Financial Feminist · Her First $100K

How To Start Investing in 2026 (Personal Finance Cheat Sheet Pt. 3)

January 8, 2026·29 min·2 clips
Tori Dunlap debunks the myth that investing is only for the rich and promises a step-by-step guide for beginners.
No more investing excuses. The host opens with a reset for anyone who keeps meaning to invest, then backs off because the whole thing feels confusing or built for someone else. This is your year, and she does not dress up the point: investing is not reserved for rich people; it is how people become rich. The episode stays practical, with a step-by-step path for beginners and people who have not made a first investment yet. She names the moment plenty of listeners know: logging into Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, or Robinhood and immediately wanting out. That reaction is treated as normal, not as proof that you are bad with money. The problem is access, language, and a system that can make a simple first step feel bigger than it is. Since this is the final part of the Personal Finance Cheat Sheet series, she frames it as part of a 2026 wealth-building reset and points listeners back to parts one and two if they came in at the investing chapter. The sponsor reads take up space. Rocket Money covers subscriptions, spending, bills, savings, and a dashboard for checking, savings, loans, and investments. Squarespace gets the business-owner lane, with payments, domains, a partner's website, and launch prep. Then the episode comes back to the bigger mission: free financial education that can raise net worth, ease money stress, and make listeners feel more confident. The tone is pushy in a useful way. Less lecture, more hand on your shoulder: the door is open, now walk through it.

As heard by us

A blunt, useful reset for anyone who keeps stalling on their first investment.

This episode works as a straightforward starting point for people who want to invest but freeze when they open a brokerage app. It treats that hesitation as something worth clearing away, uses plain language throughout, and lays out the first investment step by step so the…

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Need a no-jargon first step into investing before 2026 gets away from you?

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