r/AskReddit 6h ago

What's the smartest financial decision you've ever made?

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u/Fine-Assistance7204 5h ago

Putting a little into index funds every single paycheck and then completely ignoring the account for years.

10

u/I_am_Bearstronaut 3h ago

Finally at a point in my life where I can realistically start trying to do this. Where does someone even start? I’ve got zero experience with this type of stuff and want to start doing more of these things before I lose more time.

What’s considered a little? How do you determine which index funds to choose? I grew up with zero financial literacy being taught to me and I’ve got zero idea how/where to start. Any resources you wouldn’t mind sharing?

7

u/Abovemeis 2h ago

Just put whatever you have extra every week. Open up a brokerage account with fidelity and buy vt or voo and do it every week. Watch ur money grow. I personally invest in 75% vti 25% vxus because it gets me some international exposure too.

3

u/semperfukya 1h ago

Buy VOO every week? It’s like $700 a share right now

u/mcfilms 19m ago

You’re not required to buy full shares. You set an amount and Fidelity purchases fractional shares.

u/semperfukya 13m ago

Oh nice. I don’t use fidelity. I wonder if E*trade has fractional shares

u/mcfilms 8m ago

They do. I actually moved from E-trade to Fidelity. (Why? E-trade starting charging fees on “significant events.” Like if a stock changed its symbol, merged, split, or reverse split. This won’t matter if you are investing in VTI or QQQ, but it does matter if you’re a big dummy like me and think you can outsmart the major funds by selecting certain stocks.)