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Weekly Finance Thread

Since a lot of us here have expressed interest in not starving to death in a gutter, I figured I'd start a weekly thread to discuss financial matters.

Ground Rules

  • Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
  • Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
  • Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
  • Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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Let's say I managed to save up around 5000€. Is there any point in investing a sum that small? What if we also assume that another 5000€ join it every year?

Is there a point in not investing that sum?

Commissions (trade fees) are pretty small these days. Pick a cheap online broker if you want to pick stocks yourself, or a cheap passive index fund (the annual fee can be absolutely tiny, like 0,1%).

Putting less than 500 in an individual stock becomes a bit silly, but with 5000 you can diversify somewhat (a handful of stocks) and still have it be worthwhile.

Can you recommend a good guide on how to get started with zero prior knowledge of investing?

Is there a point in not investing that sum?

Having it available in case some major household appliance breaks, or the car, or we need to organize a move.

Since I know that you are german, I'd recommend to get a scalable capital account ASAP and put the 5000€ into the Tagesgeld there to start with. It gives 2.5% with no volatility, no fees, minimal risk and full access to take it out any time. That helps serve as a good basic protection against inflation. There's probably similar options with Trade Republic and the like, but I'm not familiar with those.

From there, you can start trying out any of the other investment schemes others recommend here. From my side, I'd just invest a percentage you're comfortable with into a world ETF through a fee-less monthly plan.