Investments - Strategies, Ideas, Options & advice

[Mudball]

50k is always 50k - what you can get for it may go down but it is always worth 50k

100% agree.. 50k will be 50k in cash in 10 years. Howevr in 15 years, your 50k wont be able to buy what your today's 50k can do.

15 years ago, my train ticket to London with a travel card was about £35. Today i can just about get to London for £30. It is the same station, same train, same seat, but the purchasing power of my £30 quid has nearly halfed.

 

[Deleted member 35927]

Thanks for the steer, a quick read confirms my initial thoughts.

there is a plan in the Treasury to encourage people to invest for better returns, which would also boost growth in the UK economy. (so getting savers to take the burden of risk to aid growing the economy.)

In the newly-announced Treasury proposals, there is a potential for some of the warnings to be watered down. (Obviously, see Endowment mortgages for reference)


The golden rule with investing (like any form of gambling) is only invest what you can afford to lose which I think answers why a lot of people don't invest and stay in cash which is protected if the bank goes bust!

Not rocket science, plus the financial markets don't exactly have a trustworthy reputation

It’s will be wrong for so many people who cannot afford to lose access to their saving for 5 years to tie their money up in the stock markets.

Mud ball is right, expect in 10 years time “Were you mis-sold a stocks and shares isa” ads.

Why do you keep saying it's gambling? Putting my life's savings on a nag in 3.30 at Newmarket is gambling, putting money into the entire stock market by way of an all world etf comes with risk, but it's not a gamble.
I can mix in gilts to de risk as I move along , but at the moment I'm happy to go high risk high return as I'm happy to leave the money for at least another 10 years

 

[Fade and Die]

Why do you keep saying it's gambling? Putting my life's savings on a nag in 3.30 at Newmarket is gambling, putting money into the entire stock market by way of an all world etf comes with risk, but it's not a gamble.
I can mix in gilts to de risk as I move along , but at the moment I'm happy to go high risk high return as I'm happy to leave the money for at least another 10 years

Is a return guaranteed on the stock exchange? No, so…

Gambling. Verb.

1. play games of chance for money; bet.
"he gambles on football"

2. take risky action in the hope of a desired result.
"he was gambling on the success of his satellite TV channel"

You can “Derisk it all you like but it’s not risk free. So it has to be described as a gamble. I do have the majority of my life’s savings tied up to the stock markets but I understand there is risk.

 

[Deleted member 35927]

Is a return guaranteed on the stock exchange? No, so…

Gambling. Verb.

1. play games of chance for money; bet.
"he gambles on football"

2. take risky action in the hope of a desired result.
"he was gambling on the success of his satellite TV channel"

You can “Derisk it all you like but it’s not risk free. So it has to be described as a gamble. I do have the majority of my life’s savings tied up to the stock markets but I understand there is risk.

Yes they sound like gambles , but a well researched and diverse portfolio where you invest over decades isn't .

 

[Mudball]

Is a return guaranteed on the stock exchange? No, so…

Gambling. Verb.

1. play games of chance for money; bet.
"he gambles on football"

2. take risky action in the hope of a desired result.
"he was gambling on the success of his satellite TV channel"

You can “Derisk it all you like but it’s not risk free. So it has to be described as a gamble. I do have the majority of my life’s savings tied up to the stock markets but I understand there is risk.

Recently sold 30k in a fund in my pension. It have been investing in it monthly for years and it is about 10-15% up.

Took the 30k, bought Palantr .. in 2 months or so, PLTR is up 30%, I m going to start exiting and rebuy 40k of my fund .. 2 months to find some extra oomph. It could have gone another way too.

You can call it ‘gambling’ but you can also plan, manage the downside as @hambugerpete says. It is not like a blind bet on 5 numbers in a lucky draw.

 

[Fade and Die]

Recently sold 30k in a fund in my pension. It have been investing in it monthly for years and it is about 10-15% up.

Took the 30k, bought Palantr .. in 2 months or so, PLTR is up 30%, I m going to start exiting and rebuy 40k of my fund .. 2 months to find some extra oomph. It could have gone another way too.

You can call it ‘gambling’ but you can also plan, manage the downside as @hambugerpete says. It is not like a blind bet on 5 numbers in a lucky draw.

I agree and if you are savvy then there is obviously money to be made. (Even in the Ponzi world of Crypto) The point I was arguing is that it’s not for everyone. As mentioned already, this move targets the wrong people. The general lack of financial nous in the UK is worse than you think. It’s a fraudster’s charter.

 

[Mudball]

I agree and if you are savvy then there is obviously money to be made. (Even in the Ponzi world of Crypto) The point I was arguing is that it’s not for everyone. As mentioned already, this move targets the wrong people. The general lack of financial nous in the UK is worse than you think. It’s a fraudster’s charter.

100% agree with that.. we have 0 financial literacy, other than wanting to win the lottery.

This is why I posted earlier that we will see ‘have you been missold Investment’ in about 3-4 years. Far too many vulnerable and gullible people out there to be ripped off. And we will all blame the govt.

