Struggling to invest on my own

[Anonymous]

I have read and spent so much time on Bogleheads but am still struggling so much on how to invest. I am extremely conservative and know I can stick with things like Treasury Bills and I Bonds.

Does anyone have any recommendations for mutual funds, stocks or bonds in Vanguard?

Or does anyone have any suggestions for an advisor in the Montgomery County area that they trust?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have read and spent so much time on Bogleheads but am still struggling so much on how to invest. I am extremely conservative and know I can stick with things like Treasury Bills and I Bonds.

Does anyone have any recommendations for mutual funds, stocks or bonds in Vanguard?

Or does anyone have any suggestions for an advisor in the Montgomery County area that they trust?

Thank you.

Just do an s&p 500 etf or mutual fund, buy a little at a time. Get your feet wet. Start thinking you could probably do better than the s&p. Start researching individual stocks. Buy some of those stocks. After many years, realize that with all your effort and research you still barely beat or lag behind the s&p 500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have read and spent so much time on Bogleheads but am still struggling so much on how to invest. I am extremely conservative and know I can stick with things like Treasury Bills and I Bonds.

Does anyone have any recommendations for mutual funds, stocks or bonds in Vanguard?

Or does anyone have any suggestions for an advisor in the Montgomery County area that they trust?

Thank you.

Just do an s&p 500 etf or mutual fund, buy a little at a time. Get your feet wet. Start thinking you could probably do better than the s&p. Start researching individual stocks. Buy some of those stocks. After many years, realize that with all your effort and research you still barely beat or lag behind the s&p 500.

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Can you handle market taking 30% down? If you are really extremely conservative, maybe stock market isn’t ideal investment.

[Anonymous]

Buy Vanguard's funds like Voo and be done with it. You type in Voo after you send your cash to Vanguard and buy when you can for the next 30 years. Done.
You are conservative, but willing to give your money to an advisor and/or keep it in bonds. Conservative means you don't want to lose money but that's exactly what you are doing with not going with S and P fund and doing it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Vtsax, vtclx.

[Anonymous]

OP, you cannot make a lot of money if you're "extremely conservative". Period. You want money? Take risks.

[Anonymous]

Clark Kendall - great advisor in MoCo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you handle market taking 30% down? If you are really extremely conservative, maybe stock market isn’t ideal investment.

I'm op and this is what I'm thinking. I would trade a smaller return if there was less risk involved.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clark Kendall - great advisor in MoCo

Thank you from grateful OP.

[Anonymous]

you can look at Vanguards' Wellington and Wellesley funds if you want-- they are mostly bonds with some stocks.

Or you can go on Vanguard's website and take their quiz to find out what sort of fund they recommend based on how aggressive you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you cannot make a lot of money if you're "extremely conservative". Period. You want money? Take risks.

I know this is the truth, just a little scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you can look at Vanguards' Wellington and Wellesley funds if you want-- they are mostly bonds with some stocks.

Or you can go on Vanguard's website and take their quiz to find out what sort of fund they recommend based on how aggressive you are.

I'll look at both of those funds; thank you for the suggestion.

I did take the quiz but did not get any recommendations. I think because I stated very conservative.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to all who took the time to share your knowledge and experience.

[Anonymous]

If you are conservative, then look at risk-free options. Capital One is paying 5.00% on 11-month CDs. Wealthfront is paying 4.05% on savings accounts. Zero risk, and fully guaranteed.

Given the way the economy is going, I'm skeptical of the market beating that this year. A year from now, different story.

For example, VTSAX that others have mentioned is down 4.30% this month, and down 9.67% the last 12 months.