VOO

bkkmatt

Will VOO even do 4% this year? 

RipComfortable7989

DCA into VOO each month, close the apps. Then I browse reddit when I'm bored for the shitposts.

Full-Atmosphere-9702

The problem is actually that you are 20 years old, you think nothing can touch you, nothing can hurt you and you won’t lose. That’s just part of being 20 years old. You have the right idea. Go get a job make some more money and invest it in dividend etfs to start like SCHD or VOO, there are tons of good ones. Build up your portfolio again and start over. You have so much time, coming from someone who is 50 and didn’t do the right thing with money until a few years ago and is now trying to play catch up. If I could be 20 again, I would have played life so differently🤷‍♀️

BeerJunky

Came to say the same thing. Keep earning money working, stack it in safer stuff like VOO, SPY, SPYI, QQQ, QQQI. If you want a little higher risk/reward go for some BTCI but stop straight gambling.

-TrueFacts-

I'm a VOO man 🥱😴 - wake me up in like 20 years

Exact_Sky_2138

definitely too much overlapp with VOO and VGT

mbennett49

VOO is very popular due to its low expenses. Some fidelity funds can be higher. In the long game, it will add up. There will not be a big difference in their performance.

CallmeWooki

Dude chill you’re 20 years old with your whole life ahead of you. Stop gambling and just VOO and chill

D3Rpy_Un1c0Rn107

Ignore this guy completely, get Fidelity because with their fractional purchases stock price doesn’t matter. ETFs leaning tech are gimmicky/dumb but voo and schd are solid. Just know schd is for people who need cash flow (retirees) and slightly underperforms the regular market even with reinvesting dividends. You’re young enough to stay away from it also VTI > VOO if it’s the meat of the us part of your portfolio but that’s just me

absolutemurphman

I’m basically one of those bogleheads but with Fidelity instead of Vanguard. My money was in FXAIX which is Fidelity’s VOO. Made me $19k so far so it can’t be all bad!

misanthreddit

Ok fair enough. I'm just sick of fucking bogleheads around here pumping VOO lol.

sbcpacker

I would just suck it up and pay the taxes. Instead of rebuying stocks, just buy VOO or some other ETF/Fund that mimics the broad market.

kool_mandate

View it as a good thing , You can rethink how your capital was deployed. I bought 3 year ITM leaps on VOO today, I have expose to 200 shares of VOO for the price of 60 shares .

Euphoric_Scientist_1

Max out your ROTH and put the remainder in VOO, forget it, then post on reddit in 10 years that you have 120k to invest, rinse and repeat.

Buddah_Chillz420

Shit he saved 0.03% on home made VOO.

CarpenterThese5372

VOO and VTI are both excellent foundations for long term growth, but keep an eye on how much tech overlap you get if you also add QQQM. I love using an AI powered natural language query system called trylattice to quickly research which ETFs align best with a weekly contribution strategy. It is super helpful for digging into stock filings to see what is actually inside these funds so you do not accidentally overcomplicate your first year.

mbennett49

VOO 50% An international fund ETF 25% Mid cap ETF 25% Aggressive, but you're young.

Bill_Clintons_Desk5

Selling all VOO and throwing it at GLD

GneissFrog

>losing it all slowly trying to buy every dip 2021-2022 as $SOFI plummeted to $4 I mean, SOFI is \~ $18 now, so your trading portfolio is worth about half of what it would have been had you just held and never traded? Sounds about right. You sure you want to keep trading instead of just sticking with your career? Seem more like a 'VOO and chill' kinda guy, based on your results.

Ocampo-Mark

Your 52.5% VOO base is a solid foundation for that 10 to 15 year house fund goal. Since you have a mix of tech and crypto with VGT and IBIT, you might want to keep an eye on how those sectors react to new stock filings. I have been using an AI research platform called trylattice to cross-reference my own portfolio for personalized [insights ](https://www.trylattice.io/app/prism/chat/cmm9z984l00le083ugzv3sufx)on things like GLTR and AVUV. It is pretty awesome for generating interactive charts to see if your current allocations actually meet your growth needs.

