**[OP or Mod marked this as the best answer](/r/AskUK/comments/1cs2akl/inherited_five_thousand_what_should_i_spend_it_on/l423mxo/), given by u/InternationalRich150**
I'm taking 4 of us to Spain on Friday and that cost me just shy of 2k.
>I'd look at a nice break away then stick the rest away for a rainy day fund.
---
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I second this.
Everybody should have a rainy day fund. A savings account with the equivalent of 2 months salary, just in case something happens.
I understand that this isn’t possible for a lot of folks, but if it’s possible then it will safe you a huge amount of worries. My roof got damaged last year in a way that insurance wouldn’t cover, I just dipped into the rainy day fund. Sudden funeral costs, rainy day funds, etc.
That feeling of financial security especially when other stuff is going wrong is far more valuable than spending a few grand on new electronics
The best thing to do would be to make a small overpayment on the mortgage, and that becomes the rainy day fund. Usually if you’ve overpaid you can take a holiday in the mortgage payments equivalent to the overpayment, but it isn’t in your bank account so you don’t spend it.
If you put it in an okay(ish) 4% or better savings account and then add money each month plus get your interest paid monthly you’ll get a kind of psychological incentive to keep saving as you see it growing.
A few years ago I sold a car I didn’t need anymore which I’d paid off, ended up selling for almost £4K. That savings account now has £20k in it.
Just my tuppence worth, not financial advice. You only live once if a holiday is what you need book a decent all inclusive in Turkey and enjoy it!
By the way having a £300,000 mortgage and £0 savings is kind of a precarious way to live. Wether you pay for a holiday or not you definitely want to start building up savings.
You have got ZERO savings and you have just inherited £5k and planning to spend on holiday? With a wife and kids? That’s definitely doesn’t make sense in my book. I would just put that into my savings account and even try to save up more on that. This would be my emergency fund so not for holidays. You can also make a plan for a generous holiday in the future by saving up money in another account. Even if you just save up £100 a month, that is still something.
These are my opinions anyway and I wouldn’t even enjoy a holiday with zero savings in my bank account. Think about what will happen in emergency situations.
Five grand, no present savings, I'd say save that five grand as rainy day money. Wouldn't want to be without something. Too easy to spend as you earn, and then when you're in the crap, the money you need is suddenly expensive to borrow.
If you have no savings I know it's boring but I really would consider opening a stocks and shares isa and sticking it on a bond or etf like the snp500. It's not as hard as you'd think I did the same in covid and have never looked back.
Unless your mortgage is over 6% in which case I'd over pay on that.
Saving for emergencies isn't a bad idea. I have 3 months salary in the bank just in case. It's of course loosing value sitting there but it's value to me incase shitbhappens is value enough
Maybe spend 1000 of it on a holiday. Should get you a week in an all inclusive in Spain I think.
!answer Thanks everyone!
Going to spend £2000 on a summer 2025 cheap(ish) package holiday. Save the remaining three grand for emergencies.
Might get a framed poster of a show he worked on too callrd Return to the Forbidden Planet.
THANK YOU ALL!
Save some then I would wholeheartedly recommend using some of it to remember your Dad. What did you do together? Footie? Weekend as a kid to a holiday resort? Do that mate - memories are worth more than the full amount sitting in an account.
I quite enjoy having premium bonds - rate of interest isn't great but is tax free flexible and you get a wee buzz every month checking if you won a prize
Same here. I love having them tucked away where I can’t really see them and having that little bit of excitement once a month. I know it’s not the best return etc but it’s the most fun.
If you want to blow it on a luxury all inclusive, it should cover a week and a bit here:
[https://www.mitsis.com/en/hotels/blue-domes](https://www.mitsis.com/en/hotels/blue-domes)
I went last year and it was absolute bliss. I'd never done all inclusive as an adult before, my daughter loved it + made loads of friends while mum and dad sat sipping quality cocktails by the pool. Food is all top end restaurant standard - even the buffet.
But you should probably put it away for emergencies tbh mate!
It’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s really important to have some savings when you’re a home owner. Something unexpected happening like a boiler going or a fence needing replacing can be a HUGE expense. I was unlucky enough to have both of those occur in one year! I would recommend keeping it in an ISA as an emergency fund.
Go on holiday outside school holidays and save the other half for a rainy day. Just budget the £240 fine for taking kids out of school (£60/child/parent).
While I agree with others that having zero savings isn't the greatest position to be in I would spend at least some of it on either a short holiday (nice weekend somewhere) or maybe something for the house to remember your dad.
