I started working in August this year and have saved up 8k. I have another 12k that I inherited from my grandad. Now I have £20k and I feel like I should be doing something with it? Or at least have a plan for it.
For context I'm working as a barista, finished my A levels this year with no plans to go to uni. I save pretty much everything, was working 7 days a week at 2 part time jobs until last month, now its just the one but landed full time.
I know that if I just leave the money in the bank inflation will decrease the value, so I was thinking of investing. However, I'm not sure how much is an appropriate amount to invest and what to invest in. I have heard the s&p 500 is a good start for beginners?
I have most of the money in a cash ISA with 4.5% interest, and the rest is spread across monthly savers with 5-7% interest.
My main goal is to move out, but this is impossible on my barista salary. Do you think it would be better to keep the money and use some of it towards rent, or use it as a down payment and buy? I only want a small space by myself.
I really love my current job but it only pays £11.20 an hour. I'm worried that I'm being silly by picking it over a potentially higher paid job or an apprenticeship or degree.
Should I keep the money in the bank towards either future rent or down payment, or invest (if so how much)?
Or I could go to university and pay off a chunk of the debt outright. Problem is university is unappealing to me being fresh out of A levels which I hated. I was considering the Open university so I could keep my job, and it looks like the whole course would be £23k, so I could essentially do a degree debt free.
Help is much appreciated 🙏
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Stocks and shares ISA. Reinvest the dividends.
I did have the money from my grandad in a S&S, I just took it out because that money has sentimental value and I didn't want to risk losing it. Maybe I should put my own 8k back in it?
Did you take it entirely out of the ISA or just un-invest it?
Even if you don’t invest it, you should be keeping it in an ISA. Even a cash ISA.
Are you planning to buy a house in the future? If so you should have a look into LISAs. Each £1 you put in, the government will give you an extra 25p for free. You don’t have to invest in stocks, you can leave it as cash and earn some interest at least.
While it’s earning interest, do some research on what stocks and shares do and the concept of risk adjusted returns and risk appetite. Remember you don’t have to do the same thing with all £20k. You could split it up into holiday money so you can have some lifelong memories thanks to your Grandad, put £4K into a LISA each year to get you a leg up on a future house deposit, and invest the rest in a regular cash or S&S ISA as you become more comfortable understanding your own risk appetite and your plans for this money.
I took it out of the s&s ISA (only left £500 in there) and put it in a cash ISA. Someone else recommended a LISA and I think I'll open one. Buying a house is more appealing to me than renting and I like the government 25%. Ill take your advice and research more into stocks, I dont really know enough to be confident right now.
I know exactly what you mean. When I was your age my Dad gave me £1000 to invest for the future and I was so certain I'd lose it all I let it sit in my current account for 3 years until I finally understood how money actually works. You'll get there.
Just for some context I bought Balfour Beatty in 2015. I saw they were changing all the street lights across England. Good luck.
Not sure what that adds to what I'm suggesting? Sounds like an incredibly risky strategy.
Do your own research however if you do lean towards the S&S ISA I’d recommend ETF’s over individual stocks.
The basic principle is that buying a bunch of stocks is safer than buying individual stocks, if you buy the whole market you’re likely to make safe gains.
r/bogleheads has more information on this if you’re interested.
If the fund has "sentimental value", use other money to invest. Take time to think of the best way to spend that fund on yourself in a way your grandad would be happy for you. After that, never get attached to money again. She's a cold bitch.
This is kinda baffling tbh. Money is fungible… how can money in a S&S ISA be sentimental when it doesn’t actually exist…
It’s not like a lucky coin.
Up to you. It is a bit overwhelming to be honest. I've put the money into several companies I believe in long term. They're very unlikely to go bust but no guarantee.
The ISA is tax free that's the thing. And the dividends can be automatically reinvested meaning your money is passively buying more shares.
It's a lot of research to begin with choosing the ISA and the companies. It's served me well though.
In the absence of a goal this isn't good advice - in the presence of possibly paying off Uni debt (not that I would suggest that) this is very bad advice - there isn't the right time horizen for that.
