Our Favourite Investing Myths

For many, if not most of us, investing is shrouded in mystery. Since our teachers probably didn’t explain it in school, and unless we were lucky our parents probably didn’t clue us in either, most of what we learn about investing either comes from TV/film/media or stumbling along with titbits we pick up along the way.

So with such patchy sources, is it any wonder that we pick up some ideas about investing along the way that turns out to be slightly off-target?

There are plenty of widely held views on investing that SpringGen doesn’t agree with – here is our rundown of some of the important ones!

1. There’s no need to start now, I’m too young

You’re absolutely never too young to start investing. In fact, the earlier you start, the easier you’re likely to make things for your future self. The earlier you invest, the longer period of time your money has to grow. The longer before you need to take it out again.

Conversely, you may worry that you’ve left it too late – you may need to put more away if you’re starting later in order to get to the same place, but at the end of the day, TODAY is always the best day to start!

2. I don’t have enough money to start investing it

We are conditioned to think that only wealthy people invest. But how do we think those people got wealthy in the first place?! There is no official minimum requirement for investing, you just need to find the right investment solution and service to fit you.

3. Investing is very high risk, I’ll stick to saving cash in the bank

Investing has a reputation as being a “high stakes game”. This doesn’t have to be the case. There are lots of different ways to invest money – some of them could be compared to gambling but some of them place far more emphasis on sensible, informed, long-term decisions. SpringGen falls into the latter camp.

4. I’ll just save what I can and the government will take care of me when I’m old

Unfortunately, relying on the government isn’t a prudent long-term strategy for anyone these days.  For anyone under the age of 42, you won’t be getting State Pension til you’re at least 68 (and I’d strongly suspect this will be north of 70 for many of us). Not only that, but you need to work at least 35 years to earn a full State Pension entitlement of around £185.15 per week – hardly likely to keep you in your current lifestyle!

Can you think of any other investing myths you’d like to see busted? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!