what can I do that's fun?!!

sparkychris

Archi_Bald wrote: »

OK, go for Charles Stanley with Vanguard Lifestrategy 80%. Or may be 100%. But most definitely not any S&S ISA from Virgin or from a bank, or any other packaged ISA.

Though you would be slightly mad to follow this suggestion without scrutinizing it first, you might find it not too far off the mark after you spent some time on http://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/, to understand what a balanced portfolio is, what funds you could select for it, and which platform would be best for it.

At 40, you still got a good 20 years at least to make some money for your later years. Clock is ticking though, don't be flippant about it. You don't want to be reliant on just the state pension, and you don't want to work yourself into your grave. It's not doom and gloom, just reality.

Whilst I may appear flippant, I assure you that I am not... Approaching 40 has actually put the wind up me somewhat and I will look in great detail at the info you have put up here... Although I know nothing of investments I do know that relying on the state pension will hurt!
Thank you... I will report back after I have looked into your info...

sparkychris

https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/ViewFund?Sedol=B4PQW15&gclid=CLvL28Kpw8ACFVDKtAodKygAXw#promocode=CSXPPC2014A

There are very few words on this website that make any sense to me....

Oh dear...

AlwaysLearnin

The Monevator site (linked above) have some great articles for beginners. That could be a good start point.

It's all quite daunting at the beginning because of all of the options, terminology, pitfalls/warnings etc, but it's not that bad once you get your head around it. No need to rush in though.

It can be fun! Good luck.

Archi_Bald

sparkychris wrote: »

https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/ViewFund?Sedol=B4PQW15&gclid=CLvL28Kpw8ACFVDKtAodKygAXw#promocode=CSXPPC2014A

There are very few words on this website that make any sense to me....

Oh dear...

Yeah I am not surprised as you are trying to dive from the 10 metre board but haven't yet learnt to swim yet, and got a fear of height.....take some time out and work through that monevator stuff (it teaches you how to swim). Don't expect instant results, give yourself a bit of time to comprehend.

There are other places and books you can read, too, but I find that monevator is probably the best for the beginner, and not bad for experts, either. I have no association with monevator, just think they are very good.

musehead

Have you considered matched betting?


Requires a bit of thought and involvement, could be fun, you'll get a better return on your £2k than from anywhere else.

DoctorW

Sparky,

I was in the same position as you literally only about 8 weeks ago. Now I feel like I know the basics of the investing world and could hold my own in any discussion on that.

For what it's worth, Archi Bald has said what I think will be the absolute best plan for you.

Charles Stanley Direct (as your low-cost, user friendly platform e.g. the middle man that lets you purchase an investment)

Vanguard Lifestrategy 80 or 100 (as your low-cost, diversified, moderate-to-high risk & therefore hopefully growth) investment for a time horizon of 15-20 years.

You now have to take on the responsibility of learning exactly who the hell Charles Stanely is and what on earth a Vanguard Lifestrategy means as a priority before putting your money into it! - though as Archi Bald said, you have to do your own research before (hopefully!) coming back to the same conclusion!

Get to monevator.com - read the entire website as best you can, google every term that you don't understand and you'll be MASSIVELY greatful you did when you come to the end of your working life etc.

I'd hope it would spark up a passion for investing and living/saving sensibly what you see you can achieve when you are willing to consistently put money away no matter whether the markets are up/down/left/right for a few decades.

Start here, go go go

http://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/

plunt

fund things to do

- you can try p2p lending using bondora (previously known as isepankur) Its euro loans (use transfer wise to convert your funds), typically between 3-36 months and interest rates of over 26%, high delinquencies though, so offsets the high interest! Exciting as the loans are in foreign countries, high interest, and more occurs!

-Spreadbet stocks: low cost but just make sure you ring fence the amount. In such a way that even though you 'buy' stock on margin so typically only need to deposit 5-10% of the exposure, make sure you have that remaining 90-95% in a high paying current account. Great for low values as its a variable cost rather than a fixed cost. Now think about if you use this to invest in high dividend stocks... warren buffet style of taking a very stable good company and leveraging the investment to get good returns.

-Invest in funds via cavendish or Iweb, both very low costs! Look for exciting funds that invest in frontier markets or oil explorers!

-try some bitcoin tradings (high risk!)

- try changing your tactic on funding circle to bid for new loans and put them up for sale right away at a premium on the secondary market (max 3% premium allowed).

- try some ebay purchase and resales. So buying stuff on ebay which ends at strange times and then instantly putting it back up for sale to end at premium times. Know some friends who do this and make a nice profit


hmmm thats the only other things i can think of for the time being, most are high risk! and you will mess up along the way, everyone does, but you will definitely learn from it! Often this stuff is time consuming but i find it entertaining!

atush

I would consider putting some of your ongoing savings into a pension. AS you dont have a work pension, but I assume you want to retire before age 70?

No, you wont be able to touch it for 15 years, but nor will anyone who sues you, or if you have to go on benefits. So it is Safe from being spent, or being taken (unlike your gold lol). I dare a burglar to find my gold

AS long as you have other savings and investments it is the way to go as every 80 you put in the govt will bring up to 100. Immediately aqnd then can grow tax free just like a S&S isa.

sparkychris

Many thanks, team for taking the time to reply... Am slowly getting my head round the monevator site, and there are a few other things in this thread that interest me.
Really like the sound of matched betting!
I have four days in a caravan to look forward to now, which will give me plenty of reading and researching time, which is quite exciting...
Thanks again...

nicknameless

sparkychris wrote: »

Many thanks, team for taking the time to reply... Am slowly getting my head round the monevator site, and there are a few other things in this thread that interest me.
Really like the sound of matched betting!
I have four days in a caravan to look forward to now, which will give me plenty of reading and researching time, which is quite exciting...
Thanks again...

Get your head round the investing first and then matched betting.

I invest for the future (s & s isa plus pension) and do some part-time matched betting on a Saturday p.m. for some short term spends. Spreadsheet tells me my matched betting profits are 40% of my current s & s isa contents but I have been dabbling at that for a couple of years more and profitability (vs effort) was higher a few years back.