It's spelt "horizon", advice is always subjective, it's simply what I would do. Whether you think it is bad or good is none of my business.
If it were you you would know what objectives and horizon (good point) you had.
This!!
IMO it’s a bad idea to stay doing a minimum wage job just because you like it, you will be on the bones of your arse for the rest of your life if you choose to do so. Do you have any career aspirations for the future? Start with that and then you’ll be able be able to plan out what you will do, but for now your money is fine across different savings accounts, inflation isn’t really eating it away, it’s just not growing
This is exactly what I would say too, I'm not sure why I want to keep this job so much. I change my mind all the time on future careers, right now I'm thinking maybe accounting/taxation? I am looking for an apprenticeship in this field but it honestly might be better with a degree.
Hiya, if you're interested in accountancy, you don't need a full degree, you might want to look into qualifications such as AAT or similar. From this you could find apprenticeships or jobs that take you part qualified and even fund the rest of your quals.
I was thinking about that too, I need to look more into the AAT but I think thats a good option, a lot of the apprenticeships I found need an accounting qual
I don’t know anything about that field so I couldn’t give any advice on that. I done an apprenticeship (control & instrumentation) and it was the best thing I ever done, if your career absolutely requires a degree then of course go for it, but I would only go for a degree if you’re sure that you need it to get the job you want. Otherwise, the apprenticeship route (or just working) is much better IMO. Everyone has a degree these days, you don’t automatically make more money just by having a degree, which was the case 15-20 years ago.
I wouldn’t recommend uni unless you want to be a doctor or something, it’s not worth the debt you carry around for years and for me personally it hasn’t helped my career.
There are apprenticeships to further your career which I think you should look into if you want to increase your salary.
If you have no immediate plans stick it in a stocks and shares ISA in a sensible ETF for now (I’m not going to suggest any as I think you should be doing your own research if you are going to invest)
And I wouldn’t be in a rush to move out in the current climate.. stay at home and save as much as you can so you are in the best position possible when you do move out
Yeah the debt factor of uni is really putting me off when theres no guarantee it will even help me. Half my coworkers at the coffee shop have degrees..
I think putting my money back is the stocks in shares is the most popular opinion here, thank you!
I really would love to move out but saving at home is probably the most sensible option.
If you want to go to uni use the loans. However, coming from someone who also hated A levels but got very high results and was funneled into uni despite wanting an apprenticeship I would say only go if you really want to and have a very specific career in mind. A lot of degrees will not specifically lead to a career.
There's nothing wrong with working low wage for a bit to say what you want to do you are very young, but it's probably not a long term plan so take your time to decide what you really want to do, I never figured it out till I was 29 and even then a lot of it was chance.
If you ain't going to use the money soon invest in a stocks and shares ISA and just leave it, whafk 15k of it in with vanguard or something similar FTSE global all caps or something similar.
Keep 5k in a cash ISA or something just incase.
20k sounds a lot but the reality is it's just not, it's a massive help but it's a small amount in the grand scheme of things.
INVEST AND SAVE. Don’t make my mistake. I wasted £35k at 21. Spend very wisely. Good luck!
What did you spend it on?
Initially, I bought a car which I needed. It was my first car. But it was a cheap one that ended up costing me and I had to get rid. My insurance was very high at the time and I was paying that annually via my inheritance. As for the rest of it, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I have nothing to show for it.
I'd get yourself a stocks and shares ISA and maybe 5k of it, just so the damn thing is open and ready for you to contribute more (in a global index fund)
I'd also get myself a SIPP and invest another 5k not least so you have a pension open and that's one more barrier to investing down (again, global index fund)
Then tbh I don't think it's the worst choice to leave the other 10k in a cash account as your emergency fund so you never find yourself unable to deal with some crisis without going into debt.
Others will want to do the proportions differently. That's fine.
But one way or another, cash emergency fund (probably a cash ISA), S&S ISA, SIPP.
As for the open university, they are great, I did a second degree with them after the first at a traditional uni. Obviously it's a different experience, but if it appeals, go for it.
