Our guides will help you with the basics of investing
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Over longer periods of time (five years or more), investments such as stocks, shares and funds have the potential to give you higher returns compared to cash savings. But the value of investments can fall as well as rise. Eligibility criteria, fees and charges apply.
1. Turning goals into a reality
By setting goals, you have something to aim for and are then able to breakdown exactly how you could achieve them. These goals could be saving for a home, helping your family, or go on that trip of a lifetime.
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2. Taking action
If you want to take that first step to achieve those goals, budgeting could be a great way to start. Separating your spending means allocating your income into your needs (home and food), wants (eating out or shopping) and the future (saving and investing).
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3. Priority: debt free
Before making your money work for you, you should consider using it to pay off money working against you. Loans or credit cards could continue growing from high interest rates, meaning it costs you more the longer you pay it back. Paying it off sooner means you may pay less in interest.
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4. Safety net
Building cash savings could be vital for any of those unexpected costs. Say your car breaks down or the boiler packs in during winter, a rainy-day fund with at least four months' of essential spending set aside could help you avoid going into any debt. Something like an instant access saving account, for example, could be a good option for your extra cash. That way you could add in money each month, earn interest on your savings, and access it whenever you need or want to.
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5. Ready to start investing?
If you’re already doing these habits, then you’re in a great position. Having laid these foundations in place might mean you have that extra cash each month to start building towards your goals.
Now you could start considering putting your extra money to work by investing. Investing gives your money the opportunity to grow – beyond what savings could offer – giving it a better chance to help you reach your financial goals. While investing can have its ups as well as downs, over the long term – say five years or more – it could offer better returns than keeping it as cash.
Find out more
If you’re still not sure, explore our Investment guides where we’ve got a range of articles to help you understand more about investing.
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Get started
Choose to start investing with a Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior ISA, Personal Pension or a General Investment Account. From there, you could pick from our five ready-made funds that best suits your goals. Find out more about what we offer.
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