Yes, there are risks, but there are also risks with cash whilst we have below-inflation savings interest rates.
Risks with investments can be managed though. Diversification, low fees, and time are all you need…
What are the risks apart from your cash devaluing?
I agree but like I mentioned if you look in the Monzo crowdfunding topic you will see people took out loans to invest, went into overdrafts, expected to see profits by now, need to sell them quickly because they’re short on money and so on…
Obviously they missed or ignored the basics and I don’t think this topic helps with that 
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That your cash is devaluing. That the longer you have it, the less it is going to be worth. Also, the value of sterling relative to other currencies can rise and fall just as share prices can.
I looked at the warnings on the Crowdcube app when the crowdfunding thing was going on. It was pretty clear that what you were buying was a pretty illiquid investment and that you may get nothing back. Spreading your money across a number of diversified funds is a very, very different prospect. If investing was like walking to the shops, Crowdcube is more like parkour. Yes, it may be really cool, but you may also fall from a great height onto your face.
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You’re preaching to the choir 
I understand but clearly a lot of others don’t and they need it breaking down better to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
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That is true, but if you have it your account for very little, for example you have to savings in order to properly save. If you have to use that cash for bills then are no reason to save and inflation has no effect.
If I spend mostly in Sterling then the value to me doesn’t change.
For the record,I’m only having a discussion for the sake of it (I have a diversified portfolio of some illquid shares and bonds through to liquid bonds and shares with a Saving account and a cash account(Monzo))
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I suppose that isn’t really a risk - more of an inevitability (apart from a few savings accounts) - Risk suggests that it could happen whereas due to the rate of inflation vs BoE base rate it is inevitable really.
If you aren’t converting your currency, would this really matter? To the layman, investing means you could actually lose money - whereas putting it into a cash savings account means that the amount will go up.
The issue is the idea and definition of “value” as it is sometimes quite a hard things to define.
Albeit playing devil’s advocate and generally agree that S&Ss over a long enough time frame is usually the better route.
The amount will grow from an amount Y to an amount Y+X
But when inflation is factored in it will be Y+X-Z
And if X<Z then your amount is going down in real terms
The actually amount isn’t going down but spending power is
The amount isn’t going down though is it - its the value hence why I made the distinction above.
Explaining to someone who may not be financially literate that whilst the numerical amount of their money is going up, actually it is valued at less is difficult. Especially when you have to use terms such as inflation, base-rate, interest rates etc.
You don’t have to convert your own money to see the effects --anything we buy made or grown overseas will have already had to factor these fluctuations in.
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Personally I think the more people start talking about savings and how they could better utilise any money they have left over at the end of the month the better. The likes of Monzo and Starling are trying to open up the discussions and overview of peoples financial health, and Im all for it.
The people on the forum are a minor part of Monzo customers, so the more these type of blog posts can get out to the wider Monzo users the better , if people are financially savvy , don’t bother reading it or skim over it, if people aren’t sure about their finances and how these things work , great - well done @bea and Rachael the blog author
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Very true - I suppose it is all an indirect cause of inflation/ cost increase.
@anon95680666 - Not sure where you got the idea that I’m not in support of education?
I’m not advocating for this to not be done at all - in fact I want it to! The more banks can do to educate the better - I’m just saying it isn’t easy without it coming across like one is better than the other. The conversations are quite difficult and technical which causes some issues. Look at how the newest “interest in the 1,000 most used words” went down - education isn’t easy. I do hwoever think it is crucial that those who know teach and try and impart knowledge on those who don’t.
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Yes sorry Jordan I was just being lazy and pressed “reply” to your message rather than the comment being directed at you specifically - apologies
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Everyone’s portfolio is going to look different. Have 10% in cash is reasonable for some, unreasonable for others. There is no “right answer” for how a portfolio should look and it depends on your individual circumstances.
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Ahah! Not a problem 
I had to re-check my comments to see where I had said something!
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Personally I think its irresponsible to have less than 10%.You’re opening yourself up to more risk than required. People wonder why some people lose it all when a crisis occurs and this is why.
Especially if the investing that you are going to do is risky or you have dependants.
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Agreed, saving some of your income should be something everyone strives to do and the more education that can be shared is very much needed.
A good example of this is my family. My parents as part of the Baby Boomer generation expect the government to basically keep them going in their old age. My father being self employed never put any money into a pension, never saved any away and now basically lives off the state pension and the amount that is means he is facing the pinch. My mother was the opposite and has a reasonable pension and decent savings.
Now if the Baby Boomer generation is realising that the state won’t carry you in old age other than just to keep your gas bill paid. myself as Generation X/Millennial need to realise the state will not be there for us in our old age.
Its pretty clear from the governments incentives to auto-enrol people into pensions by the time I retire the state pension probably wont even exist and trying to save for your retirement and general lifestyle all in one go when the day is looming just doesn’t work.
Recently watched a pretty decent video on the subject of getting into good habits with money and I already follow a lot of the principals. (Jump to 2:14
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I use Moneybox which would you recommend changing to?
I think a 10% of your total money is the wrong way to look at it
(Though it is up to the individual)
I prefer the argument that looks at outgoings
So 6 months worth of outgoings in cash or something along them lines
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I think it would highly depend on your job security and other factors. I just pick 10% as that’s what I was told in the investment meeting with H&L(didn’t pick them in the end because of brexit). Plus I err on the side of caution normally as I would prefer not to to lose a catastrophic amount of money if that everything was to go under.
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