in this edition:
let me womansplain this to you: brokerages
the gist: you need a brokerage before you can invest. think of it as deciding where your money lives. fidelity, schwab, and vanguard all get the job done.
you can’t just hop on the new york stock exchange and buy apple stock. you need a licensed place to do that (your personal middleman, if you will).
that middleman is a brokerage.
when you hear brokerage, think: the place that lets me actually invest my money.
a brokerage is simply a home for your money that you plan to invest. picking one is kind of like choosing where to live. all homes technically do the same thing (keep you sheltered), but the details matter.
some are sleek and modern. some have better maintenance. some are just easier to live in.
that is step one of investing, choosing where your money will live.
my big three:
brokerage | features | best for |
|---|---|---|
easy to use, no trading fees, great app | an all-around, easy place to start investing | |
friendly support, simple site | people who want good help and an easy experience | |
vanguard (this is what I use!) | low fees, long-term investing options | set it and forget it |
things to watch out for:
analysis paralysis. it’s always better to start with a “good enough” choice than wait for the perfect one that never comes.
uninvested cash. money sitting in your brokerage doing nothing is like your friend who says they’re “on their way.” technically, yes, but not actually moving.
you finally pick a brokerage and someone says: now open a brokerage account!
and you’re like, wait, what the hell? I thought that’s what I just did.
here’s the deal:
the brokerage is the company (fidelity, vanguard, schwab).
the brokerage account is your account inside that company.
if the brokerage is the building, your brokerage account is your apartment.
how it actually goes:
pick your brokerage (fidelity, vanguard, schwab).
open your account (roth ira or taxable).
transfer money into it (connect your bank).
buy investments that live inside the account.
but what’s the deal with robinhood?
first, here’s a quick descriptor of robinhood: a mobile app-based brokerage that allows users to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies with no account minimums or trading fees.
I’ll give credit where it’s due. robinhood did a few things right:
made investing accessible with no minimums, no fees, and an easy app.
removed gatekeeping so anyone could start.
normalized fractional shares, meaning you could finally buy $5 worth of tesla.
but now for the part where I get on my ~soapbox~…
it turned investing into a game. the app is literally built like social media, with confetti, swipe gestures, and push notifications.
it makes money off your trades. it’s free the same way instagram is free, because you’re still the product.
it encourages risky behavior. complex stuff (like options) feels as casual as investing in a typical stock.
here’s the takeaway:
choose where your money will live: fidelity, schwab, or vanguard. remember, they all do the same fundamental thing. pick the one that fits your style and move forward. because uninvested cash is just sitting there saying it's on the way.
my personal money diary: getting over toxic frugality
for a long time, I wore frugality like a personality trait. I called it discipline and, embarrassingly, admired myself more for it. I have endless stories of silly ways I’d save money or feel so guilty while spending it that I couldn’t even enjoy the thing I bought.
lately, I’ve been trying to get over this chronic condition. this month, I made what felt like a small but monumental decision.
when it came to the gym, I refused to spend a cent. I mostly run and don’t need a gym to do that. and my apartment has a basement gym, so technically, I already had one. it was free (well, included in rent), convenient, and…a depression cave.
lights that shut off mid-workout. a water fountain that smells like sulfur. a cable machine from, I swear, 1910.
okay, okay, at least I have a gym. but you get the point. I never looked forward to going down there, especially after my apartment’s recent break-ins, where random men were nakedly roaming the basement halls.
I told myself I couldn’t justify paying for a gym when I already had one and when my rent was already high enough.
the turning point
last month, I joined a gym that costs ~$180 a month. the firm I work at kindly reimburses part of it, but even after that, it’s still a lot more than free.
and the difference? night and day. I actually want to go. I feel better, stronger, and more energized. the space itself makes me want to take care of myself. (it’s also where I started writing this newsletter.)
this was another reminder that saving money isn’t a personality trait and it’s definitely not one I want to be known for.
the takeaway isn’t to go out and spend on everything. it’s to be okay spending on the things that actually fit your life. touting how little I spend on my health isn’t a badge of honor and it’s definitely not something I want to wear on my sleeve.
because truthfully, nobody cares.
things I am asked by my friends over chai:
“should I save, invest or payoff my debt first?”
the short answer is that there’s a general order that makes sense for most people, but the details depend on your debt, your goals, and how much mental space it all takes up.
save first, but only what you need. around 6 months of expenses is ideal. why? because life happens and it’s a lot easier to stay calm when you’re not a transmission away from panic.
then pay off high-interest debt. credit card debt that’s charging you 20% interest is an emergency in itself. if the interest is above ~8-10%, it’s almost always worth paying off first. you won’t find an investment that reliably beats that return.
then invest! once you’ve got savings and the bad debt is under control, start investing!
the gray zone: low-interest debt.
if your loans are in that ~3-6% range, like student loans or car payments, it’s less clear cut.
mathematically, you might earn more by investing. emotionally, it might feel better to pay it off.
if the debt doesn’t stress you out, keep paying the minimum and invest the rest. if it does weigh on you, paying it down faster is still a perfectly smart move.
the return on peace of mind is hard to measure, but it’s real.
have a question you want me to answer?
ruminations of the month: the hiring slump and self-driving cars
a picture of my apartment for fun!
the hiring slump and its impact on young people
unemployment among people aged 16-24 has been steadily rising and entry-level job listings are down 34% since 2022.
even in big tech, where you’d think opportunity would scale with innovation, entry-level roles at microsoft, google, and apple are down 75% since 2024.
a lot of people blame AI, but this started years before chatgpt became a household name. what’s really happening is a mix of hiring freezes, automation, and companies deciding it’s safer to stay lean than to train talent.
corporate america feels like it’s in a long, collective flinch. the economy isn’t bad, it’s just uncertain. and uncertainty is certainly enough to make leaders hold their breath, freeze hiring, and wait for someone else to blink first.
the irony is that playing it safe looks a lot like standing still. you can feel it in the way companies talk about efficiency and optimization.
for young people, entering into the job market is like getting on a broken escalator: you can get on, but it’s not going anywhere.
the more I think about it, the more it feels like we are in a trust recession, not just a hiring one.
the moral dilemma of self-driving cars
I was talking with someone about this recently and it’s been on my mind since.
here’s the short of it: self-driving cars are proving safer than human drivers with fewer crashes and fewer fatalities.
the problem? they’re expensive, which means only the wealthy can afford the safety they create.
if safety becomes a luxury is it still progress?
will we see a future where the government subsidizes self-driving cars the way it once did sealbelts? or will it stay gated behind a price tag…protecting some of us more than others?
everything a marketing person would tell me doesn’t fit in this newsletter:
fun fact: I published this while in seville! I am headed to malaga, barcelona, lauterbrunnen, and amsterdam next! send any recommendations my way…
I am a lover of all things quotes, here’s my favorite of the month:
your best performances will come when you are working in a way that is a full expression of you. the work becomes a natural display of your personality. this is when you not only get better results, but also love the activity, because in doing the craft you feel alive - james clear
these shoes that I can’t stop thinking about. will likely end up buying…
I am on the waitlist for these earrings and WILL be purchasing them once they’re released. think the oura ring, but for your ears!
and that's it. the first edition of two cents.
thanks for being here from the beginning. if this resonated, share it with someone who’d find it useful :)
see you in november,
aaliyah aramjoo
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