You are asking a question when in fact you are looking for answers to several.
The stocks and shares ISA is a good suggestion by others. Continue to save while you can. You don't need to move now and everything you have saved will be useful later.
Not going to university is a valid choice. These days unless you have a specific career in mind a degree is not always a good choice and not always a good return. You have time to think about what you want and whether a degree is for you. The OU is also a good way to get a degree in your own time.
NTA
LISA and S&SISA
I was in a similar place at your age.
Best thing I did was every year deposit £4000 of that money into an LISA.
Left the rest in a S&SISA
After holding the account for 5 years I had £5000 from the government and an additional £1700 from the interest earned on the LISA. I don’t remember what I wasn’t in the S&SISA but what I did was gradually over the five years, change the risk format for my account so the closer I got to buying a house the better off I was.
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Lots of people blindly giving the bad advice to just invest it. Maybe you should invest it - but ONLY if you are confident you won't want to spend in in the next few years.
If you might want to pay for uni potentially investing it now would be a bad idea.
This is because investments are volitile, over the long term they trend up which is great, but what if the market crashes 50% just before you mean to pay for uni? Now suddenly you can't afford it, or need to sell at a loss to afford it - both not great.
Work out what you want to do, then position the money accordingly - the investing wiki page would be a good read.
Thank you! That makes a lot more sense and I'll check out that wiki page
OP, this commenter has provided excellent advice - the rule of thumb is that if you want to use the money within 5 years, you shouldn’t put it in the stock market as if there is a crash you might not make it back by the time you need to use the money.
You don’t know what you want to use the money for. You’ve talked about a number of different options, but it’s clear you’re still working through them.
That means you need to keep things flexible. Putting the money in a cash ISA will achieve this. You won’t earn much after inflation, but at least it’s safe if the stock market crashes.
You could put some (up to £4k pa) into a LISA (in cash) and the govt will give you an extra 25% boost. BUT if you take the money out for anything other than a house purchase (or after you’re 60), they will charge you a penalty of 20% on withdrawal. If you do the maths, you’ll see that it’s the same as not receiving the bonus in the first place, but if you’re not aware of this it could be a nasty shock.
So the best combination of flexibility and return is to put what you can in cash in a LISA, but knowing that there is a penalty to pay eg if you go to uni instead of buying a house. You won’t be worse off, though, just in the same position as if you’d not received the bonus in the first place. The balance of the money could go in a cash ISA.
Then once you know for sure what you want to do with the money you can spend it, or convert it to a S&S ISA if you decide your timeline is over 5 years and you want to get the additional returns possible through the stock market.
Note I’m not a financial advisor and all the usual blurb about stock and shares!!
One final comment, check that your employer is paying you pension. This is the other vital element of a personal financial strategy. Because of the long time horizon (over 30 years) pensions would normally be invested in the stock market or similar long term investment.
I hope this is helpful!
My pleasure - if anything there doesn't make sense please feel free to ask follow up questions.
Oh hellelujia! Finally someone talking sense!
Apprenticeship is a great idea, have you thought about what you want to do for a career? If you don’t live in a major city with good public transport it might be worth learning to drive as well. It’s a really important life skill and you’ll be much more flexible in finding better paid work in the future.
Yeah I live in a tiny village (2 pubs and a hairdressers). That's largely why I want to move out to the closest town for the job opportunities. Learning to drive isn't on the table for me. I'm definitely leaning towards the apprenticeship route, I've been looking online recently but its hard to find any in my area, I'll keep searching tho!
Genuinely at 18, you’re in a much better spot then most
I’m only 28 have a good job.
But before you know it you will meet someone you like, you will have ties and before you know it you’ll have had a few relationships a few jobs you might get into going out drinking etc
If there’s ever been a thought in your mind about travelling. I’d suggest doing some of that, go see places you might figure out a lot about yourself, you could to south east Asia and travel on a cheap budget.
Obviously if you have no desire completely ignore me
But don’t stress to much about anything at 18 you’re not supposed to have the answers
Well done tho!
