Saving and investing often works best if you set yourself small incremental challenges to put more money away.

In this article we look at how you might start a 12-month period by investing £100 per month into the markets and then increasing the amount by £5 each month.

By doing so you would be saving £155 or 55% more at the end of the exercise. The impact of that over time is powerful.

According to our calculations, and assuming an investment return of 7% a year, it would take less than five years (four years and seven months to be precise) to reach a total of £10,000 if you started with £100, put £5 per month more in for the remaining 11 months of the first year and then £155 per month thereafter. Investing £100 per month it would take six years and nine months to reach the same sum.

This example is for illustrative purposes only, with the 7% return calculated at the end of each year or part-year for simplicity’s sake rather than every month.

Also, in the interests of clarity, we have laid out the challenge over a calendar year but you could obviously start whenever you like – you don’t need to wait until the start of a new year. And these are just ideas and suggestions, not all of them will be applicable to you. They are intended to show how relatively simple changes could help your money work harder.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH THE INVESTMENT CHALLENGE

To find the £100 in the first place is probably a job for a wet Sunday when you can go through all your incomings and outgoings and work out where you might make some savings on your big bills and expenditures.

Banking apps make the process a lot easier as they allow you to divvy your statements up by category.

Consumer finance champion Martin Lewis sets a ‘Money Makeover’ challenge on the Moneysavingexpert site to save at least £1,000 through things like haggling with phone, broadband and mobile providers, more efficient food shopping and switching your insurance.

That would go a long way to giving you the starting point of £100 per month. Once you’ve managed that you can think about what to invest in. To avoid a big chunk of your returns being eaten up by charges it is worth considering investing in an exchange-traded fund. This will provide diversified exposure to the markets for a relatively modest cost.

If you have a reasonably long time frame in which to invest and to ride out ups and downs in the market, we think a product tracking the mid cap FTSE 250 index could be a good option. Companies in this index have more growth potential than the more mature businesses in the FTSE 100 but are more likely to pay dividends and are less volatile and risky than smaller companies.

One example is Vanguard FTSE 250 (VMIG) which has an ongoing charge of just 0.1%. This is the accumulating version of the fund – which means all dividends are automatically reinvested.

Because you are investing regularly you should benefit from a reduced dealing charge. AJ Bell’s platform, for example, charges £1.50 for its regular investing service. This an important consideration when the typical dealing charge of closer to £10 for individual trades would take a material chunk out of your monthly investment.

Investments will be made on a certain day of the month and you need to make sure the funds are in your account and ready to go – setting up a direct debit can be a good way to avoid missing the boat. If you invest through an ISA, you protect any income and capital gains from HMRC and don’t have to worry about the hassle of filling in a tax return.

Jan £100

Write down out all the money coming into and leaving your account each month. See if you can switch utility providers to save at least £100 a month, giving you the cash to start your investment challenge and the backbone for future instalments.

Feb £105

Increase your monthly investment by being clever with your streaming subscriptions. If you pay for Netflix and Disney+ each month, limit yourself to just one at a home. That could save you at least £5 a month, giving you the extra money to add into the pot for regular investments.

Mar £110

Make sure you use any vouchers you get from your regular supermarket of choice. Sometimes these can be put towards items other than paying for groceries, saving you money and helping to add another £5 to the monthly investments.

Apr £115

Invest in a reusable insulated thermal cup and, instead of those on-the-go hot drinks from one of the high street chains or your local coffee shop, make your own at home.

May £120

Check if you have any workplace benefits which entitle you to discounts on cinema tickets or eating out. That should free up more cash and enable you to pay in £120 this month.

Jun £125

If you typically rely on a meal deal for lunch at work, try making at least a couple of packed lunches.

Jul £130

If practical try walking, running or cycling to work a couple of times a month instead of getting the bus or the train. That should certainly save you the extra £5 needed for July’s investment contribution.

Aug £135

Go to PetrolPrices.com and find the cheapest filling stations in your area and save money on filling up the car. Or think about getting a lift from a friend or family and saving at least £5 on your monthly petrol bill.

Sept £140

Instead of buying a glossy magazine to keep you occupied during a long journey, join your local library and you will often be able to ‘borrow’ a range of digital magazines (as well as books and audiobooks) instead.

Oct £145

Download a free automatic savings app which rounds up transactions to the nearest pound and saves the difference for you. This is a good way to tuck away a small amount of money which can then go into your investment account.

Nov £150

Start your Christmas shopping early. Use cashback websites such as Quidco and you should be able to earn money when buying stuff from popular retailers online. You’ll soon be able to collect the extra £5 needed for this month’s investment into the stock market.

Dec £155

Get organised with your Christmas card list and make sure you send any in time to arrive by second class post. Or you could go one further and send virtual Christmas cards, freeing up cash that can now go into your ISA or SIPP.

‹ Previous2023-02-23Next ›