Newbie Saver...any advice?

birdbrains

My hubby and I are in our mid twenties, ex students having only recently got rid of the last of our commericial student debt...we have made some disastrous financial decisions in the past but with a little help from family we're "getting there" and learning how to handle our money properly. Even though we're on low incomes with very little disposable cash, we want to start saving what little we can instead of frittering it away.

Im a member of my companies share save scheme which takes directly from my wage and I'll get that in 3 years time, and we both have company pensions now. From what we've got left over after essentials are paid for and we've allowed for emergencies etc I reckon we can squirrel away another £50 a month, although I'd like that to be more if the opportunity arises in the future. What would you suggest would be the best option for us?

atush

Until you have 3 months spending saved, you should save in cash. In your case, with 50/m I would start with a regular saver. There is a list on the forum of the best ones. When they mature you can put them in an ISA.

Then, once you have 3 months spending saved, then you can look to put that 50/m into an equity ISA or an investment trust savings plan.

quotememiserable

The thing to decide first is what is the purpose of the saving. I would suggest in the first case, you just want a cash stash that you can use for one-off purchases, and I also recommend using money like this to buy insurances with an annual payment instead of monthly, because this will save you monthly £s and increase the amount you can save.
If this is right, then interest rate isn't a big factor, its having unspent money that's the real deal and a simple on-line savings account with instant access is your animal.