Money should work, but not blindly

Money sitting idle isn't safe. It's slowly being eaten away. Inflation doesn't send notifications — a year from now, the same money will simply buy you less.

First the buffer, then the market

Before money starts working in the market, it needs support behind it. A safety buffer — three to six months of living expenses — is your load-bearing racking. Without it, every car breakdown or gap in employment will force you to sell investments at the worst possible moment.

Investing versus gambling

The difference isn't in the instrument, but in the process. An investment has a rationale, a time horizon, an acceptable loss and an exit plan. Gambling has hope. The same shares can be either — depending on who's buying them and why.

For most people starting out in the market, broad-based index funds (ETFs) are a sensible foundation. They let you buy a small slice of hundreds or thousands of companies at once. You don't have to guess the winner — you buy the whole race.