Complete novice with £50 a month to invest - should I get the Quidco cash back and use Shepherds?

timeou

Hello, 

I’d be grateful for some advice please. 

I am am a member of Quidco and just been sent details of their £210 cash back offering for shepherds friendly. I don’t have an ISA and can afford £50 a month, possibly rising over time. I’d like to put this money away, hopefully for the medium to longer term.

Is this a good idea or are there better places to put the money? 

Im a complete novice and have no idea at all (sorry) 

Nurse2047

Cheaper fees in platform such as Vanguard, take a look at 
https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/investing-explained/what-are-lifestrategy-funds? 

https://youtu.be/lGQ9KyQq8Jw

Albermarle

These Friendly society investments are poor value , with high charges .( 1.5% !) 
Which is why they offer cashback to draw you in .
The investments themselves are with profit funds , so long term performance will be mediocre at best , although at least you are partly protected in case of market drops. 

If you are saving for retirement then a pension is usually the best bet,  or a LISA if you are under 40.
If you are investing for money before retirement, than a more mainstream S&S ISA would be a better bet. 
Here are some links to read.
 Investing in stocks for beginners: how to get started - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
Stocks & shares ISAs: find the best platform - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
Long-term investing: Increasing your chances of positive returns (nutmeg.com)

timeou

Thank you both, I’m 48, mortgage free and saving for nothing in particular. We have pensions through work but that’s another whole thing I have no understanding of. 

I must admit I was drawn in by the cash back but I’ll forget about these now. 

I’ll read the links, thanks again

Albermarle

We have pensions through work but that’s another whole thing I have no understanding of. 

As you no doubt realise, this lack of knowledge will almost certainly cost you some money and/or mean you retire later than you might have done .

There are two completely different types of pension .

Defined Benefit - means you build up a right to a guaranteed income when you retire. The more years you work and the higher your salary, then the higher the guaranteed income . This type of pension is the better type but is largely confined to the public sector nowadays .

Defined Contribution - means you build up a pot of money that is normally invested in stocks and shares, to be used later to provide an income.

Usually with a defined benefit scheme it is pretty generous and normally there is not much else you need to do 

With a defined contribution scheme, most people do not add enough , so it is usually a good idea to increase contributions where possible. The same ideas mentioned in the investment links above also apply to the investments in these types of pensions,

Here are some more links 

Pensions: Everything you need to know for retirement - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

Pensions and retirement | Help with pensions and retirement | MoneyHelper