I will never understand how people can be terrified of fairly basic relatively risk free investment but not terrified of their savings value being wiped out by inflation.
Replies
It’s I think a product of a number of British problems (coyness about money, bad mathematical and financial literacy education). Note how the people getting angry in my mentions are a cross-section of Brits while a bunch of Yanks are just rting or liking the post!
jul 17, 2025, 2:05 pm • 18 0 • view
The irony that we actually have enormously generous tax breaks for investing…
jul 17, 2025, 3:57 pm • 1 0 • view
Confidence. Or not.
jul 17, 2025, 2:06 pm • 0 0 • view
Just get every school kid to read Warren Buffet. And I’m not even joking.
jul 17, 2025, 3:02 pm • 0 0 • view
I think "terrified" is overdoing it, as is "wiped out". We're not talking Weimar Germany / Zimbabwe; I doubt many British people have had their savings wiped out by inflation in living memory. The interest, maybe. But that's the difference, isn't it. With investing, people worry about losing the lot
jul 17, 2025, 2:01 pm • 2 0 • view
"relatively risk free" = all your capital is at risk "wiped out by inflation" = loses some of its value
jul 17, 2025, 4:13 pm • 1 0 • view
If I lost all of my money that is put diverse index funds, I don't think the cash guy would be doing so hot either, because that would mean the breakdown of the entire world economy. If you invested in the DJIA at its peak before the 2008 crisis, then lost a ton in the crash, but took it out just
jul 17, 2025, 4:50 pm • 2 0 • view
10 years later, you'd have a ~64% return. Meanwhile, inflation in the US in that time period was ~18%. That's a massive swing.
jul 17, 2025, 4:50 pm • 1 0 • view
How about the four stock market crashes in the last 38 years.
jul 17, 2025, 12:48 pm • 1 0 • view
None of those crashes would negate the performance of dollar/pound cost averaging and progressively transitioning to bonds in later life.
jul 17, 2025, 12:56 pm • 3 0 • view
Wouldn't that take a more active approach ?
jul 17, 2025, 1:03 pm • 0 0 • view
Technically, but it's a really small amount of work. Many platforms offer the option of setting a schedule of automatic deposits and then purchases of an index fund with a target retirement date that will gradually shift to more holding of bonds.
jul 17, 2025, 1:06 pm • 4 0 • view