I asked a personal finance expert how to invest.

Summary by Krater

Matt D'Avella and financial expert Ramit Sethi explain how to start investing, covering how to build an emergency fund, pay off high-interest debt, choose retirement accounts like 401(k)s and Roth IRAs, select brokerages, and invest in target date index funds using dollar cost averaging.

From the video

Answers: How do I start investing my money as a beginner?

• emergency fund savings
• high-interest debt payoff
• 401(k) employer matching
• Roth IRA tax advantages
• brokerage account comparison
• target date retirement funds
• dollar cost averaging strategy
• market timing dangers

What it concludes

• You should build an emergency fund covering 3 to 6 months of basic expenses before investing.
• You should pay off high-interest debt of 8 to 10 percent or more before investing.
• If your employer offers a 401(k) match, it should be your first investment account.
• Target date retirement funds provide automatic diversification with very low fees, making them ideal for most people.
• Dollar cost averaging by investing a set amount monthly consistently outperforms trying to time the market.
• You should avoid financial advisors charging high percentage assets under management fees.