Top-Albatross-5295

VOO and VGT have pretty much the same top holdings. The biggest criticism of VOO is it's over concentrated into info tech already. I would divest your VGT holdings and split the proceeds between your other holdings. I like having small cap exposure but AVUV is pretty expensive. I would look at IJR as an alternative, 0.25% VS 0.06% expense ratio. I'm not a huge bitcoin believer but the weight is low so who knows. Over all 7.8/10

Heyhayheigh

8k at 1200 ETH, you got some stones on you… was that your only 8k in the world? Like all your savings? That’s so nuts. Lol. BTC and ETH work similar to sp500, but because crypto is so volatile, the punishment for panic selling is more severe. But all personal finance is the same: spend less than you earn, have an emergency fund, have a plan to invest auto (don’t rely on self discipline), sell only when you have an urgent expense to pay for. Money is a function of when you will spend. If you don’t know, or know it is short term: SGOV. If the plan is to not touch it for years: VOO. Buy auto and weekly. Sell only to pay for urgent expenses. If you sell for other reasons, you’re likely making a mistake. You will learn a ton along the way! Best of luck!

Bluesquare9

VOO. Yeah I said it.

SureAce_

I mean I would just for simplicity. But you have to do what you feel is best. In a tax advantage I would go with an index target date fund. and non-tax advantage I would go with VOO.

Heyhayheigh

Open a Fidelity account. Put it in SGOV (very safe) while you learn about personal finance. When you have income, you should auto buy VOO (sp500) on an auto weekly basis. You can do this in Roth or taxable. I think everyone should have something in taxable (flexibility). Sell only when you have something urgent to pay for. You will learn a ton more as you go. But that fundamental is the basis. Have emergency fund. Invest auto. Don’t panic sell. What price did you buy that ETH? What price did you cash out? Do you wish you would have let it ride?

StepAsideJunior

Safest place is an HYSA (High Yield Saving Account) that collects anywhere from 3.65% to 4.15% (you may even find higher than that). **Now for the conventional advice you'll hear from everyone:** 1) **Max out your IRA** Contributions for the year. You have until April to max out your contribution for 2025. So with 30k you could max out 2025 and 2026 (7000 and 7500 respectively). 2) If your company offers a **401k** use it. 3) If you are young and healthy consider an **HSA health plan**. The **HSA is a triple** advantaged account in that money that goes into the account is \- Tax deductible \- Withdrawals for medical expenses are not taxed \- And the best part is that you don't pay capital gains tax on earnings from your investments in the HSA. Even if all you did was max out a ROTH IRA for the next 30 years at an average return of 8% you would have close to a million dollars of non taxable income. Just investing $7500 a year into a basic S&P 500 ETF like VOO will get you to 7 figures.

kool_mandate

My theory is that this is a selling opportunity in oil (maybe not today , but soon) If it was me , I wouldn’t hold those calls for longer than 1-3 weeks . I started selling covered calls on GD today and bought VOO leaps . I just read an article in the financial times about hedge funds that overweight EM equities are starting to get anxious. (Although I think selling in TSM is etf driven )

smartdrd

Here’s a short, clean, high‑value reply you can drop directly under that Reddit post. It’s calm, practical, and positions you as someone who understands money without sounding preachy or promotional: You’re in a great spot, and the goal now is to protect what you’ve built while giving it room to grow. A simple structure works best: * Keep your emergency fund separate (your $40k plan is solid). * Don’t invest the full $60k at once if that feels risky — spread it over 6–12 months so you’re not trying to “time” anything. * Broad ETFs like VOO/VTI are long‑term vehicles, not short‑term bets. They go through crashes, but historically they recover and compound. * Your game income is the real engine here — consistently investing a portion of that will matter more than the lump sum. * For learning, *The Psychology of Money* and *Simple Path to Wealth* are great starting points. You don’t need to rush or chase anything. You already have the two things that matter most: cash flow and time.

smartdrd

If you invest $1,000 every month for 10 years, the outcome depends entirely on the *behavior* of the assets you choose, not just the contribution amount. Most people only look at average returns, but long‑term results are shaped by three forces: * **Drift** (the natural directional tendency of the asset) * **Volatility regime** (how violently it moves) * **Trend structure** (whether the asset spends more time trending or chopping) For example, broad ETFs like **VTI** or **VOO** tend to have stable long‑term drift with moderate volatility, which compounds well over a decade. Sector ETFs like **XLK** or **XLE** behave differently — tech compounds aggressively but with higher drawdowns, while energy moves in cycles tied to macro conditions. Managed‑futures ETFs like **DBMF** or **KMLM** often provide uncorrelated returns, which can smooth the ride and improve long‑term outcomes when combined with equities. If you assume a typical long‑term market drift of 6–8% annually, $1,000/month over 10 years lands somewhere around **$165k–$180k**. But if you allocate toward assets with stronger structural drift or lower volatility drag, the range can shift meaningfully higher. The key is understanding *how* different ETFs behave across short‑, medium‑, and long‑term horizons instead of treating them all the same. Curious what ETFs you’re considering for the 10‑year window?

