Start here
Foundations
Four short reads before you buy anything: why investing beats a savings account, the order to put money to work, what an index fund is, and how to make a first purchase you won't panic-sell.
- 01Why bother investing at allCash in a savings account slowly loses ground to inflation. Owning a slice of the economy is how ordinary people keep up. Here is the plain arithmetic, with no hype.
- 02The order money should go inBefore your first dollar buys a share, two boxes need checking: a cash buffer and any high-interest debt. Here is the sequence that keeps a dip from becoming a crisis.
- 03What an index fund is, and why it's the defaultAn index fund buys the whole haystack instead of hunting for needles. It is cheap, boring, and quietly beats most professional stock pickers over time.
- 04Your first buy, without the dramaThe first purchase is mostly about plumbing and nerves, not picking. A small, boring order in a broad index fund, placed on an ordinary Tuesday, is the whole trick.