Lazy Girl’s Guide To Investing

This is a public service announcement for those of you that should be investing, but don’t. Maybe it’s because you think it’s too complicated, or too much to think about, or too much of a faff.

It’s not.

You just need to invest, and chill.

It’s too complicated.

Opening an investment account is almost as simple as opening a bank account. Once you’ve decided whether you want to invest in a pension, invest in a stocks and shares ISA or invest in a general investment account, you can search for your provider of choice and get the account open.

There’s too much to think about.

You don’t have to be the next Warren Buffet.  You don’t need to know every single stock or trading price.  You don’t even have to understand the economic impact of world events – especially when you’re starting out.

With most online investment account providers, you can select investments based on your risk-profile in the onboarding and then off you go.  You can also usually change this at any time.

It’s a faff.

It really isn’t.  Once you have your account open, you can just transfer money into it. There are sometimes rules, such as maximum contribution limits within a year, but otherwise you can add one off funds (pay as you go) or set up payments, just like a regular bill in your budget!

By making regular investment contributions over time, you get the benefit of compounding returns – the lazy girl’s guide to investing and building wealth.

But first…

We want to be in a financially stable place before we invest over and above our regular retirement contributions.  That means:

✅ Emergency fund in place

✅ Ideally no consumer debt

✅ Having excess cash in the budget

Obviously there is much more to investing, such as understanding that your capital is at risk, you could get out less than you contribute and when sums start to ramp up, it may be helpful to seek guidance from a regulated and independent financial advisor.

But in the meantime, to kick off your investment journey, try not to overthink the task at hand.  

Start investing; start chilling.