Tambien

What’s your point? Historical performance is not an indicator of future performance, and recent events (including VXUS outperforming VOO) do not point to continued US over performance.

MagicMoon

If you had $50k to throw at something for long term investing right now? VOO I guess is the safe bet?

Various_Couple_764

VOO is a good growth fund to start out with. And it is tax efficient. With 8K a month coming in this money willl mostly end up in a taxable brokerage. But with grim the popularity often falls quickly. It might be better to consider a dividend fund instead of a growth fund. A dividend fund invests you money and then send out Quarterly or monthly cash profit sharing payments directly into your your brokerage account. QQQI is one with a 13% yield 50,000 will generates about $500 of income you can use for anything:to * you can use the money to keep you savings account full * Use the moeny to pay regular monthly bills * make a yearly deposit into a Roth retirment account. * you can use the money to invest in grwoth or invest for more dividends. Essentially you are replacing the passive invoke from the game for passive income from investmentsin your brokerage acount. I am near retirment and am investing for passive income. I keep 6 month of expenses in a money market account (it's basically the same as HYSA account). And currently have 6 about 6K a month of passive income. Most of which I spend to cover living epees and and the rest is reinvested. A good book to read about dividend investing is The income factory. ArmChair income on youtube invests the same way but he does detailed reviews of funds many of which iare in his personal account.

Paul_Robert_

$VOO

drew-gen-x

You got to invest in what you believe in to have conviction to hold during downturns. I am not a tech guy, & believe in cycles, but your port indicates you are tech guy. So maybe if I was thinking like you were I would hold onto $QQQ position and sell my $VOO shares and buy $VT or another all world plus US ETF instead of holding the $VOO. I do think you are giving up on $VXUS too early as I think we are entering foreign stock cycle of outperformance vs US stocks. Good luck regardless.

HaiKarate

Create a free account with a brokerage. In that account, create a Roth IRA. Transfer the max it says you’re allowed to (e.g., $7k). Invest that $7k in an ETF like VOO or VXUS. I assume you aren’t incorporated. Find a good small business accountant who can help you set up an LLC corporation, and start pumping that revenue through the corporation. You and your friend should pay yourselves through the corp using a payroll company. There are many tax advantages here which are best explained by the accountant. Once you have a corporation, talk to a brokerage about setting up a 401k plan. This will allow you and your partner to make pre-tax contributions to a 401k account. As to the money you’ve already made, you’re gonna get hammered by the IRS because it will be counted as straight income. But you can use an LLC to shelter future earnings.

SnS2500

The overall market has been mostly flat year to date, so you have not done anything "wrong". In fact, you are doing something very "right" by paper trading a complex portfolio. Now just compare your results to holding VOO for the same period of time. Also don't be afraid to make competing paper portfolios. Try different philosophies and see how they do.

EvolvingDior

The move down in Asian and EU markets, along with the move up in DXY is just crushing int'l today. Good time to cash in some VOO for VYMI. The Asian and EU markets will rebound on the coattails of the US markets tomorrow. And the currency move will revert as well.

MitchCurry

I genuinely do appreciate the response. I know I'm double dipping (I think it's a 50% overlap b/t VOO and QQQ) but don't really care at this point. I'm not trying to optimize ETFs to the fullest. I simply think of the zoomed out chart. VOO and QQQ will return hopefully continue to return somewhere in the range of 8-15% until I start re-balancing for retirement and the small cap ETFs give me exposure to what VOO and QQQ don't. I considered VXUS (looked now and ACWX is basically the same return as VXUS) but it's outperformance has only been for the past year or so. Maybe it'll prove foolish in the long run but I'm good with the exposures I have.

SkillNext3639

For long-term investors, Fundrise can be worth exploring as a way to diversify into real estate alongside a core stock allocation like VOO, VXUS, and small caps, but it’s important to understand the risks and illiquidity involved.

MitchCurry

No, it isn't. A rug pull is where someone raises money from investors, then steals the funds raised and abandons the project leaving those investors with literally worthless assets. Are you saying someone is going to steal all the money in the S&P 500 and leave everyone with worthless SPY and VOO shares?

