Investing guides for beginners
Longer, practical walk-throughs of the questions new investors ask most. Each one uses real numbers, explains the trade-offs honestly, and ends with the answers to common questions. They're education, not personalized financial advice. If you'd rather learn step by step, start with our free lessons.
How to Start Investing With $100
You don't need thousands to begin. A step-by-step guide to investing your first $100: what to check first, what to buy, what it costs and how to keep going.
Index Funds vs. ETFs: What's the Difference?
Index funds and ETFs aren't rivals. Learn what each one is, how they differ in cost, trading and taxes, and how to choose between them.
Compound Interest Explained, With Real Numbers
What compound interest is and why starting early matters, with real-number examples, the Rule of 72, and how fees and debt use the same math against you.
Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA vs. 401(k): A Beginner's Comparison
How 401(k)s, traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs work, how their taxes differ, and a common order for deciding where your retirement money goes first.
How to Build an Emergency Fund, Step by Step
What an emergency fund is, how much you really need, where to keep it, and a realistic plan for building one from scratch, even on a tight budget.
How to Research a Stock: A Beginner's Checklist
A checklist for researching a company before you invest: what it does, how it earns, how healthy it is, what it's worth and what could go wrong.
Dollar-Cost Averaging vs. Lump Sum Investing
Invest all at once or spread it out? How dollar-cost averaging works, what research finds, worked examples in three markets, and how to decide.
10 Common Investing Mistakes Beginners Make (and How to Avoid Them)
The most common beginner investing mistakes, from chasing tips and timing the market to ignoring fees and panic-selling, and how to avoid each one.