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Should you be investing at all yet?
Most places take one look at your money and start selling. This page does the opposite. Four honest questions, and if the answer is “not yet”, we'll say so and tell you what to do first. It makes no difference to us whether you have twenty pounds a month or a million sitting in a current account — the questions are the same, because the risk of getting it wrong is the same.
The four questions
1Do you owe money on anything expensive — a credit card, overdraft, car finance, buy-now-pay-later?
Anything charging you more than about 8% a year. Paying that off is a guaranteed return; investing is not.
2If the boiler went tomorrow, could you cover three months of essential bills from easy-access savings?
Rent or mortgage, food, energy, travel. Money you can reach the same day, not money tied up in investments.
3Will you need this particular money back within the next five years?
A house deposit, a wedding, a car, a known bill. Markets fall for years at a time and don't care about your deadline.
4If this money halved for two years, would it change how you actually live?
Not 'would you be annoyed' — would you have to move, cut back, or borrow? Be honest with yourself; nobody else sees this.
If you're sitting on a large amount
Not understanding investing has nothing to do with how much you have. Plenty of people come into money — an inheritance, a sale, a settlement — and are told they are now “sophisticated” the day the money lands. You are not. You are exactly the same person, with more at stake, and now with people who are very keen to help you spend it.
Don't rush, and don't do it in one go
Money in a savings account earning interest while you take six months to learn is not money wasted. Nobody good will ever pressure you to decide this week.
Know what's actually protected
UK savings are protected up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence, if the bank fails. Above that, spreading across more than one institution is the plain, unglamorous answer.
Pay for advice, don't take it free
With a serious sum, a flat-fee independent adviser who is paid by you — not by commission on what they sell you — is worth every penny. Check they are on the FCA register before you speak to them.
Be suspicious of anything exciting
Guaranteed returns, private deals, crypto, “this is what the wealthy do”. If it needs urgency to sell it, it isn't for you. Boring and cheap beats clever and expensive over time.
This desk is a learning tool, not a financial adviser, and it does not know your circumstances. It is here so that when you do talk to someone, you understand every word they use.