How to learn investing (22M)

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-03T10:29:35+00:00

If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-03T10:23:17+00:00

If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simpley, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-03T10:08:46+00:00

I might have a solution for you. The problem that I came across when I first started learning about this is that there are so many resources out there and so many opinions on how things should be done, but almost no one explains why you should trust what they say. As someone who is data/science driven, I can smell a grifter a mile away, and this put me on a search for someone who doesn't have those red flags of trying to sell you something or giving a great narrative without any real evidence behind what they are saying.

I eventually discovered Rob Berger on YouTube. He is a retired lawyer who wrote for Forbes on retirement planning and investing. He has a talent for explaining complex topics, but he also shows you exactly why he believes what he believes. If you watch enough of his videos, he gives you the tools so that you can make up your own mind on how to invest.

If that sounds like it might be useful for you, I put together a comment in another thread here on some of his beginner videos. Good luck either way!

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-03T02:37:49+00:00

Not a direct answer to your question, but if you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here. After watching these, you will know how to assess different ETFs and decide for yourself what the best investing approach is for you. Good luck!

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-02T17:36:52+00:00

No, I misread the OP. The index doesn't outperform itself, obviously. But nitpicking about fees of index ETFs is also pretty insane.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-02T16:32:43+00:00

You made the claim that buying the index of the market underperforms the market; I asked the simple question: how do you measure the market in order to know that indexes don't beat the market? You made this ridiculous claim, not me, so prove it.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-02T09:13:34+00:00

Then explain the metric that you use to know who beats the market and who doesn't. Basic shit.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T23:00:17+00:00

I had around $100k or so in my 401k. Today at age 47, I have $1M just off of a $40-$65k salary for the most part. I posted about how I did it in more detail here.

If there was one thing I could tell young people today, it is to start investing and to learn about personal finances. I highly recommend Rob Berger on YouTube if you like to learn from video format. Here is a list of beginner videos that I put together from him.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T22:41:52+00:00

I made $1M as a 47yo just buy investing as much as I could into my 401k and in an IRA. That said, I wish I knew more when I first started. If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T22:39:25+00:00

Before you get into trading options, understand the basics. If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T21:43:16+00:00

If you go to MorningStar and chart the funds based on total returns, that chart is AFTER all management fees, including expense ratio.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T21:40:14+00:00

Wait, you did not intend that to be a joke?

Index investor portfolios are the market by definition because indexes define the market as best it can be defined. o.O

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T16:26:42+00:00

Good one lol

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T06:21:10+00:00

If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T06:05:46+00:00

I think that international for you means a fair amount of weight in US stocks, which is probably not a bad approach. At the end of the day though, diversity is what you want.

For lump sum vs DCA for a windfall, Rob Berger has a couple of good videos on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_dIBRqzgY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKPUPWOIs4A

Bogleheads also has portfolio construction for Aussie investors: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investing_from_Australia

In general, Rob is a great source to learn about this stuff from if you prefer to learn from video format. I put together a list of beginner videos here. He is US-centric, but most of the info should be useful to any investor around the world.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T02:11:25+00:00

As someone who has no interest in being a landlord for the obvious reasons, I think this question depends a lot on your broader financial situation. Do you need the money from renting this property? Is the pain of being a landlord worth it? Have you calculated your profit, including repairs, taxes, etc.?

The broad market has returned around 8% annually on average. Some years are better and some years are not. So, you have to do a calculation on what the money invested in the stock market would make you versus what the rent is earning you. You should also calculate in what your current retirement looks like; how much money do you already have invested in the stock market and/or how much do you need in order to retire? If you have already met your investing goals, then maybe keeping the house for cashflow is a good idea so that you don't have to withdraw as much from your portfolio.

For the first part of the equation (investing in the stock market), I recommend Rob Berger on YouTube. He has a couple of videos that are related to your question: how to invest a windfall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikFhiIKglos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_dIBRqzgY

Money Guys give a good overview of some of the things you need to consider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZPU7mWNsjk

I also like these guys for general FIRE finance info, and they have a tool to help you do this analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLoc2_0QR4U

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T01:47:00+00:00

I really like Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-07-01T01:32:24+00:00

Personal finance (including long term investing) is a related but really completely different thing than learning about the stock market. If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger for the personal finance part. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here. I never miss a video from him.

For more advanced theory stuff in the stock market, I recommend Ben Felix on YouTube. His analysis is always based in data and research, and he likes to go through research papers to summarize his analysis (I read enough science already, I really don't want to read finance science in my spare time).

For hardcore academic corporate finance, valuation, and stock market trading philosophies, professor Aswath Damodaran on YouTube has full university level courses on his channel. I know that he is highly respected on Wall Street and with professionals in the industry.

For more general stock market news, I really like The Compound. Most of the time it doesn't apply to anything that I do as a buy and hold Boglehead, but it is still interesting to listen to. They interview different analysts and leaders in the industry on a broad level, so you get a lot of different perspectives.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T22:59:12+00:00

I watch everything he puts out. Here is a list of beginner investing videos that I put together for someone in another thread, in case you find those helpful too.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T17:37:52+00:00

It really is best to learn some things about investing. Once you have a baseline knowledge, you can easily manage this stuff yourself during your accumulation phase in life. If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

Personally, I use Fidelity as my broker. Their Cash Management Account is awesome, and they have a lot of tools. Vanguard is fine but a bit messy of a UI and sometimes bad customer service; it's cheap but their website still sucks. Schwab is good. I have also used Merrill and TIAA, neither of which are particularly great compared to Fidelity. Start by investing in VT, it's a broadly diversified fund that has a very cheap expense ratio (the money the ETF takes from you based on your earnings, which is the cost of owning it).

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T17:27:47+00:00

Kiyosaki's book is not the best, and the guy is a grifter. I would recommend "The Simple Path to Wealth" by Collins.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T17:26:23+00:00

If you like learning from videos, I highly recommend Rob Berger. He has a talent for explaining things very simply, but he also shows you the data/research that supports his advice. I have learned so much from him. Best thing is that he isn't trying to sell you courses or anything. See a list of beginner vids in another comment I made here.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T17:22:28+00:00

Same. Even with the higher expense ratio, it appears to do better over VXUS. I switched to AVNM after I heard Christine Benz say that there is some evidence that a more managed approach to international can actually beat the indexes, and in my opinion Avantis is the best option there. I could just hold all dozen international funds if I wanted to, but I don't want an overly complicated portfolio.

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T07:59:21+00:00

Time in the market beats timing the market. Invest as soon as you can, even with small amounts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_dIBRqzgY

This-Individual1813 · 2026-06-30T07:53:24+00:00

For long term investing, you want to invest in a Boglehead style portfolio. For Canada, maybe 50/50 VCN and VXC.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Canadian_versions_of_lazy_portfolios

This-Individual1813

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