Invest monthly into a fund and forget about it and use this platform to play around with to get an understanding - only risk money you can’t afford to loose.
Like you say it’s for the future.
To be honest your approaching the market at the worst time ! It’s incredibly turbulent which brings reward if your appetite for risk is there.
Personally I’m holding all my cash And only trading a small amount at the moment on the dips - ultimately this market is going down.
IN MY OPINION (you have to make your own mind up)