Simple but not easy: Reflections on Personal Finance
Almost everyone has heard the recommendation to buy index funds, but few truly internalize what that means. I reflect on how I learnt the value of indexing and simplicity. Darkness I started my career in the USA in mid 2010s. Once I had paid off my education loans I was left with the question of how to invest my money for the future. I remembered that for my parents' generation investing in land and gold was the way to go. They considered stock markets dangerous and equated it to gambling. But I knew I was in a different place and time. Searching the web some articles suggested that I should invest the money in index funds. I found a global equities index fund, but I wasn't sure if that was the right one. I invested in it for a year and it barely moved, rising by a few percentage points. Then I looked at big tech stocks and they were soaring. I also held a large chunk of employer stocks that was part of my compensation and that was rising by more than 30% per year. Since I wa...