LemonTeaCool

How is VOO green but not VT?

ten7four

Some dude on bloomberg just said "VOO and chill" yeah ok next you're gonna tell me to work 40 hours a week too

drew-gen-x

You have a lot of tech stocks where you are double dipping b/w individual stock holdings, and their inclusion also in your $QQQ and $SPY/$VOO holdings. I do like that you are adding to $AVDU and $AVUV. You have chosen those 2 where I am investing in $EWY and $EWJ. I would increase your $AVDU & $AVUV percentage or just buy a non USA world EFT like $ACWI and sell the individual stocks or your $QQQ holdings. Your individual tech stocks and $QQQ holdings likely will go up or down at the same time. I am also moving towards ETFs over individual stocks due to time & life. But the industries & indices matter more than just stocks vs ETFs. I would add non USA indices ETFs. Or at least all world ETF like $VT over holding both the $QQQ and $SPY/$VOO). Pick either the $QQQ or $SPY/$VOO, one or the other and buy $ACWI or $VT for the other indices holding. My worthless unasked for 2 cents.

expert-on-reddit

Can’t tell you what to do. But assuming under 30 and if it were me: Invest $150,000 into a low cost index fund (for example VOO) through a respectable broker (Fidelity, Schwab or similar) and name a beneficiary in the event that something happens to you. Keep the beneficiary information updated and keep up with any tax information but otherwise forget it exists until you’re 65. Barring exceptional unforeseen or tragic future events, you now own your future. Next, take the remaining $30,000 place it into an HYSA and use it as sleep well at night emergency fund only. Make all other financial decisions as if this money does not exist.

SDeft3

Maybe stick to VOO man

Fragster2020

New to investing ...got about $10k loose change to dump. Reddit said to put it all in VOO ETF... What say u?

leaning_on_a_wheel

This is less diverse than just buying something like VOO, VTI or VT

steadyyyield

First off congrats, this is a great problem to have at 25. You are thinking way more responsibly than most people already. Keeping emergency cash, using ETFs, and thinking long term is exactly the right mindset. You do not lose everything unless you panic sell. Markets dip, long term they rise. VOO and chill, keep building games, keep expenses low, and let time do the heavy lifting. Boring investing is usually the smartest. Also read The Simple Path to Wealth and Psychology of Money. Simple, clear, and calming. You are on a very solid path, just do not overthink it.

D74248

In every cycle there is a strategy that, with hindsight, was the best one to use. Until recently VOO and Chill was the winner in this cycle. And now the practitioners are insufferable. It is better to be lucky than good; provided that we recognize that the luck does mean that we are good.

ChartsOverview

That’s already a very solid approach. Keeping it simple and low-cost is key. Personally, I’d probably go something like 80% VOO and 20% Nasdaq (QQQM) if you’re comfortable with a bit more tech exposure. In the long run, consistency and staying invested will matter much more than small percentage tweaks

kitehousecyprus

If your horizon is not at least 15-30 years (you said 2years) don’t put money in VOO VOO return in 2024 24,94%, in 2025 17,82, in 2026 so far 0,62%. There is clear slowed growth last 2-2.5 years. And it could be very easily followed by decline. SGOV yes or HYSA, but for such short term(2-5 years) I wouldn’t risk my money in any US index.

McKoijion

The S&P 500 is red, but the S&P 59 is bright green. Short VOO and buy VIX.

Landslide_Micro

John bogle says 100% VOO. Warren Buffett says 90% VOO and 10% short term T bill. Ignore foreign asset because nobody knows about dollar currency exchange ratio in the future relative to chinese currency or euro or yen.

maiden_finance

You’re on the right track, just overthinking the risk a bit. If lump sum feels uncomfortable, just DCA into VOO over time and keep a solid cash buffer. The bigger mistake is sitting out and missing compounding, not a short-term dip.

Potato_Donkey_1

Don't be in a hurry. Read a couple of investing books. Right now, interest-bearing savings are a fine place for your money until you understand more about risk and reward. There's some reason to think that right now, many components in VOO may be overvalued and spoiling for a fall. That may not happen for a while, but it would be a shame to jump in without really knowing the risks and immediately see a big drop in your account.

RiskAdjustedView

That’s honestly a very reasonable starting point. 80% VOO gives you broad US exposure, 10% VXUS adds international diversification, and 10% small cap like AVUV tilts toward higher expected return (with higher volatility). It’s simple and coherent. Switching small cap to QQQM would change the intent of the portfolio. QQQM is more large-cap growth/tech-heavy — you’d be increasing concentration in names that are already a big part of VOO. Small cap adds a different factor exposure. The bigger question isn’t which mix is “perfect,” but whether you can stick with it during underperformance. Small caps and international can lag for long stretches. If you’re comfortable staying consistent through cycles, your allocation is already solid. Consistency over 40 years will matter more than fine-tuning 5–10% shifts.

