Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community - View Single Post - What would you teach in Intro to Personal Finance?

travelover · 04-22-2007, 08:14 PM

One point that I think is critical is to keep the message simple (KISS). We tend to spend a lot of time talking about squeezing out that last 1%, but to a beginner it all starts to get hopelessly complex and they end up with analysis paralysis

and do nothing. When I started out investing I subscribed to Money Magazine and couldn't figure out why the "buy"recommendations changed every month.

I try to coach youngsters on investing with this simple advice

Start as young as possible, even with just a few dollars

Invest automatically with payroll deduction or automatic transfer

Invest in a total stock market index fund (usually recommend Vanguard) just to ensure easy follow through.

KISS

04-22-2007, 08:14 PM	#15
travelover Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,502	One point that I think is critical is to keep the message simple (KISS). We tend to spend a lot of time talking about squeezing out that last 1%, but to a beginner it all starts to get hopelessly complex and they end up with analysis paralysis and do nothing. When I started out investing I subscribed to Money Magazine and couldn't figure out why the "buy"recommendations changed every month. I try to coach youngsters on investing with this simple advice Start as young as possible, even with just a few dollars Invest automatically with payroll deduction or automatic transfer Invest in a total stock market index fund (usually recommend Vanguard) just to ensure easy follow through. KISS __________________ Feral Engineer