Welcome to LessWrong (For highschoolers)
As a continuation of the original Welcome thread (if you haven't gone there, go there fist) I think we need a separate introduction thread for highschoolers. Who: As a demographic, I think that we can probably be characterized by: 1. Our newness to LW. 2. Our uncertainty about which college or career to choose. 3. (if we are in a public school) Looking for ways to game the system (because we're not learning much in it). 4. Our potential to make a huge impact (the best advantage is an early start). 5. An lack of face to face interaction with intellectual people. Why: I can think of several things this could help highschoolers with. 1. See where you stack up compared to others your age (We're probably all big fish in small ponds. At least I am. Let's get an idea of what the big pond is like). 2. Make friends with people like you. 3. Consider college and career ideas you hadn't considered before. 4. Perhaps find people to apply with for the Thiel Fellowship. 5. Find a chavruta to go through the sequences with you. What: Tell us the following: 1. How old/what year are you? 2. How have you tried to enhance your education beyond what's normally offered at schools? 3. How many rationalist/philosophical people are at your school/family? 4. What careers/schools are you considering? 5. Are you going to apply for a Thiel Fellowship? 6. EDIT: link to your old "introduce yourself" post. If you're not in highschool, tell us what you would have told your old highschool self.
So, I think the correct answer to the question "I have a 5-figure sum of money to invest" is to just go with Betterment/Wealthfront rather than Vanguard, so that you get diversification between asset classes (whereas a specific index fund will get you diversification within an asset class). If I'd known this when I'd asked the question, I would have picked a better mix of Vanguard index funds, and not hesitated as much with figuring out where to put the money. To be fair, Vaniver basically said this, I just think the links below explain it better, so I could feel certain enough to make a decision rather than let the money burn away through inflation.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/02/17/book-review-the-intelligent-asset-allocator/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/11/04/why-i-put-my-last-100000-into-betterment/