HobbitFeet_23

The best books for beginners would be The Bogleheads Guide to Investing and The Four Pillars of Investing. The second one is better, but the first one goes into more basic stuff. If you want a fast read, search for If You Can by William Bernstein (the same author of The Four Pillars) and you can read it for free. Remember to always put some money aside for taxes and keep your emergency fund (six months of expenses, not necessarily 40k) and pat down any high interest debt you have. In regards to investing VOO is fine but it doesn’t include international markets. They’ve underperformed the US in the last 15 years or so but who know what will perform best in the future so better to invest in everything.

crazybutthole

VOO is flat YTD - I am up 9-10% - its not hard to use a little Gemini - ask the right questions, and invest in momentum stocks. Set stop limits once you're up. I'm in precious metals. Defense stocks. A little silver. A little gold. Sprinkle in some FCFS and some micron and you too would be up 9-10% YTD. Or just do VOO and chill. I don't care. I got stop limits protecting my gains. See you tomorrow afternoon when I sell RTX and Lockheed for 6-7% gains and lock that in. If they go up more? That's ok.

AggieDem

❌ VOO and chill 💯 SPY and fries in the bag bro

samaritan1331_

fair VOO fees are low but SPYM is even lower

Interesting-Group-66

VXUS is the new VOO. Performed waaaay better last year.

f0xinaround

But it's VOO and chill not SPY and chill

cuddlepwince

Following. I am in the same situation with looking to purchase a house in the next 2 years. Probably going to put it almost all in sgov with 25% in VOO

snoozemr

your 23 so even looking at FIRE you’ve got 20 plus years. Don’t worry about downturns. Opening a taxable account and layering money into VOO, VXUS, QQQM and such is a great idea.

gardeal23

So you had 60k at 18 and you didnt DCA VOO :(

DesticularDorsion

Just VOO and chill man. 

RegardedDegen

VOO. That's all you need.

DopeCyclist

2.6 million portfolio here. Lifelong global index investor...a mix of global stocks and bonds. VOO and chill is attuned to just a handful of companies and is a bad approach. Market timimg and/or just buying a narrow sector like VOO is the wromg approach.

deonex

VOO QQQ and forget

LostandConfused2024

How much would you have to make in a single trade to never trade again (VOO & chill would be fine). I think mine would be 200k

D74248

> Market timing does not work... Neither does burying one's head in the sand. Investors who looked at the known risks last year and tilted toward value and International have done much better than the *Church of VOO and Chill*.

zebradonkey69

Right! I keep telling people they ought not make sense of this completely irrational market. It’s best to go FULL into momentum changes/day trading and follow whisker trends, understand “basic” day trading stuff OR just forget about it and put your 10% contribution into VOO and stop making sense of anything. Especially considering NOTHING makes sense in any way.

SxeySteve

Buy 27k of VOO and then do it again with the extra 1k

thewayyoulook2night

Hello all, I've recently made posts on WSB and problemgambler documenting a really bad last few days to cap off years of anxiety and losses from the market. The long story short is that I started "investing" in the GME days and chased big wins (and losses) in form of meme stocks and short term options. After losses, I would pivot strategies (like doing thetagang) but it always led me back to losing on buying 0dte options. I tried quitting a few times but never stuck to it, but I'm determined to stop once and for all. I have lost $160,000 of my initial $240,000, leaving roughly $80,000 left after starting in December 2020. I think know the answer but just could use some reinforcement. I still have a lot of shares of high beta companies on margin. I don't think I can keep monitoring them and thus will need to liquidate them for a loss this week to clear the margin. Once done, put those funds into an ETF like VOO/VTI/VT. I'm also transferring my account finally out of Robinhood into Fidelity. And of course, staying out of WSB for good. I'm aware options exist there but I think a change of scenery will do the mind well. I feel like such a failure. I let my parents know and they were reasonably understanding. I know I'm not in debt but it's shameful what I did to set myself back. Here's what I have left as a 35 year old living in a HCOL city making $94k a year. $80k in taxable, $140k in retirement (luckily I always stayed the course there with VOO and a bit of mag7), $25k in my savings and $50k in company stocks. Thank you.

Due_Jeweler8059

I was married to a CPA and he didn’t get it . Maybe just didn’t want to take risk . SP 500 VOO if you are afraid . Kids now know something because of Bitcoin I didn’t learn into my late 59 after a divorce. Hired a financial advisor then self directed . Best book to learn - Simple path to wealth

PResidentFlExpert

Thanks Barclays but my time horizon is infinite. I’ve been 50% PMs since the election; if VOO drops 10% I’ll just sell gold

Nice_Train_8544

The SP500 is included in FDKLX or FDKVX. Either of the 2060 funds contains about 40% SP500. So it's like buying 40% VOO and 60% other stuff.

