Gold is up big in 2025, but should you invest in it? And if so, how?

In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about gold as an investor. From what actually drives gold’s price, to its long term returns (including the real return after inflation), to how much of your portfolio you may want to allocate - the ultimate beginner-friendly guide.

We then dive into the 5 main ways to invest in gold, including the pros, cons, fees, and tax implications of each option.

These options include: physical gold, ETCs, ETFs, gold mining stocks and digital gold.

In this podcast episode, I answer a question from Jiani.

This is a great question and a fairly common question one - is it better to 'lump sum' invest or 'drip feed' / 'cost average' invest.

We go through the data, the pros and cons of each approach, some real life examples, what I personally do, and more, in this podcast episode.

Listen to the podcast episode for the full details.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Question from Jiani: Cost averaging vs Lump sum

1:24 - What is the difference?

2:45 - What the data shows

4:17 - Why lump sum investing wins

5:13 - Why cost averaging/drip feeding might still be better

7:09 - When does each strategy work best?

8:31 - Some real life examples

10:17 - The ‘lost decade’ where drip feeding won

12:08 - The final verdict

13:23 - What do I do?

14:4 - Outro

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More investing:

📝 Download my free investing guide to help you start investing - https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/Free-Investing-Guide

📕 Get my book Stop Waiting, Start Investing (available as a physical, digital and audiobook) - https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/swsi-book

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⚠️ Disclaimers: I am not a financial advisor and this does not represent financial advice, it is for entertainment purposes only. Please seek professional advice to get the best information for your personal situation. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

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📥 Get in touch: https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/contact

Mat from @thequidsquid joins me on this episode to discuss all things budgeting.

From different budgeting methods, to budgeting techniques, to useful budgeting tools and apps, to juggling your budget whilst investing and saving.

Mat shares how he used budgeting personally to save for his own house. As well as how to go about budgeting the average UK salary of £35,000.

Listen to the podcast episode for the full details!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - Different budgeting methods

3:25 - 50/30/20 budgeting

7:39 - What techniques did Mat follow to save for a house

9:45 - Zero-based budget

14:14 - Budgeting for investing

17:13 - Other budgeting tips - mindset, LISAs

22:23 - How to budget the average £35,000 UK salary

26:25 - How much should you save/invest?

31:08 - Budgeting apps and tools

36:34 - Using multiple accounts

41:26 - Final quickfire budgeting tips

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More investing:

📝 Download my free investing guide to help you start investing - https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/Free-Investing-Guide

📕 Get my book Stop Waiting, Start Investing (available as a physical, digital and audiobook) - https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/swsi-book

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⚠️ Disclaimers: I am not a financial advisor and this does not represent financial advice, it is for entertainment purposes only. Please seek professional advice to get the best information for your personal situation. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

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📥 Get in touch: https://www.makingmoneysimple.co.uk/contact