I have about $3k sitting in a checking account not doing anything.

Put it into a savings account and keep it as an emergency fund in case things hit the fan.

If you can't survive in the worst case scenario for a few months with your savings, you're doing it wrong.

>>17806968
to be clear, I have about $1k in Savings, and $2k in checking. I've been taking 10% of my income and putting it into savings, and living off the rest.

>>17806968
In the worst case scenario you die, so...

>>17806968
>Put it into a savings account and keep it as an emergency fund in case things hit the fan

What a fantastic way to make basically 0% real profit after taking inflation jnto account.

Op an easy way to into investment is to put the money into an index fund.

>>17806959

That's hardly enough to start. The rule of thumb is to have six months salary in a savings account, where it's safe and available even if paying laughable interest, before investing.

But if you want to start, put $1000 in a no-load index-linked mutual fund (if you don't know what any of those words mean, look them up) run by one of the big MF companies, like Fidelity or Vanguard. Then put some of your monthly savings in each moth - most will take regular investments as small as $25 a month.

This is a long-term investment. You are, in a sense, investing in every company in America at once. In any given month you might lose money - that's why you keep some on the bank - but when you think in terms of years, you will do much better than with a bank.