Several_Stable_3991

Someone here mentioned VOO. Which’s seems to be like the SP500 I’ve never seen those mention but what do you think of VOO? For main

Several_Stable_3991

Just looked into it VOO is basically one of the most popular ones out there? What about risk? How you compare FDKLX to my situation.

Heyhayheigh

Open a Fidelity account. Just buy VOO. Set it to 25/week. Work to increase that weekly amount. Use SGOV for emergency cash. Sell only when there is an urgent expense to pay for. You will learn more. But those are the basics. Don’t overthink it.

CoolBreezeBrew

It seems like you have a low risk tolerance. Have you considered a bond ladder. I am getting close to 5 % on 20 year zero coupons. You also might consider something more like VYM, SCHD, VYMI and TLT. I would keep at one years worth of living expense in cash and slowly invest as your tolerance allows. Maybe something like : 25% Cash 25% bond ladder 25% income stocks/etf. SCHD VYM VYMI 25% Growth VOO, SPY VTI

-TrueFacts-

In heaven there is only VOO.

Heyhayheigh

Opens a Fidelity account. Don’t use hysa. Use SGOV. Yes buy VOO on auto weekly basis. Sell only when there is something urgent to pay for. You learn this so early, you will see money is easy!!

Heyhayheigh

Just buy VOO on auto weekly basis. Work to increase that weekly amount. Sell only to pay for urgent things. SGOV of SPAXX for short term cash. You’re making it more complicated than it needs to be. Best of luck to your mental state. Find a trustworthy pro to help you. This is no insult. But you obviously don’t have the temperament. No biggie. I don’t have the temperament to cook. I pay for food 🤷‍♂️

Machine8851

85k in a HYSA is just wasting money to inflation and more than likely pays a measly 3-3.5% in interest. Might as well put it in SPYI which pays a distribution rate of 12% and is less riskier than VOO. You wont pay taxes with SPYI in a taxable due to the tax efficiency of ROC plus you will get a guaranteed return of 12% a year plus capital appreciation.

32Seven

Exactly. Do not pay off 1.99% debt outside of the monthly payment. If anyone wants to hear a more eloquent explanation why, there is an audio (and maybe video, not sure) clip of Charlie Munger (Berkshire Hathaway) explaining why paying off low interest loans (5%or less in his eyes if memory serves) makes no sense. And, yes OP, move whatever is more than 3 months worth of emergency funds into VOO (or any other low fee S&P index fund). You’re 23 yo and have the best possible advantage any of us can ask for when it comes to investing - Time.

Major_Fee_6130

Yeah this is a really common issue when you are buying across multiple accounts. VOO, VTI, and large cap growth funds all have massive overlap since the S&P 500 makes up like 85% of VTI anyway, and the top holdings in growth funds are the same mega caps. The simplest fix is to pick one core holding for US exposure and stick with it across all three accounts. VTI or VOO in everything, then add international (VXUS) for actual diversification. Right now you are probably 95%+ US without realizing it. For actually seeing the overlap across accounts, I have been using investinsight.io to pull all my holdings into one view. Makes it way easier to spot when you are double dipping on the same companies across different funds. Before that I was just guessing and it turned out I had way more AAPL and MSFT exposure than I thought.

MarketObserver_IN

This is such a relatable observation. A few reasons it plays out this way: \*\*1. Media portrayal is almost always the extreme.\*\* Movies, news, social media — it's always Wolf of Wall Street day traders or meme stock gamblers. Boring index fund investing never gets coverage because "person contributes monthly to VOO" doesn't make headlines. \*\*2. The 2000 dot-com bubble and 2008 financial crisis left scars.\*\* A lot of older workers watched their parents or neighbors get wiped out. To them, "the stock market" is a rigged casino. That impression hardened and never got updated. \*\*3. Financial education is nearly non-existent.\*\* Most schools don't teach compounding, tax-advantaged accounts, or index funds. People fill the knowledge gap with folk wisdom, which tends to be fear-based. \*\*4. Trading ≠ Investing, but they look the same from outside.\*\* Your colleagues can't easily distinguish between you DCA-ing into an S&P 500 ETF and someone day-trading options. They just hear "stocks" and pattern-match to gambling. The good news: you're 25 and already getting it right. In 30-40 years when you retire early and your coworkers are still working, the distinction will be clear. Keep doing what you're doing.

