Episode•September 22, 2022•14 min

Up The Gains with Sammy Ellard King | Ep. 140

Sammy Ellard King joins Tiffany this week to discuss why he started his business to help others get started with investing, and how he guides his subscribers in their personal finance journeys. About Our Guest Director of a hospitality business by day. Run Up the Gains by night. We want to change the way we see personal finance giving people a safe place to learn about money. Connect with Sammy Ellard King Facebook: upthegainsmoney Twitter: @upthegainsmoney Instagram:@upthegainsmoney Connect with Tiffany on Social Media Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Overcast Amazon Music

Key Takeaways

1
Investing is essential because earned income and savings alone won't provide enough for retirement
Even working hard and saving isn't enough to maintain your current lifestyle at retirement
Investing can potentially bring forward your retirement date significantly
The stock market is designed to go up over time, making long-term investing a winning strategy
2
Start investing with small amounts - anyone can begin with as little as $1
Technology has made investing accessible with minimal capital
Find savings through budgeting (e.g., reducing Uber spend from $150 to $75/month)
Dollar cost averaging - investing the same amount each month at the same time - produces massive results over 10+ years
3
Follow a personal finance journey: debt → budgeting → investing
Up The Gains takes subscribers through a structured progression
Focus on 20-30 year time horizons rather than get-rich-quick schemes
Index funds like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index are recommended for beginners
4
Invest in what you know and use - you're the expert on products you already buy
If you're tech-savvy, consider investing in tech stocks
You're the best investor in products you already own and understand

Intro

Sammy Ellard King joins Tiffany to discuss why he founded Up The Gains to help others learn about investing and personal finance in an approachable way.
Director of a hospitality business by day and founder of Up The Gains by night, Sammy helps people worldwide learn about money through accessible education. Based in the UK, his platform serves audiences primarily from the UK and US.

Website Instagram Twitter Facebook

– Why Sammy Started Up The Gains

Sammy explains the motivation came from the fragmented nature of financial education - having to jump between multiple websites to learn concepts, plus excessive jargon. During the pandemic with his hospitality business closed, he decided to create a one-stop shop for accessible financial education.

We really wanted to be that one-stop shop for people in the UK, but equally worldwide as well... We're accessible. We're approachable. We've been through it too.
– Sammy Ellard King

– Why Investing Matters

Sammy emphasizes that what you're left with at retirement from working and saving alone won't be enough. Investing is the only way to bridge that gap and potentially retire earlier. He notes the pandemic made many people realize the importance of financial security.

Simply put is that what you're left with at the end of the road isn't enough... The only real way of you being able to get to that road is to invest your hard-earned pennies.
– Sammy Ellard King

– Dollar Cost Averaging Explained

Sammy advocates for dollar cost averaging - investing the same amount each month at the same time - rather than trying to time the market. He recommends index funds like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index for those who don't want to deeply study the stock market.

It's been proven time and time again. And the stock market is designed to go up. It's not designed to stay down forever.
– Sammy Ellard King

– How to Find Money to Invest

Sammy suggests anyone can start investing, even with just a dollar. He recommends creating a budget to identify spending cuts - for example, reducing Uber expenses from $150 to $75 monthly and investing the difference. The key is finding small savings without going 'cold turkey' on enjoyment.

If you can then, so let's say for example, you spent $150 on Uber last month and you bring that down to $75, invest that $75 that you've saved.
– Sammy Ellard King

– Recommended Investing Apps

Sammy's top picks include eToro (available in most US states) for its social investing features and ability to copy top-performing investors automatically. He also mentions Wombat (UK) for personality-based portfolios and TradingView for research and technical analysis.

eToro - Social investing with copy trading features
Wombat - Personality-based portfolio builder (UK)
TradingView - Research and technical analysis platform
Robinhood - Mentioned with caution about gamification

Resources

Topics

investingpersonal financedollar cost averagingindex fundsbudgetingretirement planningfinancial educationinvesting appsUK financebeginner investing