Investing money

[Cyclone]

Zopa ONLY allow automatic distribution now. It doesn't lend to companies though, it lends to individuals, £10 from each lender, so risk is distributed.

[TJC1]

Zopa ONLY allow automatic distribution now. It doesn't lend to companies though, it lends to individuals, £10 from each lender, so risk is distributed.

 

im talking about the business P2P. Funding circle.

[Cyclone]

Ah, I see, that wasn't obvious as you hadn't mentioned the name of it until now.

[TJC1]

Ah, I see, that wasn't obvious as you hadn't mentioned the name of it until now.

 

p2p and p2p business,

 

much the same model I think.

[dorberman]

the op has not stated providing for income!..........just investing which could mean a lot of things.

A friend of mine had a punt on zopa a while back ,but lost money through borrowers defaults!....all investments are a gamble! If i had £20k sloshing around, i could think of a number of nice things that i would like to own that would not lose money if chosen wisely, and might even make some!

 

i am thinking of retirement as an income to top up the goverment pension as i haven`t got a private one as i don`t like the returns that are predicted.i haven`t yet paid off my mortgage but theres not a lot left on it.i am 46 years old so still plenty of time to save/invest

[Cyclone]

Even if there's not much left, paying off the mortgage should probably be the first thing...

It ends the monthly payment for a start, so you can re-save what you paid off before you retire anyway, and it can save a lot (although that mainly applies to paying off significantly early, rather than with just a few years left).

[L00b]

i am thinking of retirement as an income to top up the goverment pension as i haven`t got a private one as i don`t like the returns that are predicted.i haven`t yet paid off my mortgage but theres not a lot left on it.i am 46 years old so still plenty of time to save/invest

Move your daily banking to a 'profitable' current account that pays interest like Santander 123. No such thing as 'too small' a return, especially in these days of record low base interest rates, and lots of small rivulets make for a big river.

 

Pay off your mortgage like Chez and Cyclone suggested. And whatever you do, don't leverage your home, even in part. Insulates you against future interest rate rises and gives you interstellar credit rating (always useful, whether you use it or not).

 

Depending on how money-aware/-astute you are on a day-to-day basis, you may combine the above with replacing your mortgage to a 'one account':mortgage turned into current account, last month pay goes into the cc at month start, live off your credit card the whole month (so your pay decreases the mortgage amount -and the interests on it- by as much during the whole month), pay off credit card at month end, rinse-repeat. You'd be amazed how much quicker that eats into your mortgage. But you have to be -and stay- disciplined.

 

Look into a SIPP, rather than off-the-shelf 'stakeholder' and such pensions. Mine grew by 75% last year (total capital year-on-year). Possibly a one-off on the back of the Chinese stock market gains before it started tanking, but still - in terms of appreciation, that's around 8 years' worth of extra contributions at zero cost to me.

 

You're late for the BTL party, but short of investing a lot of personal time into more complicated investment avenues, if you have the spare financing capacity, you could do worse than buy some more bricks to provide a rental income.

 

In the alternative, or additionally, maybe look at starting a lifestyle business that will be small and relatively easy to run and provide a small income stream. Spending some of that capital on training yourself to acquire a trade/skills is an investment. Beats pushing trolleys in Tesco at age 70-odd on a ZHC at NMW.

 

In the context of the above, you may also want to look at compartmenting your capital, with some stashed away somewhere secure, off the radar but easily accessible (extend the fabled "2 months away from starvation" personal hardship/reserves fund); some invested short-term (less return, easier to get hold of in an emergency); some invested long-term (more return, harder to get hold of in an emergency).

 

And after all that, the advisers are never the payers, so don't take any of this or this thread as gospel...or financial advice.

Edited September 22, 2015 by L00b

[TJC1]

Move your daily banking to a 'profitable' current account that pays interest like Santander 123. No such thing as 'too small' a return, especially in these days of record low base interest rates, and lots of small rivulets make for a big river.

 

Pay off your mortgage like Chez and Cyclone suggested. And whatever you do, don't leverage your home, even in part. Insulates you against future interest rate rises and gives you interstellar credit rating (always useful, whether you use it or not).

 

Depending on how money-aware/-astute you are on a day-to-day basis, you may combine the above with replacing your mortgage to a 'one account':mortgage turned into current account, last month pay goes into the cc at month start, live off your credit card the whole month (so your pay decreases the mortgage amount -and the interests on it- by as much during the whole month), pay off credit card at month end, rinse-repeat. You'd be amazed how much quicker that eats into your mortgage. But you have to be -and stay- disciplined.

 

Look into a SIPP, rather than off-the-shelf 'stakeholder' and such pensions. Mine grew by 75% last year (total capital year-on-year). Possibly a one-off on the back of the Chinese stock market gains before it started tanking, but still - in terms of appreciation, that's around 8 years' worth of extra contributions at zero cost to me.

 

You're late for the BTL party, but short of investing a lot of personal time into more complicated investment avenues, if you have the spare financing capacity, you could do worse than buy some more bricks to provide a rental income.

 

In the alternative, or additionally, maybe look at starting a lifestyle business that will be small and relatively easy to run and provide a small income stream. Spending some of that capital on training yourself to acquire a trade/skills is an investment. Beats pushing trolleys in Tesco at age 70-odd on a ZHC at NMW.

 

In the context of the above, you may also want to look at compartmenting your capital, with some stashed away somewhere secure, off the radar but easily accessible (extend the fabled "2 months away from starvation" personal hardship/reserves fund); some invested short-term (less return, easier to get hold of in an emergency); some invested long-term (more return, harder to get hold of in an emergency).

 

And after all that, the advisers are never the payers, so don't take any of this or this thread as gospel...or financial advice.

 

What he said. But it's all just advice. I think a lot of younger people, myself included, the younger you start the better it will be in retirement. Compound interest and extension of retirement age and all that.

 

Really if you enjoy working and are healthy, working in retirement age is no problem. Working to pay bills sounds less good.

[Chez2]

I agree TJC1. I bought my first house just after my nineteenth birthday, my friends thought I was mad. I had been saving up my deposit for a year, still going out but spending little on booze. A few years down the line my friends were struggling much more than me as they were used to a frivolous lifestyle and found it hard to save. I moved to a three bed semi just after my twenty first birthday then a four bed detached when I was twenty six. I paid off my mortgage by the age of thirty three. I only re mortgaged to buy my third property. If you buy the right property its less risky than any other investment and you can always downsize if you need to release money for retirement.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Chez2
missed a bit out

[TJC1]

I agree TJC1. I bought my first house just after my nineteenth birthday, my friends thought I was mad. I had been saving up my deposit for a year, still going out but spending little on booze. A few years down the line my friends were struggling much more than me as they were used to a frivolous lifestyle and found it hard to save. I moved to a three bed semi just after my twenty first birthday then a four bed detached when I was twenty six. I paid off my mortgage by the age of thirty three. I only re mortgaged to buy my third property. If you buy the right property its less risky than any other investment and you can always downsize if you need to release money for retirement.

 

Nice foresight. I did a lot of travelling and stayed in education. No regrets but really the sooner on the property ladder the better from investment angle.

 

The problem I've faced and other people of certain age is the sharp rise in property prices. If I was born 10 years earlier I would have got in when prices were much lower.

 

My mum and dad bought for 50K in 1994. By 2004 sold for 200K. For example.