Best decision and worst decision.

masonic

Retireby40 said:

masonic said:

Retireby40 said:

In terms of investing. For someone who doesn't have time to study the markets etc etc and wants a low risk steady increase over time 10-20 years would setting up a recurring payment to a trading platform to buy the S&P. 500 be a good move.

Something like putting in £50-100 a month and just letting it build up over time? Or do I need to be fully switched on and studying things more often?

I think you've misunderstood the purpose of this thread. If you have your own questions, they'd be better off in a new one. But in answer to your questions, yes, but why S&P 500, why not a global index? You won't get a "low risk steady increase" doing this, however. It will be quite a wild ride.

I am the author of the original post. After reading a lot of people saying their best decision was getting into investing etc I followed up with a question regarding it.

So you are. Nevertheless, you are probably going to reach a wider audience by posting questions about starting to invest in a new thread rather than in the middle of one where people are being invited to post their own best and worst decisions.

assetallocator

Retireby40 said:

What was your best decision in terms of savings/finance/investing?

What was your biggest mistake? 

Best decision was joining a pension scheme as soon as I could and starting a S&S ISA a little before that. Then investing as much as possible between these.

Biggest mistake was holding onto a cash ISA for far too long before eventually transferring to a S&S ISA.

london21

Best: starting young, Investing in funds and real estate. 
Worst: Investing in shares I did not understand, penny crap stocks. Holding on to M&S share save stocks been emotional with holdings.  

Apodemus

Best:  Doing a Diploma in Financial Management "just for fun".
Worst:  Becoming sentimentally attached to under-performing stocks (admittedly, though, some have come good in the end!).

bostonerimus

Yankee24 said:

I moved here from the USA 30 years ago..  my husband is not and never has been interested in money.  So I partnered and planned with an IFA. She kept me honest.  I had money taken and invested before it was frittered away.  We planned for big investments-   Uni fees, house moves, big holidays, retirement.  We had our share of redundancies etc and stayed the course.  Had to move to specialist uk usa firm eventually due to complexities.   The new firm now does us (financially independent by 50) and our 20 somethings, who we have passed grandparents inheritance to now. 

They have seen us partner with an IFA and are completely cool with talking about money with them.  I don’t have to get involved.  So yes, I have paid my share of fees, but v our peers we are in such a better place.  I don’t think I would have had the discipline to stick to my big plans without the accountability to someone else.   Best decision. 

Worst decision.  Should have held on to our London flat and rented it out.  

I did the reverse ie moved from UK to USA 30ish years ago, but have things prepared to move back to the UK. May I ask the name of your specialist US/UK investment firm?

WYSPECIAL

Best decision - paying the maximum into share purchase plans and save as you earn when I was in a job that offered these.

worst - picking penny shares hoping to find the one that would turn around rather than realising that they had been managed poorly for years to become so crap. Should have just stuck with quality companies. 

mebu60

Best - refusing all the blandishments and 'threats' (recently appointed job-hopping HR Director telling me of 25 years service I was being 'disloyal'!) to move out of the company DB pension scheme and transfer everything into the new DC scheme. 

Most recent worst - switching out of America in my S&S ISA as Covid hit (into cash, still within ISA wrapper). 

jimjames

Chloe_G said:

Closing my Cheltenham and Gloucester Account and missing out on one of the first carpet bagging payments.  I've never got over it.

That was one of my best decisions. I took an afternoon off work in 1997 and went along the local high street to open savings accounts with £100 at every building society at the time. Morally dubious in hindsight but financially very worthwhile.

Worst was investing in split capital trusts as the financial crisis hit. Fortunately a small part of my portfolio but it taught how important it was to be diversified.

Beddie

libra10 said:

The worst decision we made was keeping our Halifax demutulisation shares in a PEP for so long.  We had a considerable number of shares, and although I wanted to sell my husband thought it would be like selling the family silver!  When the bank collapsed, we ended up with almost nothing.
The best decisions have been following MSE advice, and opting for the most competitive interest rates on savings.  After we lost so much money on shares, we decided to play it safe.

I did the same thing - I think we were mostly done over by Gordon Brown forcing through a merger with Lloyds.

Best decision - buying properties in late 90s/early 2000s.

Worst - always being too cautious and holding far too much cash, instead of investing it.

newatc

Worst - was listening to advice from the internet and buying some of his recommended shares which became worthless within two years.
Best - Was choosing to sell our Halifax demutulisation shares at what turned out to be their peak (or very near) just before they started their crash (1149 I think)