Risk and return

Welcome to the Bogleheads&reg;! First things first. Don't panic! There's a lot of information available to help. Take your time and get organized.

Introduction
The Bogleheads&reg; site consists of this wiki and the Bogleheads forum. Both the wiki and forum were built by volunteers who are dedicated to helping people begin or improve their investing journey through the application of the Bogleheads investing principles.

These principles are more fully explained in the Bogleheads investment philosophy and are summarized below.

Asking questions
If you have questions on any investing or finance topic, just ask in the Bogleheads&reg; forum. No question is too simple or too complex. If you have a specific question, dive right in. But, if you have a complex or general investment concern, please refer to the following guides before posting;


 * Laura’s tips on posting your portfolio and asking related questions
 * Laura’s investment planning overview

Start-up kits
These start-up kits are nothing more than guides to the resources available in the wiki and forum. Anything you need is just a mouse-click away.

A note about the wiki: The power of the wiki is its ability to link content. If a topic has a link, there's more material available. This is not a structured course. Use those links to explore anything you want. The Table of Contents contains comprehensive list of topics.

Investing start-up kit
Start your investing experience here.

See: Bogleheads® Investing Start-Up Kit

Personal finance planning start-up kit
Personal finance is more than just investing. Topics such as budgeting, owning versus renting a home, insurance, saving for college, and charity are covered here.

See: Bogleheads® Personal Finance Planning Start-Up Kit

Retirement Planning Start-Up Kit
Retirement topics are covered here; such as employer retirement plans (401(k)), planning for retirement, and spending during retirement.

See: Bogleheads® Retirement Planning Start-Up Kit

Recommended References

 * Suggested Start-up books
 * Bogleheads' Recommended Investing Books - Forum recommendations for new investors
 * Additional recommended books and reviews - Wiki book listing with reviews