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John Bogle
We help you make good financial decisions by tuning out the noise and focusing on just a handful of simple, core principles that have proved successful over time. Although they are simple, following them is not always easy.
If this is your first visit, begin at "Getting started" below.
Regular visitors may want to look at our new articles.
Getting started
For US investors:
- Getting started - Start here.
- Investment philosophy - Our investment principles.
- Investing start-up kit - A top-down approach to start investing.
- Investment policy statement - Identify your investment objectives and how you plan to meet them.
- Prioritizing investments - Choosing where to save your investing money, such as an employer's retirement plan or a savings account.
For non-US investors:
- Getting started for non-US investors - Start here.
- Investment philosophy for non-US investors - Our investment principles.
- Investing start-up kit for non-US investors - A top-down approach to start investing.
- Outline of non-US domiciles - Overview of topics specifically for non-US investors.
Personal finance
Personal finance covers not only investing, but day-to-day finances, budgeting, insurance, taxes, estate planning, and retirement.
For US investors:
- Personal finance planning start-up kit - Start here.
- Financial planning - The first thing you should do.
- Household budgeting - Understand how much you make and how much you spend.
- Emergency fund - Have cash on-hand for life's unexpected events.
- Insurance - Auto, home, medical
- Estate planning - Be prepared when bad things happen.
Retirement
Retirement is a major event in many people's lives. It is not only a lifestyle change, but a change in income and spending.
Planning for this life-changing event is important.
For US investors:
- Retirement planning start-up kit - Start here.
- Preparing for retirement - Steps you should take before retiring.
- Retirement policy statement - Lay-out your retirement plans and strategies.
From today's featured article
An Investment policy statement (IPS) is a statement that defines your general investment goals and objectives. It describes the strategies that you will use to meet these objectives, and contains specific information on subjects such as asset allocation, risk tolerance, and liquidity requirements.
Alternatively, you could consider using a simpler investing plan (see below):
- If you find creating a full Investment Policy Statement too complex
- If your investment objectives do not justify the effort needed to create an Investment Policy Statement (more...)
This week in financial history
- 2003 - The first US Treasury auction results were issued electronically to news services. Source: Individual - Timeline of U.S. Treasury Auctions
January 16:
- 1808 - The Borsa Italiana of Milan, Italy's main stock exchange, was founded on January 16, 1808. Share trading began on February 15, 1808. Source: Bicentennial press release
- 2019 - John C. Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, creator of the first retail stock index fund, and author of twelve books, died on this date in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Source:John Bogle, who founded Vanguard and revolutionized retirement savings, dies at 89, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
January 17:
- 1792 - Today is the birthday of the dollar sign ($), as it shows up for the first time on a federal document — a U.S. Treasury bond issued to George Washington. Source: Feature: This Day in Business History The Houston Economics Club.
January 18:
- 1864 - The Hungarian Stock Exchange, the predecessor of today’s Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) began its operation on 18 January 1864 in Pest. Source: Brief history of the Exchange
January 19:
- 1976 - The New York Stock Exchange installed a new high-speed data line and began transmitting market data at up to 36,000 Characters a minute. (Source)
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Sister projects
Our Canadian sister site, Financial Wisdom Forum, and its wiki, finiki, the Canadian financial wiki, has a similar focus with many like-minded members, and you might also find this site interesting.
We also have a sister site in Spain, Bogleheads® España (en español).
We are also on Facebook.