The most frustrating answer in financial services is ‘it depends’, so if you’re keen to find out where to put your money in 2025, you’re not going to like the answer – because it really does depend.

Fortunately, that’s not the start and end of the answer, because once you know what it depends on, it’s actually much more useful advice than someone simply giving you the name of a fund or telling you to keep your cash in a shoebox under the bed.

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When people ask about the best home for their money, they’re usually thinking about external factors, but the key is to start with your own needs. Think about your finances in the round. Are your short-term debts under control? Do you have protection in place for your family?

Do you have enough saved for emergencies? Are you on track with your pension? And are you investing to make the most of your money? There’s a decent chance that you’re falling short in one or more areas, so these are your key priorities for the year.

If short-term debt, like credit cards and loans, are an issue, it makes sense to set up a direct debit to pay down the most expensive of them first. Over time, you’ll spend less on interest, so you can free up more money for your other financial goals. If protection is a priority, you need to consider how to free up cash for insurance premiums to cover those who rely on you.

For emergency savings, the first step is working out how much you ought to have. This is another frustrating ‘it depends’ answer. While you’re working age, you should have enough cash to cover 3-6 months’ worth of essential spending – and in retirement that grows to 1-3 years. It means considering the cost of your essentials, and then looking at your circumstances to figure out where on the saving spectrum you need to be. The answers will be radically different for every household, but as a very rough starting point, the Hl Savings & Resilience Barometer shows that the median spent on essentials is £1,842 a month.

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For any other cash you’ll need over the next five years, savings is still the most sensible home for it, but you can consider tying it up for periods in a fixed rate account, in order to lock in a decent rate. You need to decide what the money is for, when you’ll need it, and how long you can fix it for.

You also need to look ahead, and consider your pension. The best approach is to start with a pension calculator, where you put in details of what you’ve saved so far, what you’re putting aside each month, and when you want to retire. It will show you what you’re on track for, and whether you need to do more.

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