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Investment Basics for Beginners: How to Start Investing in 2025

Investment Basics for Beginners: How to Start Investing in 2025 It's common to spend years "learning about investing" before actually investing a dollar -- reading books, listening to podcasts, analyzing stocks — while the market goes up 47% and idle savings earn just 0.5%. The lesson: you don't need to understand everything to start. You need to start to understand anything. To start investing, open a brokerage account, deposit money, and buy diversified low-cost index funds—that's genuinely all most beginners need. You don't need to pick individual stocks or understand complex financial instruments. Use our Investment Calculator(/finance/investment-calculator) to see how even small investments grow over time. Why You Need to Invest Saving money in a bank account isn't enough. Here's why: Inflation Erodes Cash Inflation averages about 3% annually. A dollar today will be worth only $0.55 in 20 years. | Year | $10,000 Cash (2% savings) | $10,000 Invested...