I have bugger all idea about this. I have an ISA that my parents set up when I started university about 17 years ago, into which I pay a measly sum (£30) a month. I've twice drawn cash out (when I needed a stopgap for my first job, and for a house deposit). I'm looking at investing money somewhere that will accrue over time. I know the only way to make a fast buck is either gamble or get involved with illegal activities.

Does anyone here invest money or have any suggestions?

Investment fund?

Speak to an independent financial adviser?

Cash ISA's make sod all. Their interest rates are so low at the moment it's often better to have a regular savings account that pays tax on a higher interest rate.
Stocks ISA's on the other hand are better. I use a self inverstment one from Hargreaves Lansdown. Admittedly I know very little about this sort of thing, and rely on my Dad to advise me on which funds to invest in. Though they do have their top 150 rating to make it easier. The only obvious advice I have is spread the risk. UK/European/global funds etc. Not sure exaclty what the return has been, but I know it's mid single digits per year on average or more. (Some funds have been over 10%, the odd one has lost value. That's why you spread it around).
If you're thinking of paying for financial advice, you'll have to make a judgment call on whether it's worth the cost versus the possible gain. I've no idea how much that sort of advice costs. Again, I know my dad gets financial advice once a year on what he's invsted in, but he's got his whole pension invested in a similar way with HL, so the sums invloved make it worth it.

The ISA is a stocks/shares based one, split 50/50 between UK and EU. Whenever I have needed the cash, I've had to write to them, they then send me a valuation + cheque of the value.

If you don't want to manage it then a cheep tracker fund is best

The problem with "active" funds is that their charges can be high 2%+ whereas a tracker funds can get below 0.8% - have a look at any quality paper for their best recommended funds

A tracker fund will then invest in the index of your choice (FTSE 100 etc) and so spread your risk

Use the link iny sig, should give you context if nothing else!

Some of the best day to day accounts are at Santander if you don't wanna risk funds etc. Money back on bills, discounts on associated products and all sorts... No real fees... But either way, Martin Lewis for the overall picture then decide.

My Brewdog investment did very well. £100 is worth about £2,500

Do you know what sort've returns you're after over what sort've time frames? That's probably your starting point.

MSE is a good start, and there's plenty of resources out there if you want to research. My advice, like most, would be to diversify.

One comment I'd have on an investment fund you pay monthly into is that you're then buying incrementally, so your risk is spread. [The market is low currently, so you might buy shares this week which are going to be worth a lot more next month. Next month you might buy at a high point, but over a time period they should theoretically be worth more and the shares/investments you bought in M1 will be worth even more...if that makes sense. Of course there's a chance that both the purchases in M1 and M2 fall and your overall value is way less, but if you're not time bound on when you need to sell and you've diversified, you can hold out.]

You also have the option of crowd funding websites these days, meaning you can purchase properties (well part of) or loan out money as part of a crowd fund. This requires quite a bit more research and risk/reward though, so I'd only suggest that as a secondary addition to your portfolio or if you know you want a certain turnaround time.

Thanks. I'll look into MSE. Time frame is longer term eg 10-20 years. At the moment, if I wanted to spend say £20k on a new kitchen (for example), I'd probably have to take out a loan. The idea would be to save money, invest it and get a better return than squirrelling it into a bank account.