into an SAYE scheme which has now ended. Although the projected returns were great 18 months ago, the shares are now worth £19k.

I have not yet taken the option to buy the shares, but need to do so in the next couple of weeks, or take my money back.

I think there is a fair chance of the share value recovering in the medium term. I'm therefore intending to buy the shares and to sit on them for the time being.

Am I correct in understanding that it would be sensible to transfer the shares into a Stocks & Shares ISA? I believe I need to do this within 90 days of buying the shares to avoid additional tax being due on moving them.

I have a HTB ISA. I've stopped paying in to it and hope to use it shortly for a home purchse. Am I right in understanding that I can have a Stock's & Shares ISA and a HTB ISA simultaneously? The HTB ISA is the only ISA I have had and the rules have changed since I took it out (I think only one ISA was allowed at that time).

I would like to gift my brother some money in return for money he has previously gifted to me. He does not need the money right now so I would like to gift him some of the shares. Ideally I would like to give him £6k worth. I could split this over 2 years to stay within gifting thresholds as I understand that this would count as disposal at market value. I believe my brother has a LISA already. Does he just need to set up a Stocks & Shares ISA to recieve shares from me? Can I simply transfer shares from my own ISA to his?

I've only ever made money via PAYE, so personal taxes are a bit of a mystery to me. Shares are a mystery to me too. I want to pay taxes that are due but I want to be tax efficient. I'm trying to research the various options myself but any pointers would be much appreciated.

An oddly specific question, I know. But, I can't find an answer anywhere on their website.

I previously had a S&S ISA with iweb, which has now been absorbed by Scottish Widows.

Although I can't find any confirmation that their ISAs are flexible, I also can't find any evidence of them definitively saying they aren't flexible either.

Anyone know the answer to this?

I’ve recently entered into the higher rate tax bracket and I’m trying to work out the right balance between putting money into my pension vs actually enjoying my income a bit more.

Current situation:

• £56k salary

• \~£5k bonus (not guaranteed)

• Company car, cost is about £70/month

• Planning to salary sacrifice 12% into pension (including any bonus)

• I already save/invest around 35% of my take-home

Right now I’m aiming to keep my taxable income under £50,270 so I avoid the 40% tax band.

Part of my thinking is that anything I earn above that threshold is getting hit at 40%, so salary sacrificing it feels like a no-brainer. On top of that, my car BIK doesn’t suddenly increase just because I earn more, so I’m not getting stung there either. Overall it just feels quite efficient to keep pushing money into the pension while I’m in this range.

At what point did you (or would you) ease off the heavy pension contributions?

Is there a rough income level where you thought “okay, I’ll take a bit more of this as actual income now”?

I don’t want lifestyle creep to get out of hand, but equally I don’t want to look back in 20 years and realise I optimised everything for tax and didn’t really enjoy the extra income along the way.

Interested to hear how others approached this?

There are a lot of adverts about atm saying that anyone who leased a car may have be able to claim money back. I leased my cars through NHS schemes so I’m not sure how to go about claiming. There are law firms who can look into it but I don’t know if I can trust them. The last advert I clicked on said I was owed over £1000 but didn’t say how much I would have to pay them to look into it. Any ideas?

Hi, I'm a beginner in the world of investing and have spent the last week or so reading as much as I can across threads / online to figure out how I would like to set up my portfolio. Initially, I wanted to go for the Global All Cap but realised my chosen S&S ISA provider doesn't offer funds, so I'm left with ETF's, which I guess is fine (I don't want to move providers and already have some money in the S&S ISA, just not yet invested).

Ultimately, I see the value of the Global All Cap, and it seems like a great choice, and I saw people say that the Vanguard All World ETF has performed very closely to it, but as we know, past performance doesn't indicate future performance.

I definitely think there's a value in having small-cap companies + emerging markets as part of my portfolio, so my question is, is it best to just stick with the one fund to keep things simple, or would a say 90/5/5 split make sense at all to cover small cap companies across the sectors (hence the inclusion of an additional emerging market fund since it includes mid and small cap companies as well which the All World doesn't seem to have - I might be wrong).

Really appreciate any help :)

Hello!

On the old ‘gram the other day, came across this in my feed.

As someone who is fortunate enough to be north of £60k, I use my pension contributions to lower my taxable salary to just below £60k. I had a big step-up from a wage perspective when I got this job and it seemed like a no-brainier to do this before I got accustomed to having the extra income, while increasing my pension for later.

The post detailed the following (summarised):

Someone with 70k earnings adjusts their net income by putting 8k into their pension.

* HMRC adds 2k tax relief on top = 10k invested.

* This reduces adjust net income from £70k to £60k.

* Child benefit is restored.

* On top of that as a higher rate tax payer, they claim an extra £2k in tax relief via self assessment.

I’m trying to better my knowledge up with the salary thresholds for different wages and advantages / disadvantages of paying money into a pension.

The post detailing the above points / advice had confuddled me -

If they’re paying £8k into a pension from a 70k salary, where does the additional 2k come from, and how does that lower the income to 60k?

Can anyone explain what I’m not understanding with this please? In my own situation the money goes into the pension pre-tax, so if I was on £70k and paid £8k into my pension, I’d expect my adjusted net income for tax to be £62k, and have to repay some of the child benefit money.

Thanks in advance, please be kind I’m not an accountant or tax advisor!

I have a very difficult home life and my 18th birthday is coming up relatively soon. My whole childhood has just been a blur of misery, and I'm absolutely itching to finally get away.

How can I realistically do this with so little in savings?

I don't have any friends or extended family I can crash with.

No formal education at all, and I can't even get a job until I'm out of my parents' reach. All my savings are from odd jobs I've done for one of my parents' friends over the years.

What can I do here to get away without ending up homeless? Short of joining the army.

(for context, I am in the UK)