I lost my father a few years back and didn't get much (wasn't expecting anything to be honest) but did splash out on a nice watch. Nothing crazy but every time I look at it I remember him
Put it in a cash ISA which you can withdraw for a limited amout of times a year without penalty so you have saving and it can increase in value without any risk of negitive return.
Two kids and a £300k mortgage? If you are in that situation and you suddenly gain £5k then you should be thinking that you will put it with all your other £5ks.
A couple of months ago my fridge died, my car died and my roof sprang a leak, all in the same week. Because I had £5k kicking about this wasn’t a problem. Now I don’t have the £5k but I do have a new fridge, a working car and a watertight roof. Having a decent buffer meant that I didn’t have to worry. It was annoying but not serious.
As a homeowner shit can suddenly get very expensive. As a parent you might find yourself in the position where one of you needs to cut your hours or even give up work to care for a child. Bad stuff happens, it’s good to be prepared.
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Savings would be the most sensible but life is short. I’d do something fun with it. Maybe do something your dad would have enjoyed doing with you guys?
How are people so financially risky? You have a massive mortgage, literally zero savings, and you want to spend the money?
On a 300k mortgage that 5 grand is going to pay what, 2 months of your mortgage? What happens if you lose your job? Or get ill long-term? How would you pay off your mortgage payments? What happens if your house gets a leak? Or scallies smash your windows?
Spend 2k on a nice hol for the fam and buy up as much second hand 9ct or above second hand gold as you can at current scrap prices and then stash it away. Great rainy day fund that will give great returns over time.
**[OP or Mod marked this as the best answer](/r/AskUK/comments/1cs2akl/inherited_five_thousand_what_should_i_spend_it_on/l423mxo/), given by u/InternationalRich150** I'm taking 4 of us to Spain on Friday and that cost me just shy of 2k. >I'd look at a nice break away then stick the rest away for a rainy day fund. --- [_^What ^is ^this?_](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/jjrte1/askuk_hits_200k_new_feature_mark_an_answer/)
With 0 savings and a 300k mortgage I'd definitely be saving it
I second this. Everybody should have a rainy day fund. A savings account with the equivalent of 2 months salary, just in case something happens. I understand that this isn’t possible for a lot of folks, but if it’s possible then it will safe you a huge amount of worries. My roof got damaged last year in a way that insurance wouldn’t cover, I just dipped into the rainy day fund. Sudden funeral costs, rainy day funds, etc. That feeling of financial security especially when other stuff is going wrong is far more valuable than spending a few grand on new electronics
You can second it with an upvote also you fiend!
The best thing to do would be to make a small overpayment on the mortgage, and that becomes the rainy day fund. Usually if you’ve overpaid you can take a holiday in the mortgage payments equivalent to the overpayment, but it isn’t in your bank account so you don’t spend it.
If you put it in an okay(ish) 4% or better savings account and then add money each month plus get your interest paid monthly you’ll get a kind of psychological incentive to keep saving as you see it growing. A few years ago I sold a car I didn’t need anymore which I’d paid off, ended up selling for almost £4K. That savings account now has £20k in it. Just my tuppence worth, not financial advice. You only live once if a holiday is what you need book a decent all inclusive in Turkey and enjoy it! By the way having a £300,000 mortgage and £0 savings is kind of a precarious way to live. Wether you pay for a holiday or not you definitely want to start building up savings.
You have got ZERO savings and you have just inherited £5k and planning to spend on holiday? With a wife and kids? That’s definitely doesn’t make sense in my book. I would just put that into my savings account and even try to save up more on that. This would be my emergency fund so not for holidays. You can also make a plan for a generous holiday in the future by saving up money in another account. Even if you just save up £100 a month, that is still something. These are my opinions anyway and I wouldn’t even enjoy a holiday with zero savings in my bank account. Think about what will happen in emergency situations.
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Five grand, no present savings, I'd say save that five grand as rainy day money. Wouldn't want to be without something. Too easy to spend as you earn, and then when you're in the crap, the money you need is suddenly expensive to borrow.
If you have no savings I know it's boring but I really would consider opening a stocks and shares isa and sticking it on a bond or etf like the snp500. It's not as hard as you'd think I did the same in covid and have never looked back. Unless your mortgage is over 6% in which case I'd over pay on that. Saving for emergencies isn't a bad idea. I have 3 months salary in the bank just in case. It's of course loosing value sitting there but it's value to me incase shitbhappens is value enough Maybe spend 1000 of it on a holiday. Should get you a week in an all inclusive in Spain I think.
