Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How Can I Start Learning About Investing? A Beginner’s Guide 2026
Ruby Layram
15th Sep 2026
Investing can feel like a locked room, full of acronyms, jargon and people who seem to have been born knowing what a “P/E ratio” is. But you don’t need a finance degree to get started. You just need to learn a few basics, at your own pace, before you put any real money in.
This guide walks you through exactly how to start learning about investing from scratch: what to understand first, where to learn it for free, and- if you’d rather have someone hold your hand through it step by step- how MoneyMagpie’s own Invest Course can shortcut the confusion.
Why learn before you invest (not after)
It’s tempting to just open an investing app and start buying, and plenty of people do. But a little bit of learning upfront means you’re far less likely to panic-sell during a wobbly week, pile into something hyped on social media, or pay fees you didn’t know you were agreeing to.
Think of it like learning to drive before you take the motorway. You don’t need to be an expert, but you do need to know what the pedals do.
Step 1: Get comfortable with the basic building blocks
Before anything else, get your head around these five terms, once these click, most investing content stops feeling like a foreign language:
Shares (or stocks): A small slice of ownership in a company. If the company does well, your slice is usually worth more.
Funds: A basket of lots of different shares (or bonds, or other assets) bundled together, so you’re not relying on one company’s fortunes.
Index funds/ETFs: Funds that simply track a market, like the FTSE 100 or the S&P 500, rather than trying to beat it. Popular with beginners because they’re low-cost and spread your risk automatically.
ISA (Individual Savings Account): A tax-efficient wrapper for your investments. In the UK, you can put up to £20,000 into ISAs in the 2026/27 tax year, and any growth is free from income tax and capital gains tax.
Risk and diversification: Risk is the chance your investment goes down as well as up. Diversification, spreading your money across lots of different investments, is the main tool investors use to manage that risk, not eliminate it.
Step 2: Use free, reputable resources to build your knowledge
You don’t need to pay for anything to learn the fundamentals. Some solid, free starting points:
- The MoneyHelper website (backed by the UK government) has plain-English guides on saving, investing and pensions with no product to sell you.
- Platform “learn” hubs. Most UK investing platforms publish free glossaries and beginner guides, useful because the language matches what you’ll actually see in your account.
- Books. Beginner-friendly classics like The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins or Investing Demystified by Lars Kroijer explain the “why” behind long-term investing without hype.
- MoneyMagpie’s own investing articles, written specifically to translate jargon into plain English for UK beginners.
Be wary of “finance influencers” pushing individual stock tips or guaranteed-return schemes. If a strategy promises certainty, that’s your cue to walk away, investing always carries risk of loss, no matter who’s telling you otherwise.
Want a structured, guided route instead? Try the MoneyMagpie Invest Course
Piecing together free articles works, but it can also mean jumping between sources and wondering if you’ve missed something. If you’d rather follow a clear, structured path, the MoneyMagpie Invest Course, created by MoneyMagpie founder Jasmine Birtles, is built specifically for complete beginners and “curious savers.”
It’s a 12-part course delivered through short videos, articles and quizzes, covering everything from getting started and building a portfolio that fits your goals, through to specific topics like how funds work, how to buy stocks and shares, dividend income, and investing through your pension. Individual courses cost £27, or you can get the Complete Collection for £121.50 (down from £162).
It won’t guarantee you returns, no course can, but it’s designed to take you from “I don’t know where to start” to making informed decisions with genuine confidence, at your own pace.
Sign up for the MoneyMagpie Invest Course
Step 3: Learn the difference between saving and investing
A lot of beginners lump these together, but they serve different jobs. Savings (cash in a bank account) are for money you might need in the next 1–3 years, an emergency fund, a house deposit, a holiday. Investing is for money you can leave alone for 5+ years, giving it time to ride out the market’s ups and downs.
Getting this distinction right before you learn anything else will save you a lot of stress later.
Step 4: Practise with small amounts before you go bigger
Once the basics feel familiar, the best way to keep learning is by doing, but starting small:
- Many platforms let you open a Stocks & Shares ISA and invest from as little as £25 a month, so you can learn how buying, fees and statements actually work without risking much.
- Some platforms offer a free demo account with virtual money, so you can practise placing trades with zero risk before using real cash.
- Start with a single low-cost, globally diversified index fund rather than picking individual company shares, it’s a gentler way to learn how markets move.
Step 5: Keep learning as you go
Investing knowledge builds in layers. There’s no rush, a beginner who invests £50 a month consistently for ten years will usually be better off than someone who waits to “know enough” first.
Whether you keep learning through free articles or work through a structured course like MoneyMagpie’s, consistency matters more than speed.
What to do next
- Spend 20 minutes learning the five key terms above until they feel familiar, not scary.
- Decide how you learn best: scattered free resources, or a structured course like the MoneyMagpie Invest Course.
- Work out whether you actually have savings money or investing money right now, don’t confuse the two.
- If you decide you’re ready, open a Stocks & Shares ISA and start with a small, regular amount into a single index fund.
- Revisit your knowledge every few months, investing is a skill you build over time, not a test you pass once.
This article is for general information and education only, it isn’t regulated financial advice. All investing involves risk, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you could get back less than you put in. The MoneyMagpie Invest Course is educational content, not personalised financial advice. If you’re unsure what’s right for your circumstances, consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser.
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