Spenders Or Savers, Shoes Or Stocks

By Alison Steed and Liz King

Are you a shopper or a spender? Would you rather put your money into shoes and handbags, or stocks and shares? Take this handy quiz to find out.

Online broker TD Waterhouse has put together a series of questions to help you identify whether you are more likely to splurge than save.

“While we all know it’s important to save money, the instant gratification of shopping can sometimes trump the peace of mind that comes from long-term investing,” says Sarah Dobson, UK Investor Centre Representative, TD Waterhouse, “but if you’ve ever woken up the following day with a “spending hangover”, you know the pleasure doesn’t last long.” 

Finding the right balance between enjoying disposable income and building an investment portfolio to meet long-term goals is key. It’s never too early to start investing, and the earlier, the better, as additional time can allow an investment to potentially grow which means you may be able to benefit from compound interest. Although it may initially feel like a sacrifice, paying yourself first means that instead of simply living for the moment, you could possibly build the foundation for a wealthier life in the long term. 

Ms. Dobson added that there can be many correlations between building a great wardrobe and building a solid portfolio. “Everyone likes to buy an ‘on trend’ piece or label but the foundation of your wardrobe should be those classic, timeless items that never go out of style.” She added: “The same is true for your investments - the bulk of your portfolio should be the equivalent of your LBD (little black dress): high-quality, attractive and reliable, rather than trendy.”

The Shopping or Saving? Quiz is designed to help would be investors think about whether they are striking the right balance between shopping and saving for their future. The quiz is available online at http://vote.pollstream.com/0464 along with tools geared to help calculate and project a hypothetical long-term investment goal, to see whether you are on track, and if not, how to get there.