Why I use Freetrade & how to get a free share when you sign up

Hello friends! Today I thought I would have a quick chat with you about how I’m investing (again!) and this time, I’m using Freetrade. I’m sharing why I’m using Freetrade, why I’m investing and also I’m sharing my refer a friend link so you can get a free share if you fancy doing the same thing!

why I use Freetrade

Free trading fees. Most banks or trading companies charge £15-25 to buy shares. With Freetrade… it’s free
I can buy fractional shares, which means if you want to buy a share which is £100 and you only want to invest £10, then you can buy 1/10 of a share and still see that money grow
Any dividends will be paid straight into my freetrade account. Which i can choose to withdraw or reinvest
app is easy to use
great suggestions of brands to invest in as well as ready made portfolios in a variety of risk levels – but also do your own research
I can choose brands via sector easily; for instance if i want to invest in food brands, it’s easy to find food brands in the food section
I can set up a direct debit so you can invest every month, or i can invest as and when I want to

why in invest

I invest for a number of reasons… here are just a few:

I don’t have much money, so I want my small savings pot to work for me
when I invest, I learn and I like learning
inflation is fairly high and we have to work harder to make our savings grow
I find it exciting
The returns can be amazing
I think it’s important for women to have savings and know how to make them grow
I want to be able to share my finance knowledge with my daughter and have plenty of money to do cool things with her

my history with investing

I started investing in my 20s, I was working in fashion and I had some savings. I knew if I ever wanted to be a home owner, I couldn’t rely on my salary, so I invested my savings in the hope of making my money grow to eventually use for a house deposit. It kind of worked!!

back then it was harder to buy shares, the platform was really ugly, hard to navigate and Honestly finding companies to invest in was harder than it seemed. If selftrade had existed, it would have been a dream!!

once we bought our house, I couldn’t afford to buy shares and I closed my trading account (back then I had to pay an annual fee, something freetrade don’t ask of their customers)

I bought some more shares during lockdown, but I sold most of them after we bought our second home as again, I needed the money!

How to get a free share from Freetrade

If you fancy signing up to freetrade, ask around your friends and see if anyone is a member and if you can use their referral a friend link! That’s what I did and I got a free share!

Investing – what’s my plan

Historically, I’ve always bought my shares via traditional companies whose fees are fairly high. Meaning when I bought shares I had to buy a lot to help offset the amount the fees cost me. For example, if I spent £50 buying shares in asos, If I got charged £15 in fees, i would need those shares to grow by 30% just to break even on me fees. Plus I would get more when I sold them, so I had to factor that in too. However, with Freetrade I can avoid fees, but fractional shares and generally be a bit more experimental with my choices. The best way to learn, is just by diving in!

I’m planning on buying buying the ready made portfolios, as this will help me diversify my portfolio. I’m also try to buy lots of companies and buying in at a lower amounts. And if I want to top up, I can. Finally, I’m trying to buy with dividends in mind. Not all companies pay them and the ones who do can vary massively. For instance; some companies can pay up to 4 times per year, which is amazing, and some offer dividends which are really generous, so even if your shares stay stagnant, you can still get a great return over the course of the year. And if the shares grow and the dividends are good, you’re laughing!

My personal golden rules of investing

Diversify my portfolio
do research
look up how frequently they give dividends and how generous they tend to be
invest in ready made portfolios shares
don’t invest what I can’t afford to loose
see it as a 5 year investment, not a get rich quick plan
do more research. Never stop researching & learning
don’t get addicted. Buying shares can be really addictive and I tend do get carried away!
avoid stuff that I consider dodge or I don’t understand

♥

And there we have it! I hope this post was of help and interest. I’m no expert. Do your own research. Don’t listen to me. This is just what I’m doing and I’m sharing it, Customer refer a friend link included.