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Investing: Start With One Fund

Don’t Freeze!

I have consistently given the recommendation to anyone who asked: start with an S&P 500 Index fund. But when the time came for me to do so, I froze. I had rolled money out of a 401k into an IRA. It sat in cash. And sat, and sat. For six months. I was afraid to pull the trigger. My wife asked me what advice I give people. I talked it through. She told me to take my own advice. I did so the next day.

Why Simplicity Wins

Most people think investing begins with picking the perfect portfolio, timing the market, or researching dozens of funds. None of that is required to start.

Your first investment can be one simple fund — nothing more. This chapter will show you exactly what that means, why it works, and how to do it without fear, complexity, or second‑guessing.

Investing Doesn’t Start With Complexity

When people freeze, it’s rarely because they don’t want to invest. It’s because they think they need to:

But investing doesn’t start with knowledge. It starts with a single action.

You already opened your container in the last chapter. Now you’re going to put something inside it.

What You’re Buying: A Simple Index Fund

There are thousands of investments in the world:

You don’t need to understand any of them right now. You only need one idea:

A simple S&P 500 index fund is enough to start. That’s it. That’s the whole idea.

Why the S&P 500?

Because it’s:

And most importantly: it removes the fear of choosing wrong. You’re not trying to beat the market. You’re trying to participate in it.

This Is Not Your Forever Portfolio

This is your starting point, not your final destination. You can always add:

But you don’t need any of that today. Today is about momentum.

How to Buy Your First Fund

Once your brokerage account is open and funded, the steps are simple:

  1. Search for an S&P 500 index fund (examples include VOO, IVV, FXAIX, SWPPX).
  2. Click “Buy.”
  3. Enter the amount you want to invest.
  4. Confirm the purchase.

That’s it. You’ve made your first investment. You’re officially an investor.

The Most Important Part: You Started

You didn’t wait for the perfect moment. You didn’t wait to understand everything. You didn’t wait for confidence to magically appear. You took action. And that action — buying one simple fund — is the foundation of everything that comes next.

In the next chapter, you’ll connect this investment to the automation system you built in Chapter 1. That’s where the real magic happens: money flowing into your investment automatically, month after month, without stress or decision fatigue.

For now, take a breath. You’ve done the hardest part. You started.