@footflaps 😂
Sadly it seems a Plum account is a savings account with extra branding. And some features to encourage saving. https://withplum.com/savings/
Edit - the rainy day feature would leave me without much spending money but a healthy savings balance what with living in manchester.
I’m desperate to get off the treadmill. Currently my only way out is a lottery win or death.
But seriously, do you have a recommended reading list as a starting point?
There is loads of stuff online, youtube is a good place to start - Tim Bennett has loads of explainers on various channels, 'moneycontent' being one. Have a look at Anthony Crudele's channel, that's quite good. Be aware, there is a lot of crap on youtube, but there is plenty of good stuff too. All of the online brokers will have free education sections on their websites covering all the basics and more - look at ii.co.uk, ig.com, hl.co.uk etc. Then you've got the investment magazines and buisness news. As for books, well there are millions, just find cheap second hand ones and read as many as you can, my favourite are the 'Market Wizards' series (all of them) - they are interviews with top traders/invester and they won't teach you how to trade but the are invaluable for showing you the possibilities. Michael at shiftingshares.com has some great free ebooks - he follows a similar style of trading to me and that is probably the most relevant for anyone in the UK looking to make money off short term trades on UK stocks. He is also on Twitter, as are many other investment professionals/traders so get Twitter and follow them. You don't need to pay for any courses, it's all out there if you look hard enough/read lots.
The main thing to be aware of is that there are innumerable ways to make money in the financial makets, and therefore there are innumerable different people espousing their method, all with slightly different aims and risk tolerances. You have to find what works for you, which is best done by immersing yourself in the space and then trial and error. Don't take any one person's word as gospel, don't take everything as being true in all instances, read widely and experiment. Many of the previously mentioned brokers will have the ability to create a demo account which I would encourage you to do before you play with real money. Look for a standard share dealing account i.e. no leverage, no CFDs or spreadbetting. You can start buying as small as you like (share price allowing) so don't be put off by starting small. Worth noting that I started with a stocks and share ISA and that is a great way to trade stocks. You can hold for as little time, or as much time as you like. I sometimes hold a trade for only a few hours, but more often it will be days/ weeks or sometimes months.
I think most people have the ability to make money in the stock market, provided they approach it in the right way, which most do not... You do need to commit and put the work in, i.e. accept the that first few years will be training on the job, just like in any other profession. You need to have the ride mental attitude, i.e. you can't be emotionally attached to the trading money - losses are the price of your training, and the price can be very high (read market wizzards and you will see that), and of course there's no guarantee that you will have the fortitude needed to stay the course (watch 'Millon Dollar Traders' on youtube). But, you won't know until you try, and obviously the rewards and can be fantistic if you suceed.
I think comparisons to instiutions/funds/pensions/whatever are a bit pointless. IMO the greatest strength of the private investor is the ability to get in and out of a position whenever they like. If you want to make decent money you need to use this advantage (or else you have to be the next Warren Buffet, and the odds are not in your favour...) Making money over the longer term (6 months +) can be much harder, not least because you never know what headline is round the corner. Snatching 10-30% trades over the course of hours/days/weeks is much easier, and it's not something that a pension fund can do. It won't suit everyone though, so like I said, you have to experiment and find what suits you and your circumstances.
Plum also has an investing side, not just savings and has a multitude of different portfolios and funds across the risk range.
It depends on how you set it up as well as to how it saves. At its core it will use AI to dip into your current account and take a few pounds here and there and invest it automatically in your chosen funds or just squirrel it away into a savings account.
Then on to you can have a set amount taken out say on pay day and can also make ad hoc payments and again you choose whether that money or invested or saved.
The attraction to me is I’m crap at dancing but I’m hoping if the money leaves my account before I spend it on shit and shove it somewhere where it requires a modicum of effort to get it back out I may get a little fund going.
So far it seems pretty good and each time I am about to by something I don’t really need I stop myself and put the same money I was about to spend into my Plum account instead. I only started a couple of weeks ago and have already put £40 aside. Not life changing I know but hopefully over 2-3 years it’ll start to grow into a useful little pot.