I’d buy for sure! Don’t waste it on rent. Or put in savings and keep saving for another year while at home but keep saving you will thank yourself one day when you have more money and a stable roof over your head as you aren’t forking our for crazy rents
Yep I think thats the sensible option. Buying is an investment where rent is a temporary roof.
I see you mentioning going to uni- I’m gonna be maybe controversial and say if you aren’t just passionate about learning only bother to go to university if you have a specific career in mind which requires a specific degree, and which is a job which will still be likely to exist in 10 years. Having a degree doesn’t hold the same prestige it did 20-30 years ago and just having “a degree” is just a sort of default. If you’re not actively interested, don’t bother- but also if you do, get a student loan- it doesn’t count against you on a credit score and that way you can continue to earn interest on your money while studying.
I would highly recommend looking into graduate apprenticeships. You'll build a career, earn better salary that will increase with time, all while studying towards a degree without any debt. The work experience you gain also helps to provide a better understanding of your studies.
Go and have some fun, genuinely: life is hard, and you are a long time working and on the grindstone. You’re 20 years old, take a year out, go around Asia, have fun, come back and then look forward to having the knowledge you’ve had a life experience and you can settle down.
Pop it in an ISA and forget about it. Make sure that ISA is invested in funds that cover a lot of ground like S&P 500 funds. Make sure the profits are reinvested. A crude calculation assuming growth of 7.5% says…
20k invested will be worth
40k in 10 years
85k in 20 years
175k in 30 years
320k in 40 years
And at a retirement age of 65, which is 45 years away for you, it would be worth half a million quid.
I’d do that.
Definitely never ever pay a degree outright unless it wouldnt effect your finaces. A degree will be paid as a tax on your income, somewhat unnoticable.
For careers just do whatever interests u + seems like it would lead to money. I did an economics degree and work in tech consulting. You dont know what ur career projection will be, just think what ur good at. Like maths, law ect.
I saw ur comment about accounting and that is really really hard work wouldnt recc. Loads of exams for years
Give it to me
If you go to uni just get a student loan. I would put at least some of the money in a S&S ISA. I use the vanguard managed option (where I don't pick where they invest) because I think professional traders are likely better than me at trading.
Open uni does sound like a good option if you're unsure if you want it, but perhaps use some of the money for you. You won't get many opportunities like this in your life where you have no commitments and some liquidity do have fun with.
EDIT: actually a LISA would make sense if you have aspirations to buy a home. Put 4k in and the government will add another 1k.
LISA is a good shout, I had been considering that. I just wasn't sure if buying a house instead of renting was the right idea.
I'm a granny on the best of days. Bed by 9pm, favourite hobby is cross stitch. I dont think theres anything I want to do with the money/anything to spend it on😭
I've given more broad advice elsewhere but for cross stich get yourself a lowery workstand, game changer!
You’re doing really well for 19 — having £20k saved gives you options, which is the real win. I’d keep a solid emergency fund in cash, invest a portion long-term (a low-cost S&P 500 or global index is a reasonable start), and avoid rushing into buying property on a low income. The money also buys you time to figure out career direction — that’s probably more valuable right now than chasing returns. There’s no wrong move here, just don’t lock all the money into something you might regret.
Imo
Firstly always put things in an ISA if you can, you can always take them out again if you need them, whether it's cash or stocks and shares.
Secondly learning about investing is very cheap and will improve returns. For almost everyone low fee index trackers / ETFs are best but it's really worth educating yourself as to why.
Thirdly only do job training if it's a job you want. Don't just go to uni just because, it's incredibly expensive in lost wages and costs however you cut it and only worth it if it leads where you want to go. You can always go later.
Fourthly degree apprenticeships sound really great if you can get training and wages and a degree that's way better.
Fifthly try to think about what you like about your job and try and use that to figure out what larger careers might suit. Is it the coffee part? The people you work with? Working with customers? Etc.
Sixthly if you want to travel do it while you're young and don't have responsibilities.
Seventhly moving out is great socially and much worse financially so if you can grin and bear it at home for a bit then that's good. Depends whether you can flourish there or not.
