looking for a monthly auto pilot investment, are ETF's a good idea?

[mcas85]

Hi, all. Great info on here. I am trying to pay off some debt, and continue to save in my 401K. I am looking to invest elsewhere some extra money, not a lot just whatever I can afford. Maybe $200-500 a month. I opened up a Schwab account and invested a small amount. Is it smart to invest into one ETF o rmutual fund? I want to do auto transfer where I can just set my bank up to transfer the money every month so I don't have to do anything. I figure this has to be better than just saving money in a low interest bank account. Thanks 

[Anonymous]

Do you have a Roth IRA set up?  If not, you should be doing that, so that your all your future earnings are tax-free.  A conventional IRA is also an option.

Aside from setting up the IRA, the first thing I would do is read some good introductions to investing.  The booklet IF YOU CAN (by William Bernstein) is available free on the internet and would be a good first choice.

[Kree]

DRIP funds are a great option for investing smaller amounts of money on a continual basis. They don't have the usual brokerage fees. Won't suggest a specific one, cause financial advice is bad conversation, but the concept is worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an emergency fund of 3 months living expenses yet?  If not, I would do that first.  Doctor of Credit has a page on high yield (3%+) savings accounts you can use to start this.

Only after that should investing in more riskier investments be considered, imo.  I have taken the other path before, investing all extra available assets and it did not turn out well.  Now that I have a base emergency fund built up I am a lot more secure in putting money towards other options.