Is now a good time for saving and / or investment?

EasyToAssemble01

I'm good at frugality and staying debt-free, but a bit clueless in finding the best options to make my money work harder. Is now a good time to save or invest? Is there anything else that is currently worth investing in (eg. gold etc) where prices are currently low, but could rise in future?.

I currently have some savings put by, which were initially supposed to be my housing deposit. However, given how the housing market has gone, I've decided to wait a good year or two on that. So, I now need to figure out how I can best use the money I have while I wait.

I think I'd largely like access to most of my funds within the next few years (so, savings then). But, I wonder if I should be parking a portion of the savings in an index fund or something, as I also have one eye on my retirement-years (approx 30 years away). What longer-term options are ideal to buy into now? Is the best strategy to put everything into savings for now, then invest the returns in a few years? Or should I split it into savings + investments right now? Is timing critical for buying in on long-term investments?

Albermarle

Is now a good time to save or invest? Is there anything else that is currently worth investing in (eg. gold etc) where prices are currently low, but could rise in future?.
Anybody who knew the answers to questions like this, would be a multi Billionaire and not on this forum !

 Is the best strategy to put everything into savings for now, then invest the returns in a few years? Or should I split it into savings + investments right now?
As we can not see into the future, again that question can not be answered directly. Although statistically the longer you hold investments, the more likely that you will see a positive return, So as a long as long term means > 10 years then the answer to this question, Is timing critical for buying in on long-term investments?, is not too much.

But, I wonder if I should be parking a portion of the savings in an index fund or something, as I also have one eye on my retirement-years (approx 30 years away).
Investing in a pension, where you get tax benefits is the obvious answer. Have you any pension provision?

masonic

It wouldn't make sense to invest money needed for a house deposit in the next couple of years. The risk of losing money over such a short time-frame is too great, even though markets have already fallen a moderate amount. Money not needed until retirement should generally be invested, and as Albermarle suggests, the best vehicle for retirement is usually a pension.

EasyToAssemble01

Albermarle said:

Is the best strategy to put everything into savings for now, then invest the returns in a few years? Or should I split it into savings + investments right now?
As we can not see into the future, again that question can not be answered directly. Although statistically the longer you hold investments, the more likely that you will see a positive return, So as a long as long term means > 10 years then the answer to this question, Is timing critical for buying in on long-term investments?, is not too much.

But, I wonder if I should be parking a portion of the savings in an index fund or something, as I also have one eye on my retirement-years (approx 30 years away).
Investing in a pension, where you get tax benefits is the obvious answer. Have you any pension provision?

Yes, I'd like to start saving / investing a portion for retirement now (which is about 30 years away).

I have a pension via my employer, though I haven't been paying into this for very long, so I am looking at things I can do to supplement this. Would a private pension be better than an index fund?

EasyToAssemble01

masonic said:

It wouldn't make sense to invest money needed for a house deposit in the next couple of years. The risk of losing money over such a short time-frame is too great, even though markets have already fallen a moderate amount. Money not needed until retirement should generally be invested, and as Albermarle suggests, the best vehicle for retirement is usually a pension.

No, I largely just want to take advantage of savings rates in the short term, if these are going to continue to rise. So, in a few years, I will have access to my money if I choose to buy a house. But, I just also wondered about alotting a small percentage to some form of longer term investment as well. I'm just not sure what. 

Linton

EasyToAssemble01 said:

masonic said:

It wouldn't make sense to invest money needed for a house deposit in the next couple of years. The risk of losing money over such a short time-frame is too great, even though markets have already fallen a moderate amount. Money not needed until retirement should generally be invested, and as Albermarle suggests, the best vehicle for retirement is usually a pension.

No, I largely just want to take advantage of savings rates in the short term, if these are going to continue to rise. So, in a few years, I will have access to my money if I choose to buy a house. But, I just also wondered about alotting a small percentage to some form of longer term investment as well. I'm just not sure what. 

If it is for your retirement and the amount is relatively small it is probably best to add it to your employment pension.

sevenhills

EasyToAssemble01 said:

I currently have some savings put by, which were initially supposed to be my housing deposit. However, given how the housing market has gone, I've decided to wait a good year or two on that.

But, I wonder if I should be parking a portion of the savings in an index fund or something, as I also have one eye on my retirement-years (approx 30 years away). What longer-term options are ideal to buy into now?

Where is your money now and roughly how much?

You will be losing at least 5% to inflation.

You need to decide, house or pension.

Band7

sevenhills said:

EasyToAssemble01 said:

I currently have some savings put by, which were initially supposed to be my housing deposit. However, given how the housing market has gone, I've decided to wait a good year or two on that.

But, I wonder if I should be parking a portion of the savings in an index fund or something, as I also have one eye on my retirement-years (approx 30 years away). What longer-term options are ideal to buy into now?

Where is your money now and roughly how much?

You will be losing at least 5% to inflation.

You need to decide, house or pension.

It doesn't have to be either or. Even if money is tight, upping pension contributions alongside buying a property might make sense, particularly if the employer would also up their contribution.

Albermarle

Would a private pension be better than an index fund?You are mixing up two different things.

You are mixing up two different things.

An index fund is a type of investment, that you can keep within a pension. The pension itself is more of an administration arrangement that looks after the investments within it, organises payments in and out, sorts any tax issues out.

If you look at your current pension with your employer, you will normally see that there is a choice of investments within it. As others have said there is probably no need to open a new separate pension as work pensions are find for most people, although it is worth looking more into the details of it.