What are your dreams for the future?
The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the full amount you invest.
Create your plan
Dreams are only dreams if you don’t have a goal or a plan. So whatever you want to do in the future, you need to create a plan to make it happen.
From a financial perspective, investing could help you reach long-term goals that are five to ten years in the future. By investing over the longer term, your investment has the opportunity to grow and overcome any fluctuations in market performance. However, please remember investments can fall as well as rise, you may not get back the full amount you invest.
There are other options too, like saving or borrowing, so it’s important to consider the best option for you.
Planning for the future
Complete your travel bucket list
Want to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Long to take a spiritual journey through Nepal or marvel at the majesty of New Zealand? If you’re dreaming of making the trip of a lifetime in the future, put a plan together to make your dreams a reality.
Start by making an itinerary for your destination(s). Then you can make a rough budget based on how you’ll travel, the length of your trip and where you’ll stay. Don’t forget daily spending such as food as well as other costs like insurance and visas.
Once you have a budget in mind, you can start thinking about how you’ll build towards it. Whether that’s by investing, saving, borrowing or a combination of all three.
Enjoy your retirement
Many of us have big dreams for retirement, no matter how near or far away it is. Whether you want to indulge in a hobby, start a business, volunteer or seek adventure, you’ll need money to make it happen.
Working out how much you need to have the retirement you want isn’t a perfect science, but it’s an important part of planning for the future. Once you have a pension plan in place, you can start thinking about other ways to put money aside for later in life.
Provide for your family
Whether you have children of your own or in your extended family, you probably want to be in a position to help them financially when the time comes. Maybe they’ll have a flair for dance, science, or have dreams of travelling the world.
Whatever their passion, setting aside a fund for your loved ones could help them achieve their dreams. How you do that is up to you, whether you want to save, invest or do both.
Own your own home or expand your portfolio
Property is one of the biggest reasons people save. A sizeable fund is needed for anyone starting out on the property ladder, extending or improving their home, or adding to their property portfolio.
The latest figures from the government’s 2018-19 English Housing Report show that the average age of first-time buyers is 33, and the average deposit on a first home is £42,361. When you’ve got a big money goal in mind, the best thing to do is start putting money aside as soon as possible to help you reach your goals faster.
Learn more about investments
Whether you’re an experienced investor or just finding out what investing is, we’ve got a range of articles to help you understand more about investing.
We regularly update our articles depending on what’s happening in the market so check back for future updates.