Look, we get it. Investing feels scary, complicated, and like something only people in fancy suits with multiple monitors should do. A new BlackRock survey just confirmed what we already suspected: more than a third of Americans don’t own stocks, and their reasons are… well, let’s just say they’re creative.
“I don’t have enough money.” “I don’t know what I’m doing.” “What if I lose everything?” Sound familiar? These are the greatest hits of investment avoidance, and honestly, they’re not terrible reasons. But here’s the thing: Warren Buffett—you know, the guy who’s worth about $100 billion and eats McDonald’s for breakfast—has a stupidly simple solution that tackles all these excuses at once.
His advice? Buy an S&P 500 index fund. That’s it. No fancy stock picking, no trying to time the market, no reading 47 financial blogs (sorry, not sorry). Just buy a fund that tracks the 500 biggest companies in America and call it a day.
“But I’m broke!” you say. Plot twist: you’re probably not as broke as you think. The Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund costs about $17 per share. That’s less than a decent dinner out. You can even buy fractional shares if that’s still too rich for your blood. The point isn’t to go big immediately—it’s to start building the habit. Your future self will thank you when compound interest starts doing its magic.
“But I don’t know anything about investing!” Perfect. That’s actually a feature, not a bug. Index funds are designed for people who have better things to do than analyze quarterly earnings reports. You’re basically buying a tiny piece of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and 497 other companies all at once. It’s like getting a sampler platter of American capitalism.
If you’re still nervous, walk into any Schwab or Fidelity branch. They have actual humans whose job is to answer your questions for free. Revolutionary concept, right?
“But what if the market crashes?” Here’s some perspective from Yale economist William Goetzmann: if you wait five years after any major market crash, there’s a 99% chance you’ll be better off than before the crash happened. The market has a pretty solid track record of bouncing back, assuming you don’t panic-sell at the first sign of trouble.
Now, some finance nerds will tell you to buy a global index fund instead because the S&P 500 is “overvalued” and “concentrated.” They’re not wrong—international stocks have actually outperformed the US this year. But honestly? The best investment is the one you’ll actually make.
The S&P 500 is simple, it’s on the news every night, and it’s worked pretty well for the past few decades. Is it perfect? No. Will it make you rich overnight? Also no. But will it probably beat keeping your money in a savings account earning 0.01% interest? You bet.
Stop overthinking it. Start small, start simple, and just start. Your wallet will thank you later.