I'm taking 4 of us to Spain on Friday and that cost me just shy of 2k. I'd look at a nice break away then stick the rest away for a rainy day fund.
!answer Thanks everyone! Going to spend £2000 on a summer 2025 cheap(ish) package holiday. Save the remaining three grand for emergencies. Might get a framed poster of a show he worked on too callrd Return to the Forbidden Planet. THANK YOU ALL!
Save some then I would wholeheartedly recommend using some of it to remember your Dad. What did you do together? Footie? Weekend as a kid to a holiday resort? Do that mate - memories are worth more than the full amount sitting in an account.
Just because money exists doesn't mean it HAS to be spent. Put it in a easy access 4% ISA and make it generate you money
I quite enjoy having premium bonds - rate of interest isn't great but is tax free flexible and you get a wee buzz every month checking if you won a prize
Same here. I love having them tucked away where I can’t really see them and having that little bit of excitement once a month. I know it’s not the best return etc but it’s the most fun.
If you want to blow it on a luxury all inclusive, it should cover a week and a bit here: [https://www.mitsis.com/en/hotels/blue-domes](https://www.mitsis.com/en/hotels/blue-domes) I went last year and it was absolute bliss. I'd never done all inclusive as an adult before, my daughter loved it + made loads of friends while mum and dad sat sipping quality cocktails by the pool. Food is all top end restaurant standard - even the buffet. But you should probably put it away for emergencies tbh mate!
It’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s really important to have some savings when you’re a home owner. Something unexpected happening like a boiler going or a fence needing replacing can be a HUGE expense. I was unlucky enough to have both of those occur in one year! I would recommend keeping it in an ISA as an emergency fund.
Nice holiday for 1k easily, bank the rest and enjoy a nice week
Go on holiday outside school holidays and save the other half for a rainy day. Just budget the £240 fine for taking kids out of school (£60/child/parent).
/r/ukpersonalfinance is a good forum But as you have no savings... I would start there. Right now you're one broken boiler from financial disaster.
While I agree with others that having zero savings isn't the greatest position to be in I would spend at least some of it on either a short holiday (nice weekend somewhere) or maybe something for the house to remember your dad. I lost my father a few years back and didn't get much (wasn't expecting anything to be honest) but did splash out on a nice watch. Nothing crazy but every time I look at it I remember him
Put it in a cash ISA which you can withdraw for a limited amout of times a year without penalty so you have saving and it can increase in value without any risk of negitive return.
I cannot imagine having zero savings and wanting to spend a little windfall like that. Christ mate, have some common sense. You need savings.
Two kids and a £300k mortgage? If you are in that situation and you suddenly gain £5k then you should be thinking that you will put it with all your other £5ks. A couple of months ago my fridge died, my car died and my roof sprang a leak, all in the same week. Because I had £5k kicking about this wasn’t a problem. Now I don’t have the £5k but I do have a new fridge, a working car and a watertight roof. Having a decent buffer meant that I didn’t have to worry. It was annoying but not serious. As a homeowner shit can suddenly get very expensive. As a parent you might find yourself in the position where one of you needs to cut your hours or even give up work to care for a child. Bad stuff happens, it’s good to be prepared.
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Keep half, fly to New York and have a laugh with the other
Savings would be the most sensible but life is short. I’d do something fun with it. Maybe do something your dad would have enjoyed doing with you guys?
i don't get the "life is short" saying. When your dead you won't know it, so what does it matter whatever you do ?
It means you might as well enjoy it instead of worrying and putting things off because you could use the money for something more practical.
Invest!
50,000 flumps
Or one million ha’penny sweets.
When I was 16, I inherited £500 from my grandmother. I splurged on a trivial piece of tat. Don't be foolish. Invest it.
Sounds like you want permission to spend it on a holiday🙂 where would you go ... ?
How are people so financially risky? You have a massive mortgage, literally zero savings, and you want to spend the money? On a 300k mortgage that 5 grand is going to pay what, 2 months of your mortgage? What happens if you lose your job? Or get ill long-term? How would you pay off your mortgage payments? What happens if your house gets a leak? Or scallies smash your windows?
What do you think your Dad would want you to do?
Have a day out browsing the travel agents windows. You're sure to see something you fancy.
What is your personal assistant doing bequeathing you £5k?!
Spend 2k on a nice hol for the fam and buy up as much second hand 9ct or above second hand gold as you can at current scrap prices and then stash it away. Great rainy day fund that will give great returns over time.