How should I, a normal person, invest my earnings?
My rules, in rough order of priority:
1) Take advantage of any employer matching and any tax shelters. These are the only places in all of finance where you will ever find a sure source of free money.
2) Build a reserve fund of liquid and stable assets, sufficient for 3-6 months unavoidable expenses. Nothing exotic here - bank accounts, money market funds, or conservative mutual funds. This is for covering you if you lose your job, if your furnace breaks and needs replacing in January, or the like.
3) Invest a substantial proportion of your income, like 10...
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