How Do I Make More Money!?

[Leekwriter]

I have �15K available for investment. What's the best way way to make it work for me so i have some chance of paying off my �180K mortgage some time in my lifetime!? I'm looking for serious suggestions only, nothung illegal or stupidly risky.

[veedubya]

Hi, I have been conditioned to avoid investing in shares because at the mo, they seem to be quite high and ready to drop so - why invest when they're at their highest? Therefore, I would suggest taking advantage of your tax-free allowance and taking a �3k mini cash ISA to start with (National Savings guarantee to stay 0.55% above BoE base rate with the Direct ISA, currently 5.8%) then in the new tax year (April) you can do another �3k. That's all tax free. With the rest I might put �2k in Premium Bonds and the remainder in a high interest, instant access building society account (Nationwide e-Savings is good) where return on investment is guaranteed above base rate. Not very risky investment but you won't lose anything either, your money will be working for you and compound interest effects will gradually increase your total worth!

[-Zorro-]

Bung it on a horse

[rja211077]

agree to an extent. certainly take advantage of your tax free ISA allowance. and there's no harm in having a flutter on the premium bonds but there's also no harm in having a go on the stock market. the FTSE may be at 3 or 4 year high but there's no reason why it can't go higher, particularly in the medium-long term. depends how long you want to stash the money away for. you can either wrap your stock market investment in a stocks-shares/maxi ISA or just invest directly (more risk, but potentially higher returns).

the key is to spread your risk. if you put it all into a dot com startup company then obviously that's a massive risk, but the returns are potentially very high.

i would talk to an IFA.

[mack222]

I agree with all of the above to some degree, however your personal situation if fully known could reveal other options so the IFA route is preferable, for example is your pension fully funded as you mention paying off the mortgage within your life time, as this could be a very tax efficient way to provide a lump sum if the mortgage does go on to your retirement.
Take advice from as many advisors as you can, and remember to take notes, as trends in the advice will show up allowing you then to make a more informed decision.
Good luck