Culturally, In the U.K. our equation with money is very very poor. It will take generations to get over it. As my American expat colleague says.. you Brits are weird, you don’t want to make money. If Stonehenge was in US, we would have an airport next to it and selling $9 soda cans.
Trivialised but true

 

[Deleted member 35927]

100% agree with that.. we have 0 financial literacy, other than wanting to win the lottery.

This is why I posted earlier that we will see ‘have you been missold Investment’ in about 3-4 years. Far too many vulnerable and gullible people out there to be ripped off. And we will all blame the govt.

Culturally, In the U.K. our equation with money is very very poor. It will take generations to get over it. As my American expat colleague says.. you Brits are weird, you don’t want to make money. If Stonehenge was in US, we would have an airport next to it and selling $9 soda cans.
Trivialised but true

Yes needs to be financial education from an early age, as it's the young who stand to gain the most as they have decades to get returns.

 

[RichA]

Yes needs to be financial education from an early age, as it's the young who stand to gain the most as they have decades to get returns.

Investments are a great way to manage wealth - long-term, like you've already said.
Hard work and saving is a great way to achieve a degree of wealth worth managing.
A lot of people will want the promise of wealth, quickly and without the reserves to play the long game.

 

[Mudball]

Yes needs to be financial education from an early age, as it's the young who stand to gain the most as they have decades to get returns.

yet we wont teach simple finance to kids.. i mean start with basics like budgeting, how a bank works, understanding stock markets etc. the essence of psychology of money

 

[Mudball]

Investments are a great way to manage wealth - long-term, like you've already said.
Hard work and saving is a great way to achieve a degree of wealth worth managing.
A lot of people will want the promise of wealth, quickly and without the reserves to play the long game.

slight correction.... Investment is the only way to make wealth. Working 9-5, is a way to make some money to feed your investments. NO one has ever got rich by working 9-5. With govt budgets shrinking, high taxation, fewer working people, more older people... it is going to get worse. invest invest invest.

 

[Neilds]

yet we wont teach simple finance to kids.. i mean start with basics like budgeting, how a bank works, understanding stock markets etc. the essence of psychology of money

How about keeping it even simpler - if you don't have the money to buy something now, don't buy it. Buy now, pay later is rarely good in the long term

 

[Mudball]

How about keeping it even simpler - if you don't have the money to buy something now, don't buy it. Buy now, pay later is rarely good in the long term

I must say, i do use BNPL a fair bit esp thru paypal. but it is not BNPL in the true sense,.. it is usually the same amount but broken into 3 parts. So it becomes easier on the cashflow.
When we were getting some tiles, the guy said he could sell it to me for 3k if we took Klara or some finance. So i said, i could pay him 2700 today so he can skip Klara charge and make money. His brain did not compute.. Should have asked to speak to the owner.

 

[Fade and Die]

slight correction.... Investment is the only way to make wealth. Working 9-5, is a way to make some money to feed your investments. NO one has ever got rich by working 9-5. With govt budgets shrinking, high taxation, fewer working people, more older people... it is going to get worse. invest invest invest.

Disagree. I think you can get pretty wealthy through working. I’m not talking the 9-5 Salary man (or literally anyone who works in the public service) but I know plenty of tradesmen that have worked their way up to a decent pile.

 

[Deleted member 35927]

Disagree. I think you can get pretty wealthy through working. I’m not talking the 9-5 Salary man (or literally anyone who works in the public service) but I know plenty of tradesmen that have worked their way up to a decent pile.

Unless you're saving a large % of your monthly money , then youre not going to be able to save enough cash on its own.
Knowing a few people who've made a pile doesn't change anything

 

[Fade and Die]

Unless you're saving a large % of your monthly money , then youre not going to be able to save enough cash on its own.
Knowing a few people who've made a pile doesn't change anything

I didn’t say few Pete.

And thanks for confirming you have no idea how business works.

 

[Deleted member 35927]

I didn’t say few Pete.

And thanks for confirming you have no idea how business works.

I know exactly how it works thanks . Plenty a few makes no difference, it's what the majority are doing thats important.
I don't even know what point you are trying to make.

 

[RichA]

I know exactly how it works thanks . Plenty a few makes no difference, it's what the majority are doing thats important.
I don't even know what point you are trying to make.

The majority of UK households don't have enough saved to max out a single year's ISA allowance.
Those with enough to afford making investments that might go down in value in the short term without causing anxiety are in the minority.

Average Household Savings & Wealth UK 2026

Wondering how much people save each year on average? Here are UK savings stats across income levels, household sizes, education, gender and other factors.

www.nimblefins.co.uk

 

[Fade and Die]

I know exactly how it works thanks . Plenty a few makes no difference, it's what the majority are doing thats important.
I don't even know what point you are trying to make.

Well I was replying to Mudballs statement that “Investment is the only way to make wealth” I was disagreeing. There are other ways.

 

[Deleted member 35927]

Well I was replying to Mudballs statement that “Investment is the only way to make wealth” I was disagreeing. There are other ways.

od course there are, but investment no matter how you get your money is key. Your posts are contradictory in the extreme.