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The biggest myth in investing is that there's a velvet rope, and behind it stands a man in a quarter-zip named Chad or Walter who decides whether you're rich enough to enter. There is no rope. There is no Chad. (There are several Chads, but you don't need them.)

All you need is some time and a dollar

You can start investing with a shockingly small amounts of money ($1). The thing doing the heavy lifting isn't the size of your deposit; it's time, working through compound growth.

Here's compounding in plain English: your money earns money, and then that money earns money, and the snowball gets bigger the longer it rolls. Which means the single most valuable thing you have as an investor isn't a fat balance, it's years. A small amount invested early can quietly outrun a big amount invested late, purely because it had more time to multiply.

This is why "I'll start investing when I have more money" is the most expensive mistake in personal finance. You're not waiting to be ready. You're just giving away time.

Keep it simple, index funds are cool

The least-scary entry point for most people is a low-cost, broad index fund, which is basically a single basket that holds a tiny slice of hundreds of companies, so you're not betting on one horse, you're betting on the whole racetrack. You don't have to pick winners. You just have to be in the building.

The easiest way to do this is to begin with your employer’s retirement plan (usually in the form of a 401(k)). If your employer offers a match, it’s a no-brainer. Beyond that, Roth IRAs or Traditional IRAs are great and offer some tax incentives. My motto? Keep it simple, keep it consistent.

Locate and keep track of old accounts

This week's move (no purchase required, no pressure): find out if you already have an investing account you forgot about. An old 401(k) from a past job? A brokerage you opened during a moment of ambition in 2021? Honestly, this is more common than you might think. Folks change jobs A LOT. Once upon a time, in my old financial planning job, a client of the firm’s found an old retirement account they forgot about for a couple of decades. Guess how much the account had grown? Just a tiny $500,000. HALF A MILLION. True story.

Need a better way to keep track of your accounts? Here’s my Monarch referral link.

The powers that be have tricked Americans into thinking investing is some mysterious mechanism that requires immense wealth and a PhD. This is false. Don’t know where to open an IRA or other type of investment account for free? Check out Schwab, Vanguard, or Fidelity (it’s very likely your employer retirement account is with one of these institutions as well). They are reputable and well-established players. From there you can open an account, make a deposit, and begin investing.

Until next time, Villagers!

-Catie