DaveTMG’s rules:
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FEES FEES FEES - it is almost never beneficial to pay fees, the stock market is a zero sum game and on average your investments will underperform the market by the amount of fees you pay. Anyone telling you different is trying to make money from you.
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Maximise your pension and ISA contributions - tax advantaged accounts, don’t give the taxman more than you have to. Even better with employer matching - FREE MONEY. Always take this, it’s like picking winners ahead of time.
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Pay yourself first and the earlier you start, the better, as you should save at least (the age you start)/2 percent of your income - for life. Start at 20, save 10% each year. Start at 40, you need to save 20% each year.
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Get out of debt! Especially credit card debt. The only debt you should carry is mortgage debt. Debt is stealing from your future self.
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The bulk of your long term investment should be in boring safe stuff - well diversified index trackers, such as Vanguard World, government bonds etc. Extremely well paid and resourced fund managers can’t beat the market. You can’t either.
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Ignore the day to day noise of the stock market.
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Enjoy life knowing you are better prepared financially than most of the population.