One argument that is used against saving and investing and as an argument for not doing it is that it can be very complicated and confusing. I agree that investing can be confusing with different account types and investment types and the different terms associated with investing. Along with this, there can be different fees that you may not understand or expect. When these factors are all combined, investing can be quite daunting and intimidating for someone who has never done it before.

Fortunately, you do not need to know all there is to know about all aspects of investing and saving in order to get involved. A lot of the different terms and and practices apply to many different types of investments. My suggestion would be to start simple and work your way to the more complicated things. Once you understand all the ins and outs of your checking account, move to an account that pays you interest. Once you have a handle on your interest bearing checking account and/or savings account at your bank, move to another account type and investment.

Perhaps, open a brokerage account and buy a few shares of a stock and learn how that works and get a good idea about that and the different aspects and terms affiliated with trading that stock. Another idea would be to purchase a CD or two or some savings bonds to learn about them. Gradually, work towards understanding different types of accounts and different aspects of each of these different types.

While your IRA or 401K may not be the first one that you learn the ins and outs of, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be contributing to these every step of the way. Many people contribute to their retirement accounts and know nothing about how these accounts work or how to best maximize the returns on their investments. You do not want to be one of these people, but you know you are not because you are working your way towards an understanding.

Even though investing may seem complicated and intimidating at first glance, if you start with something simple and continue to build on prior knowledge anyone can gain a basic understanding of how the process works.