Hope that's helpful :)
That's super helpful, I think a degree apprenticeship would be the ideal route for me.
I'll definitely put thought into what I like about this job, other than the free coffee everyday ofc.
I'm gonna do more reading into ETFs as I think thats the best investment option for me.
I mean if you love coffee you could always try and join the coffee industry in some capacity. That could be really interesting.
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!thanksin a reply to them. Points are shown as the user flair by their username.I would wait to go to uni until you have a plan of what you would actually want to do with a degree. Definitely look into apprenticeships as well.
First of all you need to pick a career you want to do
Yep this is my biggest problem I think!
It depends really what your goals are for the money. If you’re looking to save the money for 5+ years I’d say stick it in a stocks & shares ISA with someone like Vanguard. Their Life Strategy funds are pretty decent.
The university debt gets paid off after 30 years and they only take a minisculle amount of your salary when you're working. It would be best to get an appprenticeship.
I think so too, I'm more suited to work than study anyway. Ill keep searching for apprenticeships.
I wouldn't rush to go to uni or do a degree unless you are sure you will complete it and there's a job at the end of it. So many leave university with no job prospect and will end up in a minimum wage job but saddled with debt.
If you love your current job, why not look at moving further up in that field? Is there scope for promotion at your current job? Is there training or courses that would give you a chance of a pay rise?
So many people do jobs they hate because they pay well, but we spend so much of our lives working that we should enjoy what we do.
At 19, you have your whole life ahead of you, and there is no rush to spend this money or decide your career right now. I went to uni at 19 and dropped out a few months later as i realised it wasn't for me. I retrained at 24 in a completely different field.
Education will always be there regardless of your age, don't make any big financial decisions impusively, and don't feel pressured to do something just because others your age are doing it.
As an example, my husband left school with no qualifications, worked minimum wage jobs, and moved up. He now earns 48K a year with scope to earn more/move up in his career. He has always worked hard and asked to learn more, gaining as much experience as he could. Good work ethics, passion, and experience can be just as appealing to potential employers as a degree.
Invest 90% of it, and spend the other 10% on a holiday that you’ll absolutely love!
I’ve a similar amount of money .. would VUAG be any good?
Screw investments its alot of risk for long term reward if your wanting to invest start with your money not interitance and around a grand to begin but if i was you id find a trust worth freind whose in a similar postion and make a contacted agreement (just for saftey) and get a first time home owner mortage get a cheap house revovate it and rent it out after a year of living there then get your mate to do the same thing.
Depending on your location you may be able to use it to move out depending on property prices in your area
You won’t get a palace but you could poss get a small apartment It’s a start
Honestly. Just don't stress and enjoy your life a bit. Maybe travel a bit?
Worrying about min-maxing finances at 19 is weird and won't make you happy (as someone who sold a Bitcoin for ~£700 10 years ago).
Universities are a great way to meet other people at your age and develop your social and emotional maturity (which is arguably much more important than the education).
Just do something you find interesting at Uni if you're unsure and use it to learn and grow as a person. That's invaluable and so many jobs will value that growth. Don't listen to people who say you need a career path at your age - lots of us can be successful without having to overthink and plan years in the future.
Have you got a license? Maybe set 5k aside for lessons ur first car and insurance the other 5k as a rainy day fund held as cash. 5k for travels/experiences and invest the remaining 5k. (Could put 4k into a Lisa which would become 5k with the 1k bonus and then you could fit the remaining 1k into any category you wish too.
Definitely don't spend the money on moving out - this is enough money that it could be a down payment, or a car, or pay for a move abroad in the future.
Perhaps you could put half into stocks/shares and keep the other half in cash to hedge your bets.
No harm in spending time considering what you want to do with your future too - you can't be a barrista forever, but having a job while you explore your options is great :)
Travel and spunk it all on good times
You have so many options, but I haven't seen one that suggests you buy a coffee franchise. You've already got the barista skills and I'm sure you must have built up some management skills. Business ownership may be scary but could be very rewarding.
S&SISA. Stick it in a fund.
