Query on personal savings

[arg821]

Hi all,

Not really sure what area to post this in, so I thought I would try this one. I am in the situation where my wife and I have managed to save an amount of 85k which we currently have invested with Westpac in a 5.45% return "Maxi-Direct" account. I can access these funds immediately, pay no fees, etc. etc. it is really good, however I was wondering for this amount, does anyone know of any "reliable" places this sort of money could be invested in while still being able to access it pretty readily?

And yes, I already have an IP portfolio (just in case people ask). I was thinking of possibly a managed fund or something to that effect, as I know little about "non-R/E investing".

Thanks,
Andrew.

 

[JamesGG]

Hiya Andrew,

If you need the money instantaneously, perhaps consider an offset account, ideally on non-deductible debt (such as your own home, if you have a mortgage).

Instead of earning you interest at 5.45% (which is taxable), you would then be saving interest of ~7% on your home loan.

Just a thought.

James.

 

[arg821]

Hiya Andrew,

If you need the money instantaneously, perhaps consider an offset account, ideally on non-deductible debt (such as your own home, if you have a mortgage). Instead of earning you interest at 5.45% (which is taxable), you would then be saving interest of ~7% on your home loan.

James.

Hi James,
We own our PPOR outright, and so there is nothing to offset other than IP interest. Selfishly I'm keeping this money & interest earnt to ourselves, as neither of us are employed presently and this is our backup should we need to start going into it. If I put it into my IP LOC (which sits ironically at 85K also!), then I lose it as I cannot take it back out and use for personal use. Thus I am looking to try to get as close a % as possible to offset the amount the LOC is attracting (6.92% I think at present).

Andrew.

 

[The Y-man]

I was thinking of possibly a managed fund or something to that effect, as I know little about "non-R/E investing".

Maybe - but you sound you need income, so a commercial property trust fund may be a less volatile choice. It's still in the arena of "R/E investing" - it's commercial and industrial property. You basically get the rent after all the management fees are taken out. However, because they are propoerty, there are also tax benefits such as depreciation.

You'll need on average a week's notice to get your money back out, although most fund allow for up to 1 month.

You can start with $5k in most cases, so you might want to "test the water" out first.

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[rj]

Youve "saved" $85,000! Holy moly - I couldnt imagine saving that sort of money.

Why save it, money is free!

RJ