Hi everyone,

I've been thinking and looking into different ways of saving for the future (I'm 27) and really confused as to which is best, seeing as there are quite a few intelligent posters on here I thought I'd ask on here.

Do I start my own pension? Shares? Buy gold? 2nd home to rent out?

Any help will be welcome, thanks in advance.

Be wary is the best advice.

Be wary of "professional" financial advisors who are required by law to declare an interest in any product they recommend, that law is there for a reason, its not your profit they are necessarily interested in.

Be wary of anyone who promises any get-rich quick investments, there is no such thing.

Be wary of banks who promise you the world with their investment products and while not breaking the law may not be totally demonstrative about the level of fees they charge either as a "management" fee or as a penalty if you change your mind.


My only advice would be the same advice that I gave my eldest, DO save something even if you don't know where to put it yet, she has a simple deposit account that pays a small amount of interest with no costs attached (or none that are taken after they've calculated the declared interest rate) and she's now in the habit of saving a decent sum of money every month towards a property deposit in the next few years - its a start.

If you have half a brain, I would say do it yourself. Sign up with the excellent Hargreaves Lansdowne site, and you can set up and manage your own SIP, ISA, etc., with a choice of literally thousands of investments.

Read up as much as you can about the investments (the site has more info than you could shake a stick at) and then make your own choice. You can't do any worse than the so-called financial advisers who would pretty much all have ended up with you doing your bo11ocks in big style over the past few decades, and they aren't really interested in anyone without huge wedges anyway. Whereas the beauty of the HL website is you can invest as much or as little as often or as infrequently as you like, (well, most unit trusts etc do have a min. of £1K, but you know what I mean) and deal to please yourself whenever you like. Start in a modest way and have a go, get the hang, and go from there.

I feel strangely obliged to point out that RLFans is not registered with, nor regulated by, the FSA and is not qualified to offer financial advice

I'd be inclined to invest in the cheapest tracker fund(s). Just need to decide which index you wish to track. I have used a deicretionary fund manager for years. All that happens is that they deduct value - as costs are a huge drag on performance. In good times their fees are hidden but in bad times they take a few thousand a year and you get no return. The whole investment management industry is pointless and deducts value from its customers. I just can't be bothered doing it myself but its expensive!

The same applies to most, if not all, of our posters.

Buy a house in a student area. Rent it out to 3 or 4 students at £300 pcm each.

You will pay your mortgage and generate a reasonable profit. Just remember that any income from this should be declared to the tax man. I know loads of people who rent houses out and don't declare the income!

Dont forget to factor in changing the carpets, beds and kitchen cabinets once every year, at this time of year the streets of Headingley are rammed full of skips full of junked furniture as landlords try and get the premises ready for the autumn term.

Damn... I was just about to refer the site to our Enforcement Division lol

If you have the money to buy a 2nd property, then do so to rent out. bricks and mortar is the future, majority of people cannot afford to buy.

Stocks and shares, then you are gambling on something ( I presume) you know little or nothing about. Apologies if you do.

Pension schemes..avoid like the plague. You've got 40 years until retirement, though no doubt it will be 50 when your terms. A bloke who you don't know from Adam, will give you a load of bull as to how much you will get if you pay in x amount/ month. Don't believe him. I've lost count of the number of people I know who have been told, " the schemes have not performed as expected." and end up getting a lower figure every month. Pension schemes are as big a con trick as the pyramid scheme.