Out of the blue I heard a distant relative had left me a few hundred quid in her will. I know I ought to be saving it and someone suggested Premium Bonds but is that a good idea?
Mr Locky, Bromley

Penny says: Congrats on your windfall, Mr Locky! We could all do with a bit of help now and again. Saving it is certainly good advice, the experts tell us we should all have at least £1,000 in savings for a rainy day and a few hundred pounds shouldn’t affect any benefits that you are getting. But think long and hard about how you put it to work for you. Do you have any problem debts attracting a higher rate of interest than your savings would make in the bank? If so, it might be worth using it to pay them off first.

Premium Bonds are great, but the money saving expert Martin Lewis is rather scathing about the returns they offer. Even though winnings are tax free it is very unlikely you would actually win anything. If you fancy putting your money to good use and doing something for your local community, a Credit Union saving account might tick the box, you would also get free life insurance. Plus, once you have been saving for a set time you would be able to access loans you could afford for any one-off purchases in the future.

Check out Quids in!’s savings tips here.