How to start investing? And why everyone seems to talk about it now?

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Not sure if it's to do with my algorithm but it seems like everyone is constantly talking about investing these days. I don't quite understand what these people are referring to when they say so though. Is it just related to pension plans and ISAs or are most people actively on the stock market these days? I know there are plenty of apps and platforms available now but I have zero knowledge and find it all a bit intimidating.

I would like to start little, what do you recommend? What are the best, safest and easiest platforms and sources where I can get info from and play around with some small sums?

I've just opened a stocks and shares isa which means any money you make from your investments you can take out tax free, no capital gains.
I would suggest having a look on YouTube for something like damiantalksmoney I think it's called.
The basic advice is not to put money in that you can't afford to lose, the balance can go up or down depending on the market, the last couple of weeks it's been down due to the Iran war. So you need to be in it for the long haul, general advice is usually leave money in there for at least 5-7 years to ensure you can ride out any drops in the market. Don't panic sell when things drop, they'll usually go up later. Keep your investments well diversified, so basically don't put all your money in one place because if it performs badly and other stocks perform well, you'll lose out. There are things called ETFs where you can basically invest in lots of companies all at once and your money is spread out between companies you don't need to pick individual stocks. Don't go with platforms that charge 1-2% fees as that will eat away at your gains. Something like trading212 has little to no fees for most things.
Generally over time the s&s Isa will grow quicker than your savings but you need to leave your money in for a decent amount of time, don't put your emergency fund in there, that's safer in a cash Isa or something where you'll get guaranteed interest, it won't go up or down with the markets

Also watch the Martin Lewis episode on itvx where he goes through investing into stocks and shares in very broad terms, think it was a couple of weeks ago
Pensions are in invested into the market, so if you have a pension you're already basically an investor, you just don't really think about it

Look at Rebel Finance school on YouTube as a good place to start. Watch their course of videos from the beginning.

I'd advise caution about taking 'advice' here. Whilst often well meaning it is often misplaced and given without having any clue about your current financial situation.

Ah, its confusing when you don't know much to start with!

It seems like everyone is talking about it because it's almost the end of the financial year (5th April). Investment platforms make a final push for their investors to utilise their annual ISA allowance, and encourage more contributions into stocks and shares portfolios.

Once the new financial year is underway (6th April), you'll see platforms switch tactics and offer sweeteners for new investors - such as referral bonuses and free shares if you opt to invest with them. It's a bit like the shops at Christmas time.. lots of ads for goodies beforehand, and then ads for the New Year sales afterwards!

It's a very volatile time with the political situation in Iran, as it affects global stock markets. Volatile means many investments are losing or gaining value on a daily basis. Even quite solid investments (such as gold) are fluctuating quite wildly.

My advice would be to take your time and undertake lots of research before dipping your toe in the water... and then start very small until you know what you're doing. Never invest in something you don't understand.

It's important to understand that investments are different to savings because they carry risks of losing the money you invest - it's not protected in the same way. There are more and less risky investments but there's always some risk.

Trading 212 offers a free practice demo account where you can try out different types of investment without investing any money.
They also sometimes advertise a referral link (often via YouTube channels) where you can invest as little as £1 and receive free fractional shares - worth anywhere between £10 to £100 if I remember correctly.

I really enjoyed the free Rebel Finance School course which you can watch on YouTube. There's a Facebook group for it which you can join to discuss details. It was all less complicated than I had feared, mainly because there's a solid and simple investment strategy based on buying "index funds". These are designed to track the overall movement of the stock market, so it's less volatile (fewer huge jumps and drops) than a targeted approach. All the same, the stock market as a whole does rise and fall - but has always risen over time - so you have to be comfortable with that fact. For that reason, investing is only suitable if you plan to leave the money for a long time, at least five years. Otherwise (say if you need your money in exactly two years and the stock market happens to be in a slump then) you could lose money.

Counterintuitively, this approach actually works best if you choose your fund, sling the money in, and then ignore it rather than tinkering. So that's convenient for those of us who are lazy and don't want to have to follow the world of finance!

One reason to learn a bit about investing is that if you've ever had a pension with an employer, you probably ARE investing, you just don't know what's happening to your money! Some pension schemes are "defined benefit", meaning they pay out a guaranteed amount every year, so you don't need to know how that is being financed. But these days most are "defined contribution", where your money is invested on your behalf and depending how the investment performs, you will end up with a pot of retirement money which could be bigger or smaller.

If you have a DC pension then you have some choices about how your money is invested. Most people just ignore it and go with the default choice they're offered, but you may prefer a different option.

It is near financial year end (5th April) thus why it is being mentioned more.

A workplace pension is a form of investment. A defined contribution pension will give you a choice of what it is invested in.

Before doing any investing in addition to workplace pension you need to have a good financial foundation - emergency fund, very little consumer debt.

It can help to work through a financial flowchart to see what stage you are at.
Podcast series about UK Personal Finance flowchart - https://meaningfulmoney.tv/OS1