Saving 2025

lastbigspender

Hi All

I want to start this year and save a bit more or invest a wee bit.

I am really unsure how to go about investing but see a lot of people on this Trading 212 platform.

Also I plan to save £2k this year but will see how that goes.

I see a thread about saving challenge 2025 would this be beneficial to be included in?

Any advice or help I would really appreciate.

Thanks

jimjames

If you have no savings at the moment then investing probably isnt the right thing to do now. First build up your emergency funds however that works for you but making the most of the best regular saver rates up to 10% might be a good place to start

gravel_2

Think the saving challenge thread is like attending Weight Watchers - it likely helps give some people accountability for their goals.

Alexland

Yes for modest amounts of money like building up £2k you should be looking at the very high interest rates offered by regular savers (that are often linked to current accounts) with particular consideration to if you are allowed access during the term if this is also your emergency fund.

It's also worth looking into bank switching bonuses that you might be able to earn as they can make a big difference.

If you are organised enough it's also worth considering stoozing where you put all your normal spending on a 0% credit card and then only make minimum payments during the promotion period and put the money you would have spent on repaying the credit card into a savings account to earn interest. But you need to be really careful to read the offer terms carefully, always have the cash available to repay the card if required and organised enough to not miss any dates and incur charges. If the spending gets ahead of the saving then this could get bad.

lastbigspender

great suggestions thanks.

think saving for a few years first might be my best option.

will look at savings accounts that allow a few withdrawals per year just in case.

Albermarle

Do you have a pension?
Often people do not realise they are actually already investing via their pension, although it depends on what type of pension it is.

lastbigspender

Albermarle said:

Do you have a pension?
Often people do not realise they are actually already investing via their pension, although it depends on what type of pension it is.

Yes I am employed in local government so been paying into a pension for last 20 years and probably another 10 to 12 to go.

Havent got a clue about pensions though would like to learn more about them and AVCs all that jazz

Albermarle

lastbigspender said:

Albermarle said:

Do you have a pension?
Often people do not realise they are actually already investing via their pension, although it depends on what type of pension it is.

Yes I am employed in local government so been paying into a pension for last 20 years and probably another 10 to 12 to go.

Havent got a clue about pensions though would like to learn more about them and AVCs all that jazz

As you have a public sector pension, then largely your pension is sorted. The LGPS scheme is very good.
The key point is that there are two very different types of pension.

Defined Benefit - a guaranteed pension that is linked to how many years you have worked and your salary. This is what the LGPS is.

Defined Contribution - a pot of money that builds up, Like a glorified savings account. This is what most private sector employees have, and people with their own pension. 

There is a pensions forum that could be of interest.
Pensions, annuities & retirement planning — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Also this Govt site
Pensions and retirement | Help with pensions and retirement | MoneyHelper
and the MSE page
Pensions: Everything you need to know for retirement - MSE

Bridlington1

lastbigspender said:

great suggestions thanks.

think saving for a few years first might be my best option.

will look at savings accounts that allow a few withdrawals per year just in case.

In addition to the comments regarding regular savers I currently maintain The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread, the first page contains a list of the top regular savers currently on offer, each item contains a summary of the Ts&Cs of each account, including whether the account allows withdrawals or not.

Feel free to use this thread to ask any queries regarding specific regular savers, or to discuss regular savers more generally.

george4064

Bridlington1 said:

lastbigspender said:

great suggestions thanks.

think saving for a few years first might be my best option.

will look at savings accounts that allow a few withdrawals per year just in case.

In addition to the comments regarding regular savers I currently maintain The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread, the first page contains a list of the top regular savers currently on offer, each item contains a summary of the Ts&Cs of each account, including whether the account allows withdrawals or not.

Feel free to use this thread to ask any queries regarding specific regular savers, or to discuss regular savers more generally.

Just to emphasis what a fantastic thread Bridlington has posted actually is.

@lastbigspender make sure you take the necessary time to carefully read through the first few posts of Bridlington's thread above, it contains really useful info (and links to) explaining what regular savers are, how they work and how you can make the most out of them.