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The original was posted on /r/ukpersonalfinance by /u/daytonawind on 2023-08-12 00:01:12.

I inherited a house (320k value) a few years ago and now live in it. The mortgage is fully paid off and my only outgoing costs for it are council tax, utility bills, insurance etc. I am aware how fortunate this position is. I am now aged 35.

I have never been a wealthy person. I am self employed in a creative field and my income has always been modest, around 30k a year. I enjoy my work. It’s just me and my dog so I get by. I do not have a spouse or any dependants and no family.

I am not great with money. Due to dyslexia in part, but finance and numbers etc terrify me. Maths in general gives me crippling anxiety. I don’t understand it, I am not a savvy financial person. I have an accountant who handles the financial side of things for my self employment. I have no confidence when it comes to money / numeracy.

As the house is paid off, I was wondering what I can do to make the most of this fortunate situation I find myself in. I have about £10,000 in savings from years of squirrelling away what money I could. I enjoy the job I have but I am hardly flush. I get by but am content. I have a car that’s reliable and although a few years old (2014) it’s paid off fully. I have zero debts and no credit cards. My credit score is around 970, when I checked a few months ago.

I was wondering what more I could be doing to make the most of the fact I am mortgage free?

I have always liked the idea of property development, or perhaps buying / letting / renovating a property but I have no expertise in that area. It’s something I daydream about sometimes.

A friend said I should seek some financial advice but I don’t even know where to begin. So I thought I’d ask here. I intend to speak to my accountant but at the moment I don’t even know what to say in terms of direction.

Ideally I would very much like for there to be some sort of passive / continual income to help top up my salary so that I could afford a holiday now and then to visit friends in America or Australia.

If replies could be ELI5 that’d be helpful so I can wrap my brain around it. Thanks all.