Advice for a young saver/investor

Archi_Bald

compbren wrote: »

Don't let idiots like him put you off on these forums. Ask as many questions as you like, people like him (and a couple of others) think they've got the right to talk down to new posters. I wonder if they're as 'mouthy' in real life as much as they are hiding behind their computer screens? Good luck btw!

At least idiots like me have made an effort to give the OP some information that should help them figure out a way forward. Unlike yourself, who has not addressed one single question the OP has.

TheTracker

ryanprediction wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm fairly clueless when it comes to saving/investing like all 24 year olds.

After some poor lifestyle choices and post-University apathy i finally have a decent income and am debt free as of this month. I now have approximately £700 a month that i should be able to save/invest.

Hi RyanPrediction. You remind me of an old poster, Ryan Futuristics. Warms my cockles it does.

TrustyOven

mollycat wrote: »

Just to add some balance, I dont think Archibald is an idiot; I always think he tries to be helpfull.

I completely agree.
Maybe there's just some bad blood between the two of them. OP should ignore it.
Also, sometimes, patronising comments are useful: they harden you up. Lets you grow thick skin. Makes you impervious to being affected by others.

mollycat wrote: »

OP's idea that ALL 24 year olds are clueless with savings and investing is a bit daft mind you

I'm pretty sure I was a clueless 24 year old in terms of savings and investing. There's a blog post somewhere (or maybe it was ideas in Robert Kyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad book?) that a lot of our financial acumen comes from our parents. And that formal general education doesn't cover finance topics beyond basic mathematics. And that we are bombarded by marketing all the time leading us towards spending (this may have been mentioned by Ermine's blog post not in the distant past). And if our financial education from our parents isn't good, there's a tendency to have a repeating cycle of bad or sub-optimal financial success. Getting to MSE or reading other personal finance blogs and books can help break the chain, so it can be understandable if there are people of young age that are clueless about finance.
Of course, the flip side is true: some parents are good at financial matters, and can properly teach their children about it. And those children will grow up to be financially-savvy 24 year olds.

As for OP's mention of the ISA... presumably the First Time Buyer ISA doesnt require you to make regular payments, as long as the payments are in a tax year? If that is correct, you could get more interest in current accounts, then near the end of the year whack into that ISA. If it is not correct, then run some calculations and evaluate if you can get more interest in current accounts than you would get from the FTB ISA bonus.

dawyldthing

I was in a similar place when I was 24 (finished uni at 23 yen started saving. Had some fun on holidays along the way)

Utilise things that make you money like Halifax that will give you £5 a month if you push £750 through it plus need 2 direct debits too. There's others though so see what is best for you.

See which bank accounts give you the best interest (I had some money given me from my nan and put it into a halifax account at 4.5%. It's not as good now but you can get the ones where you put x aside each month and it will pay you interest (I had one and I think I put £250 in a month for a year and it made me £60 odd for the year - might not sound like much but when you have the house it all helps)

when you have the house pay as much off as you can as it all saves interest.i think I saved about £3000 off the interest in the end if not a bit more, which when worked out in how many months it takes to earn its not bad going. (It won't apply to everyone though, houses are different prices everywhere but it's a good feeling when it's paid off)

I'd say pay a bit towards a pension, but it depends how much you want to retire on and if not much you might be better with it now. I only started when they put the government ones in and it gives a projection of what it could pay out which isn't too bad. It just depends what you think you will spend.

one other thing is watch your spending day to day. Cutting small things like the daily coffee might seem like an inconvience now but when it could save you bucket load of interest and put you on a lower interest if you have a good deposit could make a huge difference. Even now I make myself live off £30 odd a week (I don't drive and walk to work to be fair) but when you have something to aim towards (mine at the moment is travelling) it keeps you on track.

Good luck and possibly keep a blog too