MarketObserver_IN

At 23 with Roth maxed and 401k funded — you're already ahead of 95% of people your age. The $85k HYSA question is the right one to be asking now. \*\*Answering your questions directly:\*\* \*\*Cash vs invested ratio:\*\* I keep \~6 months expenses in HYSA/cash (emergency fund, non-negotiable). Everything above that threshold gets invested. At your age, you don't need more than that in cash. \*\*What to invest in:\*\* Broad index funds — VOO (S&P 500) or VTI (total market). Trying to pick winners is a loser's game for most people. The data overwhelmingly supports index investing over stock picking for long-term returns. \*\*Mental handling of dips:\*\* This is the hardest part and the most important. The trick is to pre-commit to not checking your portfolio more than once a month. Dips \*feel\* terrible but are statistically meaningless over a 20-40yr horizon. Automate your contributions so emotion is removed. \*\*Lump sum vs gradual:\*\* At 23 with a long runway, lump sum historically outperforms dollar-cost averaging \~2/3 of the time (Vanguard's own research confirms this). But if it helps you sleep and stay invested, DCA over 3-6 months is fine psychologically. \*\*Practical next step:\*\* Keep $30-35k in HYSA (emergency + near-term goals), open a Fidelity or Vanguard taxable brokerage and invest the rest in VTI. Then automate $500-1000/month into it going [forward.At](http://forward.At) 23 with Roth maxed and 401k funded, you're ahead of 95% of your peers. Here's a direct framework: You're already doing better than most people twice your age — seriously. A few thoughts: \*\*Yes, open the taxable brokerage.\*\* At 23 with a long time horizon, having money sitting in HYSA beyond your emergency fund is essentially losing purchasing power to inflation over decades. \*\*VOO vs VTI:\*\* Both are excellent. VTI gives you small/mid cap exposure on top of large cap — over very long periods the difference is minimal, but VTI is slightly more diversified. Either is a great choice. \*\*On the $85k HYSA:\*\* Keep 6 months of expenses as true emergency fund (sounds like \~$20-25k based on your numbers). Everything above that should be working harder for you in the market. \*\*Lump sum vs DCA:\*\* Research (including Vanguard's own studies) shows lump sum outperforms DCA \~2/3 of the time. But if the idea of dropping $50k+ at once keeps you up at night, spreading it over 6 months is perfectly fine — the psychological benefit of staying invested matters more than theoretical optimum. \*\*The real key at your age:\*\* Automate everything and don't watch it daily. The biggest wealth-destroying mistake is panic-selling during a dip. Set it, forget it, let compounding do the heavy lifting over 40 years. \*\*On the $85k HYSA:\*\* Keep 6 months of expenses as your emergency fund (sounds like \~$20-25k based on typical living costs). Everything above that is "excess cash" costing you real returns. \*\*Should you open a taxable brokerage?\*\* Yes, absolutely. \- Invest in VTI (total market) or VOO (S&P 500) — these are essentially equivalent, VTI slightly more diversified \- At 23 with decades of runway, 100% equities in a taxable brokerage is defensible \- Gradually shift toward 80/20 equities/bonds as you approach 50+ \*\*Cash vs invested ratio:\*\* Emergency fund in HYSA, rest invested. At your age there's no reason to hold more cash than that unless you have a known upcoming expense (house down payment, etc.) \*\*On handling dips:\*\* Automate contributions so you never have to "decide" during a crash. The worst thing you can do is sell during a downturn. Remind yourself: a dip just means your future contributions buy more shares cheaply. \*\*Lump sum vs DCA:\*\* Lump sum wins \~2/3 of the time historically. But DCA over 3-6 months is fine if it helps you stay the course psychologically. You're doing great. Open the brokerage, set up auto-invest, and let it run.

Legal_Potato_9063

You're 23 with no debt, maxed Roth, and $85k in savings. You're not being too conservative, you're being smart. But yes, at your age time is your biggest asset and $85k sitting in a HYSA is leaving a lot of growth on the table. Keep 6 months of expenses in the HYSA as your emergency fund. Move the rest into a taxable brokerage gradually. Dollar cost average into VOO or VTI over 6-12 months if lump sum makes you nervous. Historically lump sum wins about 2/3 of the time, but DCA lets you sleep at night and that matters more than people admit. At 23 a market crash is actually a gift. You have 40 years of compounding ahead of you. The people who get hurt by downturns are the ones who need the money in 2-3 years. You don't. Don't overthink it. VOO and chill.

-TrueFacts-

Real - in the end we all put what's left in VOO. The ones who post the massive gains with meaningful money are usually trust fund kids, or whatever, who already have access to millions. Going aggressive with trades to run up a small account to a million usually gets you wrecked eventually. A lotta the old legends of the markets from last century did it with insider info or market inefficiencies that no longer exist now that every man and his dog is trading.

