Not interested in investing but want to get richer? How you can get started with zero knowledge in just minutes

Some people love investing – the thrill of discovering an overlooked gem of a company, taking a punt on a new theme or beating the performance of the stock market.

Plenty more people really couldn’t care less. If you’re one of these – excited by what you could do with the money you generate but not by the process – don’t let that put you off investing.

In fact, beginner, intimidated or uninterested investors often do just as well – if not better – than sophisticated, experienced and diligent ones. You just have to follow a few simple rules.

Just get started

Don’t wait until the perfect time, as there isn’t one – just open an account and learn along the way.

You can start with just a few pounds a month and build up if you have the cash and as your confidence grows.

If you have unsecured debts – for example, credit card or personal loans – it’s important that you pay off these first.

Don’t invest cash that you’re going to need within the next five to ten years. Make sure you’ve got a rainy-day fund in cash savings first – three to six months’ worth of outgoings is ideal.

Go tax-free

To ensure your investment returns and income are tax-free, open a stocks and shares Isa. You can hold both a cash and stocks and shares Isa – just make sure you don’t exceed your annual £20,000 allowance.

You can open a stocks and shares Isa with an investing platform – the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown, Dodl or Fidelity – or through a high street bank. You can compare options with our guide at thisismoney.co.uk/platform

Pick a cheap fund

Once you’ve opened your stocks and shares Isa, you can put in whatever investments you choose. Some platforms have hundreds or even thousands of funds and shares for you to pick between.

However, if you don’t want to spend time curating a portfolio, all will have ready-made options. They are typically called ‘ready-made’, ‘multi-asset’ or ‘starting’ options, and you will typically be asked how much risk you are happy to take with your money.

For example, AJ Bell and Money Box offer managed funds that range from ‘Cautious’ to ‘Adventurous’, while Barclays has five funds ranging from ‘Defensive’ to ‘Adventurous’.

The more risk you take, the more of a rollercoaster ride you’re likely to experience as stock prices move – the losses can be swift and sharp but, equally, you could achieve far higher returns.

Depending on what you answer, you’ll be given a suggestion for a single fund for you to invest in. These are likely to be fairly cheap because they’re managed by an algorithm rather than an expert fund manager.

Automate it

Set up a direct debit from your current to your investing account so that you invest a set sum every month.

If you set the money to leave your account shortly after payday, you are less likely to miss it. Consider investing a little and often rather than a lump sum. That way you reduce the risk of investing a large sum just before a market fall. And, if the market does drop, you’ll be buying at a cheaper price.

Leave well alone

Investing is for the long term – you don’t need to check or tweak your portfolio all the time. In fact, if you do you’re likely to do more harm than good. Check in every few months – that should be plenty.

When you do check, you should consider if your strategy is still aligned with your goals.

For example, if you’re approaching the time when you plan to cash in and spend some of your investments, you may want to switch to a lower-risk fund to reduce the likelihood that you face a market fall.

Get curious

You never know, once you start you may get the investing bug. In that case, you can do further research and add other funds to your portfolio. But if not, it doesn’t matter. Keep your direct debit going – increase it when you can – and then leave your investments to do their thing.

With luck, they’ll grow in time – investing does tend to be substantially more lucrative over the long term than saving cash.