‘Can we turn £15k into £75k by 2021?’

he “sandwich generation” faces a difficult balancing act. With young children and elderly parents to look after, the financial pressure can take its toll. SallyAnne Whybrow, 44, wants to build an extension to the family home so her mother can eventually move in. She and her husband, Darren, 51, also want to create a nest egg that will pay for their children, now five and eight, to go to university.

The family must raise £75,000 in the next two years to pay for the extension. They also want to put cash aside for the children and earmark £4,000 a year to fund a family holiday. The couple have a joint income of £45,000 and can set aside £1,000 each month after they have met their mortgage payments, childcare costs and other outgoings. They have £9,000 in a current account and £6,000 in Premium Bonds, but no other investments. Their home loan is a 10-year fixedrate mortgage from Santander at 2.59pc. They have around £133,000 maximum contribution is £4,368 per Isa for the 2019-20 tax year, and this increases in line with inflation. By investing in stocks and shares, rather than cash, they can target returns higher than their current mortgage rate. The funds will grow free of income and capital gains taxes. Each child can access their Isa at age 18, and this lump sum can be used to help cover university costs. The £75,000 extension may be more difficult to achieve, unless they consider extending their mortgage. I recommend holding six months’ worth of expenditure in case of emergencies and therefore would not recommend investing the cash they have. It could be that half of their excess income is deployed towards savings for the children and the other half is earmarked for the property extension. Given the timescale of two years, I would not recommend investing in the stock market. I generally suggest a time frame of at least three years for anyone who wishes to invest.

Sally-Anne Whybrow is saving for home works, holidays and her children’s tuition