The things you think
that aren't true.

"Investing is for rich people. I don't have enough money to matter."

Actually true: $50 a month invested at age 22 at a 7 percent real return is roughly $131,000 by age 62 verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: $50 per month for 40 years at a 7 percent annual return compounds to roughly $131,000.Verify at: SEC compound interest calculator ↗ Source 1 in the list belowUse PMT=50, r=0.07, n=40 in the SEC calculator. Result is approximately $131,000..

The amount matters less than the habit and the time horizon. $50 a month started at 22 outperforms $100 a month started at 40 over the same finish line.

Minimum to open a Roth IRAIndividual Retirement Account (IRA)A retirement account with tax advantages and eligibility rules. Traditional IRA contributions may be deductible; taxable withdrawals generally enter income. Roth contributions use after-tax money, and qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition at Fidelity: $1. Minimum to buy Bitcoin on River: $10. Minimum to start: now.

"I need to understand everything before I start investing."

Actually true: The three things you need to start are opening an account (Fidelity works), buying a total market index fund (FSKAX or FZROX), and setting up automatic monthly contributions. That is it. Everything else is optimization on top.

The danger of waiting to understand everything is that time is the variable you cannot recover. A year of learning is a year of missed compounding. See Your First Investment and Financial Numbers.

"If I open a Roth IRA I can't touch the money until retirement."

Actually true: Your contributions (the money you put in) can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason, with no tax and no penalty verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Roth IRA contributions (not earnings) can be withdrawn at any time without tax or penalty.Verify at: IRS: Roth IRAs ↗ Source 2 in the list belowUnder IRS ordering rules, Roth IRA withdrawals come from contributions first. Contributions are after-tax and unrestricted.. Only the earnings (the growth on top) have withdrawal restrictions.

This makes the Roth IRA one of the most flexible accounts available. It works as a backup emergency fund in a worst-case scenario.

Example: you put $7,500 into a Roth IRA. It grows to $9,000. You can withdraw the $7,500 anytime with no penalty. The $1,500 in gains typically has to wait until 59.5, with some exceptions (first home, disability, medical expenses).

"I already missed Bitcoin. It went up too much."

Actually true: This argument has been made at every price Bitcoin has ever been. At $100, at $1,000, at $10,000, at $69,000. The people who said "I missed it" at $1,000 in 2017 watched it reach $69,000 in 2021 and then higher.

Whether it goes higher from here is unknowable. What is known: the supply is fixed at 21 million, global adoption is still early relative to total addressable market, and institutional and government accumulation is accelerating.

The position-sizing framework does not require knowing. Size it so a total loss does not change your life. Then the "did I miss it" question becomes irrelevant. See I Missed Bitcoin and Bitcoin Allocation.

"Crypto is all the same. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin are all just speculation."

Actually true: Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins that cannot be changed. Ethereum has no supply cap and its issuance policy has changed multiple times. Dogecoin was created as a joke and has no supply limit.

These are different assets with different properties. Calling them all "crypto" is like calling gold, aluminum, and plastic all "materials."

This site covers Bitcoin specifically for one reason: fixed supply is the property that makes something a store of value. None of the others have it. See Bitcoin vs Altcoins.

"My money in a brokerage account isn't safe. If the company goes bankrupt I lose everything."

Actually true: Your investments at a brokerage are not deposits. They are assets held in your name; the brokerage is just the custodian.

If Fidelity went bankrupt, your stocks, ETFsExchange-Traded Fund (ETF)A basket of investments (stocks, bonds, or Bitcoin) that trades on a stock exchange like a single share., and funds would still be yours. They are not on Fidelity's balance sheet. SIPCSecurities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)When a member brokerage firm fails and customer assets are missing, most customers are protected up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash. It does not cover a drop in a fund's value or any other market loss, and money market mutual funds count as securities, not cash. protection (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) works to restore missing customer assets, up to $500,000, including $250,000 in cash, if a member brokerage firm fails; it does not cover a drop in value verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: SIPC protection is limited to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash, when a member brokerage firm fails and customer assets are missing.Verify at: SIPC: What SIPC protects ↗ Source 3 in the list belowsipc.org, What SIPC Protects: the limit applies when a member brokerage firm fails and customer assets are missing. SIPC does not protect against a decline in the value of securities, and its protection is not the same as protection for cash at an FDIC-insured bank..