AtHomeWithJulian

There's no reason to have that amount of money in the HYSA, you are essentially leaving substantial gains on the table. You want 6 months to a year of expenses in the HYSA, then pay off all debt and then everything else should go into your taxable brokerage, in that order. It's hard to answer your questions without knowing your risk tolerance and when you intend to possibly need this money. If you feel your income is stable and you have no foreseeable need to withdraw anything from your brokerage any time soon, then you can afford to put money into a more aggressive portfolio. The safe and easy long term plan is to put it all into VOO.

No_Distance_9692

Bros all VOO and no chill lol

ruler_gurl

Not sure what you mean by blowing up, you mean getting assigned on a short covered call? You either sell with higher deltas and collect a juicy premium, getting assigned occasionally, and then immediately reverse and sell cash secured puts. Or you sell covered calls at .1 deltas and very rarely get assigned. Buy to close on a down day, then sell to open again on an up day. I've sold and closed about 20 traunches of VOO calls since Oct and no assignments. The downside is the premiums are weak. It helps immensely to do it in a Roth so holding periods are irrelevant. I don't care if assignments happen. I welcome them.

Heyhayheigh

SGOV. Learn to invest though. The issue is you don’t have income. But you will one day. If you’ve earned more than 7500 so far this year, you can put that amount in Roth. You will have access to the contributions. Not the growth. Basically long term money put into VOO. Short term money goes in SGOV. You only sell to pay for urgent expenses. That’s it. That’s all anyone needs to know. Everything is built on that fundamental principle. Spend less. Invest more auto. Don’t panic sell. One day you will probably delegate this to a trusted advisor. It won’t be worth your time to manage. Best of luck!

-TrueFacts-

Oh these days I'm just a VOO man (or rather Aussie equivalent IHVV).

-TrueFacts-

VOO 4 Lyfe, son

WMan37

* Finally get into investing at the start of this year because fuck it, my job gives me a 401k plan with fidelity where I get an extra 3% of everything I put in because I chose to allocate 6% * Within days my shares depreciate like a collective $200 in value even though I diversified, which is like 50% of what I put in * Feel like a sucker and I'm currently waiting (hoping) for them to go back up to at least a point where I can break even * Go to report my taxes on TurboTax the other day It doesn't make it super clear how to report gains from sold shares, meaning I'm worried about that too when it's no longer de minimis. I can now absolutely see why people call it gambling. I should have just been happy with the 3% APY returns from a HYSA. That'd at least be upward-ish enough momentum to pay for a trip to the gas station every month despite inflation taking a chunk of buying power anyway. Feels like gambling, because I did the right thing and actually tried to look into companies I was investing in, followed places on the internet like here to get a broader scope of discussion surrounding this, consumed a lot of investing based youtube content, and even then I still got screwed over a bit. As an example, [AMD beat earnings](https://www.investing.com/analysis/amd-beat-earnings-by-600-million-so-why-did-30-billion-disappear-200674451) and their share prices *tanked.* Then I bought 1 share of VOO to test the waters since people say that's what to go for, and then it tanked 10 dollars the next day and hasn't really yet broken even. Tried to get into metals after reading news articles, so own shares of silver and gold, tanked and hasn't reached purchase prices yet. When a company does well and still gets reamed, and you do research and it doesn't feel like enough, it definitely feels like gambling. At least I didn't put anything in I wasn't ready to lose, but it still feels bad. People act like it's this super approachable, easy thing, but you get a mountain of so much conflicting information and it feels like just taking potshots in the dark, I'm probably not going to be investing much after this. The only thing that has earned me minor amounts of upwards momentum is FXAIX and even that makes like a few cents of overall progress while wildly fluctuating up and down. Maybe it's because I'm new to investing, but so far I feel like the time I spend trying to follow the stock market would be better spent just doing uber/doordash/instacart, etc. as a secondary source of income.

Pale_Drink4455

Put it in a brokerage in a low cost S&P ETF such as VT, VTI, VOO, VTSAX etc and let it grow.

VegasBjorne1

Because it overwhelming to people. There are literally thousands of individual stocks and too many people don’t know what to choose and where to start or how much to invest. I have the advantage of a finance and Masters degree in business most do not. I tell people, especially my co-workers to keep it simple for their retirement. Invest up to maximum matched by our employer, as it’s free money. Invest in the mutual funds offered through the employer, depending upon their risk tolerance. When approaching retirement age then shift to a less risky mix of government bonds, as then it’s about capital preservation not capital appreciation. Any questions, then ask me. Any extra retirement money, then open a Roth IRA and buy the S&P 500 through VOO. Set it and forget it.