Sounds easy enough. "Just save all you can, put it in an index mutual fund, and grow your wealth. " That's what many so called financial experts recommend.

I've worked in the financial services industry for more than a decade, but have only been red pill aware for one year. The pill has really opened my eyes on the financial front as well as the marital one. In the spirit of giving back to the subred that's helped me so much, I want to offer some food for thought. My goal here isn't to knock any product or strategy. It's just to help you examine whether you're investing in alignment with your own RP goals or just following the hivemind.

Know what you own?

I'm always interested when I hear men say they won't buy from businesses that glorify homosexuality, promote divorce porn, or otherwise contribute to the Feminist-Marxist destruction. They'll forgo a Starbucks coffee. But they'll put their whole 401(k) into a fund that invests millions in Starbucks shares. Any S&P 500 index fund falls into that category, BTW.

Invest in that index fund, and you may just be helping Tim Cooke shoot off his mouth promoting gay marriage, financing anti-male ad campaigns like this one from CPB, or financing organizations like this one from PEP. If that's swell with you, carry on. My point isn't that you need to agree with the companies in which you invest. No, my point is that it pays to know what you own and own what you know.

The journey away from the herd begins with a small step

Are you blindly investing in mutual funds and trusting a fund manager or an index because the herd says it's the thing to do? Or are you willing to do the hard work and build your knowledge?

How exactly? Start small. Consider investing in individual stocks. Not just any stocks, but companies you really know. Work in IT and love that new router? Learn something about the company that makes it. Work on cars and think that new ECM is da bomb? Why not find out about the company that makes it and pick up a few shares using an online discount broker like eTrade.

Sound easy? It isn't. Learning, analyzing, and growing never is. This won't make you rich quickly and it's not something to dive into instead of that fund in your 401(k). But at least think about the benefits of learning to know what you own and own what you know.

You.. in the near future

You WILL pick stocks or bonds that meet your individual goals instead of paying management or advertising fees to somebody else. You WILL decide when to sell and pay taxes instead of getting the "surprise " capital gain on the 1099 DIV your fund company sends you. You WILL learn how to protect your investments with options. And YOU will be the one who decides what companies your money helps grow.

Do I expect this post or any other on Red Pill finance to change your life? Of course not. But I hope it sparks some ideas. In one sense, building financial knowledge is like lifting: consistent effort does get results. Those results can be transformative. It's entirely up to you.