The risk with a brokerage is investment performance, not the brokerage disappearing with your money.

"I should wait for the market to go down before investing."

Actually true: Time in the market beats timing the market consistently over long periods. The market has made new all-time highs for most of financial history. Waiting for a dip often means waiting while the price keeps rising.

Schwab's research found that a lump sum invested at the worst possible time each year still outperformed sitting in cash waiting for a dip, over a 20-year horizon verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Lump sum investing even at unfortunate timing tends to beat holding cash waiting for a pullback, over 20-year windows.Verify at: Vanguard: Dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum (PDF) ↗ Source 4 in the list belowVanguard's 2012 paper tested rolling historical periods across US, UK, and Australian markets..

Dollar-cost averaging (investing on a fixed schedule) is the practical alternative. See Lump Sum vs DCA and Dollar-Cost Averaging.

"Bitcoin is anonymous. That's why criminals use it."

Actually true: Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous. Every transaction is permanently recorded on a public ledger that anyone can read.

BlockchainBlockchainA public transaction ledger, grouped into blocks that each link to the one before. Every Bitcoin full node checks each block itself and follows the valid chain with the most accumulated proof of work. Recent blocks can occasionally be replaced (a reorganization); the number of computers does not decide validity.Full definition analytics firms trace Bitcoin transactions routinely for law enforcement. The US Department of Justice has recovered billions of dollars in Bitcoin from criminal operations, including the 2022 seizure of roughly 95,000 BTCBitcoin (BTC)The ticker symbol for Bitcoin, used on exchanges and in price quotes.Full definition tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: The DOJ seized approximately 95,000 BTC in 2022 tied to the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack.Verify at: DOJ press release on Bitfinex-linked arrests ↗ Source 5 in the list belowThe DOJ announcement details the tracing and seizure of the stolen coins years after the original breach..

USD cash remains the world's primary currency for money laundering. Physical untraceable paper is more useful for crime than a public ledger that analytics firms routinely deanonymize.

"The 401(k) is the government's money. They can take it."

Actually true: Your 401(k) assets are held in a trust separate from your employer and separate from the government. If your employer goes bankrupt, your 401(k) is protected. If the government wanted to seize private retirement accounts, it would require legislation that would be politically catastrophic.

There is no historical precedent for the US government seizing private 401(k) accounts. Gold was confiscated in 1933 under Executive Order 6102, but that involved physical bullion, not securities in individual retirement accounts verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Executive Order 6102 (1933) required US citizens to deliver gold coin, bullion, and certificates to the Federal Reserve. It did not touch securities or retirement accounts.Verify at: American Presidency Project (UCSB): Executive Order 6102 ↗ Source 6 in the list belowThe order text is public record. It applied specifically to gold holdings above $100 and gold certificates..

This misconception keeps people from contributing to a tax-advantaged account that compounds tax-free or tax-deferred. Don't let it.

"I need a financial advisor to invest properly."

Actually true: For most people under 50 with straightforward situations, the right answer is index funds in tax-advantaged accounts, an emergency fund in a high-yield savings account, and paying off high-interest debt. This strategy requires no advisor.

Research shows that most actively managed portfolios (the ones many advisors build) underperform simple index funds over 10+ years after fees verify×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Over rolling 10 to 20 year windows, a majority of actively managed US equity funds underperform their benchmark index.Verify at: S&P SPIVA scorecard ↗ Source 7 in the list belowSPIVA publishes the active-vs-passive scorecard for US and international funds across multiple time horizons..

When an advisor helps: complex tax situations (large Bitcoin gains, business sale, estate inheritance), multiple income streams in retirement, or behavioral coaching to talk you out of panic-selling in a downturn.

If you do hire an advisor: fee-only fiduciaryFiduciaryA person or firm legally required to put someone else's interests first, such as an investment adviser for a client or those running a 401(k) plan for its participants. Brokers who recommend investments to individuals follow a separate rule, Regulation Best Interest. Being fee-only does not by itself create the duty.Full definition only. Never commission-based. Find one at napfa.org ↗. See Financial Influencer Red Flags.