Considering dipping into S&S ISAs for the first time. Advice please.

Nine_Lives

jem16 wrote: »

a wedding

I bloody well hope not - that's next year! lol.

The problem is that there is always going to be some reason for putting off saving for retirement.

That's what i was thinking really. I could come with excuses all day long, but i've wasted too much time to be coming up with excuses at 28.


EDIT:

I have decided (i think) that a S&S ISA is for me at the moment - based on the IFAs advice, the advice from those on here, the 40% relief on pensions comment made earlier.
Now i'm left with a bit of a dilemma...i don't know where or how to invest.

I know my risk approach. On a scale of 1-10 i'd be a 7.5. On a scale of low-medium-high, i'd be the higher end of medium. I saw the term medium-high & thought it suited.
I'd be in it for the long haul. 40 years. I'm aware of the potential losses.

I want to put my money somewhere and soon as i feel things are dragging on a bit, i just don't know where or how as such. an obvious answer would be go see an IFA. The IFA may advise me to go solo, but i can ignore this & say take my money now & invest it based on their assessment of me. I'd obviously have to pay for this though. I don't mind doing this, but only if it's the best thing to do.

So if i was to go solo then where do i start? What should i be paying into based on what i've given so far? I've read the members of MSE can't advise me, we can only discuss. So that's fine .... what would YOU (any of you) do in my position then?

* £100pm as said. May increase.
* I don't want to be "eggs-in-one-basket". I want a decent spread, but i don't know what decent is.

I spotted that moneysupermarket & i would've just selected one & dumped some money in each month, but if this isn't a good idea then it's not a good idea.

It's just a bit frustrating not knowing where to put my money. I know me - i'll end up getting fed up of the frustration of not knowing & just paying the IFA to do the job for me if i can't get anywhere.

Anyway, this is just a request to anyone/everyone. Fire away.

Nine_Lives

I've just remembered...

The IFA was yesterday going to give me advice for my brother, but he didn't & i'd forgotten. My brother could go to an IFA himself, but tbh he would be better playing chicken in the road. I say that nicely - he just wont understand. He's very "green" - largely due to the fact my mother has babied him all his life, so he's certainly not wordly-wise. He's also not very clever. It may come as a surprise due to me not being able to understand all this, but i was an A-B-C student at school, so i'm not stupid-stupid. He on the other hand was a turn up when you feel like it student & only passed one exam. That said, he's begun to turn his life around since he left school & got a job....

Would you suggest my brother is in the same boat? Here's some info on him:

* 19 living at home.
* I'm not sure on annual salary, but he gets approx £250 net per week, so £1000 net per month.
* Same board as myself - £25 per Saturday.
* Other than this, his only regular outlay is fuel.
* Since starting work in 2007, he asked me to transfer him some funds over to his ISA each week. Currently at £80/week.

* No view to moving out any time soon
* No view to getting married any time soon
* Hopefully wont become a dad any time soon

So unlike me he has no ties really & is likely to stay at home for some time yet.

Due to his £250 per week, he'd probably be looking at £100pm into [something] as well.

Would he also be better going for a S&S ISA like myself due to his wage?

jem16

K_P83 wrote: »

So if i was to go solo then where do i start? What should i be paying into based on what i've given so far? I've read the members of MSE can't advise me, we can only discuss. So that's fine .... what would YOU (any of you) do in my position then?

You were given some DIY pointers on your IFA thread. It's the same idea. I've also given you some pointers on providers in an earlier reply.

Nine_Lives

Trustnet, Morningstar and Hargreaves Lansdown then ey?

Trustnet & Morningstar baffled me totally. It was like reading another language. HL looked to be more understandable. I noticed something listed as Vantage yesterday, which all sounded ok, until i got to the bit saying "you clearly know what you're doing by clicking this" & thought they clearly have the wrong guy! That's not me.

I'll have another look through to see if i can get my head around it, but i'll probably fire off an email to the IFA i saw to see if he advises doing the S&S ISA work for me. I know i'll end up paying for the service, but that's better than what i'm doing right now - staying confused.

jem16

K_P83 wrote: »

HL looked to be more understandable. I noticed something listed as Vantage yesterday, which all sounded ok, until i got to the bit saying "you clearly know what you're doing by clicking this" & thought they clearly have the wrong guy! That's not me.

HL's Vantage service is DIY - you are in control of what funds/shares to choose.

I also gave you a link to the thread for low-cost S&S providers. Did you read that thread? Again it assumes you have the knowledge to choose the investments.

Did you check Post 2 on your IFA thread? It gave some funds ideas to get started.

I'll have another look through to see if i can get my head around it, but i'll probably fire off an email to the IFA i saw to see if he advises doing the S&S ISA work for me. I know i'll end up paying for the service, but that's better than what i'm doing right now - staying confused.

In the end if you DIY you have to do some research before you dive in. It can be done but it will make time and you may well make some mistakes along the way. You have to decide if you can do this or need some professional help.

Nine_Lives

Yeah i did look. A lot of it just confused me i'm afraid.

It's nice having the freedom to choose the funds, but as you've pointed out - you need to know what you're picking. I fall down here. I can research, but that's assuming the source is reliable. I've done research on this before & posted my sources here & more times than not they've been labelled 1) out of date 2) poor advice 3) not telling the full story. Without posting my sources on here, i wouldn't know that.

TBH, i think it's best i get someone to kick start it. I honestly don't know what i'm doing, that's painfully obvious, and frustrating at the same time, as i'd like to be able to do it myself, but at the moment i can't. I'd obviously rather not have to pay someone to do it, but if it's the only way for me then it's the only way.

However paying a professional to do this, especially a professional who seems to have advised well on the first meeting, should be infinitely better than doing what i'm doing right now - essentially nothing, other than simply not understanding.

Still, thank you for your consistent help. While i may have done nothing so far, i would've certainly already made some big errors without you guys.

Nine_Lives

The IFA has now been contacted. I decided i can't do this myself, i simply don't know enough. I don't know what to pick and what not to. I don't know how to assess the financial information put in front of me & decipher it all.

So it's best i seek professional advice. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling now.

jem16

K_P83 wrote: »

The IFA has now been contacted. I decided i can't do this myself, i simply don't know enough. I don't know what to pick and what not to. I don't know how to assess the financial information put in front of me & decipher it all.

So it's best i seek professional advice. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling now.

Do let us know how you get on please.

Nine_Lives

jem16 wrote: »

Do let us know how you get on please.

You're not getting rid of me that easily :j

While you (not specifically YOU jem, but all MSE'ers) may not have been able to get me to understand investments enough, you've taught me plenty. Enough not to make mistakes that i would've done without you guys. You've helped me understand concepts that i didn't beforehand.

So i'll be back to torment you guys again

Nine_Lives

Well i'm all booked in to see the IFA again to go ahead with this.

The original charge of £300 for me when i was mentioning pensions which then got dropped to £200-£250 during the meeting now seems to have turned in to £200 to implement this (S&S ISAs investment) for BOTH my girlfriend & myself.

All seems very cheap. I'm not complaining.