Today I want to share with you a post I wrote for the Fiology website about where to invest your money in the UK.
For the Lazy people (my crowd), here’s the link:
Where to Invest Your Money in the UK – Fiology
If you want to know the background- keep reading, if not- jump to the link above.
Fiology
I love the Fiology website. They have “lessons” which are brilliant. Every “lesson” is an FI related topic. Instead of explaining it, the “lesson” refers to external blog posts, articles, audio files and videos. That way, you can read, watch, and listen to a topic being covered from different perspectives.
March Newsletter
As part of me being a fan of Fiology, I subscribe to their newsletter.
I love newsletters, it saves me refreshing websites to see if there is new content. For the same reason, I offer that option here on Lazy FI Dad too.
Anyway, back to the story.
Back in March, I received the Newsletter that included the following text:
“If you are wondering what the “Fiosphere” is, I started a sub-blog on Fiology to share content submitted by you, the members of the Financial Independence community. If interested in getting published here, just hit reply to this email and I will help you through it.”
The topic for the post- Where to invest your money in the UK
The idea of contributing to a website I really like excited me. I also like collaborating with other people trying to spread to word about FI (like the time I went on the FIUK podcast).
I replied suggesting a post about gifts (I will write it here in the future).
The Fiology team replied with:
“I like your idea for the article. Another idea I have been thinking about is writing an in-depth article comparing how to achieve Financial Independence in the U.S. vs. the U.K.
Perhaps we could compare the typical order of operations recommended here in the U.S. to the U.K. recommended order of operations.”
I loved the idea. Not only because it is good to have a guide about a topic that confuses too many people, but also because I have a chance for it to be reviewed by someone who knows nothing about the UK system, that means anything that isn’t 100% clear- will have to be made clearer.
The post
Long story short, after 43 (!) back and forth emails in total, the post was ready.
However, I wrote so much (almost 5,000 words) that there was no room for the US part haha. UK for the win!
I cover all types of ISAs, pensions, GIAs. For each type, I give a short explanation and list the advantages, disadvantages and limits. Finally, I provide a step-by-step guide you can use to decide which account to use for your investments.
It took weeks to write but I’m happy with the result and I hope you are too.
To save you Lazy peeps from scrolling up, here’s the link again:
Where to Invest Your Money in the UK – Fiology
As usual, if you spot any mistakes or inaccuracies- please let me know in the comment section, I learn so much from your comments.
Hey, great post.
I’m pretty new to FI (the concept, not independence sadly!). Could you do a post on the pros/cons of paying off mortgage early vs investing?
I’ve just bought a house, I’m wondering whether it’s best to pay down mortgage to 25% LTV and then start investing, or investing in S&S ISA (and paying minimum mortgage payments), or simply overpaying mortgage (and ignoring S&S ISA altogether).
Hi FInewby, great question!
I’ll give you 4 perspectives to consider about paying off your mortgage. Not sure what’s special about the 25% LTV landmark, care to explain? My answer below is for any overpayments on your mortgage.
1. Paying off your mortgage is like getting a guaranteed return equal to your mortgage interest rate. For example: if your interest rate is 3%, paying it off early is like getting a guaranteed 3% return on that money. Then, I would use JL Collin’s rule of thumb to decide.
We in the Lazy FI family currently don’t pay extra on our mortgage because of the low interest rate. We prefer investing, however, the 2nd point (below) will contradict this a bit.
2. ERN wrote a great post in his SWR series about the advantages of paying off your mortgage before you hit FI:
https://earlyretirementnow.com/2017/10/11/the-ultimate-guide-to-safe-withdrawal-rates-part-21-mortgage-in-retirement/
Please notice it’s not about paying it off before you start investing, just about paying it off before retiring!
3. There are psychological advantages of paying off your mortgage, this is not a monetary/numbers consideration but still important. If the peace of mind of having a paid off home is aiper important to you, pay it off early. It’s your life, you can do whatever you want 🙂
4. Please check that you’re allowed to overpay without additional fees/fine.