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I recently spoke about the need for women to really concentrate their efforts on building their savings for their future - retirement in particular. Here is a fantastic option I have come upon and you only need £20 a month!… that’s right. Now I am sure that anyone can find £20 a month to set aside, of course, if you can spare a bit more all the better.

It’s called Halifax ShareBuilder and is aimed at those who are looking for easy and uncomplicated access to stockmarket investing. Ideal for newcomers and experienced investors alike it will automatically purchase, on a set day each month, your own chosen specifically chosen investments.

If you are new to all this the best way to start off would be to select one of their investment trusts, instruct which particular share you wish to purchase each month and run with it for about 4/5 years. After 3 years you should find that your investment is going up more each year than what you are adding. This is the time to consider selecting another share to purchase with the money that is coming in. But stick with the original investment - you will want to - and now run with your new investment.

This is how to do it! as you watch your investments grow add to them new shares every few years, until you have yourself a nice portfolio.  This is a long term investment plan so don’t approach it as way to save for a holiday in two years time…all being well you will find this a lucrative way of saving for the future.

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We would all like to retire, when that time comes around, with a comfortable amount of money to live on, pay our bills and still treat ourselves to the nice things in life. Right girls? but unfortunately many people vastly underestimate the amount of money they will need to finance their retirement.

It all comes down to one thing…saving money. We all love to spend it, that’s easy, but saving it and watching it grow takes discipline and committment. But if you are patient and can spare some cash each month here is a way to save some serious money for the future…start an easy to manage long-term investment plan.

 In other words, take whatever spare cash you have every month ( aim to have some ) and invest 70% in a basic, low-fee stock index trader fund, and the remaining 30% in a bond fund, which you take out through a discount broker or fund supermarket (where the fees are lower than going direct). Then leave it until you retire. Literally. Learn to live without it.

The benefit of tracker funds are that they cost very little to invest in and they are run by machines so don’t take silly risks like their human counterparts. Instead, they follow the fortunes of a particular market, which over the long term is likely to be much better than a savings account. Bond funds are even lower-risk investments in Government and company IOUs. The big risk is if a company goes bust, but a fund will spread that risk for you.

Popularity: 7% [?]