You need to speak to a financial advisor
Really, you should seek the advice of a qualified financial advisor. That’s my real advice.
I am not a financial advisor but if I had 20k going spare I would put at least 5k into XRP with the minimum expectation of 10x over the next 5 years, and wild dreams of 10000x. But as I mentioned I am not a financial advisor, but my money is where my mouth is!!!
OP you are still young! You have plenty of time to think about a career. My advice? Don't rush! Depending on where you live, is a mortgage possible? Could you save more over then next 2 years and then buy a small 2 bed apartment, for example? Then you could rent one oom to a friend and live in the other. That way you won't be paying rent, you'll be paying your own mortgage.
If it was me I'd start a business. Get it profitable - then use profits to pile into investments. Worked for me. Started when I was 25 - now 45 millionaire.
Go travelling or pursue something which excites you. You're young, enjoy life :) investing will always be there for you later!
Hey! I’m 20 and won 16k in September. I had 4k in savings so had 20k. What I did with the money was bought a flat in my Uni city. The property was 96k and I paid a 10k deposit. My mortgage repayments are only £430 a month and it was the best decision I’ve made. I would recommend to try and buy a property if you can. I work 2 jobs but both 0 hours so my mortgage is a guarantor mortgage. If you have any one close to you with a high salary you can get a mortgage where they take their income into account for your mortgage but only your name is on the deeds and you’re a sole owner. Great option for us young home owners!
enjoy your life!
If you can get a degree it's surely the best option.
I wouldn’t automatically second this, I did an apprenticeship which had set me up massively. In fact many I know have degrees and still went on to do an apprenticeship, because the main thing we all need is a foot in the door.
Only go to university if you feel strongly about why you are doing it and what you hope to accomplish.
I think it can also be the worst depending on the subject and the job prospects of it.
Three years of lost wages plus fees plus living expenses plus lots of courses don't have professions attached.
Oh, shall I delete my post on the basis of your personal life experience?
You can do if you want. I don't think it's particularly good advice the way you've phrased it.
https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/how-graduate-salaries-vary-by-degree-subject
Unfortunately the link you shared with me (for no reason) won't allow me to copy and paste without accepting cookies but as you can read in the first few sentences that there are substantial financial positives, not that OPs question or my reply was solely based on money.
Open a Trading 212 account and start investing your money.
I've opened an account, I'm just stuck on what to invest in. The market is too unpredictable for a beginner like me to predict. Also not sure how much to invest? If anyone can give advice on this?
Put it in the S&P500 (VUSA) or Vanguard All World (VWRP) for slightly less risk. You could leave it there indefinitely and forget about it for years/decades or just whilst you take some time to research individual stocks that might (or might not) offer larger gains.
Right now, I am considering loading up on Amazon (AMZN) as I think they will have a great 2026
I was in a similar situation after a bonus! Firstly I would say max out either a cash ISA or Stocks and Shares, then leave it alone. If you have already maxed that out, if you are into NSI premium bonds I would consider those (the winnings are tax free). IF you have done that, my tip is to actually go on GPT to set out the best pathway: my prompt was this for my Vanguard investment account is below but you can tweak for your circumstances. Good luck!!
“You’re creating a character that is a as a world-class senior financial advisor with deep expertise in financial market trends. The UK based client wants to open a vanguard account, add £xxxxx to it, which will make the most possible about over the next 20 or so years. Do your best to satisfy their request.”
All of it straight in a SIPP and into S&P500 via a cheap fund provider.
I think investing in the s&p500 is definitely going to be something i do soon. A SIPP isn't something I had considered, I'll look into that!
Don’t just pile it all into the S&P500 without understanding what that means in terms of currency risk and country concentration. It’s not a bad choice but it might not be the best choice for you.
I’d recommend Pensioncraft on YouTube. Some of his older videos are much more foundational around how stock markets work and it’s very UK-focused, which is not the case for most finance-focused YouTubers etc.
Thank you! I'll check him out
You are in such a great position at 19 and if you leave the money alone and add to it you will be amazed how much money you’ll have when you’re 90