20 year old trying to maximise savings!

dilan911

Hi All

Thanks in advance for reading this thread and for any suggestions that you may have for me!

Basically I am 20 (soon to be 21) and i am working full time (uni drop out), my ISA for 2012/2013 is now full and I have another in my sisters name which i am currently filling. My income is not great, so i am making the best of a bad situation by trying to save and maybe even invest to stretch my money. I was just wandering if anyone has had any good returns from stocks and shares ISA (i know they are designed for 5+ years) and i do not mind keeping my money locked way for that long IF it was guaranteed, but most S&S ISA's that I have seen do not have the best of returns (some as low as -35%) I have come across a website called 'The House Crowd' which seems to be pretty good, has anyone invested with these guys? Also I have seen 'stoozing' on here quite a bit but was not sure if it was actually worth it? Would it be good to start spreading money into different 'pots' of should i fill my ISA before pursuing other things? This may sound silly but I saw on this forum something about matched betting and wandered if anyone could dumb it down for me? Or was it a sarcastic idea for someone to venture into?

Thanks & Regards

Dilan

innovate

Any money in your sister's ISA is legally hers, you realise that?

Plenty of good returns from S&S ISAs. Best returns are on self-select platforms, but before you go there, you need to read up lots about investing. Never heard of 'The House Crowd' , and instinctively would smell a rat. There's loads of "investment" stuff on here, just root around a bit.

Stoozing: I am not sure it's still worth it but I might be wrong. Check out the stoozing board, and/or hop over to stoozing.com to meet some experts.

Matched betting is brilliant if you do it right, and can afford to do it right. A bit like investments, you got to start with reading. There is a "Start Here" thread over on the Matched Betting Board.

Good luck!

dilan911

Thanks for the reply!

To be honest I was skeptical about the house crowd, after a looking through the website it does look legit (they have gone way above and beyond to make it seem legit if it isnt), i think there was an article about it in the guardian aswell, but have not been tempted until it is backed by someone! Normally when I hear betting I just assume its a gamble, i have never actually bet before but I will give this a thorough read, thanks!

innovate

Had a quick look at The House Crowd site - - don't like the look of it, it's huge risk because property comes with huge risks. If you want to dip a toe into property investing, allocate a small portion of your overall portfolio to a good property fund.

Matched Betting is anything but gambling if you do it right. And returns can be staggering - - though you have to invest your time (and a bit of money), and not everybody will like that, or be able to make time.

dilan911

I shall look into the matched betting, thanks for the guidance! I shall also steer away from the house crowd, appreciate the help

r192

I am 23, so not much older than yourself and in the last 12 months have started to save via a self select socks and shares isa with Halifax, do your research and go from there, also just remember a investment is for the long term so dont keep checking the prices every day or two as its for the long term.

There are probably cheaper platforms for isa's so have a look around and see what you are comfortablr with, any further questions just ask

dilan911

Thanks for the advice/motivation R192, I may put aside £50 or so a month and after a bit of research have a proper go. I was too scared to make a loss, but nothing ventured, nothing gained!